■ , ^'-^ >:^ Department of Agriculture and Immi- gration of Virginia GEO. W. KOINER, Commissioner In co-operatiou with the Forest Service United vStates Department of Agricnltnre Henry S. Gra\rs, Forester HORTLEAF FINE IN VIRGINIA The Increase in its Yield by Thinning By W. W. ASHE Forest Examiner, Forest Service '^ SD397 P6nA8 RiCHMONii HAV1S MuXroM, sri'KHINTKNI>EN I ITl' and sprout liar(hvo(>ds. It meets witli least competition and forms the purest second-gi'owth stands in the tier of southern counties west, of Lun- enburg ) but they are relatively bi-oader. The needles are stout and twisted, with never more than two together, jTud are about the same length as the cones. Fre(|uently the cones of scrub pine and >hortleaf pine remain on the ti-ees foi' many years after oi)eiiinsr. 8 SHOKTLEAF PINE IN VIKGIXIA Loblolly pine has large cones, from 3 to 4 inches long. Its needles are borne in threes and are about twice as long as the cones. The cones of this species usually fall during the second summer. l>ut sometimes they persist for several years. Uses of Wood The timber of second-growth shortleaf pine is largely sap- wood. The formation of heart wood does not begin until the trees are about twenty-fiv'e years old. For many years thereafter the heartwood is limited to a small core, and more than two-thirds of the volume of trees fifty years old is still sapwood. The most im- portant uses for the wood of the shortleaf pine are for building lumber, fuel, slack cooperage, box lumber, headings, and crates. The wood contains too much resin to be a desirable material for paper pulp stock without special treatment, although it is used to some extent for this purpose. On account of its softness it is not suited for railroad ties if the traffic is heavA', and, when used for this purpose should be made more durable by preservative treat- ment. The large proportion of sapwood in the second-growth tim- ber renders it undesirable for shingles, for which the durable heart- wood of the old growth was extensively employed ; and unfits it for other uses requiring exposure to the weather, unless it is thoroughly kiln-dried and painted. Logs more than fourteen inches in dia- meter from trees with clear boles yield lumber suitable for ceiling styles and panels of doors, sashes, window frames, interior wood- work, and also for flooring if rift sawed. Timber suitable for such uses must come not only from comparatively large trees, but from trees which early cleaned their stems and formed wood in the lower two-thirds of the trunk free of Icnots. That part of the li-ee which can be converted into lumber of this kind should command, on the basis of $25 for the finished lumber, a stumpage price of not less than $10 a tliousand board feet. IJidess the pri<-e of cordwood stumpage is i)i-()p()rtioiKitely mu<"li higher than that of saw timber stumpage. the greatest profit from a crowded stand will be secured l)y I'eserving the lai-ger trees for saw timber, and in the meantime thinning or culling the small- est trees for cordwood, stave stock, box boards, bolts, and similar purposes, for which small material is suited. If (mly selected ti-ees are retained for saw timber they should be allowed to attain a large size in order to pi-oduce timber of high (juality. WW^^^^W' I lll||pi 4.' i^gdaSgn-x^Jl^r 'i5--V3t; siPiii VA1 i'LAL'E II. A aense sapling stand of shortleaf pine 15 to 18 years old, but too small to be piotltabiy thinned. While the clean oondillon of the Hoor Is good, lire could do great damage In such a stand. shortlp:af pine in Virginia ¥ CONDITION AND COMPOSITION OF OLD-FIP:i.D STANDS As early as 1T35 it had become a fixed pai-t of the farming syslem of middle Virginia to clear new ground each year and to abandon to rallow a parcel of the oldest and most worn farmmg land. The lantl thus turned out was rapidly colonized with pines through seed l)lown by the wind from old trees nearby. When these pines had become large enough and the humus had been re- stored to the soil through them, the land was usually cleared again. Such a system of rotation of timber and cultivated crops was pos.- sible only in a region where land was abundant and cheap. It was due in part to the lack of local markets, which made it necessary to export a large portion of the crops and therefore to produce them as cheaply as possible, regardless of the eti'ect upon the soil; and in part to the fact that these soils were not natural grazing lands, and the depleted humus could be renewed naturally and cheaply by the replacement of the native pines. Some of the existing gi'oves of old-held pine thus originated before the Revolutionary VV'ar. Most of them, however, are younger, having originated dur- ing and just after the Civil War or in the subsequent periods of agricultural depression about 1880 and 1892. These stands are consequently of all ages; from the youngest, just in process of stocking land which has been turned out during the i)ast decade, to those more than 100 years old. Stands between fifteen and forty-five years old are, however, the most numerous. Such old-field stands were thus established naturally, and no efforts were made by the owners to increase their density when they wei^ too open or to protect them, while young, from fire. They have seldom been thinned judiciously for improvement. As a residt, they vary widely in density. Small tracts are usually well-stocked, since, if seed-l)eariiig trees were nearby while stocking was taking place, seeds Avere in a few years scattered uniformly over the entire tract and such small tracts were often protected from fire by fences, or by adjacent cultivated fields. The trees in such well-stocked stands are slender and clean-bodied, with small crowns. The average tract, however, is poorly stocked. The trees are isolated, individually, or in iri'egular groups, and consequently siiort-bodied. knotty, and coarse-grained. This open condition of many of the stands is due to the fact that seed trees were too few or too distant while the stocking was in progi-ess, or to the fact that the fields became grassy and the seedlings were killed by 10 SIIOKTLEAr PINE IX VIRut pure pine usnally forms the second growth if there is no shade or cover, as in old fields or on hardwood laud which lias been cut clear in late summer or early autunm. when the sprouting power of the hardwoods is low. If seed-beariug trees are near, such open land, ^^jliether in field or forest, is captured in a few" years by l)iue. by means of its abundant, light seeds which are widely scat- tered by the W'ind. The heavy seeds of oak, hickory and black guui. which are carried largely by birds and squirrels, are dis- seuiinated too slowly and irregiUarly to enable such species to compete successfully with pine in stcK-king nearby open lands. Un- der these conditions, pine usually follows oak. On the other hand, pine is unable to establish itself beneath dense shade, whether of pine or of hardwoods. For this reason young pine growth is seldom found under the trees except in older open pine stands. The seeds of hardwoods, however, are dropped from year to year in such stands and germinate; and the seedlings, through their persistency and ability to endure shade, will survive in shade in Avhich a young pine can not live, although their groAvth in this case is extremely slow. When the large pines are cut, these stunted harchvoods, responding to improved conditions of light and root space, grow rapidly and if they are numerous thev form the larger part of the growth which follows the pine. In those portions of the State in which it occurs, scrub }'iiie affects the permanence of the shortleaf pine stand on medium soils eveu Ujore than do the hardwoods. Scrub pine seeds prolifically, when much younger and smaller than shortleaf pine, and the seed- lings are tolerant of far more shade than those of the shortleaf. For these reasons, it not only excludes the shortleaf from old fields which are in process of stocking, but it successfully competes with the young hardwoods in occupying o])enings in stands of shortleaf pine in which the coA-er is too heavy for shortleaf seed- liugs to exist, and thus in part succeey reason of this aggressixeness. scrub pine is so completely replacing shortleaf pine over large areas in the northeastern part of the State and near the Blue Ridge that the economic range of shortleaf j)ine is being restricted. 