ee) 2) Rew Pork HState College of Agriculture At Cornell Aniversitp Bthaca, $2. D. Librarp niversity Library The valuation of American timberlands, Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www. archive.org/details/cu31924003031717 tis piece Fron The Forest Types of the United States The Valuation of American Timberlands BY K. W. WOODWARD Professor of Forestry, New Hampshire College. Formerly Forest Inspector, U. S. Forest Service NEW YORK JOHN WILEY & SONS, Inc. Lonpon: CHAPMAN & HALL, Luorep 7 1921 CopyricHT, 1921, BY K. W. WOODWARD TECHNICAL COMPOSITION CO. CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U. 5. a. To DR. BERNHARD E. FERNOW IN GRATITUDE FOR HIS HELP AND ENCOURAGEMENT AND ADMIRATION OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS PREFACE This book is intended to supply certain information needed by the investor, timber cruiser and student of forestry. In other words, it aims to give for the continental United States and its outlying territories the principal facts regarding the timber resources. Hawaii has been omitted because its timber is useful mainly for its protective value and cutting in the commercial sense is only possible on a very limited scale. Likewise, the Canal Zone is not attractive to either the sawmill man or timberland investor by reason of the restricted area of American territory. The investor will find data which will not only enable him to form a notion of what the examination of a tract should cost but he should also get the salient features of the general type of which his particular holdings are but a small part. This work tries to give those basic facts upon which a superstructure of detailed knowledge concerning a particular tract may safely be erected. To the estimator or timber cruiser, likewise, it cannot take the place of first-hand observation as far as the appraisal of any given area is concerned. It should, however, show him what to look for and help him to keep that sense of proportion without which his reports may easily give a wholly wrong impression. For the student of forestry it should fill an additional purpose. Few attempts have previously been made to gather together in one volume descriptions of the forest types of the United States. We have simply had detailed studies of isolated regions. With these latter as a basis, however, an attempt is here made to evalu- ate American forest conditions and compare the forest types with each other. This leads inevitably to the application of the principles which the student has learned in his courses in protec- tion, silviculture, utilization and management. In other words, it is hoped he may here acquire some of the local color necessary to give vividness to the framework of fundamentals he has con- Vv vi PREFACE structed in the classroom. ‘The book was written to serve as supplementary reading in this way. A forest type as here used is an area which has essentially the same climatic, topographic, and soil conditions, and hence tends in the long run to have the same composition. A subtype is a subdivision of a forest type in which the composition is uniform. A word of explanation seems necessary in regard to prices now that the War has so radically disturbed all our preconceptions of market values. Obviously it is impossible to keep such a work as this absolutely up to date. Care has, however, been taken to give dates for all prices cited as that proper allowance may be made. In general it may be said that the prices of 1920 are roughly double those of 1915. Furthermore, wherever possible, costs are expressed in terms of man and horse hours as well as dollars. Acknowledgment is, of course, due the Forest Service for its courtesy in allowing the free use of its large store of data. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE I. NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE......:0 ccs ce cesccencccsccesecssees I TI. NorTHERN HARDWOOD TYPE........ 0.600 cee ceee ee teeeeeees 16 TU. Waar Pre TYPE ss edcceeesorawieceulimernaaneasasiancey 29 TV. SWAMP: TYPiisscsasccecs evens 4 eo aeeweiawie se ease REO EOS 48 V. SoUTHEASTERN PINE TYPE...... ise meer REN 52 VI. SOUTHERN BOTTOMLANDS... 0.0... secs cece se ee eet cessor neces 61 VII. SourHERN HARDWOODS......... spnadve ceca cove soca vib Debut erat cnai stra 71 VILE... PInon=JUNIPER. TYPE iss seni iia sieges conn tora samanwas 81 EX, CAAPPARADscecrdeunueeesecteesaes Ga eee adore wee ReE eeneS 84 XX. WESTERN YELLOW PINE TYPE... ccc ee cece cece een ee neeee 87 XT. LODGEPOLE: PINE: TYPE oe 0. cyecc2eit Sait m4 SATE Bs er sosrnigiaon aie ave lea 95 XII. ENcGELMANN Spruce TyPE...... Madi la a east 99 XIII. Srever Pore TPE... eel c cece ccc ec cece ceeeceencucucuenens 104 RLV): SUGARY PINE: TYPE se siessdig dese 'eeleeainalestnaine as nena aarene ne Ir2 XV. REDWOOD TYPE ss cesteciwcseees beer ss aronen wereeneneeesa 122 DEV Ts: SEQUOLA EVBE cccieciet coe caida csc evcutse cpntoniiena avec dexeeners yeast beer otosoeieipia 128 XVI. Doucras FIR TYPE. 20.0... cee eee ee cece eee ee en ee ee nea es tee B29 SEO TTT GAN TER SRA cela Pann uve clea ews fv ea canada da val MANE aN TS oA RCS 138 ERIE, (PORTO: R ICON axiavar cssndvaesito duatsetorsiuaee Geo videaie te eluresientennes Seen evo aiais aieidad aes 148 EX. JPET IPPINES a ncsctasline gan qiexinmetemean enon ea tinrenunimmanegnawenin’ 152 XK. TIMBER. VALUATION ascii wasieteras ia seater ee sees eee eee 163 SRNL. LAND! VALUATION 6.5: sinc sesse spiese einen Scan’ acd pnapeiiece imcayacounio. aievnsauaiw euitie ee 219 SETTER TIS TOS oes hse ene eniyn execs cer ietain lea aan asa tate earcd vn. toaeehndheanaena ae 230 XXIV. OUTLINE FOR A REPORT ON A TRACT OF WOODLAND........... 238 CHAPTER I NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE General Conditions.— To this type of timberland belong the North Woods of Maine, the upper slopes of the White Mountains, the higher Green Mountains, the summits of the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains, and the northern swampy parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Furthermore, a slender string of isolated spruce-clad peaks extends southward along the backbone of the Appalachian range and consequently some spruce is found in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. The distribution of the type is shown graphically on the accompanying map. Thruout its range spruce is most abundant in a cool, moist climate with long winters. and heavy precipitation. Seldom is the growing season more than four months long and the annual precipitation must be at least 40 inches or supplemented by slow drainage. This means that there is an abundance of moisture available for tree growth because the long winters inhibit runoff and the cool summers are unfavorable to rapid evaporation. These climatic conditions only occur on the steeper upper slopes of mountains and in flat swamp land. On both sites the soil is shallow but the spruce is well able to make the most of the scant foothold with its flat, widely extended root system. Likewise its common associates are trees of similar habit like the balsam, paper birch and yellow birch. However, by reason of its greater adaptability to such untoward conditions, spruce tends to crowd out its competitors and form nearly pure stands if given time enough. Hence the subtypes are generally transition types caused by fire or cutting. The more imporant of these and their composition by volume and number are: I 2 NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE COMPOSITION OF SUBTYPES — SPRUCE TYPE Virgin subtype Cutover subtype Burn subtype Species Number Volume Number Number Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Spruce......... 60 80 10 Io Balsam........ 30 10 15 15 Paper Birch.... 10 Io 40 30 Pin Cherry. si | siddwacniaee | sawn ee 35 45 100 100 100 100 The virgin subtype varies considerably in composition with the altitude. At the upper edge of merchantable growth there is a large admixture of balsam, while at the lower edge where it merges into the hardwood type yellow birch and paper birch are the important associate species. The composition percentages given above are most representative of conditions in the middle of the altitudinal range of the type. There spruce is the dom- inant species, numerically and in volume, while balsam, paper birch and yellow birch are merely unimportant associates. An average stand is 10M feet B. M. per acre although stands of 20 or 30M are not uncommon. In the virgin subtype little damage is the rule, not because there are no serious enemies but for the reason that fire, insects and wind may wipe the subtype out, but they seldom affect it in a moderate degree. It is a case of total immunity or complete destruction. When the subtype is dry enough to burn the fire usually kills the young trees, jumps to the crowns of the older timber, and also eats up the shallow layer of soil. In the same way wind makes wide swaths or throws over the timber on entire mountain slopes if it once gets a leverage on a stand of spruce. Likewise, the great insect enemy of this species, the spruce beetle (Dendroctonus piceaperda) is a believer in no halfway measures. Working in large colonies it systematically kills all the timber that comes in its way. Fortunately little fungus damage occurs in this subtype. The culled, cutover and burned subtypes are the result of GENERAL CONDITIONS 3 various degrees of lumbering and neglect on the virgin subtype. The culled stands are few for two reasons. In the first place even the early logging was comparatively clean because where it paid to cut the spruce on the upper slopes at all it was worth while taking nearly all the stand because it was of uniform size. The most recent logging has, of course, been clean because the demand for pulpwood furnished a market for all material down to a top diameter of four inches inside the bark. Furthermore in cases where culling has been attempted in the virgin spruce sub- type much blowdown has invariably resulted and the final out- come been identical with clean cutting. The cutover subtype is then the most common where the logger has reached the spruce type. Even the paper birch has often been cut in order that the spruce and balsam might be rolled down over it. As a result this subtype is usually completely stripped of its standing trees. What cannot be marketed is left to rot on the ground. Fortunately, however, tree growth quickly reéstablishes itself if fire is kept out. First, pin cherry and paper birch take possession of the ground and then spruce and balsam come up under their shade. If given time enough the two latter species distance the two first-named short-lived trees and the stand becomes nearly pure softwood. Furthermore, competition between the spruce and balsam is commonly more favorable to the former because of its greater persistence. The balsam is very subject to heart rot — Polyporus schweiniteii — and it is rare that a tree over 15 inches in diameter survives. The restocking of the burned subtype is not rapid since fire is peculiarly destructive in the spruce type. Usually the weather is too cool and moist to permit fires to start but in droughts the thick layer of kywmus becomes very inflammable. Especially is this the case where logging has opened up the stand and left débris. Some of the most destructive fires in the unusually lurid forest-fire history of the American continent have been in the spruce type. Such fires are combined top fires and ground fires. Everything is consumed and only the bare rocks are left. Examples of the results of such fires are furnished by the bald summits of Monadnock, Chocorua and Baldface in the White 4 NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE Mountains and the recently cutover and burnt slopes of Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina. OPTIMUM GROWTH IN 100 YEARS Diameter Height Density | Yield per acre Inches Feet Trees Board feet SPEUCEs c.0 5 sdaniaiawaiencces 10 70 415 7400 Ba ISAM 6 62, yainsa wiasemeaecnared aks Ir DBE. Saserseaes: ||| Gieteherene eyseiiag Paper Dinehe sis Coraccvernues 2] Recourse Severe | akikasay 5500 This table shows the optimum diameter and height growth for the important species in this type on a rotation of 100 years. The density and yield per acre are also given. From these it is evident that the short growing season is not favorable to rapid diameter and height growth and that the stands per acre are only heavy by reason of the great density of the trees. There is a marked difference between the northern spruce and southern Appalachian spruce. The latter grows faster in diameter and height but the trees do not stand so close together. Generally speaking the most profitable rotation for this type is at least 125 years. Timber Valuation.