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MANAGEMENT AM3-"

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INVENTORY

OF

SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

Agriculture Handbook No. 181

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY

of

SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

by

John A. Putnam, George M. Furnival, and J. S. McKnight

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181

Forest Service November I960

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington 25, D.C. - Price 55 cents
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Älany men and many agencies helped to make this publication possible.

Thanks are especially due to :

The industrialists and landowners of the Southern Hardwood Forest

Eesearch Group, whose interest in furthering the management of southern

hardwoods facilitated much of the research on which the publication is based;

The Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station, for cooperating with

the U.S. Forest Service in maintaining the Stoneville Research Center of the

Southern Forest Experiment Station;

The School of Forestry, Yale University, for permitting Dr. George M.

Furnival to collaborate in writing the manuscript.
CONTENTS

The forest 2

Species 2

Species-site relationships 4

Major river bottoms 4

Other lowland hardwood sites 7

Upland hardwood sites 7

Stand origins 9

Damaging influences 24

Utilization 21

Quality and marketing 23

Logging 30

Preliminar}^ management 60

Reconnaissance 60

Boundary location 61

Installing a protection system 61

Compartmentation 62

Improving abused stands through harvest or deadening 63

The first cut 69

CuUs 72

Advanced management 74

Present stocking 76

Growth 76

Stocking and stand-structure goals 77

Inventory 82

Simple inventory for beginning management 83

Inventory of trees marked for sale 84

Periodic inventories with temporary sampling points 86

Periodic inventories with temporary and permanent sampling points_ 87

Periodic inventories with relocation of sample trees 88

Field procedure 88

Working up the data 91

Remeasurement of permanent points 93

Subsequent inventories 94

Selected bibliography 94

Appendix 99

Hardwood trade associations 99

Some trade papers particularly interested in southern hardwoods. _ 99

Examples of problems in the law of waters 99

Giant-tree table for Doyle rule 100

III
Management and Inventory ofSouthern Hardwoods

John A. Putnam,' George M. Furnival,* and J. S. McKnight'

The valleys and uplands of the South outside

of the mountains and upper Piedmont have, since

1915, been responsible for about 45 percent of the

national production of hardwood sawtimber.

There are strong indications that this situation

may continue indefinitely.

The lower Mississippi Valley, lower Piedmont,

and southern Coastal Plain from Virginia to

Texas have long been recognized by the hardwood

industries as the "southern hardwood territory."

The moister parts of this area are better adapted

to hardwoods than to pines, and about 45 million

acres in the southern hardwood ternitory nowcovered with hardwood forests should be managed

for continued hardwood production.

This handbook was written to bring together

' Hardwood Specialist, Southern Forest Experiment

Station and Southern Region, U.S. Forest Service.

" A.ssistant Professor of Forest Mensuration, Yale

School of Forestry.

" Forester in Charge, Stoneville Research Center,

Southern Forest Experiment Station, U.S. Forest Service.

Alluviol bottoms, tiommocks, ond swamps supporting stands of practicolly pure tiardwoods

Primonly productive upland tiardwood sites

h/loinly soultiern pine sites, but witti mony small productive tiordwood oreos interspersed

['',\\-l Portions of Appoloctlian and Ozark tiardwood regions, not discussed in Itiis tiondbook

FIGURE 1.—Location of southern hardwood sites.
AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

experience and research on the nature and management of tliese forests. Much is yet to he

learned, hut many essentials are at liand, ready

to he put into practice.

The forests described liere are found in hottom

lands, swamps, and uplands of the southern liardwood territory (fig. 1). Included are all river and

creek bottoms, branch heads, swamps, hammocks,

coves, and moister upland areas supporting the

growth of quality hardwoods. The discussion

does not apply to the hardwoods of the Ozark,

Ouachita, or Appalachian Mountains nor to those

of the Highland Rim, Cumberland Plateau, or

upper Piedmont. Neither does it include hardwoods growing on pine sites or other upland not

adapted to them. Baldcypress and pondcypress

are discussed along with the hardwoods, because

stands of these species are usually intermingled

with lowland hardwoods.

Tlie authors have confined the subject to management for timber production. Though the

hardwood forests are outstanding as game habitats, multiple or alternative land use is beyond

the scope of the discussion.

THE FOREST

The southern hardwoods exhibit extreme variation in species and sites, in technical qualities, and

in uses. Nevertheless, there is order in this diversity. Certain species occur on certain sites.

Some species are intolerant and occur in evenaged stands that are often pure; most grow in

mixed, many-aged communities. All are prone to

the same kinds of damage. The principles of

hardwood use become clear once it is understood

that they are determined by the technical qualities demanded in the final product.

Species

Approximately 70 species of some commercial

importance grow in the southern hardwood forests; of these, 50 or more often are found on a

single large property. The species differ in form,

use, value, growth rates, site requirements, ability

to reproduce, and a host of other characteristics.

The identification of species or species groups is

not merely an interesting taxonomic problem but

an absolute prerequisite of successful hardwood

management and silviculture: the first task of the

beginning forester is to learn to identify species

quickly and accurately. The commercial species

are listed here; their scientific names and other

information are contained in table 4, p. 32. Any

of several good dendrology texts will aid greatly in

identification.

Commercial trees of southern hardwood forests

Carolina ash

Green ash and pumpkin ash

White ash

Basswood or linden

American beech

River birch

Catalpa

Atlantic or southern whitecedar

Eastern redcedar

Black cherry

Eastern cottonwood

Swamp cottonwood

Baldcypress

I'ondcypress

Flowering dogwood

American or soft elm

Cedar or rock elm

Slippery elm

Winged elm

Sweetgum or redgiun

Black túpelo or blackgum

Ogeechee túpelo

Swamp túpelo or swamp

blackgum

Water túpelo

Hackberry and sugarberry

Hickories

American holly

Black locust

Honeylocust

Water locust

Cucumbertree

Redbay

Southern magnolia

Sweetbay

Boxelder

Florida or southern hard

maple

Red maple

Sil^ter maple

Sugar maple

Red mulberry

Black oak

Bur oak

Cherrybark oak

Chinkapin oak

Delta post oak

Durand oak

Laurel oak

Northern red oak

Nuttall oak

Oglethorpe oak

Overcup oak

Pin oak

Post oak

Shumard oak

Southern red oak

Swamp chestnut or cow oak

Swamp white oak

Water oak

White oak

Willow oak

Osage-orange

Pecan or sweet x)ecan

Water hickory or bitter

pecan

Common persimmon

Loblolly irine

Slash pine

Shortleaf pine

Spruce pine

Sassafras

American sycamore

Butternut or white walnut

Black walnut

Black willow

Sandbar willow

Yellow-poplar

In identification, too much reliance should not

be placed on leaf characteristics, for a great deal

of work must be done in the winter when the

trees are bare. Also, leaf form varies extremely

in some species. Most foresters who deal with

hardMoods depend almost entirely on the appearance of the bark, checked by the overall pattern of the leaves and twigs, as well as the general

shape of the crown. Knowledge of species-site

relationships is also very useful. For example,

pecan and water hickory are often confused, but

they occur on entirely different sites. Several

similar oaks, the two principal ashes, and the three

principal túpelos also can often be separated by

the sites on which they occur.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HA.RDWOODS

F—485942

FIGURE 2.—Almost pure stand of immature sweetgum on the Tensas River in the Mississippi River Delta of Louisiana.

Two very broad species associations or general

classes of forest, one characterized as white oaksred oaks-hickory and the other as sweetgum-water

oaks, cover most of the southern hardwood forest

area. Within these broad associations, the species

occur in both pure and mixed stands, with mixed

stands predominating. The forester will find it

possible to map many local areas occupied by species that tend to grow in relatively pure staiids,

i.e., sweetgum, some white oaks, water or "pin''

oaks, ash, and yellow-poplar (fig. 2). In addition,

overcup oak-water hickory, cypress-tupelo, and

some of the other common mixtures approximate

conventional types, such as those defined bv the

Society of American Foresters, and can be distinguished. Another broad and variable though less

widespread association—riverfront hardwoods—

is recognizable. Here cottonwood and willow

commonly separate into conventional and mappable types.

Nevertheless, separation by conventional types

is difficult or impossible in most hardwood forests,

except for areas too small to map. The usefulness

of types in hardwood miinngement is further diminislied by their relative inipermanence. Fire,

cutting, soil movement, changes in water i-egimes,

and natural succession cause frequent and rapid

changes in species associations in particular locations. In the discussions that follow, emphasis

will be placed primarily on species. A knowledge
AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

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FIGURE 3.—Land and vegetational development along the Mississippi River. This photo includes approximately 67

square miles of land and water. Smith Point shows successive stages of accretion from the new white sandbar

to areas of reproduction and on back to sizable timber. On the extreme lower left, the sharp line between land

and water indicates that the banlfs are caving and old alluvial land is returning to the river.

of species as related to sites, rather than of types

as such, is fundamental to an understanding of

hardwood communities.

Species-Site Relationships

Southern hardwood forests occur on relatively

rich, deep soils having adequate moisture throughout the growing season. The bulk of these sites

occur in the major alluvial valleys. The largest

single area of bottom land is that of the Mississippi

River Delta, where 11,600,000 acres (about 40

percent of the land area) are in hardwood forest.

Adjacent uplands known as the Brown Loam

Bluffs have aJbout 4,400,(X)0 forest acres. The

total acreage of all other productive southern hardwood forest sites, both lowlands and uplands but

largely the former, is about 29 million.

Major River Bottoms

An active river in an alluvial valley constantly

meanders by cutting its banks and forming new

land (figs. 3 and 4). Most of the soil from a

caving bank is deposited at the opposite side, on the

next "point bar" downstream. As the bank-cutting

continues, the point bar increases in height and

extent and is called new land. Finally, sediment

from some spring flood raises the bar above the

ordinary high-water stages, thereby graduating it

from the class of new land to "front" land.

Succeeding floods that overflow the fronts deposit their coarser sediments near the bank of the

river, building high, well-drained ridges or natural levees. Farther back from the banks, these

watei-s eddy and slow while, between high floods,

backwatei-s enter from the tributaries. Here the
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

finer sediments are deposited, forming low, broad

areas of poorly drained "slackwater" clay soils.

Within the slackwater areas are minor features

of relief—low ridges, flats, and sloughs. The low

ridges are more numerous than the fronts or natural levees, having been formed as banks of older,

smaller, sluggish, or less permanent watercourses.

Flat well describes the area between ridges. A

flat is generally wide, with poor surface drainage,

but it may be relatively high or low and either

smooth or slightly uneven. Sloughs are the remaining, nearly filled channels of former watercourses.

It must be emphasized that the differences in

relief are small and variable—at any one location, a low ridge is apt to be no more than 3 to 15

feet below a front, nor more than 1 to 10 feet

above a flat. In the slackwater areas, relief can

rarely be distinguished as such, but only by its

effects. For example, the practicing forester generally distinguishes a flat by its extent, general

lack of gradient, and slow drainage.

The fronts, high ridges, and slackwater areas are

formed by gradual accretion and sedimentation.

The action of the river, however, may also be swift

and abrupt. As bends become sharp and points

grow long, the river frequently shortens its course

by making a "cut-off" across an intervening neck

of land. The abandoned section of channel becomes an oxbow lake and, as sedimentation continues, a swamp (fig. 5). Shallow swamp may

be formed when new fronts obstruct drainage

from low flats.

On occasion, entire channels and floodplains

may be abandoned as the river carves a whole new

course, reworking old alluvium elsewhere in its

valley. Thus, most alluvial bottoms have been

formed and reformed by the flooding and periodic

migrations of one or more large rivers. The relatively recent or present floodplains are usually

referred to as first bottoms. They contain the

newer deposits of alluvium and less mature soils.

Areas from which the rivers migrated at a relatively early stage and in which the soils are much

more mature are often loosely referred to (especially with regard to the Delta of the Mississippi

River) as second bottoms or terraces, even though

they may not have more elevation than the first

bottom. Of course, within such areas there are no

longer true fronts—only high ridges—but all the

other secondary features can still be identified.

In the strict sense, second bottoms or terraces

are remnants of former floodplains, left when a

general uplift or tilting of the earth's surface created a steeper riverbed which then ate its way

down to a lower level. Terraces may form the

major parts of the valleys of slow-moving rivers

whose beds have become entrenched. Such terraces are found along the Tombigbee and the Alabama to their confluence and the Chattahoochee

above the mouth of the Flint. Within the Delta,

Macon Ridge in north Louisiana illustrates a true

terrace. In such bottoms, active fronts are absent

or vestigial and flooding is infrequent, but all the

other alluvial features are present. The soils are

old and well differentiated, corresponding roughly

FIGURE 4.—Xewly made land along the Arkansas River in Arkansas. Willow and cottonwood reproduction is coming

in toward the back of this bar.
6

AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F—486929

FIGURE .5.—Willow on the low areas and cottonwood on the higher areas have covered this flUed-in and abandoned

bed of the Arkansas River.

to the areas of old alluvium previously described.

The bottoms of smaller fast-moving rivers and

of many large creeks that flood are usually characterized by light soils and an undjalating topography. Examples of such streams are the Leaf

River of Mississippi, the Saline River of Arkansas, and the Calcasieu River of Louisiana. In

general, site conditions parallel those of the second bottoms or older alluvium, except that the low

spots, banks, and abandoned channels are similar

to the corresponding first-bottom sites.

Complex but recognizable species associations

(not conventional forest types) characterize the

sites just described. As the sites change through

the action of the river or through aging and maturing, the species associations also shift. The

associations on the oldest and most stable formations, the second bottoms or terraces, have the

most advanced forest succession.

On the higher, better drained bars and towheads, the pioneer species is cottonwood. When

cottonwood matures, it is succeeded by the riverfront species—silver maple, American elm, hackberry, sycamore, boxelder, pecan, green ash, and

sometimes, very late in this phase, sweetgum and

water oak. Later a succession of the water oaks

and sweetgum, with typical associates, follows on

these high ridges. Ultimately, and sometimes

even before graduating to second-bottom status,

the best of these sites may support cherrybark oak

and a few other advanced species.

High ridges in second bottoms generally are no

longer subject to sedimentation. Here white oaks,

black túpelo, winged elm, white ash, and hickory

are found along with cherrybark and Shumard

oak, water oak, and sweetgum. These species are

also common in the bottoms of small, fast-moving

rivers and large creeks and on the terraces of the

slower moving entrenched streams. Loblolly pine

often is found on the highest ridges of the second

bottoms and spruce pine sometimes on ridges of

the smaller Coastal Plain rivers and larger creeks.

On low, newly formed bars with ñne-textured

soils, the first pioneer is usually willow. Tf the

site fails to gain elevation, remaining something

of a shallow swamp, successors are baldcypress

and green ash, sometimes in association with

American elm, red maple, and sugarberry, followed much later by overcup oak, water hickory,

and persimmon. If sedimentation is pronounced,

the site may eventually approach the status of a

low flat and support much Nuttall oak or, in the

Southeast, laurel oak.

A similar succession occurs as sloughs, swamps,
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

and oxbow lakes fill with sediment. Here, however, the succession is much slower and the phases

are more distinct, both in time and space. In the

early stages of this succession, many deep sloughs

and cutoffs near the active river have excellent

stands of willow. Large swamps, holding water

most of the year, occur in both the first and second

bottoms and here the most important species are

baldcypress and túpelos. On the other hand, most

of the small sloughs away from the river are now

occupied by overcup oak and water hickory along

with green ash, persimmon, and Nuttall oak in

some situations.

In the broad slackwater areas of the first bottoms, the low ridges typically carry sweetgum,

willow oak, green ash, and occasionally water oak.

Sugarberryj Nuttall oak, overcup oak, red maple,

American elm, and green ash are the usual species

on the flats and lower ridges. In the Southeast,

Nuttall oak is replaced by laurel oak. In extensive backwater areas where flooding lasts well into

the growing season, the species may be primarily

overcup oak and water hickory.

