laneous” items—exert a heavier drain on hardwoods 
than on softwoods. Except for fuel wood, all these 
products together account for only 7 percent of total 
cord drain. Fuel wood is about 60 percent from hard- 
wood species. An opportunity exists for increasing 
the pine growing stock by still greater use of hard- 
woods for fuel wood, especially where there is an 
abundance of poor-quality trees. 
The distribution of total commodity drain by tree- 
diameter classes and species groups reveals that 55 
percent of the softwood drain comes from trees less 
than 13 inches, but less than 14 percent comes from 
trees over 19 inches in diameter (table 22). This 
distribution of drain is another indication of the extent 
to which today’s softwood drain is coming out of to- 
morrow’s growing stock. 
Comparison of Forest Increment and Drain, 
1940-45 
The relation between net increment and commodity 
drain cannot be regarded as a reliable index of the 
Virginia Forest Resources and Industries 
Tasre 21.—Commodity drain on all sound trees 5.0 in ches d. b. h. and larger, by product and species group, 1945} 
———— Cherri 
| 
Species group 
a sa ancanlt sce a eas 
Procuct | TS 
Wireinia Other Other : Gums and Other oral 
pine yellow softwoods Oaks yellow- hendecods 
pines softwoods paplad ardwoods 
Cords Cords Cords Cords Cords Cords Cords | Percent 
Drier be ese tues eel Oe heen sai aA ER itn Seo 216, 000 1, 089, 500 140, 900 794, 600 298, 000 141,900 | 2, 680, 900 | 56.8 
ViGneeied 255 Ae eae Aaa app Se 2, 300 200 3, 800 42. 800 7, 300 | 56, 400 51g 
REGO PETA 8 Oo ete ete ep ly eet ins doe ends 3, 800 GES OOR | Rraee teee 2, 400 4, 200 300 75, 200 1.6 
BEAT yy OO Cs ee a a ee eee eS 158, 000 A395 OO ih] ret ae 38, 600 62, 300 31, 900 723, 300 | 15.3 
Excelsior_____------ SUNS Sigh eae ae 2, 500 Liisa COs | esteem ss er nr | ad cea Saussure 30, 000 | a6 
MpheraManuraccuresss= sy camer een en ewe 100 200 1, 000 2, 500 100 13, 100 17, 000 | 4 
Vian entinn bers see reek pre pe neers Se ee ee A 1, 200 25, 700 300 37, 000 16, 300 43, 500 124, 000 | 2.6 
ETewilkGlOss stles ces eo ey ees hen | ee a 400 100 48, 300 LOO 8] Eteacseer se 48, 900 | 1.0 
Rolespamd spies iiss sone sve ten mrtg Sen eae PS 400 48, 100 100 900 1, 500 900 51, 900 ital 
Hire nvoo diseases een Dome ye ane Ge 128, 100 2002600} |2s 5222 as 333, 500 80, 400 84, 900 827, 500 17.5 
len cesposts 4s =n ie een eR See 400 700 22, 200 14, 200 200 51, 400 89, 100 | 1.9 
Cagis winery ie ON ip ete Ce | 510,500 | 1, $92, 000 164, 800 | 1,275,800 | 505, 900 375-200, :42724, 200 |= ue 
| a oot = = = = 
Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent 
10.8 40.1 | Bo 5a) 27.0 | -10.7 AS SoJe eae Les eee 100.0 
| 
1 Chestnut is not included. 
pulpwood. Only a few products—fuel wood, veneer, more, increased fire protection, better management 
mine timbers, hewn cross ties, fence posts, and “miscel- practices, better and more mechanized manufacture 
of products, epidemics of insects or diseases, and hard- 
wood invasion are some of the current or prospective 
changes that may materially affect growing stock, 
growth rates, and commodity drain. 
Several other points must be kept in mind in this 
connection. A few years in which drain exceeds 
growth, even to a considerable degree, can be counter- 
balanced by a period in which there is a surplus of 
growth. For example, annual lumber production in 
Virginia has averaged 1 billion board feet for the past 
40 years. The production level of the first 10 years 
could not have been maintained indefinitely and only 
because of a decided decline in lumber output during 
the second and third decades did the growing stock 
become sufficiently augmented so that a gradually in- 
creasing production during the fourth decade has been 
possible. 
growth deficit does not necessarily mean irreparable 
damage to the forest stands. 
This emphasizes that a few years of high 
TaBLe 22.—Distribution of commodity drain in cords by tree diameter 
and species group, average year 
: eet, : | ood Hardwood Total 
forest situation in a region or State unless data are sae ee encanta arcwood ote 
. . . . 7 h | | 
available for a considerable period of time, and unless See | Mcords | Percent | M cords | Percent | M cords} Percent 
the operation of economic factors in the future can | | | 
be predicted with accuracy. This is particularly true — 6-8___-----______- Pee eA Tele 15.3 |), 81350 y | 172321, 827 | aeeloul 
sO . - O21? seen arts 1,228 | 39.5 548 | 27.1] 1,776| 34.6, 
of a State such as Virginia where forest industries are j,,, ga9| 38| 637) 31.5 L626] 31.7 
geared to the utilization of small as well as large tim- ——-20+-_____________- 416| 13.4| 486] 241] 902] 17-6 
ber, and where a great variety of species are used for a ae | 3,110 | 100.0 2,021| 100.0| 5,131| 100.0 
an increasingly large number of purposes. Further- 
47 
