reduced, either deliberately or through force of cir- 
cumstances. Such areas include particularly the short- 
leaf pine type in the Piedmont and the white pine 
If the cut in these stands 
is not held below growth, the industries dependent 
on saw timber from such areas eventually will face 
type in the mountains. 
an acute shortage of raw material. 
Fortunately, a more positive approach is justified 
for the rest of the types, which include those most 
Instead of trying to reduce 
the cut, emphasis should be placed on increasing the 
important commercially. 
growing stock while keeping the cut at present levels 
Basic 
in the approach to this task are adequate fire control, 
until additional yields warrant increasing it. 
protection of reproduction and young saplings from 
logging damage, and-an expanded planting program 
on abandoned fields, on clear-cut areas where follow- 
up release is planned, and in poorly stocked old-field 
pine stands. A greater percentage of merchantable 
but immature trees must be reserved from cutting. 
Improve Quality 
Improvement cuttings to eliminate low-value trees 
and to improve the composition of the stand are par- 
ticularly necessary where undesirable hardwoods are 
encroaching on pine lands. 
be profitable if markets are available for the material 
Improvement cuts can 
removed, or if, as on farms, the material can be used 
by the owner. Mine timbers in the mountains, pulp- 
wood and low-grade lumber in the Coastal Plain and 
the Piedmont, and fuel wood in all provinces are 
If there 
are no markets, the cuts involve a financial outlay, 
to be regarded in the same light as the cost of fire 
protection, planting, or other maintenance costs. 
salable products from improvement cuts. 
Thinning, which is another important method of 
improving timber quality, can often be made to pay 
for itself, too. In fact, thinnings sold as pulpwood 
or fuel wood frequently bring higher returns than the 
sale of improvement cuttings. Frequent thinning of 
stands being managed for saw timber or other high- 
quality products is beneficial but tends to encourage 
the encroachment and development of brushy hard- 
woods. Thinning of pine stands being managed pri- 
marily for pulpwood is less profitable where it ag- 
gravates the-hardwood-control problem. Sometimes 
old-field stands of Virginia, shortleaf, or loblolly pine 
are so densely stocked that they tend to stagnate 
When the stands are thinned, 
however, the trees respond vigorously. 
unless thinned early. 
Pruning of 
pine will probably be done mostly in farm or other 
52 
small woodlands, but industrial timberland owners 
may also find it profitable in producing higher grade 
logs. 
These practices, plus harvest cutting designed to 
improve stand quality, have been advocated by forest- 
ers for the past decade or more. Yet a field survey 
made in 1945 showed that forest practices on half 
the smaller holdings and on two-fifths of the larger 
holdings are still not up to a standard sufficient to 
» maintain forest productivity and that the stands on 
such holdings are deteriorating. 
Better Protection 
Good as the fire control record is, it can be material- 
ly improved—at a price. Virginia has no alternative 
but to pay the price if she wants to keep her forests 
green. The total cost, from Federal, State, county, 
and private sources, for full protection of State and 
private forest lands adequate to hold annual fire loss 
to less than 0.4 percent of area protected is estimated 
to be $715,000 per year, more than three times the 
1945 budget. 
While losses from insects and disease are not as spec- 
tacular and visible as losses from fire, in the long run 
they are frequently more costly. Witness the chestnut 
blight, and the ravages of the southern pine beetle. It 
has not been possible to control some diseases, such as 
the chestnut blight, with any means now available to 
science. However, the losses from many other dis- 
eases, such as fusiform rust of southern pines and the 
heart rots, can be greatly reduced through practical 
measures already developed. 
Improve Timber Utilization 
Efficient use of what already grows can make the 
forest considerably more valuable. Pines are overcut, 
which leaves openings that are all too often filled by 
hardwoods. Thus, many pure pine stands are con- 
verted into mixed pine-hardwood or pure hardwood 
stands, generally of low quality. Profitable uses are 
being found for the low-grade hardwoods, but many 
more wood-products plants are needed to cut and use 
this plentiful material. The abundant supply of low- 
grade hardwoods presents a rather favorable oppor- 
In 1945 there were but 
23 plants in Virginia turning out handle blanks, picker 
tunity for such operations. 
sticks, insulator pins, mine wedges, shuttle blocks, 
wooden utensils, small-dimension stock, and similar 
minor products. In all they utilized only 30,900 cords 
of wood. This is a small fraction of the volume that 
could be removed with benefit to the forest—provided 
Miscellaneous Publication 681, U.S. Department of Agriculture 
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