12 SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA managp:ment Forest management as applied to old-field stands may be sum- marized as the use of any methods of restocking, cutting, or thin- ning which Avill reduce the cost of growing timber or add to the value of the timber grown. Natural stands are usually either understocked, at least in certain phases or during certain periods of growth, or else over- crowded. The maximum growth is obtained by maintaining such a num- ber of trees to the acre as will uti.lize the full (•ai)acity of the soil and at the same time secure the best development of the individual trees. Understocked stands do not use the full capacity of the soil and must be filled out to the required density by planting in the thin places. In crowded stands, on the other hand, the indi- vidual trees are retarded; they must be thinned in order to make them gi-ow at their best rate. These requirements of the stand are discussed in connection with the subjects of thinnings and planting. Another phase of management is cutting at the period of ma- turity as determined by eitiier maximum yield or value. The rate of growth or accretion of a stand is not the same at all ages. The yearly growth rapidly increases from nearly nothing to a maxi- mum, then slowly declines. When the rate of annual growth be- gins to decline, a loss in yield is entailed if cutting is deferred. The time at which the maximum of the average annual yield is obtained varies with the size of the timber which is desired ; it would not be the same' for lumber, which requires large timber, as for cordwood, for which small timber can be used. But while it is desirable to obtain the maximum annual yield from a stand, the cost of production is a factor wliich cannot be neglected. The cost of production embraces the interest on the invest inent. the taxes, superintendence, protection, and the making of improve- ment cuttings and thinnings. As far as the needs of owners and the market conditions allow, a stand should be cut at financial maturity, that is, when it yields the best returns on the investment. These phases of nit'inagement are considered in connection with yields of stands at different ages, and with the cost of growing timber. One of the most important considerations in manage- ment is the method employed for obtaining a prompt renewal of the stand in order to prevent the loss of interest on the investment by the idleness of the land. SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA 13 Protection of stands from fire, from insects, and from fungus diseases is necessary to insure fully stocked stands and scimd timber. The figures relating to the growth and yield of shortleaf pine are based on stands which are growing on soil formerly covered with forests of shortleaf pine mixed with white oak, southern red oak {Quercus digitata), black oak, and white hickoiy. The rate of growth on such sites is regarded as the average or usual rate. Where the pine now grows on soils which were formerly covered with forests of shortleaf pine mixed with post oak, with black-jack oak, or with Spanish oak {QuenMs coccinea), or vt^ith a large propor- tion of these oaks together with other oaks, the rate of gi'owth and the yield of the stands will be considerably lower than that given. Fully Stocked and Crowded Stands A stand is fully stocked when it contams all the well-grown, vigorous trees which the soil can support. This number decreases with the age of the stand and the consequent increase in the size of the trees. In a natural twenty-year-old stand of shortleaf pnie the number to the acre should exceed 1,500; at forty years it has decreased to about 750; at sixty years it has fallen to less than 450. This reduction of the number of trees in a st^nd progi-esses nat- urally. As the trees become older and larger, their crowns spread and their roots extend in search of food and moisture. Com])eti- tion for light, food and moisture ensues, and this in turn results in the dying of the smaller and weaker trees, which are overtopped and crowded out by the more vigorous ones. A fully-stocked stand, in which natural thinning is taking place rapidly, is crowded (plates I, II and IV). At any age the fact that a stand is crowded is indicated by a close crown cover and the presence of many dead trees and slender live trees with narrow •crowns. In a young stand of this character less than thirty-five years old the crowding is so gi-eat that the crown of each tree al- most touches the crowns of its neighbors and direct sunlight hardly reaches the soil. The shade is sufficient to prevent the start of young trees and most shrubs beneath the pines and the carpet of pine needles is so thick as to exclude grass, while small dead trees are numerous. In stands more than thirty-five or forty years old there is a wider distance between adjacent crowns, due to the rapid dying of the larger of the slender narrow-crowned trees. This opening of the stand admits more sunlight, and young oaks, hick- 14 SIIOKTI.EAF PINE IN VIRGINIA ories. aiitl otlier lives, as well as many shrubs, begin to grow be- neath the pines. Dead trees and live trees with naiTow crowns are not so numerous as in younger stands. The mat of pine needles is tiiinner in the older stands and grass is able to spring up. A fiiJly-stocked young stand of shoi-tleaf pine has, therefore, a dense crown cover. In both young and old stands, if they are fully stocked, there are slender trees with narrow, spry crowns and dead trees which have been crowded out, though the latter are more abunchmt in the young stands. Whether a stand is crowded and in need of thinning may be determined by the gi-eater or less abund- ance of crowded and dead trees, co.nsidered in connection with the age of the stand and the normal 106 69 25 10 1 . . 765 35 2 76 121 111 118 87 46 23 9 2 615 40 8 S4 91 115 8:-! 58 37 20 8 1 505 4o 28 63 97 74 64 46 30 13 4 1 420 50 6 31 70 m 63 50 37 21 9 2 355 65 12 34 48 53 5? 41 26 15 7 1 289 fiO 2 18 33 42 42 42 33 21 12 5 250 «5 10 17 30 36 3' 35 26 16 9 3 218 70 • • • • 3 1 11 21 27 81 32 2,H 20 14 7 1 195 SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA 21 Table 2 shows for two stands about forty-five years old the olfect of thinning in increased board yield and in the distribu- tion of diameter classes. One is a crowded stand which has never been thinned; the other has been thinned for fifteen years in a desultory manner. Had the thinnings been systematically made, better results would have followed. The large number of trees between ten and fifteen inches in diameter in the thinned stand is noteworthy. TABLE 2. Effect of thinning on 'boarrhfoot yield of shortleaf pine and the distribu- tion of diameter classes (two stands about forty-five years old). Diameter of Trees Breast higi NUMBKR OF Trees of Eaci Diameter to the Acre Unthlnned stand Thinned stand 10-12 13-15 Total live trees Dead trees (all diameters) Yield in board feet from trees 9 inchts and over in diameter Cords of stem wood with bark to the acre . . . 