Species composition on low ridges of second bottoms is similar to that on the high ridges or ancient fronts. The most common species are swamp

chestnut oak, cherrybark oak, Shumard oak, water

oak, black túpelo, ard winged elm, with some

hickory and white ash. Some of the more advanced species, such as white oak, are notably

absent. Here the flats are usually occupied by

sweetgum, willow oak, Nuttall oak (laurel oak in

Southeast), green ash, red maple, and persimmon—species characteristic of low ridges and better flats in the first bottoms. In some of the lowest,

poorest drained flats and sloughs in the terraces,

overcup oak and water hickory are again

dominant.

Other Lowland Hardwood Sites

Soils in small creek bottoms are usually of local

origin and coarser than most alluvial bottom soils.

The sites are subject to considerable local changes

in water level during the growing season. Some

especially distinguishing species are beech, yellowpoplar, magnolia, pines, and holly, together with

most of the species of the older alluvial ridges in

the big bottoms. In addition, such species as

cherryback oak, the better white oaks, and the

hickories commonly occur. The creek bottoms

may vary in width from a few hundred yards to

a mile or more, but usually are narrow strips

through good southern pine land. Being so intermingled with pine, good strips of hardwood

forest sometimes lose their identity, but under intensive management and with well-developed

markets these creek bottoms can be very important

hardwood sites ( fig. 6). Most of the loblolly pine

in such bottoms, together with practically all the

spruce pine, occurs on the more stable ridges and

stream banks.

Muck swamps are not of alluvial origin, but

mostly originate from impoundment of rainwater

and seepage in landlocked depressions of the

Coastal Plain. They also include swamps in tidal

estuaries, at margins of coastal marshes, and in

the deeper, more productive bays. Usually, water

in these swamps is inky from accumulated organic

matter and there is no firm bottom. The characteristic species are baldcypress and pondcypress,

together with the so-called soft hardwoods, primarily the túpelos, sweetbay, and redbay. Atlantic white-cedar is also native here, but is now

rare. The shallow ponds, strands, and pocosins

in the longleaf, slash, and pond pine woods are

related to the deep muck-swamp types. They

support the same species, but the trees usually

are stunted. Some minor blackwater streams of

the lower Coastal Plain do not deposit fine alluvium and are not productive of good hardwoods.

The larger ones, however, have substantial proportions of coarse alluvium or colluvium that often

form productive sites for hardwood species characteristic of the terraces.

Localized areas within the Coastal Plain having

ample moisture and deep soil of unusually good

texture are called hammocks (or, in Louisiana,

bays). They may be depressed or raised above the

surrounding terrain. Although not necessarily

associated with any stream, they are usually

well drained and support a mixture of hardwoods including cherrybark oak, swamp chestnut

oak, black túpelo, hickory, white ash, white oak,

Shumard oak, and sometimes yellow-poplar and

magnolia as well as the water oaks and sweetgum.

Pine, usually loblolly, may be mixed with the good

hardwoods on low hammocks and may predominate on high hammocks.

Upland Hardwood Sites

Two main types of productive upland hardwood

sites occur in the southern hardwood region.

First are the loessal soils, the primary examples

being in the generally deeply dissected Brown

Loam Bluffs and other uplands bordering the

eastern edge of the Mississippi alluvial plain from

Louisiana north (fig. 7). These deep, rich soils

support excellent hardwoods. The second type of

good upland site occurs largely in the rolling areas

or hills of the lower Piedmont and in some richer

upland areas of the upi^er Coastal Plain, usually

within coves and ravines, on the slopes and bluffs

above drainage courses, in branch heads, and along

very minor nonalluvial bottom lands adjoining

creeks and drains.

On a large additional upland acreage that once

supported good hardwoods, misuse has depleted

the soil until pine management is now more

economical.
8 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F-229287

riGURE 6.—River birch is

one of the pioneer species

along small streams and

sometimes along the larger rivers, particularly in

the Southeast.

Although as a rule most hard\YOods in the uplands reach their best development on the moist

lower slopes and bottoms of coves, ravines, and

streams, six topographic situations in the uplands

may require different silviculture: (1) branch

heads, (2) coves, ravines, and strands adjacent to

streams, (3) lower slopes, (4) middle slopes, (5)

upper slopes, and (6) ridges. As in the swamps

and bottoms, associations are much more important tlian conventional forest types.

In contrast to its effect in the mountains, aspect

ordinarily has a minor influence on hardwood

development in these areas. Most slopes are short,

even though the terrain, particularly in the Brown

Loam Bluffs, may be extremely steep.

Brancli heads, coves, and lower slopes may produce excellent hardwood timber. Yellow-poplar,

cherrybark oak, Shumard oak, sweetgum, white

ash, and sassafras do well particularly in the

Brown Loam Bluffs, wliile farther north these

bluffs and Piedmont areas grow good northern

red oak. Cottonwood and sycamore are found

occasionally on the best cove sites and dogwood is

common on the slopes. Branch heads of the lower

Coastal Plain may support mainly water oak or

laurel oak with occasional white or cherrybark

oak, yellow-poplar, sweetgimi, magnolia, sweetbay, swamp túpelo, and pine ; they exhibit some of

tlie aspects of small bottoms or swamps.

Development of hardwood on middle slopes is

fair to excellent. Well-adapted species are cherrybark oak, white oak, beech, winged elm, hickory,

black oak, and southern red oak. Occasionally

Shumard oak and, in appropriate latitudes, northern red oak do well. Dogwood is perhaps at its

best here.

Upper slopes and ridges with deep surface soil

produce acceptable hardwood growth, particularly of cherrybark oak and white oak. The conventional white oak and oak-hickory types occupy

much of the good upperslope and ridge sites.

When the soil on these sites is eroded, as it often is,

pines are more productive than hardwoods.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

FIGURE 7.—Good white oak

and cherrybark oak on

the Brown Loam Bluffs

near Vieksburg, Miss.

Stand Origins

Present-day hardwood stands reflect the varying

tolerances and growth rates of the species that

compose them. They also show the influence of

fires and other calamities, past logging or agricultural use of the land, flooding, sedimentation, or

erosion. Most stands are a hodgepodge of species

and age classes ranging from seedlings to mature

trees.

The southern hardwoods are intolerant of shade.

Sugarberry, hackberry, mulben-y, beech, dogwood, holly, magnolia, the bays, red maple, boxelder, the elms, Osage-orange, persimmon, and,the

liickories form exceptions to this statement, but

most of these species are not favored in management. Therefore, adequate advance i-eproduction

of sapling size and of desirable species seldom

develops except in openings large enough to

provide sunlight for a substantial part of the day.

Given an ample seed soui'ce and freedom from

fire and grazing, most openings in a hardwood

forest regenerate naturally (fig. 8). The sunlight that is necessary for seedling growth also
10 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F-488921

FiGUEE 8.—Most openings in hardwood stands will regenerate if provided a seed source and protection from fire and

grazing. Sweetgum, green ash, and willow oak are evident in this opening.

induces a jungle of weeds, vines, briers, cane, and

brush so thick that individual seedlings, though

numerous, must be searched for in the welter.

Such brush-patch beginnings are typical of most

southern hardwood forest types, with the condition most aggravated in the bottom lands. Unless

the seedlings are thick enough to form a complete cover in themselves, they apparently must

use the competition as a nurse crop. The need

seems to be for enough low cover to prevent baking

or puddling of the soil. Perhaps soil temperatures are involved, along with the protection from

browsing afforded by thorny vegetation.

Sometimes dense ground cover of erect habit,

such as brier, herbaceous weeds, and cane, originates ahead of the reproduction. If it gets to be 7

or 8 feet tall, it will create sufficient overhead shade

to hamper the establishment of tree reproduction.

Harm from most vines is usually quite localized,

but peppervine and honeysuckle, originating in

advance, may form impenetrable mats under which

little reproduction can survive. This condition

is usually the result of overcutting and recurrent

fires. Brief descriptions of some of the more

important weed-tree, shrub, and vine species appear on page 11.

Except on problem areas, close examination of

the average brush patch will reveal seedlings and

small saplings, ordinarily from several hundred

to a few thousand per acre. Many of these young

trees will be seemingly overwhelmed by ground

cover, about two-thirds may be of the least desirable species, and half may be crooked, forked,

bushy, or suppressed. Nevertheless, within a few

years after the area appears the most hopeless, a

very promising stand of saplings will emerge and

the jungle will melt away under its shade. Such

sapling stands generally contain between 400 and
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 11

1,200 well-established trees per acre, the majority

dominants and codominants of desirable species

and form. At this stage, moreover, the better

species and the best formed trees tend strongly to

grow the most vigorously and to assert dominance,

and hence to suppress many of the undesirables.

SilvicMlturally important weed species of southern

hardwood forests '

American hornbeam or blue beech ( Carpinus caroliniana )

and eastern hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) are both

commonly called ironwood. They occur mainly on

terraces of minor streams, but are also common on

well-drained terrace or outwash sites in major bottoms.

In the uplands, they occur on all sites. In recent years

both have been used for pulpwood. They are very

tolerant and are pests when they occur in dense

patches.

Planertree (Planera aquatica) occurs widely In swamps,

deep sloughs, and low, poorly drained flats throughout

the bottom lands. It is not found in the uplands. It is

a small, poorly formed tree that can easily take over

sites where fire has destroyed desirable species.

Roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii), commonly

called swamp dogwood, is a shrub that grows widely on

low ridges and better drained flats of the bottom lands.

Occurrence is usually sparse, but it can preempt open

areas.

Swamp-privet (Forestiera acuminata) occurs widely in

the bottom lands and can be a serious pest on wet flats

and shallow sloughs. At times, solid stands preclude

desirable reproduction.

Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) is widely distributed on

ridges and well-drained flats of the bottom lands and

on all better upland sites. It is generally a scattered

understory tree but may make thickets in openings.

Common buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), sometimes called buttonball, is a shrub restricted to' deep

sloughs and swamps. It often becomes prolific in openings after heavy cutting and fire, and ruins many

swamp sites.

Possumhaw or deciduous holly (Ilex decidua) generally

grows on stifC bottom-land soils of the flats or low

ridges. It is a pest in small openings where reproduction of timber species is sought.

Dwarf palmetto (Sahal minor) occurs widely on silty clay

soils but is a nuisance primarily in the lower Mississippi

Valley south of the Louisiana line, where it may form

high, dense stands.

Southern bayberry or southern waxmyrtle (Myrica cerífera), a shrub of the lower Coastal Plain, fringes and

occasionally invades the bottom lands.

Live oak (Quercus virginiana) makes a tree of large

diameter but with a swollen, buttressed base and large

limbs starting near the ground. It is most abundant

and reaches largest size on rich hammocks and low

ridges of the Atlantic and east gulf coasts.

Fetter-bush (Lyonia lucida) is a small evergreen shrub

common in the swamps of the east coast, often making a

complete ground cover.

Peppervine (Ampélopsis arbórea), locally called buckvine,

ig common on tight clay soils. It tends to take over the

site when stands are severly depleted and burned.

Trumpetcreeper (Campsis radicans) is similar to peppervine and found on like sites, but differs in that it

readily climbs trees.

Poison-ivy (Toxioodendron radicans) is common on all

sites except very wet ones. It often grows as a dense

stand on the ground, but also climbs trees. In the

climbing form, stems may be 3 to 6 inches in diameter.

^ Most of these species, and some others, are Illustrated in : L C Malsenhelder. Understory plants of bottomland forests.

U S Forest Serv. South. Forest Bxpt. Sta. Occas. Paper 165,

40 pp., lllus. 1958.

Grape (Viti^s spp.), common on well-drained sites and

most soils, forms large vines that often weigh down

saplings and aggressively climb large trees.

Supplejack (Berchemia scandent), common on all except

very wet sites, is a vine that chokes and deforms trees

by winding lt.self about them as it climbs.

Redvine or ladies'-eardrops (Brunnichia cirrhosa), common on tight clay soils, is a ground vine that makes a

low mat inhibiting tree reproduction.

Morning-glory (Ipomoea spp.) sometimes becomes noxious in limited areas in creek bottoms, drained swamps,

and hammocks of the Southeast.

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japónica) is an introduced pest, particularly serious in the small bottoms

of the Piedmont. It forms a low dense mat that prevents reproduction, and climbs and deforms saplings

and small poles.

Kudzu-vine (Pueraria lohata), a cultivated vine often

planted for erosion control, sometimes invades the edges

of forest stands. It can smother large trees and is also

a serious fire hazard after frost has killed the leaves.

A few species, especially Nuttall oak, willow

oak, water oak, laurel oak, and overcup oak, will

germinate profusely beneath a complete canopy,

but the seedlings invariably die back to the rootcollar within 3 years unless they are released.

Others, such as the ashes and most oaks, germinate

more or less plentifully throughout the stands,

and scattered individuals or groups may develop

for some years in the partial light of small openings. Without release, they dwindle away before

reaching pole size. Still other species, such as

the túpelos and sweetgum, germinat« sparsely

and endure briefly under any closed overstory,

though they may start profusely in small openings and survive so long as top light is available.

The tolerant species persist and grow poorly

under shade but quickly form dense stands when

released, thus preventing reproduction of intolerant species that may be more desirable. Nevertheless, when given an equal start in the open,

more desirable intolerant species will outgrow

less desirable tolérants.

Certain species characteristically originate and

develop in almost pure stands of even age. Cottonwood and willow require absolutely bare, moist,

mineral soil for the first few weeks of growth.

Any low ground cover, especially sod, greatly

hampers them. At no time will these species tolerate any overhead shade, even from weeds. They

endure long flooding and silt deposition. Seedling stands are extremely dense (50,000 to 500,000

seedlings per acre) and develop very rapidly.

Cottonwood asserts dominance promptly.

Stands on good sites usually remain fully stocked

throughout their life unless they are cut or meet

catastrophe. Willow stagnates early; the dense,

fully stocked condition of the stands breaks down

within the first 30 years through excessive, almost

simultaneous mortality. Because of their extreme

intolerance and their requirement of mineral soil

for germination, cottonwood and willow rarely

succeed themselves.
12 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FIGURE 9.—Twenty-year-old cypress on a lakeshore in northeast Mississippi. This photo illustrates one step in the

gradual invasion of an oxbow lake by stages correlated with sedimentation and water levels.

Baldcypress often occurs in pure, dense, evenaged stands (fig. 9). It will regenerate well only

in swamps where seedbeds are moist, where competitors are unable to cope with flooding, and

where ground cover is limited to annual herbs.

Seeds wall germinate even if water subsides as late

as midsummer, but seedlings and saplings are only

moderately tolerant and are not aggressive against

other competition. When the trees have grown

above seasonal high water, they develop rapidly.

Because most baldcypress stands are very crowded

and the species asserts dominance poorly, growth

slows early in life, practically to the point of

stagnation, and the weaker trees succumb slowly

over a long period of years. Isolated baldcypress

trees may be found on low sites with all major

associations ; their presence usually indicates that

past site conditions have changed.

Swamp and water túpelos occur in swamps or

wet areas, usually as even-aged stands. They seed

regularly and copiously. As soon as high water

recedes, the seedlings leaf out and run up unbranched shoots that get above high-water stages

in one to three growing seasons. In shallow

swamps, reproduction of these two species is fairly

sure and prompt, barring fire and overhead competition. As with baldcypress, overstocked stands

tend to stagnate but endure indefinitely.

In deep swamps, both túpelo and baldcypress

regeneration from seed depend on good seedfall

and germination followed by freedom from prolonged inundation during the growing season.

The shallow but relatively permanent coastal

swamps pose an essentially similar problem. Tupelo and baldcypress in these swamps grow in typically pure even-aged stands. Depending on how

water levels have influenced reproduction, extensive stands will generally represent two or three

age groups. When in association with baldcypress, túpelo is usually the younger component;

in association with sweetbay, túpelo is usually the

older component.

