In the Piedmont, on the other hand, pole-timber 
growing stock is increasing. In 1946, softwood growth 
exceeded drain by 64 percent, and growth in soft hard- 
woods exceeded drain by 102 percent. Only among the 
hard hardwoods was growth inadequate to meet the 
drain. 
HIGH DRAIN INTENSITIES 
Pole timber is declining in the Coastal Plain because 
of high drain intensities and low growth ratios. Pulp- 
wood procurement methods largely determine the local 
drain intensity on softwood pole timber. In an effort 
to keep transportation costs as low as possible, there 
is a natural tendency to obtain as much wood as possible 
near the plants. Consequently, the areas in the Coastal 
Plain surrounding the large paper mills were not only 
the first to feel the pulpwood drain, but have sustained 
a more intensive drain than the outlying Piedmont 
region. Pulpwood drain in the Coastal Plain hit a peak 
in 1942; in the Piedmont it rose sharply after 1942, 
reaching a peak in 1944. In 1946, in spite of the 
better supply of pine pole timber in the Piedmont, total 
drain intensity on softwoods was but 24 cords per 
thousand cords of pole-timber growing stock, compared 
REGION AND 
SPECIES GROUP 
COASTAL PLAIN 
SOF TWOODS 
INCREASE 
SOFT HARDWOODS 

HARD HARDWOODS 
ALL SPECIES 
PIEDMONT 
SOFTWOODS 

SOFT HARDWOODS 
HARD HARDWOODS 
ALL SPECIES 
SOUTH CAROLINA 
SOF TWOODS 
SOFT HARDWOODS 

HARD HARDWOODS 
ALL SPECIES 
to a drain intensity of 38 cords in the Coastal Plain 
(fig. 44). 
Fuel wood represents the principal item of hardwood 
pole-timber drain. On the soft hardwoods, drain inten- 
sity is not high in either the Piedmont or the Coastal 
Plain, but on the hard hardwoods it is even higher than 
on the softwoods. The drain intensity on hard hardwoods 
is especially high in the Coastal Plain, where it amounts 
to 45 cords per thousand cords of growing stock. This 
is 13 cords higher than in the Piedmont. 
The heavy cutting of the hard hardwood pole trees 
reflects the extensive use of fuel wood to cure tobacco 
in the northern Coastal Plain. Here, where 95 percent 
of all this pole timber goes into fuel wood, the drain 
intensity is 55 cords, the highest of any species group 
in any region of the State. 
LOW GROWTH RATIOS 
Further widening the large gap between pole-timber 
growth and drain in the Coastal Plain are the exceed- 
ingly low growth ratios, which are but a fraction of 
those in the Piedmont. Softwoods are growing only 11 
cords per thousand cords of growing stock in the Coastal 
Plain, compared to 39 cords in the Piedmont. The 
DECREASE 
FIGURE 43.— Net change in 
bole-timber growing stock, 
1946. 


200 
THOUSAND CORDS 

34 Forest Resource Report No. 3, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