16 8 52 10 168 32 124 38 112 32 84 74 56 132 8 18 620 344 176 16 12,740 18,770 61 50 Table 3 shows the average height of the trees in stands at different ages, and the average diameter of all trees in unthinned and irregularly thinned stands: 22 SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA TABLE 3. Average height and average diameter of all trees in fully-stocked- stands of shortleaf pine. Average Diameter of all Trees Average HelKht of i_ Merchantable stand ' 1 Age of stand Years Feet aned crowded Thinned stands stands Inches Inches 4.0 4.0 4.8 5.3 5.5 6.4 6.2 7.3 6.7 8.2 7.3 8.9 7.7 9.6 8.1 10.1 8.5 10.7 Table 4 show^ the number of trees nine inches and over in diameter breast high in unthinned and irregularly thinned .stands, and the average diameter of such trees. TABLE 4. Average diameter and number of trees nine inches and over in fully-stocked thinned and unthinned stands of shortleaf pine of different ages. Crowded Unthiwhed Stands Thinned Stands Number of ! Average Number of Average Age of Trees per Diameter of Trees per Diameter of stand Acre j Trees Acre Trees Years Inches Inches 20 25 1 i).l 16 9.3 30 7 9.3 lOo 96 35 47 95 167 10.0 40 88 96 207 10.4 45 125 98 232 10.8 50 156 9.9 245 11 1 55 182 10.1 243 114 60 200 10.3 230 11.7 65 213 10.5 208 12 70 210 10.7 192 12.8 SirORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA 23 froductiox of cordwood fkom thinned and uxthinnp:d stands The yield of corchvood* is determined rather by the number of trees than by the size of the individual trees. The most crowded stands usually yield most heavily, and the yield appre- ciably declines as the stands become more open. This has a great influence upon the yiekl of old stands, since after the thirty-flfth year there is practically no increase in the yiekl in cords of un- thinned stands, on account of the rapid dying of the smaller trees. For this reason, thinnings are not so profitable for the production of cordwood as for the production of saw timber; though the trees which would die are saved, and some additional growth is secured. • If regular thinnings are made at intervals of five years, then at tile age of forty-five years the increased yield, including the thin- nings, is only thirty-three per cent., as against an eighty per cent. TABLE 5. Yield of thinned and unthinned stands in cords — Trees thret over in diameter. inches and Unthinned Stands Thinned Stands-Yield of Thinnings stand Vol 11 711 e at Different Ages Volume of stand be lore each Thinning Number o f Trees which can be remov - en In each Thinning A p proxi- mate a V e r a g e diameter of Trees removed Volume of Trees removed in CHCh Thinning Total of all previous Thinnings at any Cutting period Total of Thin- nings and stand* ^■ear8 (11 Cords (•2) Cords (4) Inches (5, Cor - (6) Cords (7) Cords 20 47 47.0 930 3.3 6 1 47.0 25 57 52.0 205 4.5 5.1 6.1 58.1 80 ()2 57 150 5.0 5.0 11.2 68.2 Hh (54 60.0 no 5.5 48 162 76.2 40 Go 60.0 85 6.0 4.3 21 81.0 45 64 59.0 68 P..5 40 25.3 84.3 50 63 57 1 55 7.0 3 6 29.3 86 3 55 61 54.5 45 7.6 32.9 87.4 ♦Column 8 is the sum of columns 3 and 7. ♦Unless otherwise stated, all refei-ences to cords are to standard cords of 128 cubic feet, and the corded wood is measured with the bark on. Standard cords can be converted into long cords of 160 cubic feet by dividing by 1.25 or by multiplying by 4-5. Either standard or long cords with bark can be converted into cords without bark by multiplying by .77, if the wood comes from trees which average less than 7 inches in diameter, or multiplying by .82 if the trees average a larger diameter. 24 SHOKTLEAF PINE IX VIK(iTNIA increase obtained at the same age by the thinning for lumber. I'^nless the vahie of cordwood increases with the diameter of the wood (as it should if the wood is used for heading or stave bolts) no added value per cord is secured by thinnings. The yield in standard cords, stem wood with bark, of thinned and unthinned stands of shortleaf pine of ditl'erent ages is shown in Table 5. Table 6 shows the approximate miniboi- of trees to the acre in crowded stands of different ages, and in thinned stands. The dif- ference between the number of trees in an unthinned stand and in the same stand five years after it has been thinned indicates approximately the number of trees which should be removed from the unthinned stand. In practice, it probably would be best to make two or more thinnings before reducing the number of trees in an old, crowded sfand to the number in a normal, thinned stand. TABLE 6. Approximate number of trees of shortleaf pine to the aere in crowded and thinned stands. Total Number of Tkeks per Acre Age of stand Y«ars Crowded Unthinned stand Thinned stands Number which can be removed from a previously Unthinned stand 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 1,950 1,440 1,235 1030 860 710 535 1.250 970 765 HI 5 505 420 355 980 675 620 535 440 355 Maximum Yield of Cordwood. — The maximum yield in cords is obtained earlier than the maximum yield in board feet. 'J'he best stands more thaii fifty years old give no heavier yield in cords than younger stands, because they have few trees to the acre, while neglected stands in which disintegregation is taking place show even a decline in the volume. PLA.TE IV. A crow ded, lanje pole stand ot shortleaf pine 40 years old, badly in need of thinning by removing the smaller pines and many of the hardwoods. Condition of larger trees, with long, smooth bodies, excellent. SHORTLEAF PTNE IN VIRGINIA 25 TABLE 7. Yearly inocment of shortleaf pine in cords (stem-wood and bark) of all trees three inches and over in diameter, breasihigh. Unthinnkd Stands Thinned Stands Age Average Periodic Annual Average Annual Periodic Annual of Annual Increment for each Increment in- Incremeat for each stand Increment 5 year Period cluding Thinnings 5-year Period Years Cords Cords Cords Cords 20 2.3 1 2.3 25 2.2 2. 2.-! 2.2 30 2.1 1. 2.3 2.0 35 1.9 .5 2.2 1.6 40 1.7 .4 2. decrease 45 1.3 decrease 1.8 " 50 1.2 " 1.7 " 55 1.1 " l.fi " 60 .8 " • « In both thinned and unthinned stands on average sites the maximum yield in cords per acre is obtained by cutting between /he ages of twenty and twenty-five years, at which time a yield of fifty-seven cords per acre can be secured, or an average of 2.2 cords an acre a year. The size of the wood which is obtained at that time is, however, much smaller than that from older stands, and this fact affects its vahie. 26 SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA TABLE 8. w Cost per cord of groicing shortleaf pine cordwood, stemwood with bark, in unthinned and thinned stands; including thinnings, land value $5.00 an acre, interest rate five per cent, and one per cent yearly in addition for taxes and protection. Thinned Stands Accumulated Unthinnkd Age of stand Cost of Land, at .f5 per Acre, 6 per cent. In- terest. 1 p e r Thinnings Net cost per Acre Final Cost ("lost of Assumed Accu- of grow- Final value of yield ing yield in g per Amount per ted pro- per cordt cord valuet ducing Crop§ cordij Years Cords Cords Cords (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (7) (8) (9) (10) 20 $11.04 47 $.23 6.1 $ .10 111.04 47 $.23 25 16 46 67 .28 5.1 .15 $ .78 J 5 68 52 .30 30 33 72 62 .38 5.0 .20 1.97 21.75 57 .38 35 33.43 64 .52 4.8 .25 3.79 29.64 60 .49 40 46.48 85 .81 4.3 25 6.37 40.06 60 .66 45 63.82 64 .99 4.0 .25 9.50 54.33 59 .92 50 87.10 63 1.38 13.40 73 70 57 1.30 .... * Column 2 n obtained by calculating the Interest at 6 per cent, plus 1 per cent, for taxes, making a total of 6 per cent., compounded annually on a land value of S5 per acre. Since tne land will remain after the timber is sold, its value is not included in the cost oi growing. t Column 4 Is obtained by dividing column 2 bv column 3. I Column 7 Is the product of columns b and 6 compounded at 5 per cent every 5-year period. Tha value of wood removed in thinnings (column 6) is only nominal on ac- count of its small size and the diiliculty of making thlnnlngs- § Column 8 Is the remainder after deducting column 7 from column 2. 