WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL, SURVEY. 



101 



Estimates furnished by the owners of timberland show that 

 there are approximately 190,000 acres of virgin forest contain- 

 ing from 20 to 90 per cent of spruce in Randolph, Pocahontas, 

 Webster, Pendleton, Greenbrier, and Tucker counties, with a 

 few outlying patches in Grant and Preston counties. The quan- 

 tity of standing timber in the virgin spruce belt is estimated at 

 iy2 billion feet of spruce, 1 billion feet of hemlock, and >4 bil- 

 lion feet of hardwoods, the principal of which are beech, birch 

 and maple. Small areas of virgin white pine are still to be 

 found in Mercer, Raleigh, Greenbrier, and Pendleton counties. 



The forests of virgin hardwood contain not far from 12 

 billion feet of timber. The chief hardwoods, named approxi- 

 mately in the order of their abundance are as follows : 



White Oak 30 per cent. 



Other oaks — Chestnut Oak, Red Oak, 

 Black Oak, Scarlet Oak, etc ..... . 15 per cent. 



Yellow Poplar 18 per cent. 



Chestnut 12 per cent. 



Maple — Sugar Maple, Red Maple. . . 5 per cent. 



Beech 5 per cent. 



Basswood 5 per cent. 



Hickories 



Ashes 



Black Cherry 



Cucumber 



Buckeye 



Locust 



Walnut 



Sycamore 



White Elm 



Others 



10 per cent. 



Cut-over Forest. 



The cut-over forests vary greatly, both as to kinds and 

 quantity of timber, in the different sections of the State. As a 

 rule, there is a fairly good reproduction of valuable species of 

 trees in the hardwood regions. In some sections that were 

 worked from 25 to 40 years ago, or longer, there is an excellent 



