leaf pine type to a little less than 0.4 cord in the 
bottom-land hardwood type, averaging 0.6 cord for 
all types. Increment rates in the Piedmont had the 
same gross range but averaged only 0.5 cord. In the 
Mountain unit growth was much slower, ranging from 
only 0.17 cord in the shortleaf pine type to 0.5 cord 
in the cove hardwoods. For all types it was 0.28 cord 
per acre. 
Because the average forest acre is adding 121 board 
feet of net growth per year, it does not mean that this 
volume is at once available for conversion into lumber 
or other products. It must be remembered that this 
increment includes the recruited volume, i. e., the vol- 
ume of all trees that each year grew to saw-timber size. 
For the State as a whole, more than one-half of the net 
board-foot increment of saw timber comes from re- 
In the Piedmont 62 percent of the 
saw-timber increment is from recruited volume, in the 
mountains 56 percent, and in the Coastal Plain 45 per- 
cent. Thus a very considerable portion of the total 
volume of wood added each year is on the very small- 
est trees. These trees must be protected against fire, 
insects, disease, and other causes of mortality, and 
against premature cutting, in order to augment the al- 
ready depleted growing stock. If this is not done, 
increment will steadily decline, and so will the future 
growing stock and the future output of forest products. 
On the other hand, if the stands were well stocked and 
had a reasonably good distribution of volume among 
age classes, most of the annual increment in saw-tim- 
ber volume would be on the larger trees where it could 
be utilized more effectively. 
cruited volume. 
Commodity Drain 
Saw-Timber Drain 
Drain upon saw-timber trees in 1945 totaled 1,223 
million board feet, of which 719 million feet was soft- 
woods and 504 million feet was hardwoods (table 20). 
Loblolly and shortleaf pines together provided nearly 
one-half of the total cut. Oaks were the principal 
hardwoods cut, followed by gums and yellow-poplar. 
Forty-three percent of the drain came from the Coastal 
Plain, 37 percent from the Piedmont, and 20 percent 
from the mountains. Of the total saw-timber drain, 
lumber comprised 75 percent, pulpwood 11 percent, 
fuel wood 6 percent, and other products the remain- 
ing 8 percent. 
Drain in Cords 
The drain from all trees 5.0 inches d. b. h. and 
larger in 1945 amounted to 4,724,200 cords. Soft- 
woods made up 2,567,300 cords, with loblolly and 
shortleaf pines comprising two-fifths of the total drain. 
Oaks provided a little more than one-fourth, and gums 
and yellow-poplar one-tenth of the total cut (table 
2) 
Lumber was, of course, the principal use, com- 
prising nearly 57 percent of all drain, fuel wood 18 - 
percent, and pulpwood 15 percent. Although soft- 
wood growing’ stock in cords, as of January 1, 1945, 
comprised only 39 percent of the total volume, it was 
the source of more than half the cord drain. The 
pines, chiefly, loblolly and shortleaf, are under heavy 
cutting pressure since they provide about one-half of 
the material used for lumber, and four-fifths of the 
TaBLeE 20.—Commodity drain on saw timber, by product and species group, 1945 
Species group | 
rroduct | ee | | Gums and so 
| Virginia | Other yellow| Other soft- | E ? oh Other hard- 
| pine | pines 1 woods? | Oaks yellowsPOr, woods 3 
| M bd. ft. M od. ft. M bd. ft. M bd. ft. M bd. ft. M bd. ft. M bd. ft. Percent 
sTehiin ber See eet se ES OS RS 65, 300 378, 200 55, 900 263, 900 105,700 48, 600 917, 600 75.0 
Vie TN GG Tree eee op AMIR Ti SRI paca Note oe ie ete epee 900 100 1, 400 16, 700 2, 600 21, 700 128 
Cooper Be se ee ARTIS SL Aenea earn 1, 000 L752 OO ly | DES Seaeaae 900 600 100 19, 800 1-6 
Pulp wyood ses eesteess elit sonny Oe eee Re | 29, 100 OA OO se eesseeee ees 5, 600 6, 800 4, 400 137, 000 11.2 
Ce] SIO Teen poe em Peg a tee Lane ncaa 400. ABO ee se ES EN IS Se SE | Re eee 5, 200 4 
@thersmianufacrines sae ape me ie NN cs Sa | See ceer Nope aaa 100 300 [OO | Se sagbeee ies 2, 700 3, 800 38} 
Mitre stam De rs ee ea tap fa ee rd oe open yee | 200 3, 700 100 2, 400 500 2, 900 9, 800 ~8 
Tew ngcrossatieswem bes soa be ena ne ee { RUARL CIC  am LOO eee See ee 12 = S00 KNEES NES | Sent Teas 12, 600 1.0 
Rolesyandéaprlessces ea hee abies He ie Ee SN 100 165-3 00s eos Se eee 200 600 300 17, 500 iS) 
iti e awa dase eee sare eae Sh an eer eh a i4, 500 3652002 | Jace eee See 15, 200 3, 000 2, 700 71, 600 5.9 
PENCE IPOs t says aa sere eg = Me eee ee | eee eae eects A 100 3, 300 PIO O10) Pe ee 900, 6, 300 sa 
Eiigtalee eis GE Steet eS | 110,600} 548,700} 59,700 | 304, 800} 133,900} 65, 200 | 1, 222, 900 | 5 
Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent | = 
9.0 44.9 4.9 24.9 11.0 SE BIN eet eee 100.0 
| | 
1 Loblolly and shortleaf pines chiefly. 2 White pine, hemlock, redcedar, white-cedar chiefly. 3 Chestnut is not included. 
46 Miscellaneous Publication 681, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
einai Nas 