— There are. several factors which make estimating in the spruce type comparatively easy. The tracts are usually large so that boundary difficulties are not serious. Furthermore, the stands are uniform, the species few and damage slight. On the other hand the tracts are usually inaccessible so that the cost of subsisting an estimating party is high. Supplies frequently have to be brought in on men’s backs because horses cannot be used off the roads. Even these are in many cases impracticable for hauling except when covered with snow. Another obstacle to cheap work is the roughness of the mountain slopes upon which the spruce grows and the density of the under- growth. As a consequence an average day’s work in this type is 24 strip acres — 1 chain (66 feet) wide and 240 chains long. However, only a small percentage of the tract need be actually covered in this way. Only on very small tracts is more than a TIMBER VALUATION 5 ro per cent estimate necessary. Ordinarily 5 to 10 per cent is sufficient because the tracts are large — over 500 acres — and the subtypes uniform in composition and density. On account of the lack of roads and trails it is frequently diffi- cult to find a suitable place for a base line from which to run the estimating strips. Usually, however, roads or trails are better than survey lines because they are easier to travel. When selected the base line should be surveyed and stakes set at equi- distant points, measured in a cardinal direction and not along the base line. In fact the distance along the trail used may be several times that in a cardinal direction on account of the twists the trail makes to avoid rough going. From the stakes on the base line the estimate. strips should be run across the valleys, preferably in a cardinal direction. The object in running them across the valleys is to avoid an overestimate by getting an undue proportion of the better timber in the valley bottoms. By using a cardinal direction possible compass errors are avoided. because it is much easier to keep the line straight when a cardinal direction is used than when the lines are run at an angle less than go degrees. This strip method of estimating is, of course, not the only way to determine the contents of a stand. It is, however, generally considered the best and its costs may fairly be considered stand- ard. Obviously an experienced local estimator does not need to traverse a tract as carefully as one unfamiliar with the local conditions. He relies on his judgment more because he has had an opportunity to check it by the results of local logging. But his fees are based on the cost of a strip survey. For spruce and balsam pulpwood is the use to which the smallest timber can be put so that the minimum merchantable limits for these species are determined by the sizes which the pulp mills will take. The present minimum standard is a stick four feet long and at least four inches in diameter at the top end. Since at least two such sticks must be obtained from a tree to pay for felling, trees less than six inches in diameter breast-high are considered unmerchantable. For sawtimber alone the limits are higher. At least six inches in the top and ro inches breast-high are the usual requirements. Suitable tables giving 6 NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE the volume either in cubic feet or board feet will be found in Hawley and Hawes’ “Manual of Forestry,” John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York City. Only tables based on diameter breast-high and total or used lengths should be employed because there is great variation in the height of both spruce and balsam according to the depth of the soil. For the other important species in this type, paper birch, yel- low birch, beech and sugar maple, volume tables will also be found in the Manual of Forestry. With them total height is an unreliable factor and only usable length is a safe indication of their merchantability. This may be estimated in either 16 feet log lengths or in units of 10 feet according to the volume table and the way in which it is worked up. The cost of estimating spruce tracts is determined first of all by the percentage of the stand estimated. As explained above this need seldom be more than ro per cent on account of the uniformity of the stands. The second factor, roughness of topog- raphy, cuts down the area possible for a crew to cover in a day. -However, 24 strip acres is a reasonable average day’s work. Hence the work ought not to cost more than 15 cents an acre and can frequently be done for half that figure. This should include the preparation of a report showing the amount, quality and value of the timber, the way in which it can be logged and a contour map of the tract. Stumpage Prices.— Stumpage prices tend to approach the difference between the cost of logging and manufacture and the average sale value of the lumber. Fluctuations in these factors are not, however, reflected at once in the stumpage prices. They are inclined to drag behind the increases in lumber prices and be unaffected by declines. This is well brought out by the follow- ing figures from Compton’s “Organization of the Lumber Industry”’: AVERAGE STUMPAGE VALUES FOR SPRUCE Per M TSOG.s - sisuicv oe asics mas case aoa ae eee eu cee Daron $1.74 TEGO: ) ished easeveceen'S wiaia foe We Soaps Slate Sela Slaten Ba Sirenewien 2.26 TOO4.” Sietiew vad dea tonbdiaadetentelals fs a0 eraienaaicens 3.70 STUMPAGE PRICES 7 Hence, for the calculation of future prices such figures can only be used as a check and guide. The costs of the different steps in logging and manufacturing must be known for each tract and the sum of these plus a margin of safety deducted from the aver- age sale value. This requires a knowledge of the methods of lumbering and sawmilling and makes necessary their description in some detail. On account of the inaccessibility of the spruce stands logging jobs are almost invariably carried on by large camps located close to the place of cutting and only connected with the outside world by a slender thread, the rough tote road. Spruce stands are usually in mountainous regions where farms cannot be hewn out of the wilderness. Consequently their logging is no job for the farmer’s spare time. If he does it at all he must go back into the mountains, build a camp and stay with the job with single-hearted devotion. As a matter of fact the typical opera- tion is a large one in which the camps house 30 to 60 men and such a one will be described to give a notion of the methods employed. The first step is the estimate of the watershed or valleys to be logged and the accumulation of sufficient topographic data to determine where the main roads must go, whether driving can be employed and the approximate cost of logging. This information should be secured by the estimators. The figures given above for the cost of estimating contemplate a report which should cover the following points: — Amount of timber by logging units. Quality of timber by logging units. Topographic data (preferably in the form of a contour map). Logging costs by principal watersheds. Method of sawmilling and estimate of cost. Estimated sale value of finished product. Such a report enables a lumber company to plan its own opera- tions intelligently or let contracts with exactness. The latter method is more common in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York because there are many jobbers who possess great 8 NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE skill in this work. In fact they are generally able to log more cheaply than the lumber companies themselves because their supervision is closer, their overhead expenses are small, they make scant allowance for depreciation or interest on investment and are content with small returns per thousand feet. In the southern spruce regions conditions are different. Seldom have the local inhabitants acquired the experience necessary to con- tract for themselves so that the lumber companies are forced to run their own camps. For simplicity’s sake a contract job in the Maine woods will be taken as the type and after it has’ been described local variations in other parts of the country pointed out. Assume then that Bill Jones contracted in 1914 to yard on the river bank of the nearest drivable stream two million feet of spruce and balsam. Since the haul from the stump to the yard was only four miles he agreed to do it for $5 per M. Heneededa crew of 60 men and started felling by October 1 in order to get the timber down and skidded before the deep snows came. For his labor he hired his neighbors as far as possible and then filled in with French Canadians who came south for the winter after the Canadian harvest had been garnered. A picked crew of choppers was first sent into the woods to build camps and clean out the roads. Then the main crew came in. It was divided up into choppers, teamsters for the skidding teams, tote teamsters, barn tenders, a cook and cookees, a blacksmith, a scaler, camp clerk. The first job was to fell the timber and bunch it up for hauling on two sleds. The methods employed varied with the steepness of the ground. On level and moderate slopes ordinary skidding practices were followed. A single horse or a pair bunched the logs on to skidways from which they could be rolled onto two sleds. On steep ground the procedure was different. Two sleds could not be used to advantage. The only safe way was to drag the log out on a single bobsled with only one end of the logs up. Bare ground was preferable to snow because slower and hence safer. Furthermore, the spruce commonly stood so densely on such steep slopes that it was easy to make up a bob- sled load by merely rolling the logs onto the sled without any preliminary bunching. In fact in many places the timber was t STUMPAGE PRICES 9 felled into the roads which were not more than 100 feet apart so that the horses did not need to get out of the road. For exam- ple, on the Henry operations in the White Mountains and the Perley and Crockett job in North Carolina two sleds were not used at all. A single bobsled brought the logs off the mountain- side directly to the railroad. On less steep ground, however, the two-sled is the standard method of getting the logs from the skidways to the railroad, drivable streams or mill. This sledding can, of course, only be done after there is plenty of snow. Hence the usual practice in the North Woods is to complete the felling operations by Christmas if possible and then put in January and February hauling. This gets the logs out of the woods before the river opens in the spring and ready for the drive in March and April. The following figures were average costs, in 1915 : Per M Felling and bucking... 20... ccc cece cece eer eee eee $1.50 Skidding e «44 oxen 'es can ee auemdesinse taal e wane oad e eee ES 2.00 Hauling to railway or river, 2 miles.................0005- 2.00 Drive or railway haul to mill, distance 10 miles........... 1.00 $6.50 Felling costs are relatively high because the timber is small and usually found on rough ground. Skidding is shown as a separate cost altho as explained above it is frequently merged into the hauling as a single operation of “ yarding.” A charge for two- sledding to the railway or drivable stream is included to make the estimate conservative although sometimes it is possible to yard directly into the drivable stream or railway with a bobsled. Likewise, the distance taken for the railway haul or drive is rather longer than the average to avoid the possibility of having costs which are too low. Expressed in terms of man hours and horse hours per M these costs would be as follows: Man hours Horse hours Felling and bucking.................. 3 Shidding 05 santas ssaeervedaai eee 3 4 Hauling, 2 miles................00000 5 7 Driving or railway haul, 10 miles....... 4 MT Gt al Sait ie Se eateaetaniieat 15 II Io NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE To attain these figures the felling crew must cut 6M per day if composed of two men and oM if there are three men. In skidding this assumes that one team will bunch at least 5M board feet per day. The hauling costs are on the basis of a daily output of 3M board feet or five round trips hauling between 500 and 600 board feet each time. The driving and railway haul costs cannot be expressed conveniently in terms of a day’s work but the figures given are at least conservative. In all the operations except hauling by railroad the labor costs constitute 80 to 90 per cent of the entire charge. On account of the large amount invested in rolling stock the labor costs are but 40 per cent of the cost of operating a railroad. For pulpwood there is a well established market in the log form so that it need not be followed further than the mill. Prices ranged before the War from $7 to $10 per cord unpeeled. Peeling usually increased the price a dollar a cord. For converting board feet into cords a factor of 500 board feet is safe or in other words there will be found to be about two cords of pulpwood in a thou- sand feet of logs. Accessibility is the main factor in pulpwood values. New York State with a shorter freight haul for its paper pays better prices for pulpwood than New Hampshire or Maine. Spruce destined for sawtimber cannot be safely valued in the log but must be carried thru the sawmill. Then its value becomes a simple matter because eastern spruce is well graded with Boston and New York as the principal wholesale markets. Milling charges added approximately $3 per M to the costs of logging so that exclusive of stumpage spruce lumber should not have cost above $10 per M to get ready for the market. The prices paid in October, 1916, at Boston for the principal grades of spruce were as follows: Per M Frames 8 inches and under...........ceseeeeeeeee cess s $28.00 Random: 5.92204 na evs xa dtesasddedess a o04 stews oneee ee 22.50 Gover boards saa occ dccdacussusanencdv ane occunt ass tds tiada 20.50 The average price, however, was seldom over $25 per M because it was unusual to get more than 4o per cent of frames. A dia- gram showing the recent changes in spruce lumber prices is given in Fig. 3. STUMPAGE PRICES It Yellow pine 10,845,000,000 bd. ft. Douglas fir 5,820,000,000 White pine 2,200,000,000 Oak . 