Even-aged stands of sweetgum often come in

on old fields and other areas where mineral soil
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 13

is exposed. Once they germinate, sweetgum seedlings can withstand very heavy competition

from herbaceous plants. Many even-aged sweetgum stands are of sprout origin, most often from

trees killed back by fires or floods. Oaks and

some other species occasionally develop even-aged

stands, particularly the pin oaks in Avet flats and

other red oaks where the stands originate from

sprouts or where seed has been moved to a favorable situation by floodwater. The even-aged

pure stands of yellow-poplar or of white oak that

are common in certain upland areas are usually the

consequence of fire or clearcutting.

Water, standing or moving, may prevent establishment of reproduction whenever it submerges

seedlings after the beginning of their active

growing season. Species vary in their tolerance

to submergence. Seedlings are more likely to survive short periods under water if the water is

clear and cool than if it is warm and turbid.

While dormant, the species native to sites subject to flooding are very little affected, even when

completely under water. If they are submerged

in advance of the growing season, some will stay

dormant well into the spring and begin growth

after the water goes down. Baldcypress, green

ash, and túpelo will endure in this manner at

least halfway through the growing season. Most

stands of overcup oak and water hickory, together

with the persimmon and green ash often associated

with them, owe their establishment to tolerance of

early season floods that kill off earlier flushing

vegetation that would take over a drier site.

These species normally break dormancy as much

as a month later than other species. Regeneration

of all species will fail if floods in the growing

season repeatedly kill back seedlings before they

attain enough height to keep their tops above

water.

On the great bulk of the forest, the soil itself

has little bearing on the success of reproduction.

Where coarse, loose sand lies at the surface or

under a thin veneer of fine material, however,

seedlings will fail because the summer water table

is normally too deep to deliver moisture through

the sand. Such sites are very limited in area.

They are important probably only in the Mississippi Delta, principally between the levees. In

the bottom lands, the very fine-textured clay soils

(wliich hold water against great tension) in the

lowest backwater flats and the occasional hardpan

basins in the terraces both have sparser stands

than more pervious sites and remain bare longer.

The exceptions are the thickets of poor willow

oak commonly found on the latter sites.

F—ÍSB936

FIGURE 10.—Complete destruction of a hardwood

stand by wildfire. All

litter and reproduction

have been wiped out.

The large trees are

blackened to a height of

20 feet. Beneath the

charred bark is dead

cambium.

548397 O—60-
14 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F-482589, 485833

FIGURE 11.—The butt swell

and hole at the base of

this swamp chestnut oak

are external evidence of

hollow. Right photo

shows the extent of the

rot.

When fine clay soils are cultivated for a long

period or overrun by repeated hot fires and exposed

to the sun, their humus content oxidizes and they

become puddled and dry to rocklike hardness,

incapable of growing anything but weeds for

many years.

Damaging Influences

Damaging influences at work in southern hardwoods are largely those that plague forests the

world over. Sometimes destruction is violent

and wholesale, as when an unusually hot fire kills

everything in its path or a shifting river cuts

away a section or two of land. But most damage

is unspectacular, often deceptively so.

Wildfires, practically all of them man-caused,

are the greatest scourge of hardwood forests.

During average and wet years, fires are so infrequent that only a minimum protection system

is needed. But occasional prolonged droughts

can result in holocausts far beyond the power of

existing fire control organizations to cope with.

Hot fires kill or severely damage practically all

saplings and poles and many sawtimber trees

(fig. 10). Even low-intensity fires destroy most

of the reproduction and scar larger trees. Many

dense patches of peppervine (buckvine), ironAvood, and other forest weeds originate by sprouting and flourish when fire kills off the seed source

and shade of more desirable vegetation. Fire is

one of the most important causes of degeneration

and failure to reproduce in the cypress-tupelo

swamp forests. In the muck-swamp phase of

such forests, fires that occur during extreme
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTOKY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 15

I'-484328, 4S5919

FIGURE 12.—Two important

cankers on red oak : Poria

spiculosa on left and

Polyporus hispidus on

right.

droughts may seriously deteriorate the site by

consuming the organic soil.

Of the diseases that afflict hardwoods, the most

serious are caused by fungi that rot the heartwood. Heart rots are the chief cause of cull in

southern hardwood stands, and about 90 percent

of the rot enters the base of the trees through

wounds caused by fire. Typically, rot reaches

the heartwood about 4 years after a tree is

wounded and thereafter works upward at rates

varying with the species of tree and fungus.

The average rate of upward spread of established heart rots has been found to be 2.0 feet per

decade for overcup oak and sugarberry; 1.6 feet

per decade for water liickory; 1.3 feet per decade

for red oaks; 1.3 feet per decade for green ash;

0.9 foot per decade for sweetgum and elm. A

stand may be riddled with heart rot and still
16 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F-486591

FIGURE 13.—Dieback

(blight) in sweetgum.

appear healthy to casual view, for the original

wounds often become inconspicuous in time and

many of tlie fungi do not form conks or cankers

under soutliem conditions (fig. 11).

Several of the cankers on southern red oaks

always have heart rot behind them. That caused

by Polyforus hùpidus is sunken and elongated,

often several feet in length (fig. 12). Another

canker, caused by Poria spiculosa, produces swellings around old branch stubs. Rots behind these

cankers develop much more rapidly than butt rots.

Cankers are sometimes mistaken for mechanical

injuries, but a mechanical injury is free of bark

and gets smaller each year as it becomes covered

by new callus tissue, while a canker often retains

dead bark and usually increases in size. Some

types of cankers develop pitted protuberances

somewhat resembling burls, while others become

recessed.

Root rots in hardwoods are not a major problem

except where clay soils fluctuate between saturation and extreme dryness, as in some willow oak

stands. Neither are top rots very serious, since

they tend to affect the less valuable knotty portion

of the bole. The two most economically serious

top rots are the dry, yellow heart rot of ash and

the peck in baldcypress.

In contrast to most hardwood diseases, the

blight or dieback of sweetgum sometimes wipes

out entire stands. Soil factors that contribute to

a shortness of available water during period of

rainfall deficiency appear responsible. The first
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 17

indication is a thinning of part of the crown (fig.

13). The thinning gradually spreads, sometimes

rapidly and sometimes slowly. If favorable moisture conditions return before deterioration has

progressed too far, some trees will recover. Blight

has been most severe during droughts and on sites

considered least suited to sweetgum.

Oak wilt has not yet been found in the most

important hardwood forests of the Deep South.

Its two southernmost extensions are in north

Arkansas and east Tennessee. Recent research

has shown that Ceratocystis fagacearwn^ the

fungus that causes the wilt, will not survive in

twigs longer than 3 days at temperatures of 95° F.

or higher. This fact suggests that the wilt may

never be as serious in the warmer sections of the

South as it has become farther north.

Hardwoods are attacked by numerous fungi

that spot or kill the leaves. Thus anthracnose

sometimes browns and kills the leaves of sycamore

and oak. Leaf blister of oak, characterized by

blistering, wrinkling, and curling of leaves, occasionally causes excessive defoliation. If severe

defoliation occurs early in the growing season, it

may lower the vigor of the tree so much that

growth is seriously reduced.

Insect epidemics that lay waste entire stands

are rare in southern hardwoods; even individual

trees are seldom killed after they reach sapling

size. Yet enormous losses are caused annually,

chiefly by borers and bark scarrers. The holes.

bark pockets, stains, and other blemishes caused

by these insects do not destroy the wood (as the

heart rots do), but greatly lower the value of the

product by limiting the number and size of the

defect-free pieces that can be cut from the log or

lumber (fig. 14).

Most important hardwood specimens are susceptible to this kind of damage, with oaks being the

worst afflicted (table 1).

Defoliating insects sometimes weaken and slow

the growth of large trees, and sometimes kill

young ones.

Trees of low vigor or on poor sites appear to

be the most susceptible to insect damage. The

control of hardwood insects is a subject that has

hardly been scratched.

The action of water may damage the forest

(fig. 15). Total submergence for long periods

beginning after the breaking of dormancy will

kill all reproduction. Baldcypress and willow

are able to withstand such inundation for the

longest periods. Permanent flooding will cause

complete mortality even though water covers only

the base of the trees. Tolerance of this condition

varies with species. For example, yellow-poplar

will survive such flooding for less than 2 weeks,

whereas baldcypress and túpelo may live for years

after the normal summer water level has been

raised. Artificial drainage will decelerate growth

or kill older trees if it permanently lowers the

water table. Prolonged droughts cause mortality

F--*85944, 48B945

FIGURE 14.-lnsects that tunnel in living trees can seriously degrade hardwoods Lelt: Grub emergence hole in overcup

oak kept open by carpenter ants. Right: In the wood 3 inches beneath the bark.
AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

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20 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F-486941

FIGURE 15.—These trees are

growing in an area where

water is impounded every

fall and held until spring.

Such seasonal impoundments are popular means

of attracting migrating

ducks. They may also

benefit timber growth,

especially in dry summers

and on heavy clay soils,

because they increase the

amount of water going

into soil storage. However, water impounded

during the greater part of

two or three successive

growing seasons wiU seriously damage timber and,

in one or two more seasons, kill it all.

and induce insect attack (fig. 16). Unless the

change in water regime is too abrupt or prolonged,

many top-killed stems will sprout again, however.

In the uplands, erosion may so deplete the site

as to preclude growth of quality hardwoods.

Some of the sediment washed downgrade may be

deposited during overflows in both upland and

bottom-land forests, where it may kill most hardwoods unless the siltation is extremely light and

gradual. Cottonwood, willow, baldcypress, and

túpelos survive heavy siltation but even cypress

and the túpelos succumb in extreme cases.

Ice storms may break the upper crown or big

limbs out of large trees and bend or break off

small ones (fig. 17). Most trees eventually rebuild their crowns, but at the cost of temporarily

diminished rate of growth, epicormic branching,

and fungal infections that enter through broken

stubs. On rare occasions, ice carried by floodwater breaks young trees and wounds large ones.

Tornadoes and hurricanes may snap the main

stem or break portions of the crown of some trees,

but do their main damage by uprooting trees

growing on saturated ground.

Where regeneration is being sought or nurtured,

grazing by livestock is a serious threat. In fact,

grazing of any practical intensity will preclude

effective sustained-yield management. Cattle

browse some of the best species of trees, including

ash, oak, and yellow-poplar (fig. 18). Luckily,

sweet gum, is a less palatable species. Trees not

completely killed by grazing are set back and

malformed. If heavy grazing is allowed or the

woods are browsed w-hen the ground is wet, the

cattle may compact the soil and damage the roots

sufficiently to admit rot.

Hogs are not so bad an influence as cattle, but

in heavy concentrations they will eat all seed in

an oak or pecan forest. They are a special threat

to the better white oaks. Generally, there is little

conflict between wildlife and good hardwood management. However, overpopulations of deer will

severely browse reproduction. Rabbits feed on the

seedling bark and new growth of a variety of

species and can harm hardwood plantations, particularly in the spring. Beavers are increasing

in many localities, and sometimes have caused the

flooding of large areas along small streams. Nutria

or coypu have seriously damaged baldcypress

plantations by clipping or uprooting young seedlings, but these exotic mammals are currently a

threat only in the swamps of south Louisiana.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 21

F-486939

F1GUBEI6.—Severe droughts

may destroy considerable

volumes of timber, particularly on sandy sites

or on heavy soils that

normally have ample

moisture.

Utilization

The fundamentals of utilizing and marketing

hardwoods conform to very definite patterns and

customs that are unique in themselves and quite

different from the pattern for softwoods. The

essential requirements of hardwood utilization in

turn profoundly affect the objectives of management and the type and intensity of silviculture.

Although most hardwood timber is sawn, only

a small portion of the product is used for structural purposes, and that mainly for railroad stock

and local construction. Instead, most hardwood

lumber is consumed by factories as raw material

that is remanufactured into articles sawn from

the clear wood between defects.

Hardwood timber products range from extremely valuable, fine face veneers to dunnage

that cannot be sold for half the cost of manufacture. Furniture, flooring, trim, handles, plywood, baskets and crates, toys, shuttles, atliletic

equipment, implement parts, chopping blocks,

special pulps, chemicals, and charcoal are among

tlie better known products. Tlie myriad uses for

Iiardwoods make utilization a complicated but

fascinating subject.
22 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Hardness, toughness, grain or figure, and other

qualities of defect-free wood influence the product

into which lumber of a given species is channeled.

In addition, the kind and distribution of defects

in an individual tree of a given species affect the

total value obtainable from the tree as well as the

product into which the wood is manufactured.

One Bweetgum tree may produce high-value veneer logs; another may yield at best only lowgrade crating lumber or crossties. The same tree

that has valuable material in it will also contain

worthless or low-value wood. Often whole trees,

because of relatively small size, poor form, or defects, will cut out only low-value cordwood, posts,

or local-use lumber. Markets for these products

from hardwoods are marginal over most of the

South at present. Generally, freedom from defect is more important than species in determining the value of an individual tree.

The primary uses of hardwoods can be broadly

classified as (1) veneer logs and bolts, (2) lumber

logs, (3) cooperage logs and bolts, (4) small dimension or specialty logs or bolts, (5) piling, (6)

posts and props, and (7) cordwood bolts (table

2). There is a surplus of trees that will satisfy

requirements for cordwood, posts and props, and

P-485923

FiGUBE 17.—Some of these

trees were killed by an

ice storm during the previous winter ; others were

so bent that they will die

or form culls. Those

with broken tops may survive, but the height of the

break will determine the

usable length.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 23

FIGURE 18.—Lack of advanced reproduction in grazed area on the left, as compared with the ungrazed area on the right,

demonstrates the effect of heavy cattle grazing in hardwood stands.

construction-lumber logs, and a shortage of trees

suitable for veneer bolts or factory-lumber logs.

Hence, face-veneer bolts may sell for several hundred dollars per thousand board feet, while the

price for structural logs may not cover cost of

harvesting, except in the most accessible locations.

Quality and Marketing

Each broad use class involves several different

categories of product, and there are grades within

each product category. Utilization of particular

trees should be aimed at obtaining the maximum

possible difference between harvesting plus manufacturing costs and product selling price. The

initial step toward this end is to buck the tree so

as to contain most of the defects in as few and as

short lengths as possible. Each piece must also

be directed into the product that will return the

greatest profit. Such channeling will require

either coordinated logging or a log concentrating

and sorting facility. Unfortunately, the latter is

practically nonexistent.

The greatest single use of southern hardwoods

is for factory lumber. Table 3 synopsizes the

standard grades for factory-lumber logs; these

grades, developed by the U.S. Forest Products

Laboratory, are designed to sort logs according

to yield of lumber as graded by rules of the Na-
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26 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

tional Hardwood Lumber Association.'' Hardwood lumber grading (and, indirectly, log

grading) depends on the proportion of the surface

measure of the board tliat can be recovered by a

maximum number (or less) of saw cuts removing

defects and leaving clear wood of specified minimum size or larger. These pieces of residual

clear wood are used to make the various products

discussed earlier.

This principle contrasts strikingly with tliat

applied to grading yard or structural lumber, the

product into which most coniferous wood goes.

The reason for the difference is that a piece of

yard or structural lumber is graded and used as a

single board or timber which can contain a number of defects so long as they do not seriously

weaken it, while a piece of factory lumber is destined for remanufacture into several smaller defect-free pieces. Any imperfection or blemish in

factory lumber limits a clear cutting and is therefore a defect. This is true regardless of the nature of the defect: distribution of the defects is

more important than their number, size, or character. In yard or structural lumber, the seriousness of defects depends on their number, size, and

character—that is, whether they will weaken the

piece, allow leakage, or adversely affect paint retention. Distribution or spacing of defects is

much less important.

