Figure 31. — Forest fires take a 

 heavy annual toll of timber. 

 (Tenn. Conservation Dept. 

 photo.) 



fungi and insect pests. But landowners are also faced 

 with insect and disease attacks that are not associated 

 with fire. Bark beetles often attack pines that have 

 been weakened by serious drought. Blister rust is a 

 constant threat to white pine. Littleleaf disease is a 

 menace to shortleaf pine, although thus far it appears 

 to have caused only minor damage in Tennessee. 

 There is also a possible serious threat from oak wilt, 

 a fungus disease that attacks all species of oak and 

 which may have the potentiality of damage rivaling 

 that caused earlier by the chestnut blight. Improved 

 facilities are needed to assure early detection and 

 prompt action to suppress outbreaks of insects and 

 diseases. While control measures have not been 

 formulated for all destructive agents, prompt utiliza- 

 tion of affected trees can aid in holding losses to a 

 minimum. 



Cull Hardwood Removal 



In Tennessee's forests, three-tenths of the trees 5 

 inches in d. b. h. and larger are culls — virtually all 

 hardwoods. Some of these cull trees can be used 

 profitably for fuel, fence posts, or pulpwood. But 

 the quantity is so large and the problem so general 

 that additional investment in girdling or otherwise 

 killing cull trees is needed if potential growing space 

 is to be made available for thrifty merchantable 

 trees (fig. 33). 



Removal of cull hardwoods is a job for the individual 

 landowner. Owners placing timberlands under 

 management have generally been quick to see the 

 advantage of increasing their effective growing space. 

 But so far, cull hardwoods have been removed from 

 only a small part of Tennessee's forests. 



Tennessee's Timber Economy 



33 