25025 ,000,000 Hemlock 1,875,000,000 AR Western yellow pine | Spruce l Maple Gum Cypress Redwood Chestnut Birch Larch Beech Yellow poplar Cedar Tupelo White fir Basswood Elm Cottonwood Ash Sugar pine Hickory Walnut Balsam fir Sycamore Lodgepole pine All other kinds Grand total Fic. 1 LumsBer PRODUCTION, 1918 I,710,000,000 1,125,000,000 815,000,000 765,000,000 630,000,000 443,000,000 400,000,000 370,000,000 355,000,000 290,000,000 290,000,000 245,000,000 237,000,000 213,000,000 200,000,000 195,000,000 175,000,000 170,000,000 III,000,000 100,000,000 100,000,000 82,000,000 30,000,000 12,000,000 60,000,000 31,890,000,000 Computed by U. S. Forest Service. Bulletin 845. 12 NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE As stated above the stumpage price of any tract should be the difference between the average sale value of its timber and all costs of logging, manufacture and selling. On small jobs such Tie e a LEAL a ) Fic. 2. Distribution of the Northern Spruce Tpye calculations are simple but where large initial investments are necessary for railroads, roads, driving improvements, mill machinery, etc., the problem is exceedingly complex because the LAND VALUES . 13 exact influence of interest and depreciation must be determined. The most complete discussion of this subject is to be found in the U. S. Forest Service Stumpage Appraisal Manual. For our purposes it is sufficient to state the principles involved. Actual stumpage values for spruce and balsam range all the way from $2 to $8 per M according to the accessibility of the tract in ques- tion. Between 1900 and 1907 there was an increase from $2.26 to $5.49 per M, or a rise of 143 per cent. The percentage of bal- sam also influences the stumpage price of a tract. Fortunately, however, this inferior species seldom makes up more than 25 per cent of the total stand except in immature stands only large enough for pulpwood. It is a relatively short-lived tree which has to yield in the long run to spruce. Consequently there is seldom enough to greatly depress the value of a tract. Land Values.— Land -values in this type are impossible to determine from current sales because the timber is never sold separately. However, members of the New Hampshire Timber- land Owners’ Association have agreed to the taxation of their clean-cut lands at $2 per acre so that that figure may be used as a minimum valuation. From the productive aspect it is easy to show that spruce land is worth at least $3 an acre using a 3 per cent interest rate and assuming that there will be a yield of 15M feet in 100 years worth $150 an acre. Losses from insects, fungi, etc., will be offset by possible intermediate yields from thinnings. Very little of the soil in the spruce type has any value for agriculture. Even as pasture in the Southern Appalachians it is not a success. The soil is so thin and the slopes so sharp that grass takes hold very slowly and cannot prevent washing. Fur- thermore, the climate is so rigorous that only the hardiest north- ern crops can survive. However, arguments and illustrations of this kind are superfluous. The facts prove the case. Scarcely 1 per cent of the entire type, north or south, has ever been cleared up for either tillage or pasture in spite of the keen demand for agricultural land that there has been in the northeast and south- east. Titles.— Title questions are relatively simple because the tracts involved have usually been handled in large units. There have 14 NORTHERN SPRUCE TYPE commonly been grants of thousands of acres issued to one paten- tee. Hence their history is easy to trace. Claims of title are, however, sometimes obscure from the fact that the tracts of $65 PER M $25 PER M BOARD FEET 1910 «61911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 Fic. 3. Wholesale Prices of Spruce Frames, 1910-1920, Boston, Mass. mountain land upon which spruce grows have only recently had a merchantable value and their early owners were lax in recording transfers and alienations. Breaks in the chain of title are not uncommon either due to simple failure to record sales and LAND VALUES te bequests, thru the unperfecting of the claims of minor heirs, or because of unliquidated liens. Squatters also form another frequent source of annoyance. In many cases they have been allowed to use unmolested parts of large tracts for such long periods that they have acquired rights of possession. CHAPTER II NORTHERN HARDWOOD TYPE General Conditions.— This is the type of timber which lies immediately below the spruce type — the beech, birch and maple belt. It is seldom abundant above 3000 feet above sea level but is the important type in northern Maine, the lower slopes of the White and Green Mountains, the Adirondacks and Catskills, and is represented southward along the backbone of the southern Appalachians by isolated islands of timber. In the Lake States it is found in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The climate is characterized by a longer growing season than that of the spruce type, less precipitation, more rapid runoff and flyoff and hence less available moisture. Only two of these cli- matic factors may be expressed absolutely. The growing season is at least four months and the total annual precipitation exceeds 35 inches. The other factors have not yet been accurately measured so that only comparative statements may be made. Since the type occupies lower elevations than the spruce type the slopes are less precipitous, the surface less stony and the soil deeper. The absolute range in elevation varies, of course, with the latitude. In the northeast a range between 2000 and 3000 feet in elevation is the rule, while in North Carolina the northern hardwoods do not occur below 3000 feet above sea level. On south and west exposures the type does not extend so low but reaches higher elevations on account of the longer growing season as compared with northern and eastern exposures. The greater depth of the soil as compared with that‘of the spruce type has already been mentioned. This would naturally follow from the fact that the hardwoods are further down the slopes where the accumulation of talus is deeper. They flourish particularly well on the southern slopes of the White and Green Mountains, the Adirondacks and the Catskills where the glaciers : x6 GENERAL CONDITIONS 17 have dumped piles of detritus scraped off from the northern slopes of the mountains. The composition of the soil varies with the geological history of the region. In the north it is of glacial 3 .Y 4 & & 3 3 & an a 3 poe ee 7, q } ra / 9 + at f val i crews asiva= ei BN B we v ee £ any | a r-| Sr ani ae - ° ral M ‘i ager . T Vette’, ai as saR"0,) teem a lal ~} | Sco EPEC = : har } rs rae ® | hy fasta’ Ms ry a LJ ~! a) 4iem > a ees SY MOL s wot ‘ a g MH EN { he Montge" v NM adury, } 4 s a e c ‘i x rae ad Rea Yo d shen | BAN Qn, E Taale Aaoe | Vj PA i : & | S F pataug Re Ne HES \ aor i 2 ‘ el < mi gee | e 23° mae Cad Ca a 7” Pd o 100 £2. Seale 300 00 $00 £0 alice Fic. 4. Distribution of the Northern Hardwood and White Pine Types origin, usually a loam with many boulders. South of the con- tinental terminal moraine the soil is mainly derived from the decomposition of the underlying rock. But whatever its origin 18 NORTHERN HARDWOOD TYPE it tends to become a rich, dark loam by the disintegration of the abundant leaf litter. While beech, yellow birch and sugar maple are the character- istic species in this type there is always a generous admixture of other species. On the lower edges of the type white pine, hem- lock, black birch, basswood, red oak, and even occasionally white oak are part of the mixture while at the upper margin spruce, balsam and paper birch aré the supplementary species. It is seldom, indeed, that this type does not have a considerable per- centage of softwood timber. In fact it is here that white pine and spruce reach their best development. For example, while the sand plains of northern Michigan produce the dense stands of pure white pine the largest, tallest and straightest individuals grew amongst the hardwoods. A variety of subtypes may be distinguished in this type. In the first place there are the variations due to composition. These are mainly the results of differences in elevation. For example, a mixture of white pine and hardwoods is not common higher than 2000 feet above sea level because white pine does not flourish at a greater elevation. The distribution of spruce is governed by the same factor, it being unable to compete successfully with other species at elevations less than 2000 feet above sea level except occasionally on old fields. A few of the more usual com- binations which it is useful to distinguish as subtypes on account of their composition are: Hardwoods and white pine. Pure hardwoods. Hardwoods and spruce. These are arranged in order of their occurrence starting with the lower limits of the type. Besides the differences in composition due to elevation, lumber- ing, clearing, and fire have also played an important role. Stands may be virgin, culled, cutover, or burnt. Each has a different composition. Culling has been the commonest form of lumbering because in many places only the softwoods have been merchant- able. This has naturally resulted in increasing the percentage TIMBER VALUATION 19 of the hardwoods in a marked degree. The composition of the cutover and burned subtypes except where the soil has been entirely consumed tend to be identical. Commonly such intoler- ant, light seeded species as popple, pin cherry and paper birch take possession of the ground. Then when they have reached a height of 10 or 15 feet the more tolerant hardwoods and spruce and balsam work in underneath. Occasionally, however, dense groups of hard maple crowd out the other species, especially where the maples have been cut and regenerate from sprouts. A not infrequent variation in the older parts of New England is the old field spruce subtype. This is 90 per cent or more pure spruce in composition and is always found on old pasture. The grazing kept the hardwoods out while the seed bed conditions were favorable for spruce. Fortunately damage is relatively slight in this type. None of the subtypes are as subject to burning as stands with a higher percentage of softwoods. Wind seldom succeeds in overthrow- ing the mixture of deep rooted species. Game, insects and fungi never cause the death of trees over wide areas because the stands are not made up of one species. In other words their food supply is too scattered, for usually but one kind of tree is attacked. The following table gives data on the growth of the principal species of the hardwood type from the researches of the U. S. Forest Service and the State Forester of Vermont: OPTIMUM IN 100 YEARS Species Diameter Height foe Yield per acre Cubic feet SPTUce ya iusasies dati nena ti weed 12 80 300 10,000 Hard maple................... 12 Ee Wi sree ean eee ane tees ASPEN wes *sre04 OO1 o£ tg Ovlr ver €- Sr O°gr a4 oO°ZI z1z o- Sr ‘cs +sre0k SL and 6°t gs 3°83 Ler Lezi L-Ly gil 9°91 go1 “+ +sreok of o% 6°r gz ov zs 9°9 £-o1r giz 6°38 as **+sreak Sz “YSIy-ysvoiq ‘soyoUT UT JojoUeIG a ; d d wee | Sr | Sek | Bee | me | mew | | women | ae | oe SNOILIGNOO ‘IVWHYON WHAANN CATHIA GNV HLMOUWD 30 WHITE PINE TYPE In diameter and height growth and hence volume accretion, since diameter and height are to two functions of volume, white pine, red pine, white ash, aspen, and red oak are in a class by themselves. All of them will attain a diameter of 18 inches and a total height of over 85 feet in 100 years. Basswood almost reaches this size but falls a little short. Of the hardwoods, beech, birch, and maple, the first is the slowest growing. The other two grow from 25 to 50 per cent faster. Hemlock is usually the slowest growing of all. In yield white pine leads because it is at the same time a fairly rapid grower and will stand much-side shading. This is the reason why pure stands of red pine and white ash do not yield more heavily. They are intolerant of shading. Aspen has this same fault and consequently does not produce so much wood per acre in 100 years as do stands of beech, birch, and maple. Timber Valuation.