Grades 1 and 2 factory-lumber logs find ready

markets at fair to excellent prices nearly everywhere in the southern hardwood region except

in the soutlieastern Coastal Plain and in Texas.

The proportion of grade 3 and poorer logs that

may be included varies with the nature of the

timber, the general market conditions, the species

and sizes involved, and whether the mill is cutting

structural bill stock (material cut on special

order) or remanufacturing low-grade lumber into

factory parts or flooring. Most mills buy timber

over a wide territory (commonly on a 100-mile

radius) and log it largely or entirely through

contractors. Jobbers supply many of the factory-lumber logs used by large mills.

There are no commonly accepted specifications

for veneer, cooperage, small dimension, or specialty logs and bolts, but local grades are commonly applied independently by the various

buyers. As in factory-lumber production, these

local grades or customs and practices are directed

*The log grades can be obtained free from the U.S.

Forest Products Laboratory, Madison 5, Wis.. by requesting Report D17.37A. Hardwood log grades for standard

lumber and how to apply them. The lumber rules are

is.sued annually, at a small price, by the National Hardwood Lumber Association, .5Í) E. Van Buren Street. Chicago .5, 111. Log defects in souther?) hardwoods,

Agriculture Handbook 4 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, clarifies the defect terminology used in the log

grades.

at the proportion of clear or otherwise suitable

cuttings that can be obtained.

Logs or bolts for face and commercial veneer

(fig. 'Î9), tight cooperage, and specialty products

are usually much in demand—sometimes for endproducts that could be made from lower quality

material. Rarely are present-day stands exploited primarily or solely for face or commercial

veneer, because stands containing more than a

minor proportion of logs of suitable species, size,

and quality are few and far between. Usually,

the harvest of veneer logs (often tight-cooperage

iind specialty logs, also) is integrated with lumber

operations, especially where done by a jobber

(fig. 20).

On the other hand, manufacturers of highvalue products such as cooperage or specialty

items may have operators culling scattered cutover stands over vast areas and making light cuts

of a single, easily harvested product. Highgrade veneer logs may be hauled hundreds of

miles to market once they have been brought to

roadside or railside.

Logging, concentrating, sorting for highest use,

and inspecting scattered valuable material are

difficult, especially where many small tracts are

involved and markets are distant. For best marketing under these conditions, well-financed and

experienced contract loggers or jobbers with complementary markets for logs and bolts are

needed—but usually are lacking. Moreover,

much of the primary cooperage and specialty

manufacture into rough blanks is done by small,

temporary, and migratory plants. The total result is an occasional lack, real or apparent, of

suitable markets for the best timber in many localities, even for high-value products that can be

economically har^^ested in small amounts as a

single-product operation.

In the Southeast, by contrast with the general

situation, commercial veneers and plywood are

the most important hardwood products, with

package veneer a close second in volume. Manufacture of standard factory lumber is underdeveloped in many localities. Thus there is a

shortage, at least in the higher grades, of the

once-abundant gums and túpelos that are now

heavily used for veneer. On the oth.er hand, good

oaks and mixed hardwoods, suitable for factory

lumber, are sometimes hard to market. A better

balance between sawtimber and veneer markets in

that region would improve the situation for the

timber ownei*s. The same is true of east Texas,

except that the package industry predominates

there and sweetgum and the túpelos are less

abundant.

Structural lumber (principally ties and timbers) is generally a much less important use for

southern hardwoods than factory lumber or

veneer. The two major types of hardwood struc-
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

TABLí; 3.—Hardwood log grades for factory lumber

27

Grading factors Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3

POSITION IN TREE Butt Butt and

upper

Butt and upper Butt and

upper

SCALING DIAMETER inches.. '13-15 16-19 20 + 211 + 12 + 12+ 12 + 8 +

LENGTH WITHOUT TRIM feet__

CLEAR CUTTINGS ON EACH OF 3 BEST FACES

Length, minimum feet. .

Number, maximum .... .. .

10+

7

2

10 +

5

2

10 +

3

2

%

10 +

3

2

%

8-9

3

2

10-11

3

2

%

12 +

3

3

%

8+

2

No limit

Proportion of log length required in clear cuttings... H

SWEEP ALLOWANCE (maximum, in relation to gross

volume)

Logs with less than yi of end in sound defects

percent._

Logs with more than Yt of end in sound defects

percent..

15

10

30

20

50

35

CULL PLUS SWEEP ALLOWANCE (maximum, in

relation to gross volume) percent.. 40 3 50 50

END DEFECT

Sound end defects, such as medium to heavy mineral stain

in hard maple and yellow-poplar and sUght dote in yellow

birch on the small end of the log, shall not exceed one-half

the log diameter for grade 1 logs and for grade 2 logs under

16 inches, and not exceed three-fifths the log diameter on

grade 2 logs 16 inches and larger. Excess will lower the log

one grade. When the defect is not concentrated in one spot,

its extent is taken as the sum of the individual occurrences.

Slight stain is not a defect.

Face 4

T—r

Clear cutting- -M Clear cutting

T—r

-^51

Clear cutting- '^^

I I

Clear cutting- /<«-<- Clear cutting *-7

Face 3 Face 2

1 Ash and basswood butts can be 12 inches ii otherwise meeting requirements for grade 1.

2 Ten-inch logs of all species can be grade 2 if otherwise meeting requirements for grade 1 bolts.

J Sixty percent cull deduction permitted in grade 2 if log is otherwise of grade 1 quality.

< Sixty percent cull deduction permitted in grade 3 if log is otherwise of grade 2 quality.

tural lumber are heavy structural material and

construction boards (local-use lumber may be

structural or nonstructural). The more important is heavy structural material. This type includes chiefly standard railroad, bridge, and dock

items such as crossties, switchties, timbers, car

and bridge decking, and crossing planks. Such

material is mostly "Sound, Square Edge," which

is a standard grade; but the class also includes a

Avide range in quality and end use from select car

stock and prime ship timbers to sheet piling.

Production of heavy structural material is rarely

integrated with that of factory lumber, and it is

usually sawn by operators with little knowledge

of the factory lumber they sometimes sell as a

byproduct. Timber requirements and grade

criteria are fundamentally similar to those in

softwood structural uses. It is regrettable that

product procurement practices and marketing difficulties have worked against integrated manufacture of both factory lumber and structural

material by tlie more substantial operators, since

the two products would complement one another

closely in utilizing the full harvest from a hardwood forest. . Railroads either procure tlieir structural material directly from producers or from treating

plants acting as agents or wholesalei-s. Demand
28 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F-486818

FIGURE 19.—Face veneer

logs command the highest

price. This prime figured

"red" sweetgum log contains 1,936 board feet.

for structural material is erratic, specifications

are ambiguous, and rejection after arbitrary inspections is not unknown. This discourages producers of factory lumber from entering the structural market (except for special orders), even

though its prices and requirements would seem to

make it an attractive outlet for low-grade logs.

Since producers of structural material compete

with producers of factory lumber for timber, they

frequently cut high-quality material into structural items that could just as well be made from

lower quality material. It wotild be desirable

if structural lumber production could be better

coordinated with production of items requiring

high-quality timber. Additional timber could be

saved for more demanding uses if beech, wánged

elm, and hickory could be promoted for heavy

structui'al use along with the oaks, túpelos, and

sweetgum that are now favored almost exclusively. The water oaks and overcup oak are

avoided for structural use because large timbers

of these species tend to check excessively. A solution to this difRculty would further conserve highquality timber.

Another commercial category of hardwood

structural material is construction boards, produced from most of the soft-textured species but

mainly from yellow-poplar, the túpelos, and

sweetgum. Construction boards are simply standard width, 1-inch lumber dried, dressed, and

graded much the same as softwood yard lumber.

Not much is produced except during building

booms. It is mostly devoted to subflooring and

sheathing in temporary structures. However,

great expansion of this use would doubly benefit

the country—by conserving the supply of softwood saAvtimber and by providing a market for

a vast oversupply of otherwise practically worthless hardwoods that are competing with better

trees for growing space and that cannot now be

harvested or deadened without a direct cost which

many landowners are unwilling to incur.

The last of the three structural categories is

local-use lumber. It includes all locally sawn

and used material, both domestic and industrial,

not generally handled in organized commercial

channels. The chief items are farm lumber, mine

timbers, bos or crating lumber, grain doors, pallet
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 29

F—485922

FIGURE 20.—Good saw logs

are also a premium product of the hardwood

forest.

stock, dunnage, and car blocking. LoAv-grade

and malformed logs from stands of scrap timber

are necessarily the prevalent raw material but

high-grade logs are generally misused whenever

encountered. Although the aggregate of this

class of product is large nationally, the South

produces a relatively small proportion. With

the growth of southern population and industry,

though, the output of local-use lumber probably

will increase.

Piling is a relatively minor hardwood used in

the South. Most of the tough hardwood species

that develop well-formed stems are occasionally

made into piling, but only locally and sporadically. They are seldom treated and are used al548397 O—60 3

most exclusively for either temporary purposes or

underground foundation work. Baldcypress piling spasmodically enjoys good demand in the

Mississippi River Delta. Whether a dependable

piling market could be developed for most hardwood species is questionable, although production

is already expanding notably with development

of shipments outside the region. There is no pole

use worth consideration.

Posts and mine props are also minor hardwood

use classes in the South. Mine-prop use depends

more upon proximity to the mines than upon forest types and species. Very little of the southern

hardwood forest is well situated in this respect,

except in north Alabama, where mine-wood cut-
30 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FIGURE 21.—More and more pulpwood is being cut from soutliem hardwoods.

ting decimates the stands. Decay-resistant species, such as old-growth baldcypress and mulberry,

are used widely for fence posts—so much, in fact,

that the supply is about exhausted in most stands

accessible to agricultural communities. Most nondurable species can be preservatively treated by

simple methods adapted to domestic and local

production.

The volume of hardwood used for pulp has

risen sharply in the past few years and the rise

promises to continue and accelerate (fig. 21). The

bulk of the cordage is from sweetgum, the túpelos,

cottonwood, wnllow, and yellow-poplar, but most

other species are now* pulped. The increasing use

of oak is most significant, as it gives foresters a

means of improving tlie very large acreage occupied by oak or oak mixtures.

Pulpwood production and procurement methods do not vary materially between hardwood and

pine. As in pine, many high-quality trees go

into pulpwood through the vagaries of lump-sum

purchase and single-product liarvest. Pulpwood

producers also often overcut pole-size stands of

sweetgum, thus ruining much potential high-quality material for the future. On the other hand,

pulpwood operators have not yet found economical ways of salvaging the greater part of bolt

material now left in the woods during sawtimber

logging.

Fuelwood is one of the several principal uses of

round hardwood timber. Most of the use is on

farms, although some wood is sold in towns and

cities adjacent to hardwood stands. Fuelwood

cutters, if unsupervised, usually gravitate toward

the straightest and clearest growing stock. This

same liigh-grading for low-value uses has occurred

where fence posts and mine props have been harvested by unsupervised farm laborers and singleproduct loggers. Harvests of items such as fuelwood and pulpwood, which can be made from small

or defective timber, should be limited to silvicultural operations instead of being allowed to

devastate a stand.

Utilization of hardwoods for chemical wood or

charcoal is local and limited. Values are so low

that most of this round material is produced incidentally to landclearing.

Logging

The methods and equipment for logging southern hardwoods reflect the variety of species, sites,

and utilization.

Because the trees are usually large and the tops

often lopsided, felling to avoid breakage requires

skill. Dropping a tree on a large limb can split

the trunk, and improper undercutting or backsawing will pull splinters that destroy much of

the value of the butt log, especially for veneer.

Power saws are used for most felling and bucking,
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 31

FiGUKE 22.—In some bottom lands outside of swamps, chiefly along the Mississippi River, Athey wagons with track-type

wheels are used for short hauls in wet weather.

F-486927

FiGUEE 23.—Along large rivers, logs and pulpwood are barged to mills.
32 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

but methods of felling must be varied witli species

and products. Numerous veneer and specialty operators still do not allow fellinf;; by power saws

because of predisi)osition to carelessness on the

part of many sawyers.

Logs are usually bucked where the trees are

felled, except that in the Soutlieast long lengths

are frequently skidded and occasionally hauled to

the mill. Common lengths are 12, 14, and 16 feet,

the expectation being to produce 40 to 50 percent

of 14- and 16-foot lumber. Rarely, a sizable highgrade 10-foot lumber log is admitted, while 9-foot

and 18-foot face-veneer logs are not uncommon.

Short bolts are the rule for pulp and chemical

wood, and tree lengths for piling. Veneer,

staves, and specialties may be handled as either

logs or bolts; some mills purchase both.

Bucking should be supervised so as to minimize

the intermingling of high-quality and low-quality

material in the same log. Improper laying off of

logs can turn a veneer log into a saw log or convert

a factory-lumber log into a structural or local-use

log, wàth great loss in value.

Ground skidding or simple bunching with

crawler tractors is the usual practice on favorable

terrain in both bottom lands and uplands, although tractor attachments may be used to winch

logs to the banks of small swamps or sloughs and

uphill from narrow drains or valleys. Most bottom-land swamps dry out in late summer and are

then not difficult to log. Large muck swamps are

a different proposition ; they seldom dry out and

their bottoms are very soft. Here diesel skidders

with high-lead rehaul are used to ground-skid

logs to the banks or to temporary railroads, or

more commonly, to truck runways built into the

swamp. Flotation logging is still practiced in one

deep swamp in Louisiana (by enclosing timbered

tracts with levees and pumping in water) ; but

the once-common practices of floating out on natural floods and of pullboating are nearly lost arts.

Almost all loading is done with an A-frame

attached to a truck chassis or crawler tractor.

On small jobs, particularly in the uplands, skidding tractoi-s are still used to load logs by crosshaul or with a "tree-block.'"' Some self-loading

TABLE 4.—Southern hardwood species

Approved ' common Other common Occurrence in bottom Occurrence in

and scientific names lands uplands Growth rate

name

ASHES

Carolina ash Florida ash, pop Common as a small tree Probably none Medium to good up

(Fraxinus ash, water ash, on wet sites in bot- to small pole size.

caroliniana). swamp ash. toms ofsmalleralluvium

bearing and»blackwater

streams of Coastal

Plain and in borders

of tidal and muck

swamps.

Soon stagnates.

Green ash and Swamp ash. Principal bottom-land Very rare. Occasionally Medium

pumpkin ash water ash, red ashes, widely distrib- in wettest coves and

(F. pennsyl- ash, cane ash. uted on new sediments in branch heads above

vanica and F. and in first bottoms the lower Coastal

profunda). e.xcept in deep swamps.

Most common in flats

and shallow sloughs.

On older sediments or

terraces, in flats and

sloughs only.

Plains.

White ash Cane ash, ash,

Biltmore ash.

Widely distributed but

limited to ridges and

Only important upland

ash; widely but

Medium (F. americana).

high hummocky flats sparsely distributed

of older alluvium or on better sites. Best

terraces and to ham- on lower slopes in

mocks, outwashes from ravines and coves.

uplands, and creek

bottoms.

See footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OP SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 33

truck systems are used for bolts and small lof^s, but

common practice for pulpwood is still hand loading at the stump.

iMost hardwood logs are hauled by truck from

the woods to the rail siding, barge landing, or

mill. In wet weather track-type wagons and

sulkies, or logging arches pulled by heavy crawler

tractors, are used to reach the river bank or hard

road (fig. 22) ; occasionally, heavy plank runways

are needed to get the trucks into and out of the

loading area. Rail shipment is common for hauls

of more than 50 miles, because of the advantage

of milling-in-transit rates. On the major navigable streams, some rafting or pontoon operations

can still be seen, but these have largely been replaced by barge or truck methods (fig. 23).