'i Column 10 Is obtained from dividing column 8 by column 9. Cost of Growing Cordwood. — Table 8 shows the cost of growing cordwood in both thinned and unthinned stands at a five per cent, interest rate. PEODUCnTON OF SAW TIMBER Influeiire of Dens'ifu of Stand Upon Yield of Saw Timber at l>ifferent Ages. Maximuni yiekl in hnnber is obtained neither from stands which are continuously very crowded nor from understocked stands, but from stands whicli are periodically and lightly thinned after having been crowded. The most marked etfect of thinnings in crowded stands is in the amount and quality of the yield in board feet. The stands which were measured to determine the elfects of thinnings had been thinned in no definite manner; in some cases only the smaller trees, in other cases also some of the larger ones, had been cut out, SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA 27 as farm needs required. Some of these thinned stands were evi- dently somewhat understocl<:ed ; some Avere still too crow^ded; and others, at the time the measurements were made, had not had tmie to respond fully to the thinnings. It is probable that by sys- tematic thinnings of the kind recommended the yield shown in the tables could be further increased ten or even twenty per cent. Table 9 shows the yield of stands which have dilferent numbers of trees to the acre; in other woixls the yield is of under- stocked, thinned, and crowded stands. The yield is based on cut- ting to nine inches in diameter breasthigh, which is equivalent to about eleven inches on the stump. In the understocked stands the crown cover is practically as complete as in the thinned and crowded ones, but all the trees are low and short-bodied and few slender or dead trees are present. (Plate III). TABLE 9. Yield of stands of shortleaf pine having different numbers of trees per acre, (influence of density of stands upon yield of saw timber). AvBRAGB Understocked Stands Fully Stocked Stands WHICH HAVE BEEN THINNED Crowded Stands, Unthinnkd Age Years Number of Trees to the Acre Yield in Hoard Feet Number of Trees to the Acre Yield in Board Feet Number of Trees to the Acre Yield in Board Feet 30 40 50 60 350 300 150 100 3.800 5,700 6,900 7,800 765 8,400 505 16.400 355 20,400 255 23,000 1,235 860 535 395 200 6,000 13,100 16,800 The yield of an understocked stand when more than thirty years old is only about one-half of that obtainable from a fully stocked stand of the same age, after thinning. Many of the trees in oj)en, understocked stands attain a diameter of nine or more indies sooner than do trees in crowded stands, for in crowded stands the continued competition retaixls the diameter growth of the individual trees. This explains why crowded stands thirty years old are not producing merchantable timber. Ill the average understocked stand the cost of growing the timber is far in excess of its present stumpage price. This is hirgely due to the small yield. If sold at $2 per thousand board feet, timber from understocked stands pays less than two per cent, on the assumed investment of $5 an acre. 28 SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA 'I'able 10 shows the infiueiiw of density upon the cost per 1,000 board feet of gi-owing shortleaf pine stnmpage in old-field stands, based on net returns at five per cent., taxes one per cent, in addition, land value $5 an acre. TABLE 10. Influence of number of trees, or of density of stand on cost of growing 1,000 board feet in old-field stands of shortleaf pine. Age of stand Average Under- C R O W D E D. UN- Accumulated stocked Stands THiNNED Stands Cost of the Investment per Acre Yield Cost Yield Cost less the per per per per Value of the Acre M ft Acre M ft. Land 1 Bd. ft. Bd. ft. Thinned Stands Neg- i.ECTiNG Value of Thinnivgs Yield per Acre Cost per M ft. $ 23.72 46.43 87.10 159.90 3,800 $ 6.30 5,700 I 8.10 6,900 12 60 7,800 20.51 6,000 , $ 7,73 13,100 6.65 15,000 10 66 8,400 16,400 20,400 23 000 $ 2.82 2.83 4.27 6 82 At eveiT age if thinnings are made without loss, the cost of growing stumpage in fully stocked thinned stands is less than the cost of growing it either in crowded or understocked stands. If thinnings do not pay tor themselves the cost is higher, and if they pay a profit, the cost is lower. Age of Cutting for Maximum Yield. — The maximum annual yield in board feet from trees nine inches and over in diameter breasthigh is obtained from thinned stands when they are cut at forty-eight years of age. At that time in such a stand, the aver- age annual yield per acre is about 410 board feet, and the diameter of the average- sized tree is about 9.5 inches breasthigh, or 11.5 inches on the stump. For unthinned stands, the nuiximum annual yield is obtained by cutting wiien about fifty-seven years old. The average dia- meter of the trees in such a stand is about 8.2 inches at brea.st- height or 9.8 inches on the stump. Table 11 shows the yearly increment in board feet of tre^s nine inches and over in diameter breasthigh. SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA TABLE 11. 29 Annual increment per acre in board feet of trees of shortleaf pine nine inches and over in diameter breasthigh. ThiNxVned stand (Thinnings Neglected) Unthinned Stand stand Years Average Annual Increment Board feet Periodic Annual Increnieut for each Decade Board feet Average Annual Increment Board feet Periodic Annual Inci ement lor each Decade Board feet 30 280 410 408 383 357 40 800 400 260 200 150 2(53 250 238 50 60 70 710 190 170 Cost of Growing Saw Thnher. — If only the maximum animal yield were to be considered in growing timber it would undoubt- edly be advisable in all cases to hold timber until this could be secured. The cost of carrying the investment, however, is a factor which cannot be overlooked. The land has a sale value, and taxes are paid upon it yearly. In addition, the cost of protection, such as maintaining fences, extinguishing fires, etc., must often be borne. In making a calculation of the cost of growing timber it is necessary to determine, from the time stocking took place to the time when the timber is cut, the accumulated taxes paid on the land and the interest compounded annually on the investment represented by the value of the land and the cost of stocking it. In making this calculation, both the actual and tax assessment value of the land has been assumed to be $5 an acre for the entire period of growth. The tax rate and other expenses are assumed to be one per cent, on this valuation. If the owner is content with a gross interest of six per cent, on his investment, then the net rate, after deducting taxes and other expenses, will be five per cent, a year. In the old-field stands there is no cost of stocking to consider. The profits of thinnings are supposed to be the same as those given in column 7, Table 8, for cordwood. In oixler to obtain a six per cent, investment which, after allowing one per cent, per annum for taxes and protection, will yield five per cent, net, the following yields and prices must be secured. The value of the land is placed at $5 an acre. If stump- 30 SHOiriLKAF PINK IX \IH(;TXIA age is sold at less than the cost of growing 1,000 board feet, or if the stands cut less than the amoimts given at the different ages, less than five per cent, net is obtained on the investment. If stumpage is sola at a higher price and the value of the land is not more than $5 an acre, then the investment will yield more tliaii five per cent. TABLE 12. Cost of growing shortleaf pine saw-timber in unthinned and thinned stands, including thinnings. Land value $5 an acre; interest rate five per cent; one per cent in addition alloived for taxes. Unthinnkd Stand Thinned Stand Age of stand Vears Accumulated Cost of In- vestment Land at So an acre, Sf^r interest, 1^ added for taxes, less cost ol land Yield Bd. ft. Cost of growing per M bd. ft. Net Cost per acre of producing crop* Final yield Bd. ft. Cost of growing per M bd. ft. 20 $11.04 16.46 23.72 33.43 46.43 63.82 87.10 $11.04 15.68 21.75 29.64 40.06 54.83 73.70 ' 900 8,400 13.400 16,400 18,700 20,400 25 $17.00 30 35 40 45 50 200 1,400 6 000 10,200 13,106 ■ 123.80 ■ 7.64 6.25 6.70 2.59 2.21 2.44 2.90 3.61 ♦ After deducting value of thinnings as shown in Table 8. The cheapest cost of production, with interest at five per cent, and taxes at one per cent., or six per cent, for both is $6.25 a thou.