— In the estimating of white pine lots there are only two factors which tend to reduce the cost. First of all the lots are usually accessible. Suitable living accommodations can often be secured within a few minutes’ walk of the work. Secondly, the stands are generally quite uniform in composition and density since they are commonly pure, even aged stands. However, these two favorable factors are offset by the high value of the timber and the small size of the tracts. As a consequence a large percentage has to be estimated. Seldom is it safe to take less than 20 per cent and with small lots all the merchantable timber should be measured. In fact estimating as a skilled trade has reached its highest development in the white pine region. A cruiser brought up in the Lake States, for example, has been so thoroly grounded in the need for careful work that he can succeed almost anywhere. Diameter limits will be the same as in the other types dis- cussed. For breast-height eight inches is the smallest merchant- able lumber tree in softwoods and ten inches in hardwoods. The top diameters usually taken are four inches for softwood lumber and eight inches for hardwood lumber. Cordwood can be cut from trees four inches’ in diameter breast-high and run out to two inches in the top end. TIMBER VALUATION 37 The strip method of estimating costs not less than 15 cents an acre where the amount and quality of the timber and its value are reported upon and a topographic map is also constructed. This should give a 30 per cent estimate with an average run of three miles of strip per working day. Since white pine was one of the first species to become commer- cially important unusually good figures are available as to the course of stumpage prices. Two such tables are given, the first taken from Compton’s “ Organization of the Lumber Industry ” and the second from the report of the National Conservation Commission. © Sales of northern pine by the State of Minnesota White pine stumpage prices in (includes some red pine and spruce) ichigan Per M Per M Per M Per M T880......... $1.47 1905 | $7.18 | 1866] $2.00 1890 | $5.50 TOSS ks nanan r..73 IQLo 8.00 1870 2.25 1895 5.25 1890......... 2.25 IQII 8.00 1875 2.50 1goo I0.00 1805 6 isheineseeus 2.18 Igi2 8.00 1880 3.00 IQI5 I5.00 TQOOW.2 seciee as 5.17 IQ13 8.00 1885 5.00 \ Both of these show a fairly regular advance in price. In fact white pine is one of the few important American species in which the stumpage price has equalled the cost of growing the timber. White pine can be grown on rotations of 50 to 75 years for a cost of $10 a M and in both cases cited above that figure has been reached. It must, however, be remembered that the stumpage prices given above are for old growth timber which has taken at least 150 years to reach its present size. Nevertheless, the state- ment is valid that white ‘pine may be profitably grown. A price of $10 per M has been realized for second growth pine in several places in New England, New York, and the Lake States. To show the regional variation in stumpage prices the Forest Service figures collected in 1912 may be cited: Per M Northeastern: states 0202 ese i4 sya nenas sa daeve na eas peas 8.44 Lake states ss ais.c12 as22¢oasan ca doaeaciw tad tp aeataavaae es 10.39 Southeastern states. ....... 0. cece ec cece teeter terres 3-91 38 WHITE PINE TYPE Mill run values have also increased but not in the same ratio as stumpage prices. For example during the period from 1900 to 1907 stumpage prices rose 121 per cent while lumber prices only advanced 53 per cent or from $12.66 to $19.41. At present (1920) the following prices are being paid by retailers in the large markets: Per M Uppers iwc sa vx aeeeegs ease soa se See ee BD edna ches $200.00 Barn boards . chase eee agotuscsmdcned dae es 2g SA er te 45.00 Hasbourds, cond edee eteeSieisccls daapraadonvaanecta nerd eke a aceon 35-00 Logging methods vary with the region. In the New England States and to some extent in New York and Pennsylvania white pine is now confined to woodlots. These the owners log in the winter time using their farm teams. This is the particular region of the portable sawmill. The tracts are small but accessible so that the mill can be readily hauled into the timber and labor can be picked up from the nearby farms. Winter time is preferred both because it is easier to find men then and because of the easier hauling on the snow. The average costs of such an opera- tion were as follows in 1914: Per M Felling and bucking... 2.0... 0... cece cece eee e cece anes $1.50 Hauling logs to mill. 20... . ce cece eee eens 2.00 Milling io) ga ares aay ob. ceraseeaeaueee diene eele ee aise 2.50 SUCKING atic aiucierhie ane tee oe are wena amemanti townie ee eaweks 1.00 $7.00 75 to 90 per cent of the output goes into boxboards so that the average price of the lumber at the mill ranged from $14 to $20 depending upon the distance from a box factory. Hence the stumpage price ranged from $6 to $10 per M. To this could often be added $1 to $2 from the sale of cordwood cut from the tops. In the Lake States and other places where larger bodies of pine are involved the methods are different. The men must be pro- vided for in large camps back long distances from the railroad. Large mills are the rule and this entails either a long haul or a long drive or both., This is the region where the iced road care- fully graded and maintained has been most highly developed. TIMBER VALUATION 39 By it the cost of transporting the logs from the woods to the mill or drivable streams has been reduced to the minimum because the size of the load can be increased 10 to 20 times. Average costs for a Lake State operation were as follows in 1914: Per M Felling and bucking... 0.0.6.0... 0 cece cece ee eee eee eee $1.00 Skidding......... CO tid aed ates tenet ov NO RINNE I AA ac 2.00 Hauling to drivable stream _........ 2 Sastaysvtceanhcaetelger Gece ae 2.00 Milling, a jannceiue ge kek oy 07 yaaa «4 as eles Mag bed ay 3.00 $9.00 The only step which is cheaper than in the woodlot region is the felling and bucking. The large size of the timber is the factor which decreases the cost. The transport of the logs to the mill is more expensive because the distance is greater and the work is done in two steps instead of merely one as in woodlot work. Instead of using a skoot to haul the logs the Lake State practice is to skid the logs into piles and then put them onto two sleds. Where a railroad and steam skidders are employed costs can be reduced if the size of the operation justifies the original outlay for equipment. Sawing charges are likewise higher for the large mill than for the portable but the former turns out. higher grade material so that its use is justified where the timber is of medium to large size. In fact the returns in the Lake States are usually larger because a greater amount of higher grade timber is obtained. As against an average mill run price of $18 per M for the portable mill the large mill obtained in 1914 $25 per M for its output. Hence, stumpage prices are higher in the Lake States. In fact there is very little virgin white pine no matter how inaccessible that can be purchased nowadays for less than $10 per M. The amount of work turned out per day also varies in the two regions. In the woodlot area a crew of two men should fell and buck 5M board feet on the average while a day’s work with the larger pine is 8M feet. Expressed in terms of man hours it takes 34 hours per M in the small pine of the woodlot region and only 2+ hours in the stands of old growth timber. Getting the logs to the mill is naturally much cheaper in the woodlot region. 40 WHITE PINE TYPE There it costs three man hours and three team hours per M (3 mile haul) where a small mill is employed. Milling is likewise less expensive, 34 man hours per M in the portable mill and four in the large one exclusive of planing, dry kilning, etc. For hemlock stumpage prices there are the data made avail- able in Frothingham’s bulletin on the eastern hemlock (Bulletin 152, U.S. Forest Service). They may be summarized as follows: AVERAGE STUMPAGE VALUES PER M FOOT Northeastern States | Lake States Southern States (Estimated) (Estimated) (Estimated) EBSO ienies eicleeaidners $1.50 $1.00 $1.00 1899 i052 since es 2.75 2.25 2.00 YQO7 esses ae ere 5.72 3-83 2.84 LOL 2s. eis eeseavens 6.28 3.78 3-05 By comparison with the figures for white pine it will be seen that hemlock is from 68 to 28 per cent less than white pine but has increased during the period from 1889 and 1912 between 200 and 300 per cent which is essentially the same rate at which white pine stumpage prices have advanced. In other words while hemlock has fewer uses than white pine, and hence a lower value, its stumpage has kept pace with that of pine but on a lower level. The logging and manufacture of hemlock differs little in method from that of white pine. It is, however, a heavier and harder wood and does not float so readily. Hence the cost of getting it out of the woods and thru the mill is at least 15 per cent greater. Unfortunately too its sale value as lumber is low because of the rather limited uses to which it can be put. It is generally only used for boxes, framing, and inside finish if carefully selected. Its main competitors are southern yellow pine and Douglas fir, both of which are more durable, and spruce which is easier to work. Consequently its sale value has always been low. At present (1920) the following prices were being paid in the Boston whole- -sale market: Per M Hemlock frames, 8 inches and under (estimated)......... $45.00 Hemlock boards planed and clipped. ........-...00..00e 40.00 Hemlocke boards). se-aiaraatancrveianersame eee eeiec svvackern acon 30.00 TIMBER VALUATION 41 Mill run prices would be the weighted average of these figures less the freight haul and handling from the mill to the market. Sel- dom will they exceed $40 per M. One factor that increases the possible returns from hemlock lumber is the use of the bark for tanning purposes. This brought from $7 to $11 per ton at the tannery. Yields vary from 2.8 to 0.4 tons per M feet of lumber with an average of } ton. Peeling, drying and hauling cost from $4 to $6 per ton. An additional way in which higher returns per acre may be obtained from hemlock stands is the sale of the tops for pulp. Limbs as small as four inches inside the bark at the top end may be sold for this purpose at from $5 to $15 per cord, unpeeled, where there is a market for it. Cordwood cost from $3 to $6 delivered at the mill and about 4 cord may be obtained from the limbs and tops per M feet of sawlogs. Summing up the factors which influence the possible returns from hemlock timber, the logging and milling cost from $8 to $10 per M; and the lumber was worth about $16 per M at the mill, leaving a margin of $6 to $8 for stumpage and profit. To this it was possible to add under favorable market conditions $1.50 to $2.50 per M from the sale of bark and $1 per M from pulp-wood. Therefore, the total returns per M should be from $6 to $r1.50. While important locally aspen forms such a small percentage of the total amount of wood used in the United States that sepa- rate census stumpage figures have never been given for it. At the present time it sells on the stump for $1 to $5 per cord accord- ing to the proximity of plants which use it. Wood pulp for paper and excelsior are the two principal ways in which it is manu- factured and for both uses it commands a price of $7 to $9 a cord, peeled. In both industries peeled four-foot bolts are the form in which aspen is usually sold. The minimum top diameter inside the bark is four inches so that it does not pay to cut trees which are less than eight inches in diameter, breast-high. Logging is started about the first of May and must be completed before July 1 to take advantage of the spring peeling season. Two men can fell and peel about 50 trees or 12 cords per day. Sawing into four- 42 WHITE PINE TYPE foot lengths and piling takes about twice as long per cord so that the average day’s work is-six cords for two men. Hence the total cost of the logging was about $1 per cord in 1914 under favorable circumstances but contracts could seldom be let for less than $1.25 per cord and often ran up nearly to $2. The hauling cost varies with the number of turns per day but rarely exceeded 50 cents per mile per cord. The proper stumpage price for any tract may be closely approximated from these costs by deducting them from the sale value. Aspen is sometimes used for lumber where durability is not a factor but it is a soft, weak wood which is difficult to season and did not sell for more than $25 per