Dry-weather logging or access roads are generally inexpensive, especially in"the bottom lands

where the terrain is level and rock is not encountered. Permanent roads for wet-weather hauling

are costly to build and maintain, and are usually

deemed impractical. So that they can run during

the rainy winter season, when many logging operations must sliut down, most mills stockpile lo^

in the fall after danger from insects and stam

is past.

The seasonal aspects of logging are an important consideration in managing a forest properly.

Operations must be timed to take advantage of

dry weather where wet-weather logging would

be impossible. In large swamps, accessible only

after exceptionally prolonged dry weather, conventional thinning and partial cutting may not

be feasible. A further limitation on the forast

manager is that prevalent logging techniques and

equipment are designed for relatively large jobs

involving only a single sawtimber product or, at

most, two related sawtimber products such as

factory-lumber logs and veneer logs. It is usually

difficult to find a logger prepared or disposed to

work very small acreages or to make light cuts

of mixed commodities. Industrial users often

trade logs among themselves, though, and tliere

is some possibility that timber brokerage or logjobbing activities could be developed for cuts involving several products.

œnd chief softwood associates ^

Tolerance Reproduction

Susceptibility to

damage

Value and

primary uses Remarks

Intolerant. Seedlings medium.

Intolerant. Seedlings moderately

tolerant.

Intolerant. Seedlings moderately

tolerant.

Prolific in openings.

Adequate to absent

under varying

degrees of shade.

Prolific on bare, moist

soil in openings.

Adequate on any

sites not totally

preempted by

ground cover or

dense overstory.

Seedlings must be

released early.

Sprouts very efficiently. Seed dispersal is excellent.

Good for planting.

Prolific on all but

poorest sites, wet

or dry. Best in

small openings but

will start in any

but full shade or

matted ground

cover. Seedlings

need early release.

Sprouts well.

Good for planting.

Fire, drouth, and

grazing have disastrous effects.

Reproduction may

recover once or

twice through

sprouting.

Very susceptible to

fire. Hot fires

often consume large

trees. Moderately

susceptible to dieback during drouth,

especially on lowest

sites and heaviest

soils. Grazing

serious. Upper

stem heart rot often

severe in overmature trees.

Very susceptible to

fire and grazing.

Fuel and, potentially,

pulpwood. Thus

far, practically a

weed. Seldom

produces a minimum saw log.

Wood is all soft

textured or brash.

High value. Factory

lumber and small

dimension. Most

important for long

handles, implement

stock, athletic

goods, and paneling. Some face

veneer.

Same as green ash—

Extreme care imperative not to confuse

reproduction with

green ash.

On wet sites commonly develops

swollen (pumpkin)

butts which are

brash and can be

used only for trim

and furniture stock.

Outstandingly clear,

but occasionally

very crooked or

short boled on

lowest sites.

Impractical to

distinguish the two

species in practice.

Consistently of good

form and texture

except on driest

sites, where it is

brash. Runs

exceptionally well

to upper grades.
34 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Houthern harchvood .species and

Approved ' common

and scientific

name

BASSWOOD

{Tilia spp.)_

BEECH,

AMERICAN

{Fagus grandifolia).

BIRCH, RIVER

{Betula nigra)..

CATALPA

{Catalpa spp.).

CEDARS

Atlantic whitecedar {Chamaecyparis

ihyoides).

Eastern redcedar

and southern

redcedar

{Juniperus

virginiana and

/. silicicola).

CHERRY, BLACK

{Prunus serótina).

Other common

names

Linden, linn.

Beech.

Red birch, black

birch, water

birch.

Southern whitecedar, white

cedar, swamp

cedar, juniper.

Cedar, red cedar,

juniper.

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Cherry.

Rare—only on oldest and

best terraces and in

creek bottoms.

Widely in creek bottoms

and occasionally on

ridges of old alluvium

or terraces in minor

river bottoms and in

hammocks.

On new river fronts and

along banks of minor

streams. Usually in

fringes. Not found

below Memphis in

Delta but goes to coast

on secondary streams

and along drains in

hammocks.

Scattered on high sites

Largely an escapee.

Rare, but pure stands

are still found in muck

swamps of the eastern

gulf coast and South

Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Scattered, individual,

small understory tree.

Very uncommon,

especially on new

alluvium. Not indigenous. Not uncommon in high hammocks.

Very sparse but scattered throughout on

oldest alluvium and

outwashes from uplands. Often in

hammocks.

Occurrence in

uplands

Sparse on moist sites

in broken terrain near

drainages. Best on

middle or lower slopes

in ravines or coves.

Common as individuals

or groups on middle

and lower slopes in

rough terrain or bluffs

and in well-drained

coves and branch

heads.

Rare in branch heads

or wet coves.

Scattered on better sites.

Occasionally planted.

None

Prefers limestone soils,

usually grows to

commercial timber

size on upper slopes

in rough terrain.

Widely scattered but

nowhere plentiful.

Best on moist, welldrained soil. Lower

slopes and sometimes

best middle slopes. Occasional scattered trees.

Growth rate

Medium.

Poor.

Good.

Good to excellent,

according to site.

Fair to poor (has

usually grown in

overstocked,

stagnated stands).

Poor after sapling

stage.

Slow to medium.

See footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND ESTVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

35

Susceptibility to Value and

Tolerance Reproduction damage primary uses Remarks

Moderately tolerant. Poor in South. Much Very susceptible to Medium to low value

of it from stump fire and birdpeck. in South because

and root sprouts Butt rot from of scarcity, small

following cutting or stools and roots size, and poor form.

fire. common. Factory lumber

and commercial

veneer—farm gates.

Pulpwood.

Very tolerant Erratic. Generally No special problem. Low value because of Because of its tolersparse but per- Hollow stem is exceptional preva- ance, it may elimisistent; needs to rather common, the lence of overgrown nate better species

start in shade result of rot origi- pin knots. Factory from best sites.

ahead of competi- nating from dead lumber and crosstion. Root sprouts roots or very old. ties. Some packcommon. small fire scars. age veneer. Not

consistently used.

Intolerant Prolific on moist, Very susceptible to

fire. "Sugar

Commercial and Short-lived, secondbare, mineral soil. package veneers. or third-rate tree.

streak" inhibits use Rarely for lumber

for face veneer and and then mostly

factory lumber. by box factories.

Some mortality Pulpwood. Low

from drouth and value and not consedimentation. sistently used.

Tolerant Poor from seed, but Extremely susceptible

to fire.

Fence posts only Foliage-eating catalpa

sprouts readily. worm is popular

fish bait.

Very tolerant Prolific annual seeder. Very susceptible to Very valuable as Naturally grows in

Erratic and gen- fire, especially light, easily very dense evenerally inadequate through destruction worked, naturally aged stands.

but often in dense, of organic soil on durable wood.

pure stands on old typical sites. Structural lumber,

burns. poles, posts,

specialties such as

chests, vats, boats.

Tolerant Moist mineral soil Very susceptible to Standard lumber and Common old-field

over limestone best fire. Host for small dimension for tree. Valuable

but will develop cedar-apple rust chests, cabinets, source of bird food.

stands and persist fungus. novelties, and Smallest minimum

on high, dry lime- specialties—pencil size for merchantstone sites. stock. Valuable

posts.

able saw logs of

any American

species.

Moderately tolerant. Sparse but persistent.

Moist, exposed

Tent caterpillar.

Black knot, a funGenerally very valuable for standard

Wilted leaves are poisonous to livestock.

mineral soil best. gus, causes swelling lumber and face Fruit valuable for

of branches. Min- veneer. Most im- wildlife.

eral streaks and portant for furnigum spots some- ture. Values in

times develop. South likely to be

low because of scattered, sparse supply

and mediocre size

and form.
36 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southei'n hardwood upecies and

Approved ' common

and scientific

name

COTTONWOODS

Eastern cottonwood {Poptilus

deltoides).

Swamp cottonwood (P. helerophylla).

CYPRESS

Baldcypress ( Taxodium distichum

var. distichum).

Other common

names

Cottonwood,

poplar.

Black cottonwood, bigleaf

cottonwood.

Cypress, red cypress, yellow

cypress, white

cypress.

Pondcypress {T.

distichum var.

nulans).

Cypress, black

cypress.

DOGWOOD,

FLOWERING

(Cornus florida).. DogwoodOccurrence in bottom

lands

Widely distributed, but

mostly on newly deposited soil along

major streams, recently abandoned

fields and rights-ofway, clean burns, wet

spots in pastures, and

banks of small drainages

and ditches. Rare and

poor on very heavy

soils or drv sites.

Widely scattered in shallow swamps, in deep

sloughs, and along

often-flooded creek

bottoms. Wet spots

in low hammocks on

east coast.

Swamps, deep sloughs,

borders of old lake

beds, poorly drained

flats. Low spots and.

abandoned channels in

creek bottoms. Commonly originates as

dense, even-aged

stands, with or without the túpelos.

See footnote at end of table.

Shallow piney woods

swamps, perched

ponds, sloughs, wet

flats of lower Coastal

Plains east of Mississippi River, and some

branch heads. These

sites are rarely alluvial, usually lack deep

muck bottom, and

often will support

slash pine.

Rare in bottoms of

major rivers and

streams. Often common in bottoms of

minor streams and

hammocks, in better

drained situations.

Occurrence in

uplands

On best cove sites or immediately on or next

to stream beds. Occasionally on ditch

banks or in wet

pastures.

Growth rate

None.

None.

Excellent; 6 to 8

inches in diameter

in 10 years is

ordinary.

Good to excellentNone.

Common on better moist

soils with good drainage.

Generally poor, but

medium when

young and if released before completely suppressed.

Very poor above

sapling or small

pole size. May

respond to severe

thinning on best,

deepest sites.

Poor, but responds

to release very

well.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

37

Susceptibility to Value and

Tolerance Reproduction damage primary uses Remarks

Most intolerant Reproduces abun- When weakened by Factory and box lum- Fastest growing tree

dantly and quickly drouth or poor ber. Package and in North America.

but only on wet sites, susceptible to commercial veneer. Of major impormineral soil. Con- boring by grubs. Pulpwood. Highly tance only in the

tinued moisture Very susceptible to prized for high pro- lower Mississippi

and top light im- decay and mortal- portions of clear Valley.

perative. Sprouts ity after ñre and, wood; light and

very well. Pure on unfavorable tough. One of few

stands of even age sites, to drouth. premium package

predominate. Grazing is serious woods.

Plantings of un- threat. Leaf

rooted cuttings beetles and twig

survive well. borers occasionally

serious in reproduction, especially

plantings.

Moderately intoler- Erratic and sparse. No special problem Minor species. Box Commonly associated

ant. Individuals persist lumber, package with baldcypress

in partial shade, veneer, pulpwood. and túpelos in

groups in small Not sought in its swamps of the Coastopenings; stands do own right. al Plains and the

not develop. older alluvium of

the bottoms.

Tolerates much side Erratic, largely be- When sites dry out, Highly prized for du- Sappy second growth

but no overhead cause of occasional fires cause great rability and work- not durable but has

competition. Stag- inundation during basal damage and ing qualities. Fac- superior working

nates for long growing season and deteriorate some tory and structural qualities and knots

periods before dy- lack of seed sources sites. Very old lumber, piling. are small and sound.

ing. Asserts (because of fire and trees prove to be Boat and tank

dominance poorly. destructive log- "pecky," especially stock from top

ging). Averages if once damaged grades of lumber.

poor but is occa- by wind or ice.

sionally excellent

in openings. Prolonged soaking of

seed promotes germination when conditions become favorable. Good

planting prospect.

Sprouting is of little

significance.

Tolerates side com- Normally dense but Fire disastrous. Over- Structural lumber. Smaller, and usually

petition or light often retarded by mature trees pecky. crossties, boxes, and shorter and rougher

slash pine overstory. Stagnates

and does not asflood or drouth. crates, and occasion- than baldcypress.

ally posts. Contributes little

to cypress lumber

sert dominance. industry and many

sites are logically

convertible to pine

management. Species distinction may

be partly silvical

rather than botanical.

Very tolerant Good in shade. Considerable reproduction from sprouts.

Incasement of numerous strands of bark,

causing cull or

"grape vine" stem,

is unusual defect.

Specialties, primarily

shuttle blocks.

Prized as ornamental.

Large proportion of

stems too crooked

for commercial uses.
38 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southeim. hardwood species omd

Approved ' common

and scientific

name

ELMS

American elm

{Ulmus americana).

Cedar elm (U.

crassifolia).

Other common

names

Elm, soft elm,

white elm,

water elm,

gray elm, red

elm.

Slippery elm (U.

rtibra).

Rock elm,

southern rock

elm, hard elm.

Red elm,

elm.

soft

Winged elm {U.

alata).

GUMS, TÚPELOS

Sweetgum {Liquirlambar slyracifliia).

Hard elm, rock

elm, cork elm.

Redgum, gum_

Black túpelo

(Nyssa sylvatica

var. sylvalica.

Blackgum.

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Widely, except in deep

swamps. Especially

on flats in newer alluvium.

Widely on high flats,

poorly drained low

ridges; usually impervious silty clay soil.

Restricted to bottoms

of major streams of

lower Mississippi Valley and gulf coast.

Occasionally on banks of

secondary streams,

mostly in northern

and western parts of

territory.

Widely on ridges and

high flats of older alluvial soils or terraces.

General in creek bottoms and hammocks.

On almost all but the

wettest sites. Best

development generally

on clay loam ridges of

newer alluvium; next

best on occasional welldrained, silty clay

loam flats on newer alluvium and in hammocks.

Throughout bottoms but

only on ridges and

high flat.s of older

silty alluvium; general

in creek bottoms.

See footnote at end of table.

Occurrence in

uplands

Uncommon except on

moist, deep soils.

Growth rate

Medium. Good on

well-drained flats.

Varies greatly

with available

light.

NoneOccasionally on deep,

rich soils in coves to

upper slopes, largely

to west and north.

Common on all but

wettest sites. Best development on lower

and middle slopes.

Poor.

Medium.

Poor to mediumVery wide occurrence,

but develops well only

on best lower slope,

cove, and branch head

sites. Lacking on

highest, driest sites.

Widely scattered. Best

development on lower

slopes and coves. Elsewhere inferior in size

and form.

Medium to good.

Poor to medium.
MANAGEMENT AND IISÎVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

39

Tolerance

Tolerant _

Tolerant.

Tolerant _

Reproduction

TolerantIntolerant. Will

combat most

ground cover as

reproduction.

Asserts dominance

well but hopeless

in understory.

Moderately intolerant.

Becomes established

in understory.

Grows well when

released. Comes in

well in openings

amongst ground

cover, but seldom

on bare areas.

Sprouts prolifically.

Scattered. Persists

beneath overstory.

Survives grazing in

bush form. Not a

notable sprouter.

Becomes established

as\in understory

tree. Also starts

in brushy stand

openings and on

sod.

Prolific in openings.

Becomes established sparsely in

understory. Combats ground cover

and sod. Survives

grazing as bushes.

Sprouts prolifically.

Very easy to obtain

in full light with

good seed source.

Sprouts efficiently

from both roots

and stumps. Pure,

even-aged stands

are not uncommon,

especially on old

fields. Good planting prospects.

Sparse; usually singly

or in small groups

within thickets of

ground cover in

openings.

Susceptibility to

damage

Sapsucker attack

common. Heart

rots commonly follow fire wounding.

Often short and

crooked because of

early suppression,

and full of adventitious knots from

same cause or from

release after suppression.

No special problem _

No special problem _

No special problem.

On poorer sites, tops

die as trees mature. Susceptible

to drouth or lowered water table.

So-called gum

blight seems related to site factors

that affect availability of water.

Large pockets of ingrown bark common near gulf

coast.

No special problem. _

Value and

primary uses Remarks

Low to medium

value. Factory

lumber, slack cooperage, and bending

stock. Commercial and package

veneer. Has been

good staple utility

species but acceptability now depreciated partly by

practice of mixing

in winged elm.