^and board feet from unthinned stands and $2.21 from thinned stands. The period when the cost of growing the timber is the lowest is known as the financial maturity. If timber is held longer than the period of financial maturity, there must be a considerable ad- vance in its value to cover the cost of carrying it, that is. the accumulated interest and taxes, and this is particularly true of old stands the volume of which is increasing very slowly or per- haps actually declining. The owner of timberland is interested in knowing the rate of interest he may expect from his investment when the product sells at a give price. Tables IB and 14 show the interest yielded by stands of old-field pine at different ages, with the land worth $5 an acre and with stumpage selling at $2 a thousand feet and cordwood at twentv-five cents a cord. In table 14 SHORTLEAF PINE IN V1KGI^-IA 31 for cordwood from a thinned stand, it is assumed that thinnings produce the returns allowed in column 7, Table 8. In the table for board feet from a thinned stand, thinnings are supposed to be made without either profit or loss. The inter- est yielded is gi'oss, and includes taxes and the cost of protection — items which would usually amount to about one per cent, of the land value and would corresp(mdingly reduce the returns. TABLE 13. SAW TIMBER STUMPAGE AT $2 A THOUSAND BOARD FEET. Gross rate per cent yielded by stands of old^field pine on a land value of $5 an acre.* Thinned Stand Unthinned Stand Age of stand Years Yield per Acre BJ. ft. Value of stand neglecting Thinnings Gross rate per cent. Yielded on Land Value Per cent. Yield per Acre Bd. ft. Value of stand Gross rate per cent. Yielded on Laud Value Per cent. 30 8,400 1 $16.80 4.3 50 5.0 4.5 4.0 35 40 45 m) 13,400 16,400 IS, 700 20,400 26. SO 32.80 37.40 40.80 * 6,000 10,200 13,100 '$12.00 20.40 26.20 ■ 2.5 3.2 8.3 TA.BLE 14. CORDWOOD STUMPAGE OF FINAL YIELD AT 2'^ CENTS A CORD. Gross rate per cent yielded hy stands of shortleaf pine in old-field with a land value of $5 an acre.* Thinned Stand Unthinned Stand Age of stand Years Final .yield Cords Total V a lue, per Acre, including Ac- cumulated Value of Thinnings at i% compound interest Gross rate per cent, Yielded on Land Value Per cent. Yield per Acre Cords Value of stand Gross rate yer cent. Yielded on Land Value Per cent. 20 47 r^2 57 60 (iO 59 57 49 57 62 64 65 64 63 $11.75 14 25 15.50 16.00 16.25 16.00 15.75 43 4.2 3.8 3.5 3.0 28 2.5 25 30 35 4o 45 50 $13.74 16.08 18.44 19.65 23.94 26.43 4.0 , 4.0 3.8 3.6 3.5 3.2 1 Gross rate per cent, includes ta.xes and cost of protection as well as the interest on thelnveatraent. 32 SHORTLEAr PINE IN VIRGINIA VALUE OF TREES AND STANDS The lumber from second-growth stands of shortleaf pine, when .awed into boaixls one inch thick and graded according to the rules of the North Carolina Pine Association, sells for a high- er price than if it is sold ungraded, or than if it is sold in the form of framing. The lumber which is saAved from young stands less than 35 years old is as a rule too narrow, and that from stands in which the trees have not been crowded, is too knotty to justify grading. The older the stand the more valuable becomes the lum- ber which can be cift from it not only on account of greater widths but also a larger proportion of the high grade^. If the trees of different diameters in a crowded stand which is about 50 years old (the age of maturity) are carefully sawed into boards of even width and uniform thickness, they will yield approximately the amounts of the different grades of lumber which are given in Table 15. The figTires in this table are based on actual measure- ments of grades which were made at a mill where trees of these sizes and age were being cut. TABLE 15. Total volumes in board feel, and the amount of the grades of lumber in trees of different diameters and heights in dense stands of short- leaf pine 45 to 60 years old. niaraeter breast- high Inches Total Number iDBlrte height of 16 foot bark at Feet logs the top Inches 7 48 U 5.0 8 58 ll 6.0 9 57 2 6.5 10 62 2} 6.5 U 66 2i 6.5 12 70 3 7.0 13 75 3 7.0 14 78 3 7.5 15 80 3i 7.5 16 80 3: 8.0 17 80 8 8.0 18 81 3 8.0 19 81 ■i\ 8.5 20 81 3^ 90 21 81 3i 9.0 22 81 3i 9.0 Amounts of thb oifferknt Grades Sawed Fkom Trees No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. Box or frm'g Other grades B o a r d F e e t 4 12 f) 2 6 14 6 4 13 15 6 4 8 18 19 6 8 12 25 28 6 18 33 27 36 6 26 33 37 40 6 32 38 48 56 7 47 40 63 67 9 70 48 75 /•i U 74 60 104 87 13 83 76 120 108 16 92 92 143 115 18 105 115 167 122 18 120 138 197 125 18 136 163 230 129 20 Total volume 1-4 Inch *aw kerf Bd. ft. 22 28 38 55 79 l09 142 181 228 280 338 398 460 527 598 678 The smaller trees in stands of this age are long-bodied and clear stemmed, have very little taper and thin bark, and, although I'LAIK V. Mature Stand or shortkaf pliie. Trees nearly uniform In size and ready be cut for lumber. Groups of slender, wlndtirm trees can be left for seed trees. .SHORTLEAF PINK IN VIRGIN I.\ 33 the boards which can be sawed from such trees are narrow, they are comparatively free from knots and will justify grading if handled in connection with the wider boards from the larger trees. Trees of the same size in younger stands are more tapering and more knott}', and the lumber is of lower grade. Air-dried lumber of the dirt'erent grades, consisting of mix- ed width, but less than 12 inches wide, is quoted (November, 1912) at the following prices per 1,000 board feet, delivered at Norfolk, Richmond, Peter.sburg, Lynchburg, and Roanoke: No. 1, $26; No. 2, $24; No. 3, $20; Box, $18; Red heart and cull, $16; Bark strip, Nos. 1 & 2, $20; Bark strip, box $12. In Table 16 these values have been applied to the amount of different diameters delivered at Norfolk and the other points named above. TABLE 16. I'alue delivered at Norfolk, Richmond, Pctcrsbunj Roanoke, and Lynchburg, of the graded lumber cut from trees of different ^a^neters and heights* growing in crowded second-growth stands 4o to 60 years old and the value of single trees and their stump- age per 1,000 board feet under different costs of sawing and delivery at thtse points. Value of lumber de- Stumpage value per tree with expenses livered at Norfolk, Rich- of sawing and delivery per Diameter mond, etc. 1,000 board ft. at breast-high ^ From each tree Per 1,000 board ft. $10 812 $14 7 $ .36 115 95 1 .13 t $ .08 $ .40 s .47 16.40 .18 .12 .06 9 .66 17.40 .28 .21 .13 10 1.01 1 8 35 .46 .35 .24 11 158 19.30 .74 .58 .42 12 2.16 19.80 1.06 .85 .68 13 2.86 20.15 1.44 1.16 .87 14 3.7;) 20.95 1.98 1.62 1.26 15 4,75 21.40 2.58 2.12 1.67 If) '6.30 22.50 8.5S 3.02 2.46 17 7.00 22.55 4.28 3.56 2.89 18 8.95 22 50 4.79 4.18 3.38 19 10.40 22.45 5.73 4.81 3.89 20 11.80 22.40 6.53 5 48 4.42 21 18.40 22.40 7.41 6.22 5.02 22 15.17 22.35 8.37 601 5.65 ♦Heights which are given In table 15. tObtained by deducting the cost of sawing and delivery per 1,000 board feet from the de- livered value per l.OOO board feet, reducing the rtraaindC^r to the value of one board foot and multiplying by the number of board feet per tree as shown in table 15; thus, $15.96 less SlO 00 equal to .