M retail. As fuel it is excellent where a quick, hot fire is desired but did not sell for more than $4 a cord in four-foot lengths, because there are so many better fuel woods in the northeast. These figures would have to be doubled to bring them to a 1920 status. The stumpage price of butternut is determined by the value of black walnut for which it is a cheaper substitute. The latter has long held the position of our most valuable tree species, the average stumpage price according to the rg0o Census being $5. Butternut would not bring more than half that price. Both species find their highest use in the furniture trade where mill run butternut commanded a value of $35 per M f.o.b. the wood- working establishment in 1914. Its logging is comparatively expensive because it does not occur in pure stands but scattered here and there on deep soiled fertile spots. Hence the actual cost of getting the logs from the stump to the mill and turning out boards was seldom less than $10 per M. Subtracting this amount plus a margin of $5 per M for freight and miscellaneous charges from the average sale value left a maximum stumpage price of $20 per M. * Hickory is another species which is very valuable to a certain class of woodworkers but which is often left to rot in the woods because of the difficulty of getting it to the user in the form which he demands. Hickory commanded an average stumpage price of $6.69 per M in 1900 in spite of the fact that it is the best handle and spoke material in the world. For the selected boards which TIMBER VALUATION 43 they use the manufacturers paid $50 per M but these had to be at least eight inches wide and free from red heartwood. The weight, hardness and high percentage of defect are responsible for decreasing the stumpage price of this valuable wood. All three. factors mean a high cost of logging which is still further increased by the scattered way in which hickory occurs. Consequently it was seldom possible to log and mill hickory for less than $12 per M and even then not more than so per cent of what would ordi- narily be considered merchantable was put into lumber. Hence the largest stumpage price that can be expected for even acces- sible timber is $10 per M and the average is under $5. Some willow and alder occur in this type along the stream courses. Barring the use of the former for willow rods, which is more of an agricultural than forest use, the highest returns can be secured by converting the wood into charcoal for black pow- der. The wholesale price for charcoal was 50 cents per bushel (1916) and one cord of four-foot wood made 20 bushels of char- coal, the cost of which, including burning, was usually figured at 50 cents per cord. Hence there may be, under favorable circum- stances, a margin of over $9 per cord in handling willow and alder charcoal. But, unfortunately, the demand is so localized that there are only a few places where charcoal can be sold. These species are, therefore, seldom reckoned as an asset. Beech has already been discussed in the hardwood type. Like- wise there are only two species of birch which need further elabo- ration, the gray birch and the black or cherry birch. The former is a small species which is utilized locally. Close to spool or bobbin mills, or a good market for cordwood, it can be sold for $x to $2 a cord on the stump while four-foot wood at least three inches at the top end inside the bark brought $3 to $5 per cord delivered in 1915. The cost of cutting and stacking was seldom greater than $1.50 if the tops were not piled. Hauling varied with the distance; on a good road a pair of horses should haul a cord without difficulty. Summing up, gray birch is only an asset in the most accessible localities and does not bring more than $3 a cord stumpage even there. It is, however, often a detriment to a tract of white pine because its rapid growth enables it to over- 44 WHITE PINE TYPE top the pine and whip off the buds and leaves of the upper branches when there is much wind stirring. Furthermore, a mixed stand of gray birch and pine furnishes ideal conditions for the spread of gypsy moths. Hence it is generally worth while to cut it out of immature pine stands even if the cost of removal exceeds its value as cordwood. Black birch is an entirely different species. It reaches large size, so that its wood can be used for all purposes to which yellow birch is put, but it also has a special value of its own for furni- ture. The dark heartwood is most highly esteemed for this pur- pose and commanded a price of $50 per M at the woodworking establishments in 1914. Its stumpage value is also high, $5, as the Forest Service figures for 1907 show. This is true in spite of the high cost of logging due to the impossibility of finding this species in pure stands. Yellow birch has already been fully discussed under the hard- wood type. Oak is the only native hardwood which cuts an appreciable figure in the total lumber cut of the United States. It ranks, in fact, third, but even then only makes up 8 per cent of the total. Nevertheless, it is an important group of species for which the stumpage price ranged in 1900 from $1 to $6 with an average of $3 for the United States as a whole. Its main uses are for furni- ture and cooperage altho it meets a multitude of other demands where strength, beauty and durability are factors. Thirty-eight per cent of all the lumber used in the United States for furniture and fixtures is oak while it furnishes 80 per cent of all the tight barrel staves and a high percentage of the slack staves. Still another important use is for cross ties, 44 per cent of the country’s annual output being from this genus alone. High grade furniture oak, especially that which is to be quar- tered, has the most stringent specifications. The logs must be of large size, at least 10 inches in diameter inside the bark at the top end, and free from all defects. Plain oak furniture stock is only slightly less perfect. For tight cooperage staves perfect logs must be employed but on account of the short lengths used the utilization can be somewhat closer than for furniture lumber. TIMBER VALUATION 45 Slack staves need not, of course, be made from such valuable trees but still very few defects are allowable. Into railroad ties may be thrown any sound oak which will give a seven-inch face, eight feet long, and be at least six inches thick. This is the standard for a No. 3 railroad tie. No. 1 ties must have a nine-inch face and be seven inches thick and sold for about 75 cents each or about $20 per M in 1915. They are usually worth 100 per cent more than No. 3 ties so that it pays better to put anything but No. 1 and No. 2 tie material into cordwood where oak firewood brings $8 or more per cord. : Oak seldom occurs in pure stands in this type so its logging | and manufacture are comparatively expensive from all points of view, hardness, weight, and scattered location of the trees. Average costs were as follows in 1914: Per M Felling and bucking. ............ 000. eee ce cess eens anes $z.50 Skidding sis teenie caw eae tk ibs aacawanesouesates 2.00 Hauling: i capa etica au poraisaww of ws ca ha hws sa Raaies 2.00 Milling:.o: is 4s vs ue GbeseeGe ad oe eek sare Pan Ge Mewes 3.00 Marketing’: :c:sa cuxicsesade eed ceed sees eas wy Garda deeees I.00 $9.50 The manufacture of quartered oak cost even more because of the many logs which must be rejected and the extra care needed in sawing. Tie making cost 10 to 15 cents per tie, or $4 to $6 per M, to which must be added the cost of hauling the ties to the rail- road. Cordwood cutting could be contracted for $1.50 to $2 per cord or $3 to $4 per M while delivery usually cost about $2 per cord more. Summing up, a tract of oak lumber may bring a stumpage price of $3 to $15 per M to which may be added $4 more, if ties and cordwood can be made out of the tops and small trees. Elm is an unimportant hardwood which occurs sparingly in this type. Its average stumpage price, $3 per M, 1900 census, is low for accessible timber even tho it can only be employed successfully for certain special uses. It is a fairly hard, fairly heavy wood which is not durable and is most valuable for vehicle stock where its toughness commends it for such purposes as 46 WHITE PINE TYPE hubs. It is also somewhat used for boxes and crates and for furniture parts which will not be seen such as drawer backs. All the species are thrown together commercially, but white and rock elm make up 80 per cent of the total cut in the United States. Of these two, rock elm is the tougher but does not reach such large size. An average sale value at the woodworking plant for elm lumber was $30 per M in 1914 but this must be wide, selected stock. The logging and milling are expensive and could seldom be handled for less than $10 per M. Close to centers of popula- tion the cordwood in the tops and small trees could be marketed for about $4 per cord so that there was a possibility of increasing the’ gross yield per tree by that much, there being at least a cord of wood in the limbs and tops to the thousand feet of lumber. Hence the largest possible gross returns that could be expected were $34 per M. From this should be deducted $10 for logging and milling, a variable amount for freight and $2 to $3 for cord- wood making and delivering. This left a possible margin for stumpage and profit of about $15 per M. In spite of increased sale values there has been no increase in this margin because operating costs have grown at the same or a greater ratio. Land Values.— Land values within the white pine type are difficult to determine accurately for two reasons. First, there is the cause already referred to in the spruce and hardwood types, that the land is seldom appraised separately from the timber. This, however, only holds in the case of large tracts like those in northern. Michigan. In the woodlot region another reason obtains. There, farms are sold as a whole and it is difficult to separate the values of the tillable land, the buildings and the woodland. Nevertheless, the land has a tangible value which may be closely approximated by using the prices at which pasture is held. Much of this class of land has been allowed to grow up to woods so that it now makes up at least one-third of the present woodlot area in the older sections like New England. Pastures of the rough, stony type which have been allowed to revert to woodland are appraised at $5 to $15 per acre and these figures may be taken as representative of the better kinds of white pine land in the woodlot region. TITLES 47 Productively, too, their value is much the same. On a rota- tion of 100 years, with interest at 3 per cent, cost of restocking, $10, annual charges, 50 cents, and a final yield of 50M board feet worth $10 per M the land has a productive value of $7 per acre. This is conservative because a yield of 50M per acre should be obtainable without thinning on poor quality soil. Titles.— The form of lots within the white pine type differs radically in the two main regions where this type occurs. In the woodlot section of New England and New York the lots are parts of the farms and hence may take any shape. Ordinarily, too, they are in small units of 50 acres or less. Hence, the title question is always a difficult one. The lots are difficult to locate on the ground and still more troublesome in tracing claims of titles. Oftentimes it is necessary to purchase a whole farm with its arable land and buildings in order to get undisputed posses- sion to a piece of timber. In the Lake States, however, the situation is entirely different. There the township surveys apply and the subdivision of a property into 4o-acre units is com- paratively simple. Furthermore, the land has little value for farming and has never been divided into small holdings. The large lumber companies took possession directly from the State or United States and there have been few transfers since. Loca- tion and title searching in the Lake States white pine region is an entirely different problem from that which confronts one in the farm woodlot section. CHAPTER IV SWAMP TYPE General Conditions.