Local-use lumber.

Sparingly for factory lumber and

heavily highgraded. Pallets.

Extremely hard

wood, so cannot be

used with other

elms.

Low to medium

value. Similar

uses to American

elm but dark

brownish-red color

complicates furniture use. Better

grain and texture

than American elm.

Favored for farm

use, gates, cribs,

corrals, wagon

stock.

Low value. Sparingly

for local-use and

factory lumber;

generally severely

high-graded for

latter and used to

adulterate soft elm

stocks. Not preferred for package

and veneer use.

Acceptable for ties.

Broad utility and high

values. Face, commercial, and box

veneer. Factory

lumber and small

dimension for

furniture and Interior trim. Crossties, slack cooperage. Is principal

hardwood pulping

species.

Rather low value because of tendency

to warp, but can be

excellent when

large enough for

quartersawing.

Standard and box

lumber, ties, and

pulpwood. Practically no veneer.

Good second-rate

tree. Tendency

towards poor form.

Epicormic twigs

common, otherwise

exceptionally clear.

Third-rate tree.

Severe epicormic

branching degrades

upper logs. Fluted,

odd-shaped stems

are common.

Second-rate tree.

Tendency to limbiness. Poor form,

epicormic branching on dry sites.

Small tree. Stunted

and gnarled on

poor, dry sites, but

elsewhere of very

good form.

Most widely distributed and

broadest utility of

any southern hardwood species. Subject to epicormic

branching when

drastically released,

especially on poor

sites.

Commonly grows

with white oaks,

winged elm, and

hickory. On poorer

sites, ties and

cordwood only.
40 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southei^n hardwood species and

Approved ' common

and scientific

name

Other common

names

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Occurrence in

uplands Growth rate

Ogeechee túpelo

{N. ogeche).

Swamp túpelo

(A'', sylvatica

var. hiñora).

Sour túpelo,

sour gum.

Swamp blackgimi, gum,

bastard blackgum.

Water túpelo

(A^. aquaiica).

Tupelo, túpelo

gum, Swampgum, olive

tree, bay poplar.

HACKBERRY

AND SUGARBERRY

{Celtis occidentalis and C. laevigata).

HICKORIES

(Carya spp.) Also

see pecans.

Hickory,

Rare and local; limited

to blackwater streams

and coastal swamps of

Southeast.

Nonalluvial muck and

coastal swamps from

Virginia to Florida.

Parishes of southeastern Louisiana. Seepage areas at base of

uplands and on edges

of secondary and

minor bottoms.

Throughout region but

almost exclusively in

swamps of flood plains

of alluvial streams.

Otherwise only near

live streams in coastal

swamps or estuaries

where blackgum

dominates the gross

area.

Widely except in deep

swamps. Most common on flats and riverfronts of new alluvium.

Very rare on ridges of

old alluvium, hammocks, and bottoms of

small streams.

Widely on older alluvial

ridges, high flats of

oldest alluvium, and

terraces. General in

well-drained creek

bottoms and hammocks.

None- Poor.

Branch heads and

swampy areas at

spring seepages in

coves throughout territory.

Medium,

Branch heads or swamps

at spring seepages

opening into alluvial

bottoms.

Only on some deep, moist

soils, especially over

limestone—notably in

Alabama Black Belt.

Medium.

Widely on all sites except wettest branch

heads and cove

bottoms.

Poor to medium.

Vast variation

with competition.

Generally poor.

Fair to good on

best sites when

dominant.

See footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

41

Tolerance Reproduction

Susceptibility to

damage

Value and

primary uses Remarks

IntolerantModerately intolerant. Will endure

intense codominant competition

indefinitely but

will not tolerate

overtopping. Very

dense stagnated

stands are typical

in the muck

swamps. Responds to release.

Intolerant. Behaves

similarly to

swamp túpelo.

Responds well to

release.

Very tolerant. Endures indefinitely

in shade of intolerant species.

Very tolerantPlentiful in clear

openings on bare

mud or in marsh;

otherwise sparse.

Prolific on open, wet

soil. Fills very

small openings but

sparse to absent under direct shade.

May plant well.

Stump sprouts

usual, but root

sprouts scarce.

Lack of moist seedbed at time of seedfall or flooding soon

after germination

causes most regenration failures.

Same as swamp túpelo.

Becomes established

in understory and

develops very

slowly. Will come

up through ground

cover in open and

there develop

rapidly. Few

stands are of

sprout origin.

Prolific. Sprouts

readily. Develops

regularly in understory, but hampered by ground

cover. Will yield

opening to intolerant species starting

growth at same

time.

Fire and growing-season inundation.

Fire causes wounds

which develop rot.

Butts often completely hollowed,

but hollow usually

extends up into tree

only few feet.

Storm-damaged

tops are common

but rot descends

slowly. Fire wipes

out seedlings and

often seed source.

As in swamp túpelo.

Fire hazard somewhat more frequent

but site conditions

(lack of muck)

rather less conducive to total devastation. A small,

black ingrown bark

fleck occasionally

degrades logs, usually in trees with

dry or damaged

tops.

Once tree is wounded

at base, rot occurs

and advances

rapidly; fire very

easily wounds but

does not often kill

the tree. Usual

understory origin

often causes poor

form. Survives

grazing as bushes.

A borer commonly

attacks weakened

trees and those on

poor sites. Sap

suckers.

Sparse or negligible

yield of marginal

logs for box factory.

Pulpwood.

Package and commercial veneer, factory

and box lumber,

small dimension,

crossties, and pulpwood. Essentially

similar to water

túpelo.

Exceptionally clear

and defect-free, a

common substitute

for sap sweetgum.

Package and commercial veneer, factory and box lumber, small dimension, crossties, pulpwood.

Factory lumber. Particularly valued for

light-colored furniture. Some commercial and package veneer, slack

cooperage, and, recently, pulpwood.

Striking-tool handles,

implement parts,

athletic goods, and

other specialties cut

mostly from bolts

but partly from

thick lumber.

Sparingly used for

factory lumber,

often with pecan.

Some crossties and

charcoal.

Usually a small, short,

malformed tree.

Reproduction

should be carefully

distinguished from

better túpelos.

Normally in evenaged, dense stands,

often with cypress

and sweetbay, sometimes with water

túpelo. A major

type on lower

Coastal Plain from

Lake Pontchartrain

in eastern Louisiana

to Dismal Swamp in

Virginia; minor elsewhere.

Normally in evenaged, dense stands

with or without

other túpelos and

cypress. Swollen

butts of trees in deep

swamps develop

punky texture unfit

for use.

Sugarberry is the common species, hackberry occurring

only in northern

part of region. Best

quality and form

as well as growth

from stands originating in open.

Only best material

commonly used.

No distinction

made between species except through

average quality

and texture. C.

cordiformis, "bitternut," is poorest;

usually avoided.

High proportion of

heartwood and slow

growth lower salability for specialty
42 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southern hardwood species and

Approved ' common

and scientific

name

Other common

names

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Occurrence in

uplands Growth rate

HOLLY, AMERICAN

{Ilex opaca) Holly

Locust . _ - -

Principally in minor

stream bottoms but on

high ridges of oldest

alluvium and in most

hammocks.

Scattered on highest sites;

escapee from plantations.

Scattered widely in large

bottoms on all sites except sloughs and

swamps. Most common and at its best on

the better ridges of

new alluvium. Very

scarce or absent in the

East.

Scattered widely in nearly

all alluvial swamps,

sloughs, and wet flats.

Very scarce in the

East.

Rarely on outwashes from

uplands and in certain

small stream bottort^s

above lower Coastal

Plain.

Uncommon. Borders of

swamps and swampy

drains in rich, moist,

mucky soil of lower

Coastal Plain, not on

alluvial sites; sometimes with slash or

pond pine.

Mainly within 100 to 200

miles of coast, on oldest alluvium and outwashes from uplands.

Principally in minor

or secondary stream

bottoms and hammocks.

Scattered widely as an

understory tree on all

but driest and wettest

sites.

More abundant than in

bottom lands because

of widespread planting.

Rare. Sometimes in old

pastures as shrub or

on lower slopes and in

coves.

None -

Poor

LOCUSTS

Black locust {Ro- Medium; on best

sites good to post

size.

Medium, but variable.

Good

binia pseudoacacia) .

Honeylocust {Gleditsia triacanIhos).

Waterlocust {G.

Thorn tree,

locust.

Swamp locust

Cucumber, magnolia.

Swamp bay

Magnolia, bull

bay.

aqualica).

MAGNOLIAS

AND BAYS

Cucumbertree Scattered throughout

territory on moist,

deep, well-drained

soils; mostly middle

and lower slopes.

Ordinarily not found.

Possibly on some wet

branch heads of lower

Coastal Plain.

On middle and lower

slopes in deep rich

soi s and in many

branch heads within

about 150 miles of

coast, scattered widely

in groups and groves

from CaroHna to Texas.

Medium.

Poor -

{Magnolia acuminata).

Redbay {Persea

borbonia).

Southern mae- Medium. nolia {M. grandiflora) .

See footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

43

Tolerance Reproduction

Susceptibility to

damage

Value and

primary uses Remarks

Very tolerantIntolerant.

Intolerant.

Intolerant.

Moderately tolerant.

TolerantTolerant.

Sparse but dependable in groups

originating in partial openings.

Good on bare, moist

sites. Good

sprouter.

Sparse and unpredictable. Common

on old pastures.

Occurs only in clear

openings but does

best in thicket or

tangle of ground

cover and copes

well with sod.

Erratic but occasionally prolific in

openings in shallow

swamps. Sprouts

vigorously from

stumps.

Erratic and scattered;

pokes up through

small and partial

openings, singly

and in small groups.

Erratic and scattered in groups

amongst swamp

túpelo, sweetbay,

etc.

Erratic and scattered.

Requirements for

regeneration not

well understood.

Poor sprouter.

No special problem

Locust borer limits

tree to small size

on poor sites.

No special problem

except stem canker.

Sensitive to fire

but safe from grazing.

No special problem.

Immune to grazing.

No special problem _

Bad butts from fire

scarring common.

Fire may forestall

reproduction.

No special problem.

Decorative foliage

and fruit. Special

cabinet work in

triñing amounts—

from small dimension cut from short

logs and bolts. A

very little lumber

is mixed in with

other light-colored

species.

The naturally durable wood is preferred for posts.

Limited value.

Local-use lumber,

posts, and occasionally factory lumber

and ties.

Rarely for lumber or

ties; practically

never used for factory lumber.

Often included with

yellow-poplar for

factory lumber or

veneer use. Otherwise of medium to

low value for factory lumber, in mixture with other

soft-textured

woods. High

local-use rating on

farms.

Low value, no established place in commerce. Box factory uses. Pulpwood.

Good values for factory lumber, largely

as substitute for

yellow-poplar. Not

commonly veneered

Stems at maturity

are usually small,

short, and limby.

Minor species.

Tendency to ring

shake and heart

check in large, old

trees. Seed pods

are excellent mast.

Not especially

durable.

Third-rate tree. Poor

form and small size.

Fair mast producer.

Scarcity and poor

form, due to overstory competition,

may be principal

detractions.

Good second-rate

tree. Often appears

rough but cuts out

fairly clear lumber

anyway. Generally sound.
44 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southern hardxoood species and

Approved ' common

and scientific

name

Other common

names

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Occurrence in

uplands Growth rate

Sweetbay (M.

virginiana).

White bay, bay,

swamp magnolia.

MAPLES

Boxelder {Acer

negundo).

Ashleaf maple.

Florida maple {A.

barbaium).

Red maple (^4.

rubnim).

Silver maple {A.

saccharinum).

Southern hard

maple.

Soft maple,

swamp maple.

Soft maple, river

maple.

Sugar maple {A.

saccharum).

MULBERRY, RED

[Morns rubra)

Hard maple,

southern hard

maple.

Mulberry.

Largely east of Mis.sÍRsippi River in muck

swamps of Coastal

Plains.

Generally on riverfronts

of major streams and

scattered throughout

bottom lands, particularly on ridges or

high flats of new alluvium.

Occurs sparsely on higher,

better drained sites in

secondary bottoms

throughout Coastal

Plains; more often in

lower Coastal Plain.

Scattered widely everywhere except on high

ridges and in deep

swamps. Most common in low situations

and on heavy soils, especially on old alluOn riverfronts and

streambanks in northern part of Mississippi

River Delta, but along

other major streams

almost to coast.

None.

Scattered widely except

in swamps, sloughs, and

ridges of old alluvium.

Most common on

heavy, moist, but welldrained soils in first

bottoms.

Only in wet branch heads

of lower Coastal

Plain.

Poor to medium.

On moist, loose soil in

coves and on lower

slopes.

None.

Coves, lower slopes,

branch heads.

Occasionally in coves,

creek bottoms, and

edges of branch heads

above the Coastal

Plains.

Widely scattered on

middle and lower

slopes in rough terrain

and river bluffs of

upper Coastal Plains

and Piedmont. Down

the loessal blufl" in

Mississippi to Louisiana.

Scattered widely on best,

moist soils. Not so

common as in bottoms.

Excellent.

Medium.

Medium to good.

Occasionally excellent.

Excellent.

Moderate to good.

Poor in understory.

See footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softtoood associates ^—Continued

45

Susceptibility to Value and

Tolerance Reproduction damage primary uses Remarks

Moderately tolerant. Erratic but occasion- No special problem Package veneer, some Small average size and Commonly an ally prolific in box lumber. Be- inaccessible sites understory to openings and heavy coming an impor- have limited its use. blackgum and thinnings. Com- tant substitute for especially for

cypress. petes fairly well

with ground cover.

sap yellow-poplar

as factory lumber.

Some commercial

veneers. Pulpwood.

standard lumber.

Moderately tolerant. Prolific on bare min- No special problem Rarely used. Some Matures when young

eral soil. Will except poor under- lumber, crating. and small. Very

reproduce under story form which and pulpwood. poor form prevalent.

partially opened may be related to Lumber included Practically a weed

overstory of cotton- site or genetics. with soft maple or tree. Turkey, bird,

wood or riverfront other soft, light- and squirrel food.

type. In small colored utility

openings in other wood.

places. Will race

heavy ground cover

successfully.

Sprouting rarely

accounts for stand

origin.

Tolerant Erratic and scattered, No special problem Scarcity, small size,

and poor form limit

Most likely confused

singly and in small with other maples.

groups. it to occasional use

for factory and box

lumber.

Tolerant Dependable; nor- Mineral stain and Factory lumber. Scattered occurrence

mally establishes a spot worm preva- Good values and and poor form have

sparse understory. lent. Poor form ready market limited its use.

Sometimes forms a due to suppression wherever general Species does better

thicket in openings, is most serious form warrants use. in Southeast. Grade

especially on wet

spots. Competes

detraction. Special handling of of lumber generally

spot worm and is better than indiwell with ground stain provided in cated on surface of

cover. Seed dis- lumber grades. log.

persal is excellent. Some commercial

Sprouting of little and package veimportance, mostly

from stumps.

Prolific on bare mineral soil in openings

neer. Pulpwood.

Intolerant Spot worm common

in South. Form

Good values for factory lumber. SubGood second-rate tree.

or new ground. rather poor. stituted for hard

maple when texture

not too important

and if relatively

free of spot worm.

Pulpwood.

Tolerant Scattered, coming in No special problem Very valuable, but Not important in

as understory and sparsity limits use South.

in small and partial and average quality

openings. Probably only medium. Facdoes not cope well tory lumber.

with ground cover,

but seeds well

through sod.

Very tolerant Seeds readily and

sprouts well. Reproduces and grows

Stem canker causes

considerable mortality and cull.

Because of extreme

natural durability

and good texture,

A small understory

tree, practically

never of sawtimber

in the understory. highly prized for

fence posts.

size.