*5 '.)5— $5.!*.') divided by lOjO and multiplied by 22 is equal to S.13. In table 15 the expenses of sav.ing and delivery, $10; $12: and $14 per 1.000 board feet are .supposed to represent a low. 34 .SlIOirn.KAF IMNK IN ; I M A a iiUMliiiiii. and a hiL^i ccist of operation, and ai-e made up of the cost of lo Doyles Scribner rule Volume of Stem Wood only C'ubi.- feet Actual number of Board leet, per Cubic foot Per cent, of waste in Stump, Tips, Slabs and Kerf 7 50 9-) 8 7 3. ! 75 s 55 28 IH 10 8 I 75 u 60 :-!8 25 18 ■ 8. 75 10 (i4 55 3S 17 1 .S.3 72 11 6S 79 56 20 ! 4. 1 66 12 12 ior» 80 24 ; 4.5 1 62 l.S 7*) 142 111 20 4.9 i 59 14 71) 181 134 :-',() 5. i 58 15 82 226 170 45 I 0. i '^ The loss in scaling by Doyle-Scriber rule exceeds seventy-five per cent, of the total cubic volume of the stem until the tree reaches a diameter of thirteen inches, 'oreasthigh. This large proportion (.f waste is an excellent reason for not cutting young stands for saw timber or for not cutting the >mall trees in old stands unless they are suppressed trees. LUMBEinX(J .VXD HKSTOCKIXC; Simultaneously with lumbering conio the subject of securing .1 second stand of young pine to rejilace the one which is cut. 36 SHORTLEAF PINK IN VIRGINIA After orcliiiiiry culling, such as i.s practiced for farm u:-e, or in clear cutting stands of pine for lumber or for fuel, hardwoods generally form the main part of the young stand. The reasons for this are explained under the heading "Permanency of Old- Field Pine Stands." To obtain reproduction of pine, it is neces- sary: (1) To cut nearly clean, that there may be abundant light; (2) To leave seed-bearing pine trees scattered over the area or standmg nearby; (3) To cut out the large trees of such hard- woods as dogwood, jjost oak, hickory, persimmon, etc., which have sprung up beneath the pines, and wdiich would suppress many pine seedlings by their shade; (4) To bring as much of the min- eral soil to the surface as possible. The hardwoods should be cut m September, when their sprouting capacit}^ is lowest. Two methods of cutting are suggested. One method, leaving isolated seed trees, is for use w^here the entire stand must be cut at one time. The other, cutting in strips, or groups, can be applied when there is a steady market for saw logs, as when there is a nearby permanent sawmill, or logs can be shipped to such a mill, and wdien it is possible to make two or more cuttings, not less than five years apart, in a stand, always having in view, however, the development of the valuable long-bodied and clean-stemmed trees (table 16) which are to form the mature stand. Isolated Seed Trees. — When the saw-timber must be removed at one cutting it is advisable to prepare for the final cutting at the time of the last thinning by developing seed trees. At forty-five years of age, the production of seed by shortleaf pine is still ex- tremely light, particularly in dense stands. If there are no old forest pines AA'hich will serve for seed trees within 100 yaiH;is of the tract, one object of the last thinning should be to select and develop trees for seed trees. Vigorous, large-crowned trees should be selected for this pur- pose. They should be not less than four to the acre, and should be evenly distributed or else located on the tops of hills or knolls. Their crowns should be entirely freed by heavy thinnings on all sides. This should lead to the production of a heav}' crop of cones and fertile seed Avithin five years. If the crowns again crowd be- fore lumbering, they should again be freed by further thinning. When lumbering takes place, all merchantable trees should be cut except these seed trees, Avhich should be able to produce enough seed in a few years to restock the land. (Plate V). If the seetl trees are windfirm thev can go over until the next stand is cut; SIIORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA &7 if they fall, they can be listed without breaking down too many of the small trees in the young stand. Since the period of restock- ing-by this method would probably occupy from four to six years, the soil would not be fully used during this time. Cutting in Strips. — Complete and rapid stocking is better as- >nrod by cutting in strips, but this method presupposes a continu- ous market for saw logs. The area should be clear-cut over strips not exceeding 200 feet in width, alternating Avith strips of equal width which are only culled of the smaller trees. On level ground these strips should be at right angles to the roads; on hilly land they should lie up and down the slopes. The wooded strips 'should lie heavily thinned by the removal of all except the largest trees, which should not exceed twenty to the acre, and should be left well isolated. These trees will serve as seed trees, and on account of their large number they should seed the entire area heavily within five to ten years. As soon as a thorough restocking is assured they can be cut. Some of the young trees will be broken down, but the loss will not be serious. The diameter growth of the seed trees after the thinning Avill be large because of this isola- tion. Blanks ten or more feet square left after the seed trees are cut should be planted by seed spotting as described under the di- rections for planting. The two loggings will increase the danger from fire, requiring additional precautionary measures to be taken. This methoa can be varied by leaving the seed trees in gi'oups. Cutting Unthinned Stan/Is. — Both of the above methods pre- suppose that the stand which is being cut has been thinned, and consequently is formed entirely or largely of trees of merchantable size. An understocked stand, similar to that shown in plate III. and in which the trees are largely of merchantable size, can be cut so as to secure a restocking, by leaving some of the more slender but well crowned trees for seed trees. The problem of cutting a crowded stand to the best advantage and in a manner to secure a restocking is more difficult. The trees in such a stand have a much greater range of diameter than those in a thinned stand. There is a large number of small suppressed and intermediate trees which may be too small to be cut eco- nomically for saw timber '(see "Waste in cutting small trees," page 35). In such a case it may be desirable to remove the stand in two or more cuttings, made at intervals of five or more years. At the first cutting only the largest trees should l)e cut, particularly 38 SIIORTLEAF PINK IN VIKdIMA those which ha\e ^.hort and knotty stems. Such as have very slender clean stems and good crowns should be left, but enough of the largest trees should be taken to open the crown cover one- third. Such a cutting might remove one-tenth of the total num- ber of trees but more than one-half of the saAV log volume of the stand. At the second cutting not only should most of the trees which have grown to merchantabU' size be removed, but also sucli of the smaller stunted trees as have shown no indication of thrift since the first cutting. The trees which are left should be choice clean-stemmed specimens with medium sized, but thrifty crowns. They