WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 321 



large mills will move on to other fields, probably outside tlie 

 state, leaving the cutting of the balance to smaller operators as 

 the lumber is needed or sold by coal companies and other own- 

 ers. Doubtless some areas of good timber will be maintained by 

 those who are now conservative cutters and by others who will 

 be shown by the stress of circumstances the necessity for care- 

 ful preservation of young, growing timber. Floating will be 

 kept up on the Guyandot but to what extent it is difficult to 

 say. 



The Present Forest Conditions. 



Wyoming county now contains: 



44,150 acres Virgin Forest, 

 192,490 acres Cut-over Forest, 

 100,000 acres Farm Land. 



The greater part of the virgin forest land lies in the eastern 

 part of the county along the Raleigh boundary line. About a 

 dozen isolated areas of different sizes are scattered through the 

 interior. Practically all the virgin area is in the hands of oper- 

 ators and will be cut over within the space of a few years. Ivlure 

 than half of the whole area of the county must be classed as 

 cut-over forest land. This, in many places, still contains a fair 

 percentage of the original stand of timber for the reason, in 

 part, that some of the largest floaters have established a 

 16-inch cutting limit. The 100,000 acres of farm land lies, prin- 

 cipally, in more or less narrow strips along the principal water 

 courses. The largest and best farming section is along the Clear 

 FoTk of Guyandot. There are about 60,000 acres of land under 

 cultivation and in grass. 



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