54839T O—60 4
46 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southern hardwood species and

Approved ' common

and scientific

OAKS

Blacli oak

{Quercus velutina)

Bur oak (0. macrocarpa).

Other common

names

Yellow butt oak,

red oak.

Mossy cup oak.

Cherrybark oak

(Q. fálcala var.

pagodaefolia).

Chinkapin oak

(Q. muehlenbergii).

Delta post oak

(Q. slellata var.

mississippiensis).

Durand oak

(Q. durandii).

Swamp red oak,

bottomland red

oak, red oak.

Chinquapin oak,

chestnut oak.

Post oak, yellow

oak.

White oak, bastard white oak,

bastard post

oak.

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Widely scattered on

oldest alluvium and on

driest sites—mostly to

north portion of region.

On better flats and low

ridges of older alluvium

in Delta and tributary

bottoms north of latitude of Memphis. Pos

sibly in extreme northwest of region (see

next column).

Widely on best loamy

sites on all river-bottom

ridges and all better

drained creek bottoms

and hammocks. Preponderantly on older

alluvium. Occasionally on tight, silty clay

flats and low ridges,

but does poorly there.

None in Delta. Rare on

oldest alluvium in bottoms of secondary

streams and creeks.

More common towards

west.

Large bottoms of the

lower Mississippi Valley only. Well-drained

silty clay and loam

sites on older alluvium.

Local and usually limited.

Most plentiful in some

hammocks of South

Carolina Coastal Plain

and by widely separated groups on older

alluvium of Delta in

southeastern Arkansas.

Occurrence in

uplands

Most common on spots

within areas of better

pine sites in broken

terrain. Rare or

absent in lower

Coastal Plains, chiefly

in higher areas to

north and west thereof.

Probably not in southern

hardwood region except

sparsely in extreme

northwest, i.e., corner

of La., Okla., and Ark.,

where it may be in both

uplands and bottoms.

Wide. Best development on deep, rich,

moist, well-drained

soils. Does badly on

medium upland sites

and does not occur on

poor, dry sites.

On middle and upper

slopes, usually in rough

terrain, across north

and in west of region.

Sparse and scattered.

None

The principal white oak

throughout the Alabama-Mississippi

Black Belt, northeast

Texas, and southwest

Georgia. Possibly

southeast Oklahoma.

Predilection for calcareous soils.

Growth rate

Medium to good on

best sites.

See footnote at end of table.

Medium to poor.

Good to excellent.

Medium.

Medium.

Medium.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

47

Tolerance

Intolerant.

Moderately intolerant.

IntolerantMay be slightly

tolerant; generally

found singly in

competitive situations and never

forms stands.

Moderately intolerant.

Little evidence.

May be slightly

tolerant.

Reproduction

Fair in openings.

Needs protection.

Prolific in open areas

but often killed by

high water during

growing season.

Mast may be seriously depleted by

game and livestock.

Easily obtained with

full light but seldom

prolific. Sprouts

fairly efficiently.

Copes well with

ground cover. Fair

promise for planting.

Erratic and sparse.

Easily obtained with

light, but seldom

prolific. Mast may

be seriously depleted by animals.

Few stands are of

sprout origin.

Sparse and scattered.

Usually in small or

partial openings.

Seeding may be

scant. Few stands

are of sprout origin.

Susceptibility to

damage

Value and

primary uses

Greater than average

susceptibility to

diseases and insects

on poor sites. Prevalent occurrence is

on sites that burn

frequently.

No special problem.

Most resistant of

the oaks to fire.

No special problem.

No special hazard

apparent.

No special problem

No special hazards

apparent.

Factory lumber, ties,

and timbers. High

value according to

grade. Wood texture very good.

Ties and timbers, factory lumber, tight

cooperage. Generally higher quality

than overcup oak

because free from

insects. Fair to

medium values.

High value. Face

veneer, factory lumber, cooperage,

crossties.

A white oak equal in

utility and value

to Q. alba.

See swamp chestnut

oak.

Moderate to high

value for standard

lumber, tight cooperage, and ties.

Remarks

Often very poor tree,

but best trees on

best sites equivalent

to cherrybark oak.

Freedom from borers

and bark scarrers

correlated with site.

Subject to epicormic

branching when

drastically released,

especially on poor

sites.

Hard, strong, durable

wood; excellent

farm-use species.

Second-rate commercially because of

roughness; much upland growth nearly

worthless because of

short, rough boles.

Best red oak.

Wood has distinct

yellow-tan cast requiring separate

handling as face

veneer. Same as

swamp chestnut oak

otherwise.

Yellow-tan color depreciates utility of

the small proportion otherwise suitable for face veneer.

This apart, an

average good white

oak—somewhat

rough but free of

insects.
48 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southern hardwood species and

Approved ' common

and scientific

name

Laurel oak {0.

laurifolia).

Other common

names

Water oak,

spotted oak.

Northern red oak

{Q. rubra).

Nuttall oak (Q.

nultallii).

Oglethorpe oak (Q.

oglelhorpensis).

Overcup oak (0.

lyrata).

Red oak, eastern

red oak, water

oak, striped

oak.

Swamp red oak,

southern pin

oak, striped

oak, pin oak,

swamp black

oak, tight bark

oak.

Swamp post oak,

swamp white

oak.

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Near coast in wet flats,

on margins of swamps,

and occasionally on

low clay ridges or even

low sandy loam ridges

of blackwater streams.

Leaves the larger bottoms above the lower

Coastal Plain and

occurs progressively

farther back on west

into east Texas. Above

the Coastal Plain it

occurs in the minor

stream bottoms on wet

flats and low ridges

with impervious soils.

Occasionally found on

terrace ridges of secondary rivers and north

end of Delta and in

well-drained creek bot

toms to north edge of

region.

Widely on flats, low

ridges, shallow sloughs,

and margins of swamps

in recent alluvial sites.

To lesser extent on old

alluvium, but there restricted to wet, heavy,

but not impervious

soils. Strictly limited

to bottoms of major

streams entering the

gulf and their larger

tributaries.

Spotty on high bottom

sites of western South

Carolina and northeastern Georgia.

Widely on poorly drained,

heavy soils of major

alluvial bottoms.

Scattered on better

sites, mainly on newer

alluvium. Prevalent

in sloughs, on margins

of swamps, and in

backwater areas.

Throughout region in

all alluvial bottoms

and some low hammocks but principally

in lower Mississippi

Valley and gulf region.

Occurrence in

uplands

Only on wet flats in

coastal branch heads

and a few wet cove

bottoms.

On best moist, deep soils

of middle and lower

slopes of bluffs and in

ravines and coves.

Rarely on drier but

fair sites and then inferior. Holds to higher

lands and north edge

of region.

None

NoncGrowth rate

Good to excellentMedium to excellentGood to excellentMedium.

None. Medium. In deep

backwaters poor.

See footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

49

Tolerance Reproduction

Susceptibility to

damage

Value and

primary uses Remarks

IntolerantIntolerant_

IntolerantModerately

intolerant.

Moderately

intolerant.

Erratic but plentiful

with light. Seeds

in like hay on flats

under heavy stands

but requires release

by second growing

season. Copes

moderately well

with ground cover.

Often killed by

growing-season

inundation.

Sprouts poorly.

Fairly easy to obtain

but never profuse.

Animals may

deplete mast.

Must have clear

openings. Only

fair in fight with

ground cover.

May plant fairly

well.

Prolific but often

killed by

inundation during

growing season.

Starts readily in

either open or

shade but dies soon

under shade.

Maintains itself

fairly well against

all ground cover

but heavy peppervine. Should

plant fairly well.

Many large trees

are of sprout origin.

Good

Prolific but often

killed by inundation during growing

season. Starts

readily in either

shade or opening

but soon dies in

shade. Persists

against all ground

cover but heavy

peppervine.

Sprouting not

especially effective.

Commonly insect-infested and mineralstained. Epioormic

branching is

constant threat.

No special problem _.

Severe drouths or

lowered water table

will readily kill

mature trees on

low sites. On

impervious soils

and in backwater

areas, overmature

and damaged trees

subject to insects

and mineral stain.

Unknown.

Often damaged by

boring and barkscarring insects,

mineral stain, and

heart check.

Low value. Rarely

for factory lumber

or ties and timbers.

Locally in Southeast for pulpwood.

High value. Face

veneer, factory

lumber, cooperage,

ties and timbers.

Highly acceptable

for factory lumber,

but excessive

checking in

seasoning inhibits

use for ties and

timbers. Little or

no veneering.

Same as the better

white oaks.

Utility varies

extremely \\ith site

and fire damage.

At best nearly

equivalent to white

oak. Frequently

worthless for

factory lumber

because of insects

and stain. Checking

during seasoning

prevents general

use for ties and

timbers.

Tendency to check

excessively makes it

about worthless for

ties and timbers.

The poorest of the

red oaks but can

be high-graded for

lumber on its

better sites.

Equivalent to cherrybark oak. Wood

of excellent texture

and working

properties.

Lumber-grade

yield very high.

Good second-rate

tree—one of the

best for its sites.

Subject to

epicormic branching

when drastically

released, especially

on poor sites.

Not recognized as

species until 1940.

Next to post oak,

the poorest of the

white oaks.

Subject to

epicormic branching

when drastically

released, especially

on poor sites.
50 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABUí 4.—Southern hardwood species and,

Approved ' common Other common Occurrence in bottom Occurrence in

and scientific names lands uplands Growth rate

name

Pin oak (0. 8wamp Spanish Northern Delta and major None in this region Good to excellent

palustris). oak, northern

pin oak.

tributaries. In northern Coastal Plains also.

In first bottoms and

terraces on wet flats

with heavy or impervious soils.

Post oak {Q. stellata var. stelTrnn nak Occasionally on oldest,

poorest terrace sites;

On highest, driest hardwood sites. Sparse or

il yjíi Kjar^ ^__ —- ^ Poor

lata). usually subject to

summer drouth.

Never on new alluvium. Not a bottomland species.

absent on good upland

hardwood sites.

Shumard oak (Q. Striped oak, red Restricted to good ridge From better ridge sites Good to excellent

shumardii) oak. soils in older alluvium to lower slopes on

(varietal and outwash from moist rich uplands.

nomenclature uplands and to wellstill controver- drained creek bottoms

sial). and hammocks.

Rarely on newer soils.

Widely distributed but

very scattered.

Southern red oak Red oak, Spanish Common on oldest ter- Almost universal except Medium on reason-

{Q. fálcala var. oak, turkey races and outwashes in wet places. Best ably good sites.

falcata). oak. from uplands. Drier

sites. Not primarily a

bottom-land species.

development on deep,

rich, well-drained

slopes.

Swamp chestnut Cow oak, basket Common in large creek In bottoms of coves of Medium to good oak (Q. oak, swamp bottoms and hammocks best uplands, opening

michauxil). white oak. on best, well-drained

loamy ridges. Occasionally on a wet, silty

clay, high flat. Rarely

on best, more mature

recent alluvium but

typically a tree of

older alluvium.

out to true bottoms.

Not an upland species.

Spp footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^'—Continued

51

Susceptibility to Value and

Tolerance Reproduction damage primary uses Remarks

Intolerant Prolific in openings.

Becomes established

No special problem Local-use lumber and

fuel. Some ties

Grades into and confused with Nuttall

in shade but needs and timbers but oak about latitude

prompt release. tends to check ex- of Memphis and

Dense even-aged cessively. The above.

patches common. worst of the oaks

Not very effective for persistent, small

against ground body limbs, and

cover. therefore generally

worthless for factory lumber. Varies

by locality and

stocking, though,

and is occasionally

high-graded for factory lumber.

Moderately intol- Easily obtained with On poor sites, com- Factory lumber is Third-rate tree.

erant. light. Sprouts monly infested with high-graded from Natural pruning of

freely. Depletion spot or flag worm best sites. Good upper stem is slow,

of mast by animals and with grubs. tie and timber trees generally

and repeated fires Blind twig knots species. short. Poorest of

are only controls on and fire scars com- the white oaks.

typical site. mon.

Intolerant Easily obtained in full Same as cherrybark High value. Face Similar to cherrybark

light. Persists oak. veneer, factory oak in quality and

against ground lumber, cooperage. utility but more

cover. Sprouts crossties. selective as to site.

well and shows On unproductive.

promise for plant- high, dry sites of

ing. lower Piedmont and

upper Coastal

Plain, especially to

west. Almost

indistinguishable

from the scarlet oak

that commonly occurs on such sites.

Moderately intol- Easily obtained with Susceptible to insects Ties and timbers. Second-rate tree on

erant. light. Works its and disease when Best trees on good all but best upland

way up individually wounded or on poor sites produce ex- sites because of

through small open- sites. Fire damage cellent factory tendency to shortings; occasionally conspicuous on poor lumber and even ness and roughness

takes over large sites. Form de- veneer logs, com- and insect and stain

opening on drier teriorates there parable to north- damage. Good

site, but seldom also. ern red oak. wood texture for

prolific. Small all uses. Dries

sizes sprout aggres- well.

sively.

Moderately intol- Easily obtained in Moderate trouble Broad utility and Fastest growing

erant. clear openings but with bark scarrers high value. Face white oak and one

sparse because mast and epicormic veneer, factory of best in quality.

is highly palatable limbs on poorest lumber, tight Generally equivato animals, and sites. cooperage, ties, and lent to good Q.

acorns are espe- timbers. Coarse alba.

cially susceptible to grain and wide

weevil damage. sapwood are slight

Sprouts well and handicap for face

competes fairly well veneer and tight

with ground cover. cooperage.

Promising for

planting.
52 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southern hardwood species and

Approved ' common Other common Occurrence in bottom Occurrence in

and scientific names lands uplands Growth rate

name

Swamp white oak White oak Extreme northern part of Perhaps in bottoms of Medium

(Ç. bicolor). lower Mississippi Valley within this region,

mainly in smaller bottoms on sites with

pervious soils but not

necessarily good surface drainage. Quite

rare.

coves and drains in

extreme northern rim

of region. Not an

upland species.

Water oak (Q. Striped oak, pin Widely on loam ridges in Widely on all sites but Good to excellent.

nigra). oak, orange first bottoms and on the wettest. Best Varies with site.

oak, red oak. any ridge and silty clay development on lower

spotted oak. flats in second bottoms

or terraces.

slopes. Very poor on

high, dry sites.

White oak (Q. Forked-leaf white Widely on well-drained Widely; but principally Poor to medium.

alba). oak. oldest alluvium. Common in better drained

creek bottoms above

the lower Coastal

on middle and upper

slopes in rough terrain

with deep soils.

Largely absent in lower Coastal Plain. In

rarely good.

Plain. Occasional on

best hammock sites. Coastal Plains, often

Not primarily a bot- riddled with insects

tom-land species. and useless for any

product above ties.

Willow oak (Q. Pin oak, water Widely on ridges and Rare except in "pin oak Generally good to pkellos). oak, black oak, high flats of major flats" underlain by excellent but varred oak. streams. Less common in creek bottoms.

At its worst but most

prolific in pure stands

on hardpan terrace

soils. Congregates on

flats of old alluvium

and on clay loam ridges

of new alluvium,

where it is at its best.

hardpan. ies greatly with

site. Poor to medium on "pin oak

flats" underlain

by hardpan.

OSAGE-ORANGE

(Madura pomí- Bois d'arc, mock

orange.

Small bottoms in northwestern Louisiana,

Widely but scattered on

all sites; primarily on

Poor fera).

northeastern Texas moist, well-drained

and adjacent parts of creek bottoms.

south Arkansas, and

especially in Oklahoma.

See footnote at end of tablp.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softioood associates ^—Continued

53

Tolerance Reproduction

Susceptibility to

damage

Value and

primary uses Remarks

Moderately intolerant.

Intolerant.

Moderately intolerant.

Intolerant.

TolerantAdequate to sparse.