can be left at the rate of ten to twenty to the acre. Such trees as have Aveak stems which would be likely to be bowed or broken by wind or sleet should not be left. Thickets of high shrubs and broadleaf trees should be cut. It is probable that by the time of the second cutting groups of young seedlings, about one foot in height, will have appeared beneath the openings made by the first cutting. Seed from the trees which are left after the second cutting Avill complete the restocking. Two courses can be followed in regard to the trees which are left after the second cutting. Either they can be removed after thorough seedling es- tablishment is assured, or they can lie held over and cut at some thinning period of the young stand. If trees with fifty feet of clear length and diameters of from ten to twelve inches are left after the second cutting and are held until they are twenty to twenty-foiu' inches in diameter their stumpage value will increase from three to five times. This increase in value will be due en- tirely to the greater size of the logs, which will yield a high grade of lumber and can be sawn with small waste. (See Tables IG and 18 and Plate II, Fig. 1). No method of cutting a crowded iiuthiniied stand. howe\er. Avill give as great a yield in lioard feet \)ev acre, or will produce logs of as high a grade, as can l)e obtained from a well-thinned stand. PLAXTIX(; WASTE LAND On many farms in middle Virginia there are tracts of g'lllied. or shalhnv soiled or rocky, or other iioor or waste land which are either Avithout a gi-owth of pine oi- are stocking extremely slowly and irregularly. Shortleaf pine could be planted profitably on such tracts. The sound seed of this pine sprout so freely, and the growth of the young seedling is so rapid, that direct seeding can SIIOKTI.KAF IMNK IX \IK(UMA. 39 l)e iiiiide ill place of using- young plants. Seed should be planted in spots six feet apart in Avell loosened soil and lightly covered, not deeper than one-half inch Avith earth. One of the two follow- ing methods can be used. If the tract can be plowed, shallow furroAvs can be laid off at intervals of six feet with a shovel plow or small turning plow, and the seed dropped at six-foot intervals m the furrows and liglitly covered with a weeding hoe. If a plow cannot be used, the earth can be loosened with a light grub hoe over a spot six or eight inches square, and the seed planted and liglitly covered in the middle of this spot. If the soil is either dry or light and sandy the planter should step on the spot after covering to bring the earth in close contact with the seed and in- sure germination. Set poles should be used to keep the rows straight. The seed of shortleaf pine has a low germinating percentage, seldom more than forty-five per cent., and a number of seed, twelve or fifteen, should therefore be dropped in a hole. As many as can easily be held Iwtween the thumb, index finger and second finger will insure a stand. There are about 50,000 seed to a pound, so that a pound, if carefully handled, will plant an acre. The smallness of the seeds, however, makes them difficult to handle, and an inexperienced planter will usually drop more than are necessary for obtaining a stand. Planting should be done at any time between the middle of February and the first of April, whenever the soil is in suitable condition. Protection from fire and cattle is absolutely necessary until the trees are three or four inches in diameter and the bark thick enough to afford reasonable protection, which will require from ten to fifteen years. Returns from Plant at ions. — If such plantations are carefully thinned their yiekl should greatly exceed that of natural stands. riie cost of i)lanting an acre and of carrying the investment is calculated on the basis of a land value of $10 an acre, with five per cent, compound interest, which includes an allowance of one per cent, an acre a year for taxes and protection. This land value is low for soils which will produce gowl shortleaf pine. The prices at which stumpage must be sold to net four per cent, on the m- vestment are shown in Talile 10. Cost of land $10 00 Cost of seed one pound per acre 2 50 Cost of planting per acre 1 50 Total initial cost of imestment $14 00 40 SHORTLEAF riNE 1-N \llf(;lMA. TABLE 19. ^ Cost of producing shortleaf pme strnnj)age in- plantations with five per cent gross interest on investment. 1 13 ed Cost ent,per eslconi- t 5 per initial and innings Iddleof f)0 cents anding, nulated t 4 per ard feet 9" and iameter h Hoard growing 1^2 p-o 1 O < Accumulat oflnvestni Acre. Inter pounded a cent, less Value of I Credit OfTh made in m Decade at « Cord, St with accui Interest a cent, net* Yield In no of Trees over in D Breast hlg Cost per 1.0 feet of Timber ii=f |B5£ Is 20 $ 27.10 . . .! 21 $ 1.28 80 40.20 1 7.00 5,800 $ 5 fin j 51 .65 40 78.56 20.80 14 800 3.8.S (50 .P6 50 150.58 40 28 19,300 5.69 (50 1 84 * On account of the small amount of the thinnings and the short periods duiing which the money from them would be Invested, only 4 per cent, is allowed on them. Thinnings made at middle of decades yield about eleven cords at twenty-five years, fifteen cords at thirty-five years, and ten cords at forty-five years per acre. The minimum cost of producing himber would be about $3.83 per 1,000 board feet, when a stand is about forty years old. The minimum cost of producing cordwood would be^about sixty-five cents a cord at an age of thirty years. These figures, wnich are conservative, indicate that planta- tions can be expected to yield at least five per cent, gross or four per cent, net after allowing one per cent, or ten cents an acre a year, for taxes and protection. With regularly made and care- fully executed thinnings, the yield would probably exceed that of the irregularly thinned stands on which the calculations are based and the cost of production would be lowered: in other words a higher interest rate would be obtained. In order for a plantation to yield five per cent, net or six per cent, gross, alloAving one per cent, an acre a year for taxes and fire protection, the following returns, which are fair and reasonable, must be obtained from stands of different ages. SHOKTLEAF PINE IK VIRGINIA. 41 TABLE 20. Cost of producing shortleaf pine stunvpage in plantations with six per cent gross interest on investment. •a a < Years Accumulated Cost of Investment, per Acre, Interest com- pounded at 6 per cent., less Initial Value of Land Credit of Thinnings made In middle of Decade at 50 cents a Cord, standing with accumulated Intcest at 4 per cent net* Yield in Board feet of Trees 9" and over In Diameter Breast high. II oH !l Final Yield In Cords of Trees 5" and over In Diameter Breast high II 20 % 34.80 70.36 134.06 247.88 $ 10.91 7.70 10.77 21 51 60 60 $ 1.66 30 40 60 $ 7 00 20.10 40. 