South Carolina’s Stake in Her Forests 
>? 
ORESTS grow on 3 out of every 5 acres of land in 
South Carolina. They range from high-quality 
loblolly pine and bottom-land hardwood stands to 
low-quality Virginia pine and scrub oak stands, from 
extensive unbroken wooded areas on the Coastal Plain 
to small patches of woodlands which dot the landscape 
of the more intensively farmed Piedmont. All together, 
forested land adds up to 62 percent of the total land 
area, putting South Carolina high on the list of important 
timber-producing States in the Southeast (fig. 1). South 
Carolina leads the five Southeastern States in pulpwood 
production per acre of commercial forest land and is 
second only to North Carolina in lumber production per 
forested acre. 
About 1.5 billion board feet of saw-timber harvested 
annually for these and other forest products provide 
FIGURE 1.— South Carolina and other southeastern States. 


the raw materials for a manufacturing industry ranking 
second only to textiles in value of product. In addition, 
forest cover on eroded and abandoned land plays an 
important part in safeguarding water supplies needed 
by hydroelectric installations and industrial plants. Hunt- 
ing, fishing, picnicking, and other forms of outdoor 
recreation attract several million persons to the forests 
each year. In 1948, the State Forests and Parks alone 
received more than 1.5 million visitors. 
FORESTS VITAL TO RURAL SECTIONS 
No section of the State has a greater stake in timber 
resources than the rural areas — and South Carolina is 
predominantly rural. Farmers, woods workers, sawmill 
workers, and local merchants depend on the forests for 
supplemental income or sole means of obtaining a 
livelihood (fig. 2). 
As a crop from the State’s land resources, primary 
forest products rank second only to cotton in value (7). 
The values of the four leading crops in 1947 were as 
follows: 
Value, 1947 
Four leading crops: (million dollars) 
Gottonvand/cottonseedi=2. ene es 126 
Primary. forests products» a.y-.. ene ie eee 72 
A Kooy: Lael ee ae ER Pala MOR ao COR NO Go 65 
COIN ip siatersiscrsiowslareosccee tele etepanae Gane eR Cee 55 
These primary forest products represent an array of 
commodities. Sawlogs, pulpwood bolts, veneer bolts, 
fence posts, poles and piling, and fuel wood are 
the more important items. Sales of stumpage and these 
products are an important source of cash income to 
timberland owners. 
Almost one-half the forest land is on farms. Supple- 
mental income from this source is especially welcomed 
since the cash income of 52 percent of the farms in 
South Carolina was less than $1,000 in 1945 (13). 
In addition to cash income, the woodlot provides the 
farmer with a cheap and convenient source of many of 
the products needed in running his farm, including 
rough lumber, fence posts, and fuel wood (fig. 3). 
Fence posts cut in 1947 were worth more than a million 
dollars to the farmers of South Carolina. In 1947, 
17 million dollars worth of fuel wood was used in the 
4 Forest Resource Report No. 3, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



