40 BULLETIN 272, U. 8S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
TABLE 6.—Height growth of cypress saplings under full light in southern Louisiana.? 
Age: Height. 
Age. Height. 
Age. Height. 
Years Feet. Years. Feet. Years Years. 
Mesaecek 0.8 eG ns Sites 5.5 Sy sheet ayer 11.4 
OY Meas. iz Guicceae aks 7.0 Oetree See 14.8 
See 3.0 ae Se 9.0 BA rae ee 18.8 
A patie Ses! 4.3 
1 Based upon age counts of 119 trees from 3 to 32 years old. This and the following tables of growthand 
volume in Louisiana are based on measurements by F. T. McLean, Forest Examiner, Forest Srevice. 
Second-growth or open-grown cypress in Louisiana averages 16 
or 18 feet in height at 10 years, 31 feet at 20 years, and continues at 
a gradually diminishing rate until it reaches a full height of about 100 
feet in the first 100 years. The height continues to increase during 
the next one to three centuries; then the fungus causing pecky 
cypress disintegrates the heartwood in the top and winds start the 
downward or backward stage in the height of the tree. The average 
heights of stands 350 to 500 years old are perhaps about the same as 
young virgin stands at 60 to 80 years; the prime stage in respect to 
height is approximately from 150 to 300 years. Individuals which 
live to be 600 years old probably spend about one-half of their time 
in the decadent stage. 
Table 7 shows the height at various ages up to 100 years of second- 
srowth cypress in Maryland and Louisiana supplied with abundant 
overhead light, as, for example, in logged areas. While the height 
erowth of virgin stands may be interesting, knowledge of the rate of 
growth of younger stands is more valuable in figuring the profitable- 
ness of managing young cypress forests. The three columns of 
growth in Table 7 represent three grades of favorableness of situation. 
In comparison, the slow height growth shown in Table 8 of trees 
grown under the heavy shade of virgin forests is very striking. 
TaBLE 7.—Height of second-growth cypress on the basis of age. 
Height. 
Age. Maryland.? Louisiana.3 
Maximum.}| Average. | Minimum. |Maximum.|] Average. | Minimum. 
Years. Feet. Feet. Feet. Feet. Feei. Feet. 
L0iS2 22+ 26 11 3 24 17 
20: eet 44 22 7. 45 31 17 : 
B0 sone 58 33 12 61 43 26 
40. os. 71 46 18 75 54 34 
50ee eee 82 60 25 &6 65 43 
60H. 91 72 32 97 74 51 
(Op ae 99 81 Ai! Vee See Setar 83 60 
Sols 106 88 Ae | aera 92 69 
90 Ge 113 95 1) 0 Ween pees eerste ee 101 78 
1O0E=s=2 119 101 O47 | Bes eee e 109 86 
1 Acknowledgment is made to Mr. George E. Watson, secretary of the Southern Cypress Manufacturers’ 
Association, and various operating members of the association, for assistance rendered the writer in the 
collection of field data used in the bulletin. 
2 Based on sectional age counts of 68 trees, also total heights of 221 additional trees 6 to 103 years old. 
3 Based on sectional age counts of 42 trees 38 to 89 years old. 