2S 5, SCO 14,800 19,300 1.23 1.88 8.30 *On account of the small amount of the thinnings and the short period during which tha money from them would be Invested only 4 per cent, net is allowed on them. In neither of the foregoing calculations is any allowance made for superintendence, and possible losses from insects, sleet and snow breakage, and windstorm damage, but it must also be re- membered that the constant increase in the price of timber is like- wi.se neglected. THP] PROTECTlONi OF STANDS The two important dangers to pine stands, fire and insects, are in a measure interrelated. Those trees which have been weak- ened or injured by fires invite insects, while stands which are lit- tered by the wood which has died from' insect depredations, and which have become grassy on account of openings made in the crown cover where trees have been killed by insects are particularly exposed to serious damage from fire. AVith both dangers, pre- vention is the most eifective means of control. Fi/res. — While the danger of fire is always present, it is far more serious in connection with young stands and particularly those in process of stocking, such as fields which have recently been turned out, or newly cut or lumbered land. Fires injure such young stands at any season of the year in which they may occur. Although many individuals of shortleaf pine between one and two feet high, when killed by an early spring fire,, will sprout, the sprouting capacity is irregular and unreliable (Plate VI, fig. 2). Moreover, most of such sprouts die in a few years, while many of the survivors are forked. After the tenth year, the heavy shade of 42 SUORITLEAF PINE IN VIKGINIA. crowded stands and the thickened bark greatl}^ reduce the danger of fire, but even the heavy bark of old trees does not afford com- plete protection from hot spring fires when these are driven by a strong wind. Thickly stocked shortleaf pine stands do not, as a rule, become grassy or foul with shrubs and herbage, and conse- quently do not require periodic winter burning for the purpose of protection, such as may often be necessary for pole stands and mature stands of loblolly and longleaf pines. Although no visible damage may be done to older trees l)y such burnings, the rate of growth is reduced by the destruction of the pine straw and the humus, while even the slight scorching of trees may lead to the entrance of insects or fungi. Young stands and areas which are in process of stocking are most effectively protected from fire by establishing and maintain- ing open fire lanes, free from straw and litter, completely aroinid them or on the exposed sides. A shallow furrow can be plowed every year on both sides of the lanes, and the intervening strip can be raked clear, or it can be burned during damp, quiet weather. In older stands the straw and litter can be raked off the lanes each autumn and used for stable beddings. Well established lanes, if they are free from stumps and shrubs, may convenient h'^ be raked with a side delivery rake. By locating lanes at intervals through a large tract, as well as around it, it is separated into blocks which are individually protected. Where possible, roads and paths should be used for lanes. Since there is great danger of a serious fire during and immediately after lumbering, extra protective pre- caution should be taken at that time. A fire that occurs at that time will frequently destroy the pine seedlings, but the replace- ment of the hardwoods and shrubs takes place at once by sprout- ing. Repeated fires eliminate the pines. When timber is sold or when logging is done by contract, an enforceable fire penalty clause should be inserted in the contract, in oixler to obtain the necessary protection. The Federal Government under the terms of section 2 of the Weeks Law extends its co-operation to States in assisting them to protect the forested water-sheds of navigable streams from fire. In order to secure assistance of this kind a State must have provided by law for a system of forest fire protection and must have appropriated funds for the purpose. Scarcely a more im- portant step could be taken by the State of Virginia towards the conservation of its forests than the establishment of a fire pro- 8H0RTLEAF PINE IN VIKGINIA. 43 tective system. The readiness of the Federal (Tovernment to co- operate under the terms of this hiw as soon as the State itself makes a start is an incentive to immediate action. In the short- leaf pine area of Virginia the water-sheds of the Appomattox, James, Koanoke and Rapidan rivers could be i)rotected by such co-operation. Insects. — The danger of fire is greatest to seedling stands, l)ut the possibility of insect damage, although it^is always present, increases after the trees are twenty years old. One of the most pernicious insects is the gine _bark_beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis^ ZimmfKi which devastated the coniferous forest of middle and west- ern Virginia between 1888 and 1892. This species channels the inner bark in the middle part of the stem and eventually girdles the trees, thus killing them. Other beetles infest the wood of the living tree, and yet others attack only dead or dying trees. The fecundity of the pine bark beetle is so great that several large broods are produced in a single summer, and when conditions are favorable they propagate in enormous numbers and cause serious depredations. Pure stands in old fields invite destructive attacks, since in them the insects can readily spread from tree to tree. The best way to hold this insect in check is to keep the trees in thrifty condition by preventing overcrowding, by removing wood which would serve as breeding places, and by cutting out in- fested trees. It is particularly desirable to maRe these protective cuttings before the spring and early summer broods of the insects come out and spread. Infested trees should be promptly removed as soon as noticed. The removal of weak trees in thinning elimi- nates them as sources of breeding, while cutting low stumps and close utilization, or the piling and burning of tops — operations which are sometimes advisable for other reasons — remove much other wood. The culting of live trees should be limited as far as possible to the winter, but dead trees can be cut at any time. Special care should be used in summer cutting not to leave freshly- cut tops touching live trees, and to remove promptly trees that have been killed by lightning. When cordwood or logs which are spring or summer cut cannot be promptly removed, they should be peeled or racked in the sun, that they may dry. Detailed infor- mation in regard to protection against this beetle is contained in Farmers' Bulletin. No. 47.6. Fungus Diseases. — The most important known fungus which attacks shortleaf pine is Trametes 'pint, the cause of redheart. 44 SHORTLEAF PINE IN VIRGINIA. This is a dark brown snutf-colored ^^^jink!' which gains entrance into the heartwood of the upper part of the stem through knot holes, and into the h)wer part by wounds caused by falling trees, fire scars, '(Plate VI, fig. 2), and insects. Trees which show the "punk" should be promptly cut. Pine stands are also exposed to damage from windstonns, and from sleet and wet snow. The damage by wind cannot be pre- vented. Fortunately, shortleaf pine, when it .orows on deep soils, is anchored by a long, strong taproot, and is \ ery wi ndfirm. On shallow soils, particularly a hard-pan near the surface which checks the descent of the taproot, it windfalls badly. Slender trees are occasionally bent or even broken by wind. Frequent light thin- nings render the trees in such stands more windfirm. Sleet and wet snow are dangers against which there is no ade- quate protection! The weight of sleet and wet snow frequently breaks the leaders, and in crowded stands may bend many stems beyond recovery, break them, or even uproot them. The only pre- cautionary measure is to strengthen the resisting power of limbs and stems by thinning. Trees in young stands less than twenty years old are the most likely to be broken and bent, while trees in older stands, in which isolation is taking place, are the most apt to be overturned. Frequently, insect depredations follow this kind of damage. K, C, State Coilege <>z?J'-:^^ief^r^^i^ ri,AiE VI. A culled stand oi mixed pine and hardwoods. The defetihe oak In the left foreground is partially sliadiiig groups of thrifty pine seedlings and should be removed. The large pines in the background serve as s^ed n<-es. The seedHngs are greatly exposed to tire. ^- w.