The products removed in 1945, which were equivalent to the growth during 1945, were : Logs, 13,144 board feet (Doyle scale) ; pulpwood, 15.33 standard cords; fuelwood, 11.97 standard cords; posts, 42. These products had a stumpage value in the standing trees of $197, or $4.91 an acre. The value of the products, cut and delivered at the mill or market, was $604, or $15.09 an acre.

Of equal importance is the winter or off-season employment that such farm woodlands can provide. In 1945 this 40-acre woodland provided 52 man-days, or approximately 3 man-months, of gainful employment in cutting and delivering the forest products to the mills and markets. For the labor expended in producing this annual cut of forest products, the owner-producer received approximately 60 cents an hour. In addition, he would receive all out-of-pocket costs for use of team and equipment, money for taxes, $40 as interest on his investment in land and timber, plus $197 for the value of the timber removed.

Eight annual cuts of forest products similar to the 1945 cut have been made from this 40-acre tract to date. Yet the volume now is almost identical to that present when the study was started in 1937. Moreover, since the low-quality trees were removed in the first years of the study, the quality of the current stand is much better than when we started.

These annual cuts from this 40-acre farm woodland have produced 99,000 board feet of logs, 249 standard cords of pulpwood, 146 cords of fuelwood, and 252 posts. The material had a value, in the standing tree, of $1,277 and a market value of $4,655. The figures represent a stumpage return of $31.92 an acre and a market value of $116.38 an acre for 8 years, or $3.99 and $14.55, respectively, an acre a year.

The results of the study indicate that timber properly managed is truly an annual crop. Furthermore, because approximately 1,000 pounds of cellulose can be obtained from one standard cord of wood, the farm woodland is producing approximately 27,900 pounds of pure cellulose a year—equal to 1.4 bales of 500 pounds an acre.

To provide the requirements of high-grade forest products to the mills and factories and to make possible a good yearly financial return to the owner of timberland, the selection system of management is being intensively applied and studied on the forest. Under this system, individual trees are removed as they become mature or too crowded, and the adjacent smaller or better trees are reserved to grow to larger sizes and higher values. Areas are being cut at 1-year, 3-year, 6-year, and 9-year intervals in order to determine which is most profitable. Unless the stands are fully stocked to good trees, the volume of timber removed at any one cutting period is always less than the volume that has grown during the interval between cuts. Consequently, the volume of the growing stock as well as the quality is constantly improved.

The results of this type of management have been striking. The logs that have been removed have been large, of high quality, and top value. The stands are building up and producing more volume each year and the income, although good, also goes up each year.

Of equal importance to the private owner of timberland and to the whole country are the possibilities for employment demonstrated on the intensively managed forest at Crossett. Based on records of the Experimental Forest for the past 7 years, year-round employment in the woods can be provided to one man for every 150 acres of timberland. The work includes timber marking, cutting, skidding, loading, hauling of the products, and overhead, but not technical research. But the figure does not indicate the full possibilities, because the stands of timber involved are only partly stocked and are, therefore, not producing at the maximum rate. When the stands are built up to full productivity, we estimate that 125 acres of woodland will provide year-round employment for one man; if work in the woods is added to the work in the sawmills, pulp mills, and other plants that use the products of the forest, 60 acres will provide full time employment for one man.

Our work at Crossett indicates that good forest management has a definite place on the farm. Low production timber stands can be made into good producers in a very short time. Returns per acre and per man-hour of labor expended are excellent. Well-managed forest stands will produce more cellulose per acre than the better cotton stands. Timber is about the only farm crop that can be harvested at the convenience of the grower. If markets are not good one year or labor is not available the timber crop can be left standing and will continue to increase in volume and value until harvested. It is also about the only crop that once established will continue to yield repeated crops of products without artificial replanting. Most people think of timber production as a long-time or lifetime crop. We demonstrated otherwise at Crossett.

THE AUTHOR

R. R. Reynolds is in charge of the Crossett branch of the Southern Forest Experiment Station. For the past 10 years he has been conducting forest management research at Crossett, Ark. He is the author of numerous technical and popular articles on timber growing and forest practice.