— This type is a comparatively unim- portant one which occurs scattered here and there among the three preceding types. It is all north of Mason and Dixon’s line and east of the Great Plains. In other words it is confined to the glaciated regions. In fact the low lying sites in which it occurs are in many cases directly due to glaciation. Beaver dams are also a cause for the poor drainage which leads to the occurrence of this type. On account of the small extent and localized occurrence of this type it is impossible to give its occur- rence by states and counties. It is only possible to say in general terms where it may occur. The climate of the type varies, of course, with the altitude and latitude but in general it may be said that the growing season is shorter than on the surrounding upland because of the poor air drainage. Swamps are more subject to late and early frosts for this reason. While the precipitation is the same as that of the surrounding country the available moisture is greater because of the slow runoff and retarded evaporation. In fact there is too much water in the soil for rapid plant growth. The height at which water stands has the same effect on root development that a layer of hard pan would have. The roots cannot reach down but must spread out. Furthermore, a fre- quent cause of swampy conditions is an impervious soil whether it be hard pan or clay. Consequently the soil conditions may safely be said to be very poor for tree growth. Because the roots cannot go down, the tree cannot grow tall and diameter growth is minimized by the short growing seasons. The species which can endure such untoward conditions are comparatively few. They must be shallow rooted and frost hardy. Arbor vite, southern white cedar, tamarack, spruce, balsam, and red maple are the commonest. Usually they occur in more 48 TIMBER VALUATION 49 or less pure stands so that the subtypes are easy to distinguish. The reasons for differences in composition are not always clear. Lumbering, however, usually favors the light seeded species like red maple, spruce and balsam at the expense of the cedars. Con- sequently, a cedar swamp seldom comes up to cedar again when the poles and posts have been cut out. In spite of the poor growth conditions insects and fungi ordi- narily do very little damage in the swamp type. The most notable exception to this general statement is the damage done to tamarack by the larch sawfly in the early 80’s. Nearly all the larger trees were killed over wide areas. Butt rot——Trametes pini and Polyporus schweinitzii — occurs on all the coniferous species found in this type. While fire is very destructive when it does get into the type the wetness of the soil prevents this form of damage except in very dry seasons. But in droughts swamp fires do occasionally occur and are very difficult to extinguish because they burn down into the accumulated duff and peat and may smoulder for days only to break out anew in fresh places. The unfavorable growth conditions have already been referred to so that it is merely necessary to add that a swamp cannot be expected to produce more than one-half what the spruce and hard- wood types will yield in the same time and one-fifth the returns from good white pine soil. This is because the trees are shorter and smaller, not because they do not stand close enough together. Average diameter and height growth figures are as follows: Tamarack Arbor Vite Spruce dbh. dbh. dbh, 25 yearS.......... 2 inches tinch tofeet | ................ 50 years.......... 5 inches 2 inches 15 feet tinch 7 feet — 75 years.......... 7 inches 4 inches 23 feet 3 inches 14 feet ° Ioo years.......... 8 inches 6 inches 32 feet 4 inches 26 feet Timber Valuation.— Estimates of this type present only one difficulty, the swampy ground. Hence winter is the best time to work inthem. The small size of the type usually necessitates a high percentage estimate but to offset this the stands are usually 50 SWAMP TYPE uniform in composition and size so that a 20 per cent estimate is commonly accurate enough. The cost should not exceed 15 cents an acre. The stumpage value of all the swamp tree species has been so low that it is only recently that data has been gathered in regard to them. Cedar is the only species on which the Forest Service has figures. Its stumpage rose from $1.32 to $4.63 between 1900 and 1907, an increase of 250 per cent while the lumber only advanced 75 per cent during the same period, from $10.91 to $19.14. Even these figures cannot be taken as representative of the swamp cedars alone because several western species and the southern red cedar are included under the same name in the Cen- sus and Forest Service reports. Hence it is all the more impor- tant to present data from which the stumpage value of each individual tract may be worked out. The most valuable products obtained from the swamps are cedar and tamarack poles, ties and posts. The vrices of these on the cars were as follows in 1916: Each Cedar poles: ia windings cone Anauamnt creat a - $0. 50-$40.00 HEShis ord reaiuehe eda meeraamamanwie enone 0.50 POSES © 6. ca wn ciate wvsiencaoansieasatia ae wmianarmnpiateds sies-e 0.35 Tathatack poleSieicc.0ins sey oeg Aeiwese edsegaciux O250= 1OL60 HOS ti is gies tar eens ean weaned aes 0.50 posts. . 0.30 Spruce and balsam seldom get large enough for more than pulpwood, the specifications and prices for which are discussed in the chapter on the Spruce Type. Red maple cordwood brought a price of $5 in four-foot lengths in 1915 where the market was good. The minimum sizes required are as follows: Poles — 20 feet long and 4 inches in diameter at the top end. Ties — 8 feet long, 6-inch face and 6 inches thick. Posts — 8 feet long and 3 inches in diameter at the top end. Cordwood — 4 feet long and 2 inches in diameter at the small end. Logging and manufacturing costs in 1916 may be summarized as follows: TITLES 51 Per lineal foot Poles — cutting and peeling................... $0.02 hauling 10 miles...................04. 0.02 CRO talhit8 tao naeay oath tiii's aatsateteeasetn as $0.04 or $1 for a 25-foot pole. Ties — cutting, hacking and peeling............ $o.10 hauling 5 miles... . 5 25:4 siwawowsee caoe as 0.20 : Otel sete siasthies costae. etic aibeiacsiael Seats $0.30 Postsis= Cutting: Joa s4000 5 ake oe amee $0.03 hauling 5 miles..............-00000 ees © 05 Dota aia a ssudi ates eet ssnnierieed lee ware ees $0.08 Deducting these costs from the sale values given above it is clear that it is possible to have margins for stumpage and profits. as follows: Each Poles: savoguee ead gee eke seudeiadedea- cave Stanaaa Gt s60-$%..06 TUNES 3 sec saad dedatee sees he Mg By = Cee: A a i — iy < p = 7 s ne 2 eens ey bat 4) a madi STN ys le “| be ‘ . Pid cy N \ PR pret © Tiger YI RRS p het sis eerily e r 8 m AS ~\ sit shinen a x SONI} } PBN Ee Ree ‘ N_ iN ‘ = a bogs . ee a ys \ t 7 3 ! i F ~ was & N Piet * it) SR es 4 ied a 8 & Korey| 5 oat q ‘< = aie Es y 25° Lik sa nr ao a n = aa Fic. 5. Distribution of the Southern Pine Type might be expected from the climatic and soil conditions the predominating tree species are ones which can stand a relatively ‘small amount of available soil moisture. The longleaf pine was originally the most abundant species but lumbering and fire have 54 SOUTHEASTERN PINE TYPE in many places made it second in importance to its more vigorous competitor, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). Shortleaf, pond, Cuban, pitch and scrub pine are also found within this type but seldom in pure stands over large areas like the longleaf and loblolly pines. In determining the distribution of tne stands lumbering, fire and agriculture are the controlling factors. Virgin timber is almost invariably pure longleaf pine. Areas which have been logged and burnt may be either longleaf or loblolly but usually the latter species is more abundant. Where the land has been cleared for tillage, various species may take possession depending upon the latitude and the degree of soil exhaustion. In the north- ern part of the Coastal Plain in New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia scrub pine is generally the first invader on abandoned fields with pitch pine occurring only on the poorest portions. From Virginia to South Carolina loblolly pine plays the réle of soil reclaimer while farther south slash or Cuban pine gives promise of becoming an important source of revenue on worn out lands, and those from which long leaf pine has been cut. Were fire kept out of the southern pine region the damage would become negligible. Unfortunately, however, there are many reasons why the practice of annual burning has become the rule. First of all there is the argument that the grazing is im- proved by burning out the old grass every spring. Then, too, the turpentine hackers like to burn in order to discourage the snakes. So potent are these arguments with the natives that the owners of turpentine orchards have adopted the practice of burning around their tapped trees after the inflammable débris has been raked away from the base in order to protect them from fire. Nor can this usage be condemned under present conditions. As long as fires are allowed to burn unchecked it is better to burn lightly annually making provision for the protection of the tapped trees than to allow the débris to accumulate around the bases of the trees to such an extent that the tree is sure to be burnt thru in case of fire. Freedom from fires will only come as a result of a long cam- paign of public education. Yet it is easy to show that the small GENERAL CONDITIONS 55 ‘amount of good done in “improving” the grass and killing snakes is offset many times by the loss in soil fertility, small trees and mature timber. Furthermore, in addition to these direct losses a large amount of indirect damage can be charged to burning because it makes the trees more susceptible to fungus and insect attack. Annually the red rot fungus— Trametes pini — causes thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to living trees. Special care should be taken to see that a tract of timber is not infested with it because it works rapidly and thoroughly. Another common result of unrestricted burning is a serious infestation of pine bark beetles — Dendroctonus pinicola. This insect, if unchecked, is capable of killing large amounts of other- wise healthy timber as numerous areas in the southeast show. Other forms of damage are not serious. Snow-break does not occur in the warm climate of the pine belt nor does lightning damage more than an occasional tree. Hurricanes may snap off all the large trees in their path but fortunately they seldom cover large areas. Stands per acre under virgin en which nearly always means pure stands of longleaf pine, range from 20,000 board feet to 5000 board feet with 10,000 board feet as a high average for large tracts. Second growth stands vary in volume directly with the age so that their possibilities may best be obtained from the following growth figures. Yields per acre in cubic feet may be converted into board feet by multiplying by seven. OPTIMUM GROWTH Yield per acre Diameter Height Density in cubis fect 50 100 50 100 50 I00 50 100 years | years | years | years | years | years | years | years ins. ins. deg. deg. Longleaf pine....... 7 13 65 95 teste || settnted || /vakegean (| agsbaty Loblolly pine....... 16 24 85 | 110 | 200 | 100 | 7125 | gooo Slash pine.......... 16 ee 85 nye. || B50 oupne | F500: | -cnalsis Scrub pine......... 9 ena 63 sees | 370 | .... | 4650 56 SOUTHEASTERN PINE TYPE Timber Valuation.— On the whole estimating in southern pine is simple and comparatively inexpensive. A strip estimate covering 15 per cent ought not to cost more than eight cents per acre. This is because the surface is level, the stands are not dense, there are few species, and the trees are generally of about the same size and quality. This uniformity means that only a small percent of the total area need be actually covered in the estimate. Hence large tracts will give good results with a 5 per cent estimate, while a tract has to be less than 30 acres in extent to justify a 50 per cent estimate. In fact the only factor that is liable to cause difficulty in estimating is the boundary lines and even this source of possible error is not present except in one of the original thirteen states. Unfortunately the rectangular sys- tem of land surveys was not used by the colonists so that the property lines do not run in a uniform manner but form an intri- cate maze of lines which is often very difficult to unsnarl. Where such conditions exist the cost of appraising the timber is pro- portionately more expensive. The limits of merchantability are commonly uniform because the purposes to which the timber is devoted do not vary greatly from region to region. It is usual to convert the bole into logs up to a top diameter inside the bark of not less than five inches. Of course where there are large limbs to interfere with the clear length there are fewer logs and the top diameter is greater. Tops and limbs may be used for firewood or even pulp where there are favorable market conditions. Rarely there is a demand for the stumps in destructive distillation plants which secure turpentine and its by-products in this way. The remarks concerning estimating which have gone before apply merely to the estimating of timber for lumber and cord- wood. With longleaf and slash pine turpentine is frequently the more important product so that every southern timber cruiser should be able to estimate the number of “ cups” or “ boxes ” that a tract of pine will yield. This is determined by counting the number of cups or boxes which can be placed on a given sample area which is representative of average conditions within the tract. As with ordinary estimating it is better to take this TIMBER VALUATION 57 sample area in the form of a strip rather than in isolated plots because a better average is obtained. The smallest size tree which can be cupped is six inches dbh., but it is far better practice to bleed no trees less than to inches. For boxes the tree must be at least 12 inches dbh. because boxing naturally injures the tree more and it must therefore be sturdier to stand up. With both cupping and boxing only one face is possible on trees of the minimum diameters. Those between 18 and 24 inches will stand two faces. Larger trees will stand three or even four faces but care must be taken not to girdle the tree or weaken it so much that it will break off easily. In virgin timber the number of cups or boxes varies from 35 to 50 per acre with an average of 4o. Ten thousand five hundred boxes or cups make up a “ crop” which includes an area of 200 to 250 acres in virgin timber. Where the timber has been boxed, areas of 500 to 1600 acres are necessary to yield the requisite number of cups for a crop. For the important species in this type no separate stumpage prices are available. The figures given below are for “ southern + 7, . pine Per M POGOe S e-chetisc.b dt kalela w avsrouah Aen) aunaale Mos satbale soc apayene $0.05 T BOO ca aids hadtrsatans 4 see w Eee awe 0.30 TQOO ss arise ls Sc aed Saath a ate tee a nae a Ba 0.75 TOL se ees WEE eee ee aoe eres Rea 3.00 1020). Ges Sess fHOA eS Heed a Rees Bae SS 5.00 These are, of course, merely averages and do not indicate the possible ranges. Generally speaking pine stumpage is more val- uable in the north than in the south. Accordingly one may expect to have to pay twice as much for the same grade of timber in North Carolina asin Texas. Thisis, of course, merely a reflec- tion of the difference in freight rates and the length of haul to the mill. As far as uses are concerned there is little difference between the different parts of the pine belt. Dimension — house frames, bridge timbers and railway ties — and rough construction lum- ber take the bulk of the annual cut. Only the clearest and best goes into flooring and finishing lumber. Between species little distinction is made ordinarily, longleaf, slash, shortleaf and lob- 58 SOUTHEASTERN PINE TYPE lolly all being sold under the general caption of “ southern pine.” However, since there is a marked difference in durability great care must be taken to- get longleaf and shortleaf where the lumber must be placed in contact with the ground or used for wharfing or piling. It has been necessary to devise a system of grading which will segregate the more durable species. This was accomplished by separating the lumber according to the number of annual rings per inch that appeared on the end of the board or the cross section of the log. The explanation of this apparently arbitrary system of grading is that the less durable species like loblolly pine are much faster growing than the more durable longleaf or shortleaf. Therefore, a board, a plank, or a pile with relatively few rings per inch can be thrown out imme- diately where durability is a factor. The prices received at the mill for high grade frames or bridge tumbers are not high absolutely, $30 to $40 per M, but relatively a fair value because there is less sawing required than with one-inch boards and no planing. Even flooring or inside finish seldom brings more than $75 per M f.0.b. the mill and it never makes up more than 20 per cent of the scale of the logs sawn up. The tops and mill waste can occasionally be marketed locally for $4.00 to $6 per cord. Hence an average value of $50 per M at the mill is very good indeed. From this sale value milling and logging costs must be deducted to determine the stumpage value of any particular piece of timber. For running thru the saw mill exclusive of planing, kiln drying and selling $3 to $3.50 per M is a good average figure for large permanent mills equipped to saw high grade lumber. Smaller mills will do it for as low as $2 per M but their average product is usually less well manufactured. Logging costs vary little thruout the pine belt. The topog- raphy is uniform, labor varies little and methods are standardized. The logs are brought from the woods to the railroad with big wheels and then shipped into the mill. Occasionally a portable mill is set up in the timber or a stream is employed for driving but the rule is the large mill fed by its logging railroad. The LAND VALUES 59 following figures are typical of the average operation under the conditions in 1914: Per M Felling and bucking........... 0. eeccucvcesceeuececuees $0.75 Hauling to railway........ cc cece cece een cece eeavenanes 3.00 Railway freightss ec.s2 ¢ e404 van gh mien tu 04 He 4 sce eae aie te 3-00 MUM ag es sa ees acdincoca G6 2458 82a Goes aveousrsunnstovnarsl av shad awe ws 4.00 Freightss osc si scmulsadacewe eal seonkavaaweunn Scots 5.00 $14.75 Deducting these costs from an average sale value of $25 leaves a margin of $10.25 for stumpage and profit. As a matter of fact prices paid for stumpage are now.(1920) between $5 and $10 per M. Expressed in terms of man and horse hours per M the following figures give an idea of average conditions: Man hours Horse hours Felling and bucking...............005- 2t Skidding and hauling to mill........... 8 16 MAM go ais cists ga nial aides Ss legates. alo 4 Total.. 14t 16 Land Values. — The problem of setting a proper valuation on southern pine land is difficult because it has in most cases a poten- tial value for agriculture. The climate permits of the raising of a variety of crops and the lands are frequently so accessible to water or rail transportation that they appear susceptible of intensive cultivation. Three factors tend to offset these advan- tages, however; in the first place, the sterility of pine soil has become a by-word and since there is a large amount of erosion due to the open winter and heavy midsummer rains fertilization is a constant and heavy charge. Furthermore, there is the cost of clearing the land of stumps and the distance to market. Twenty-five to fifty dollars an acre must be figured on to put the land in shape for thoro cultivation. Altho sandy land is well adapted for market gardening if heavily fertilized the dis- tance from market militates against a rapid spread of this indus- try. Virginia and North Carolina pine lands within a few hours of the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets have been profitably 60 SOUTHEASTERN PINE TYPE turned into market gardens but south of there it has only been possible to raise certain special crops like early potatoes from Florida, for example. Of course, market gardens near the larger southern cities have prospered but every section does not con- tain a New Orleans or an Atlanta. Probably the best criterion of what the average pine land is worth for agriculture is the standard set at the recent Cut-over Land Conference in New Orleans — April 11 to 13, 1917. There it was agreed that $5 an acre was a reasonable figure for raw lands which had to be cleared, fenced and cultivated. This valuation is not so high that growing a second crop of trees is out of the question. In fact it was resolved that many acres were “better adapted for forest growth than for agricultural crops.” Briefly then, while pine land has a potential value for market gardening, general farming and grazing, the economic conditions must be favorable to make these uses more profitable than forestry. For any of these purposes an average value of more than $5 per acre does not seem justified. Titles. — The same situation with reference to titles prevails asin the rest of the south. In the surveyed parts they are reason- ably clear and simple but in the old original thirteen states where the quarter section system of land surveys was not adopted the confusion is almost hopeless. Grants have been issued with reckless disregard to prior claims so that there is a network of conflicting lines. This maze has been still further snarled up by the loss of records during the Civil War. As a consequence a complete abstract of title or even a clear chain of titles is out of the question in many places and it is as difficult to locate grants on the ground. Much of the land has been considered of low value so that no attempt has been made to keep up the fences or corners, CHAPTER VI SOUTHERN BOTTOMLANDS General Conditions. — The Dismal Swamp of Virginia and the Everglades of Florida are symbolic of the dark and mysterious. They have furnished a somber background for many a weird tale. But they are also representative of an important type of timber- jand which furnishes millions of board feet of cypress and tupelo gum annually. These characteristic species are only found in the wet river bottoms and river swamps of the southeastern United States. With such a location the climate is mild to subtropical. The growing season is never less than seven months and may be 11 months in duration. The precipitation is usually over 50 inches annually, as a glance at a rainfall map of the United States will show. The south Atlantic coast, the Gulf coast and the lower Mississippi valley are all regions of heavy rainfall. Absolute evaporation figures are lacking but the long growing season would naturally tend to minimize the effect of the heavy precipitation were it not for the great humidity of the swamps. This in turn is mainly the result of the slow runoff. The water from the higher lands accumulates in the low lying river bottoms, converting them into swamps. Hence, it comes about that this type has as much moisture available for tree growth as any in the United States. In fact there is often too much. Tree analyses show that while growth is very rapid on the relatively high river banks the same tree species increase very slowly in the adjacent but wet “ back swamps.” Besides cypress and tupelo gum the other commercially im- portant species are cottonwood, red gum, white ash, live oak, holly, mahogany and lignumvitae. Their relative abundance and grouping depend upon two factors, the degree of wetness of the soil and the amount of logging or clearing. In the perma- nently wet back swamps the cypress and tupelo gum have 6 » 62 SOUTHERN BOTTOMLANDS proved themselves capable of distancing all competitors in their ability to stand flooding. In fact many individuals of these species stand with their roots permanently in stagnant water. ron ag ; = = 5 F i ERD ON ee A Fic. 6. Distribution of the Southern Bottomlands Along the higher river banks there is not the same monotony of composition. The better growth conditions give rise to keener competition. Then, too, there is further complication of clear- ing for it was along the river banks that the ante-bellum corn- GENERAL CONDITIONS 63 fields were hewn out of the swamp with cheap slave labor. Altho these clearings were subject to destructive floods about once in three years the heavy yields from the fertile alluvial soil in the two good years tended to offset the loss of the flood year. In these old fields cottonwood and ash usually preémpted the best drained sites while red gum took the second choice. The latter is, however, far more abundant numerically because its toler- ance permits it to grow well in dense, pure stands. Live oak is another species which keeps to relatively high ground if there may be said to be any such thing in a river bottom. Holly, mahogany and lignumvitae are seldom found in abundance but occur scattered sparingly on the better drained portions under- neath the other trees. The following subtypes include the principal composition combinations which occur commonly: Pure cypress. Cypress and tupelo gum. Pure red gum. Mixed white ash and cottonwood. Hardwood hammock (in southern Florida). Bottomlands are not favorable places for forest fires so that this kind of damage is at a minimum. Likewise destructive in- sects and fungi are not abundant, whether because fires have not weakened the timber or because the frequent floods tend to keep them in check has not been yet determined. Beyond a heart rot in cypress — called “ peck”? —all the bottomland tree species are unusually free from defects. The rapidity of growth on the better drained sites is truly remarkable. Individually the intolerant species like cotton- wood and ash attain the largest diameter and greatest height but in yield per acre the more tolerant red gum and cypress lead. The results of growth investigations of the leading species are summarized below: : 64 SOUTHERN BOTTOMLANDS ESTIMATED GROWTH IN 100 YEARS Yield per acre Species Dbh. Total height (3 inches and over dbh.) Ins. Ins. Cubic feet ASH iran eicinihins ay gw eataglatareneue Eaiilelst eta 32 120 10,400 Cottonwoods ss. . vi 3s ATER o/h 7 “i ANY . Ss ¥ \ Ws Sa KY \ wy £3 [ZS Wate Ore Z a (Nl CCUM Fic. 11. Distribution of the Sugar Pine Type II4. SUGAR PINE TYPE in the sequoia type while the Douglas fir type on the north has a shorter growing season but much more precipitation. To be specific, sugar pine and its associates thrive best with an annual precipitation of at least 40 inchesaltho they can endure a mini- mum of 20 inches. Likewise, the largest trees, 10 feet in diameter and 200 feet in height and scaling over 25,000 feet, are only found where the growing season is at least seven months long. Like the rest of California the heat of summer in this type is unrelieved by showers. Fully four-fifths of the precipitation falls during the early spring, late fall and winter. As was seen in discussing the location and extent of the type it is essentially a mountain form of vegetation. The valleys are too hot and dry to allow tree growth. At the other extreme sugar pine does not reach the summits of the Sierras, at least as a commercial tree, because of the cold. The type may, therefore, be characterized as a middle slope type. From this it naturally follows that the soil is of medium depth because great accumula- tions of alluvial soil are not found on mountain slopes but still the grades are gradual enough so that the bed rock is covered in most places with a moderate layer of soil. As with other forms ‘of tree growth the chemical composition of the soil has little effect upon the growth of sugar pine and its associates. The physical characters of the soil are the controlling factors, reason- able depth, good drainage and good capillarity. By composition the type may be divided into two subtypes or cover types, the sugar pine-yellow pine subtype and the sugar pine-fir subtype. The former is the more abundant in the southern part of the type’s range since it is an association of trees which are well suited to the hot, dry summers of the middle and southern Sierras. The important species in order of their abund- ance are as follows: Per cent by volume Suan PING 5 cs at asduamdiad. doatadexkaaobsumme ens 25 Western yellow pine.............. cece eects erence eeens 20 White fir........ 15 Douglas fir... 15 Incense cedar. be) Jeffrey pine. .. 10 Sequoias...... 5 GENERAL CONDITIONS II§ Stands in this subtype range from 60,000 board feet per acre ou the moister sites within its range to 2000 board feet on the drier sites with an average of 20,000 board feet. The sugar pine-fir subtype, on the other hand, is character- istic of the northern part of the type’s range and is found where the climate is moist and cool enough for Douglas fir. The average stand per acre is 30,000 board feet with a range from 150,000 board feet to 5000 board feet. The composition by vol- ume is as follows: sg Per cent URAL DIN Gs ae satyiaeusenytieg «wee kor tessusscated tuxis se edb ces vena 30 Douglas fit: sass: ontce ead 44 a seaunensie dur. sso-004-8 bd ace RA wav yuED 40 WML Ge AT ig year suiihad eas iain oun ONaniae Asa cas cnamileedns 30 This subtype occupies a much smaller area than the sugar pine- yellow pine subtype. Growth within the type is summarized in the following table: Diameter Height in feet Yield per acre I 2 3 all species Sugar | Yellow | Incense! I 2 3 pine pine | cedar Inches | Inches | Inches board feet 25 YearS............ I 4 I 10 15 5 400 50 years............ 5 8 5 35 45 20 1600 FE VEATS: isnsa tees encase ro I4 8 60 65 '35 4000 TOO years............ 18 20 14 92 94 65 7300 These figures are low because they have come from the measure- ment of virgin timber. Stands under management can be expected to grow much more rapidly because the better species could be aided to dominate the poorer individuals at an early age and thus shorten materially the struggle for supremacy. The yield, particularly, can be much increased. This will come, however, by making the stands more dense so that more trees will grow per acre. Virgin stands have been greatly decimated by fires, insects and fungi but there is no reason why reasonable care may not prevent the greater part of these losses. Fire is, as always, the main source of damage in this type. On account of the openness of the stand fires do not, however, get off the ground and burn the tops except in rare cases where a long 116 SUGAR PINE TYPE continued drought is followed by very high wind. As a conse- quence only the small trees are killed outright but the larger trees are injured at the butt. This is particularly the case on a hillside where leaves, cones and branches collect on the upper side of the tree and form an accumulation of inflammable material that will burn long enough and hard enough to make deep scars. Such damage is not so serious in itself as in its indirect effect in weakening the trees so that they are more susceptible to insect and fungus injury. Similar results follow breakage by light- ning, wind, and snow. In such damaged trees bark beetles of the genera Dendroctonus and Buprestide reproduce in numbers great enough to attack live timber successfully. Losses of 5 to ro per cent of the total stand are not uncommon in this way. While several species of fungi attack the weakened trees in this type no serious damage to sound, living timber has been yet reported. In fact, sugar pine when protected from fire seems unusually resistant to diseases. Timber Values.— On the whole the advantages offset the dis- advantages in estimating in the sugar pine type. The stands are open with comparatively little underbrush.. This means few trees per acre with few shrubs and vines to impede the estimator’s progress. Then, too, the trees are large size and a féw big trees are easier to estimate than the many small trees which it would take to make up the same volume. Another aid is the high pro- portion of the type which has been surveyed so that tracts may be readily located on the ground. These factors make it pos- sible to get fairly good results from a 10 per cent estimate where areas of more than 100 acres are to be valued. Hence the cost need seldom exceed 10 cents per acre in spite of the inaccessi- bility of some of the mountain tracts and the fact that the type is usually a mixture of several species. Separate stumpage prices for the different species in the type were unheard of two decades ago. Private holdings of a size great enough to be lumbered economically were secured by grouping timber and stone claims which were bought at a flat rate of $2.50 per acre from the Government or approximately 15 cents per M board feet. From this minimum there has been TIMBER VALUES II7 a steady increase until in 1900 accessible sugar pine was worth $1 per M; in 1915 the following prices prevailed in private sales: Maximum | Average | Minimum SUSAL PINGly sk piste d daoneeanaeeduue eames : $2.50 $1.50 Yellow pine { 2.00 1.00 Doiglas: firs sidsiesvasiacamawees Es00) | xcezas White iti vunecsrses se nasene O75 |! seezess Incense cedar Ox50) | se aweans On the National Forests the highest price which has been paid for sugar pine is $3.50 per M feet (1916). The uses to which sugar pine lumber is put depend upon the distance from the place of manufacture. In California the important industries depending upon this species in whole or part are the box makers, and the manufacturers of sashes, doors, blinds, and general millwork. In the east only the higher grades appear because they alone can stand the freight rate of $8 to $15 per M required to transport lumber to the Mississippi valley and Atlantic seaboard. Hence, east of the Mississippi sugar pine is only in demand for the high grade uses which the native white pine cannot supply more cheaply. It is therefore seldom used for boxes and packing but is generally found in the planing mills and manufacturing establishments that need wide and clear stock. For such purposes it is technically qualified to supplant eastern white pine which has been the standard for two centuries both here and abroad. In general the wood of sugar pine may be briefly described as moderately hard, heavy, strong and stiff but straight grained and smooth textured. It shrinks, swells and warps very little on exposure to weather but is only fairly durable in contact with the ground. Altho resinous it will not impart undesirable odors or flavors to articles packed in it. Its sale value at the mill depends upon the quality. Five main use classes are distinguished: thick finish, siding, factory plank or shop common graded for door cuttings, common lumber, and thick common lumber (tank stock and step planks). These 118 SUGAR PINE TYPE are commonly further subdivided into Nos. 1, 2 and 3 clear, select Nos. 1, 2 and 3 shop, Nos. 1, 2, 3, common, and box. The percentages of the various grades in the mill run vary greatly with the stands. In general the larger trees are found in the southern part of the type’s range. while those on the northern limit yield less wide clear lumber. However, the following figures give a notion of average conditions: Grade Average value Clear and select..... 20 per cent at $40 per M = $8.00 AS) a) oe ee 30 per cent at 25perM = 7.50 Common............ 3o percent at 15 perM= 4.50 BOX cee essed get ea 20 percent at rzperM = 2.40 roo per cent $22.40 average mill run value. These prices are for 1912. Since then there has been an increase of about 100 per cent. Western yellow pine may be briefly described as a poor quality of sugar pine. It has practically the same properties and hence uses but does not yield so much high grade lumber because of the larger amount of pitch. This is not, however, a drawback when durability is desired and for rough construction lumber for use outdoors unpainted or in contact with the ground yellow pine is better than sugar pine. Nor for such purposes is its weight a drawback. It is a third heavier than sugar pine. The value of the average mill run may be computed as follows based on 1912 figures: Clear and select..................... 15 per cent at $35 = $5.25 SHOP E shsishuscenanaietey sow Nataretn onde 25 percentat 20= 5.00 Commoniss's cascoucas se eerd es sean ees gopercentat I5 = 4.50 BOK oh susie saw seveswois ccs caaneds goypericentat r= 9.66 roo per cent $18.35 Detailed figures by grades cannot be given for the average sale value of Douglas fir, white fir and incense cedar but they are lower than those of sugar and yellow pine because they supply lower uses. Douglas fir while preéminent for rough con- struction purposes is not soft enough to make good finishing and pattern makers’ lumber. White fir does not season well, decays rapidly, is weak and not of large size so that the greater part of TIMBER VALUES 119 it is used for boxmaking. Incense cedar finds its widest use as shingles altho it is occasionally employed for interior finish. The average mill prices at present common are: Per M A Oup las Arse ches te alee ipdeyarsloei atic a boas whet hs amen e $40.00 White fit edo e we'es 25H mrs aeons oo-4 es ke kd ae 25.00 Incense! cedatiics hs oa sks Adaeaw wane v4 bab2a de OEREOES 30.00 The main difference between the logging methods used in this type and those so far considered is that steam donkey engines are commonly used in yarding. The large size of the timber, the density of the stands and the comparative evenness of the topog- raphy make this method much more economical than skidding ‘with horses. A yarding crew consists of a dozen men and - handles 25 to 4oM per day. The donkey engines are placed alongside the logging railroads whenever possible so that the logs may be loaded on to the cars by steam after being yarded. Where the topography does not permit this a dry log chute may be used to get the logs from the yarding engine to the railroad. The average costs of a typical operation were as follows in 1915: Per M Fellingsand: bucking io.3cuaiseisowaws ss oe cee waioddaneaeds $0.65 Warding ads be hieorauy Gawatie s cghth ulna ed eod Sons Seaidiee eatin 1.80 Chuting (54. per cent of :cut)s occas sis arvana eee dean's s anemanng 0.50 Loading sos ice aks cee eihdropowe cee e f445 we eereseMiew oe 0.25 Railroad haul 5. i. ..0. snckwineiedetec ticks ae teesaeee 1.50 SUPERVISION Soe. a. 8 oS sede ssasiaaceaal sg areses Cece da. aedimceneshoveamicesuceesnen A 0.25 $5.30 Large mills capable of turning out 250,000 feet in 24 hours are - becoming more common because they turn out better lumber at less cost. Average figures for such a mill were as follows: Per M Unloading logs in mill pond. .... 0.0... eee ee cece eee eee $0.07 Milling & seccigiae d oee Ca RGSS eS a TNE E Oy BUEEweS 1.50 Ma ntenianiee ss cc52.egac denicsinn cies bo a OOM SWORE AN Oeste eadia 0.50 Yard charges.. Selatan mG euntantenaed: KONTS Planing}(part only) ad loadin, Ghals Baie Sateen smote 0.90 $3.70 Adding the logging and milling costs gives a total cost of $9 per M. Hence there is a possible margin for stumpage and profit 120. SUGAR PINE TYPE of $13 for sugar pine, $9 for yellow pine and Douglas fir, $5 for incense cedar, and $3 for white fir. Nor can these figures be increased ordinarily by the sale of tops or slabs for firewood because the local demand is small. In man hours the costs of an average operation would be as follows: Man hours per M Felling and! buckings<.c¢ <5 o