Never prolific and

occurs only as

scattered groups in

small openings.

Prolific in full light.

Sprouts aggressively and fights

ground cover very

well.

Adequate in openings

wide enough to let

in direct sunlight.

Only moderately

efficient in competition with ground

cover. Seed supply

often deficient for

reproduction, perhaps because animals eat it. Sprouts

well.

Easily obtained in full

light. Sprouts efficiently. Competes

exceptionally well

with ground cover.

Mast is normally

copious. Should

plant fairly well.

Erratic. Sprouts well.

Commonly in understory or in small

or partial openings.

No special hazard

unless from animals

eating mast.

Very susceptible to

insects, diseases

(including basal

heart rot), and

mineral stain on

both dry and impervious soils.

Fire hazard may be

above average.

On poorer sites especially subject to insect infestation,

mineral stain, and

epicormic branching. Basal heart

rot common in old

trees on hardpans.

No special problem.

A high-class white

oak of good value

but too scarce to be

marketed alone.

Face veneer, tight

cooperage, factory

lumber, and ties,

etc.

Factory lumber.

Ties and timbers

only from high,

dry sites. Poor

to medium values.

Prized for both commercial and farm

use. Face veneer,

tight cooperage,

factory lumber, ties,

and timbers.

Factory lumber. Ties

and timbers, especially from high

terrace and "pin

oak flat" stands.

Very durable wood,

highly prized for

fence posts and

small poles. Too

small for lumber

and ties but welcomed for specialties such as insulator pins and archery bows.

A very good secondrate tree on the

best sites. Knotty,

grubby, barkpocketed, and

stained on poor

sites. May check

excessively in drying. Subject to

epicormic branching when drastically

released, especially

on poor sites.

Sometimes subject to

excessive epicormic

branching on poor

sites or when

crowded.

Very important species because of wide

distribution in bottom lands, rapid

growth and relatively high utility

on appropriate

sites. Tendency to

check excessively

detracts from utility. Subject to

epicormic branching when drastically

released, especially

on poor sites.

Minor local species;

widely planted and

naturalized in

spots. Principal

handicap is crookedness.
54 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southern hardtoood species omd

Approved ' common

and scientific

Other common

names

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Occurrence in

uplands Growth rate

name

PECANS

Pecan (Carya illinoensis).Sweet pecan Largely restricted to

present or recent riverfronts on loamy soils

(never on old alluvium)

in Mississippi River

system. Rare in bottoms of other large

rivers of Gulf Coastal

Plain.

None - Medium to good

Water hickory

{Carya aqualica).

Bitter pecan, bitternut, pig nut.

Widely, but common

only to flats, sloughs,

and margins of swamps

of major alluvial

streams. Occasionally

on low clay ridges.

Greatest concentrations on flats of principal backwater basins.

None Poor

PERSIMMON,

COMMON

(Diospyros virginiana).

Persimmon Scattered widely on wet

flats, shallow sloughs,

swamp margins. Rare

in creek bottoms. At

its best on new alluvium in big bottoms.

On lower sites in coves

and as old-field weed

on high, dry sites.

Poor

PINES

Loblolly pine

(Pinus taeda).

Old field pine,

Rosemary

pine, black

pine.

Mainly on terraces and

colluvial outwash of

smaller rivers and

highest ridges in creek

bottoms. Also in high

hammocks. Reaches

optimum development

on such sites but is

not primarily a bottom-land species.

Widely but scattered on

productive upland

hardwood sites; on

ridges and upper

slopes primarily; i.e.,

the drier sites.

Fair to good. Seldom excellent

except in sapling

and small pole

stage or when

superdominant.

Slash pine (P.

elliotiii).

Swamp pine In margins or borders

and on hummocks in

muck swamps. (Common with inferior

hardwoods in shallow

bays and piney woods

ponds of the lower

Coastal Plain; not

treated herein.)

In branch heads and

drains of lower Coastal

Plains, mostly. Tends

to poorer sites, though,

where only poplar is

of comparable importance; largely disregarded herein.

Medium to good

See footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

55

Susceptibility to Value and

Tolerance Reproduction damage primary uses Remarks

Moderately tolerant Rarely prolific in Notably free of haz- Medium value for Good second-class but less than clear opening. ards but puffers standard lumber species—perhaps

most hickories. Generally adequate from fire and graz- and a little com- risk of roundin small and partial ing. mercial and face headed borer in

openings. Per- veneer. Turns into flooring and trim is

sistent and devel- furniture, flooring only bar to firstops well. Sprouts and trim, and im- class rating.

aggressively plement and vehicle

from stumps. Mast parts. Sometimes

heavily foraged. mixed with hickory

but not quite hard

and tough enough

for most hickory

specialties.

Moderately toler- Prolific in full light. No special problem. Accepted with sweet Extreme tendency to

ant but less than Heavy sprouter. Leafs out very late, pecan for factory ring shake makes it

most hickories. Starts and persists withstands flooding lumber when qual- third-rate tree.

in partial light and well. Survives ity permits. Too When free of ring

very small open- grazing. Heart brash for hickory shake, quite acceptings. Seeds heav- shake serious in specialties. able, but determiily and often and some localities. nation impossible

mast not much for- until trees are felled

aged. and opened up.

Very tolerant Sparse but depend- One of the most fire- Very high values in Good, self-pruning

able. Occurs resistant hard- the log but mar- tree. Little heartmostly in the woods. Bird peck keting often diffi- wood develops on

understory. and borer damage cult due to scat- favorable sites.

Sprouts well from depreciate utility tered distribution On dry old fields.

stumps. Occa- on poor sites. of trees and local- a small ill-formed

sional small thick- ized specialty weed along with

ets in partial open- manufacture. sassafras.

ings. Shuttle blocks, golf

club heads from

white or creamcolored sapwood.

Black heartwood

valueless because

of excessive checking.

Intolerant—very Reproduction made No special problem Structural lumber. A valuable fill-in on

intolerant by very difficult by poles, pulpwood. heavily depleted

hardwood scale. hardwood competition and ground

areas of appropriate site; also, the

best means of re- cover. Easily

planted on old

fields. Prolific in

habilitating wornout sites, old fields

clear openings on

well-drained sites.

and gullies. Naturally temporary,

except as individuals, in most situations but ridgetops.

Intolerant. Must Prolific in clear open- Stands under 10 feet High values for poles, A welcome fill-in for

have codominant ings with exclusion in height are sus- piling, lumber. appropriate situations but rarely

can reproduce successfully in competition with better

hardwoods.

or better position

relative to hardwoods.

of fire. Sparse or

lacking otherwise.

Poor in competition with ground

cover and hardceptible to fire. pulpwood, and

naval stores.

wood reproduction.
56 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.-—Southern hardwood species a/ad

Approved ' common Other common Occurrence in bottom Occurrence in

and scientific names lands uplands Growth rate

name

Shortleaf pine Arkansas pine Very rare ; may occur on Invades productive hard- Poor to medium.

(F. echinala). high, dry terraces of

small streams and outwashes in northern

and higher areas of

region.

wood areas of deep but

dry soils iu northern

and higher parts of

region, especially old

fields, heavy cutovers,

and destructive burns.

Largely vestigial in

good old-growth hardwood stands.

Occasionally good.

Spruce pine (P. Cedar pine, East of Mississippi River Only in an occasional Good to excellent

glabra). white pine. on well-drained, high

ridges of first bottoms

and better terrace

sites of minor streams

of lower Coastal

Plains and some hammocks. Scattered in

small groups and

groves.

large, well-drained

branch head in the

Coastal Plains.

SASSAFRAS

{Sassafras Scattered widely on any On all sites, but best in Medium, very

albidum). well-drained site. coves and on lower variable.

Best on moist, per- slopes.

vious soUs.

SYCAMORE,

AMERICAN

(Plaianus occiden- Plane tree, Widely on fronts of In cove bottoms and Good to excellent

talis). buttonball-tree. major streams and on

banks of minor

streams; elsewhere, on

bare areas and

washes of light moist

soils.

around branch heads

above the lower

Coastal Plains.

WALNUT

Black walnut Walnut Scattered mainly in Widely scattered Medium to good (Juglans nigra). northern and higher

parts of region on best

well-drained loamy

sites. Not common in

major bottoms except

Delta of Tennessee and

Missouri. Typically a

creek-bottom species.

throughout region on

deep, moist, welldrained soils. Best in

moist coves.

Butternut White walnut Rare; only in small Scarce; occurs mainly on Medium to good {Juglans cinérea). creek bottoms to the

north and in Piedmont.

middle and lower

slopes of ravines and

coves to the north and

in Piedmont.

See footnote at end of table.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

vMef softwood associates ^—Continued

57

Tolerance Reproduction

Susceptibility to

damage

Value and

primary uses Remarks

IntolerantModerately intolerant by hardwood

standards. Most

tolerant of southern pines.

IntolerantVerv intolerantIntolerant--

Intolerant---

Prolific in clear openings with exclusion

of ñre; sparse or

lacking otherwise.

Seedlings sprout

readily following

injury.

Reproduction adequate in small

openings on proper

site; occasionally

prolific over small

bare areas. Most

efi'ective of pines in

competition with

ground cover and

hardwood reproduction.

Sparse; erratic except

for efficient sprouting. Takes over

occasional small

opening in spite of

ground cover.

Often prevalent on

ridgetop openings

and old fields,

where it is a weed.

Prolific on bare mineral soil. Sparse

to adequate on wet

spots with meager

ground cover.

Never in shade.

Excellent sprouter

from stump. Good

planting prospects;

unrooted cuttings

possible.

Sparse but dependable. Mainly in

openings on best,

well-drained soils.

Copes moderately

well with ground

cover. Sprouts

fairly well from

stump.

PoorSites subject it to

frequent fire hazard.

No special problem

but crook from

competition with

hardwoods and

ground cover.

Considerable mortality during

drouths. Very

susceptible to fire.

Becomes shaky after

reaching maturity.

Especially sensitive

to fire, but usually

occurs on the safer

sites. Small barkscarrer pockets

common on dry

sites and in overmature trees.

Mineral stain on

poorest sites.

Bark flecks, probably insect-caused,

depreciate utility,

especially in southern part of region.

UnknownHigh values for poles,

piling, and structural lumber.

Pulpwood.

Structural lumber,

pulpwood, rarely

poles.

Boat lumber, rarely

interior trim

(mostly custom

work), posts. No

established market

as standard factory

lumber.

Commercial and

package veneer,

occasionally factory

lumber. Box lumber. Specialties

such as butcher

blocks. Fair

values.

Most valuable native

species for face

veneer and factory

lumber. Gun

stocks and other

specialties.

When sufficient

quantities can be

accumulated, has

medium to high

value for factory

lumber.

Same as for loblolly

but some severely

depleted or degraded oak-hickory

sites might well be

converted to this

species.

Rougher than loblolly pine, sweep

precludes production of poles.

Seldom if ever

makes dense structural stock.

Sparse, scattered supply makes it negligible in commerce,

though the lumber

is light, durable,

straight grained,

easy to work and

bend, and of excellent appearance.

Clean, clear boles,

but very large trees

likely to be windshaken. Withstands drouth much

better than cottonwood and willow and

will grow on higher

sites and coarser

soils.

Often bought by the

tree, stump and

all. Where quality

is satisfactory, is

sought out truckload by truckload

over wide radius.

Single trees are sold

occasionally. Expert middlemen

needed, though.

Very minor species.
58 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 4.—Southern hardwood species and

Approved ' common

and scientific

WILLOWS

Black willow

{Salix nigra).

Sandbar willow

(S. interior).

YELLOW-POPLAR

{Liriodendron

tulipifera).

Other common

names

WillowSmoothbark

willow, gray

willow.

Poplar, tulip

poplar, tulip

tree.

Occurrence in bottom

lands

Margins and batture

sloughs of principal

rivers of Coastal

Plains and Mississippi

River system. Also

ditch banks, swamp

margins, etc. Important only on riverfront land and abundant in good quality

only on Mississippi

River system.

Along river margins on

new, low, bare bars

and towheads.

Mainly east of Missis-,

sippi River. Only on

best well-drained terrace sites and outwashes. Mainly along

minor streams. Not

primarily a bottomland species. In Delta

only at extreme northwest corner. Also on

margins of muck

swamps and in branch

heads.

Occurrence in

uplands

Rare. Only in wet

coves, in occasional

branch heads, and

along ditches and

drains as clumps,

fringes, and single

trees.

Probably none.

Widely, except on ridgetops and other driest

sites. Best and most

plentiful in coves and

on lower slopes, and in

depressions on upper

slopes. Common in

branch heads of

Coastal Plains to the

coast. Also in piney

woods seeps and drains

on Coastal Plains.

Growth rate

Excellent.

Excellent to small

pulpwood size.

Good to excellent-

' These species, for one reason or another, attain importance in southern hardwood stands. Approved common names and scientific names are according to

E. L. Little, Jr., Check List of Native and Naturalized Trees of the United States (including Alaska). U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Handb. 41, 472 pp. Comparative

growth rate is average diameter increase in 10 years for dominant and codominant trees on better sites, as follows: Poor—less than 2 inches; medium—2 to 3
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

chief softwood associates ^—Continued

59

Susceptibility to Value and

Tolerance Reproduction damage primary uses Remarks

Along with cotton- Reproduces profusely Very susceptible to Factory lumber, com- Form and size good in

wood, most intol- but only on bare, drouth on high mercial and pack- battures of lower

erant American wet mineral soil. sites or light, loose age veneer, box Mississippi and

sawtimber Sprouts vigorously. soils with low lumber, pulpwood. main tributaries,

species. Cannot compete water table. Fire Interior trim from but poor elsewhere.

with ground cover. always disastrous. the red heartwood.

Same as black Same as black wil- Very susceptible to Very low. Normally Often reproduces and

willow or more low. Cannot stand drouth : often starts short-lived; rarely grows with black

so. Black willow competition of any on coarse deposits reaches 8 inches in willow, giving way

usually shades it sort. Whole stands at high water level diameter. Pulp- to it.

out in dense of saplings die of and dies when wood or revetment

stands. drouth during low

river stages.

river recedes. matting probably

only uses.

Very intolerant __ Prolific on bare soils Great hazards from High value. Factory A clean, clear species

in wide, clear open- fire and livestock. lumber, commer- of excellent form

ings. Sparse but Degraded by small cial and package and technical

often adequate in ingrown bark veneer, box lum- properties, highly

small openings on flecks and cankers ber, pulpwood. valued for general

good sites. With on poor sites. utility.

one season's start, Probably the most

outgrows any subject of all hardground cover. woods to mortality

Sprouts well and from flooding.

is very promising

for planting.

inches- Bood-3 to 4 inches- excellent-better than 4 inches. Tolerance is a relative assessment. When factory lumberis Usted as a primary use, it automatiœlly

topfe the m^\ad^s into which hardwood lumber is remanufactured. Cypresses, pines, and cedars are included in this table because they occur on some

good hardwood sites and therefore must be considered in management programs.
60 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

PRELIMINARY MANAGEMENT

The principles of managing southern hardwoods

are not unique. Their application follows a pattern common to placing any forest land under

management: normally, the first step is to learn

what there is to work with and the second is to

plan a course of action.

Management of most forest lands—and southern

hardwoods are no exception—begins with some

very extensive practices. To apply these practices, only elementary information is essential.

Later, as management progresses, more detailed

information must be obtained. Since the most

likely course of development for most owners is

from the extensive to the intensive, this discussion

proceeds in the same way.

Although it will be assumed that the total acreage under management is sizable, the same principles apply to small properties as to large ones.

In most technical respects, these small properties

may be regarded simply as subdivisions of larger

ones. The small owner, however, often finds it

difficult to justify the expense of hiring a professional forester and purchasing equipment. Often,

too, it is difficult to hire this service and equipment. There is a need for a combined forestry,

logging, and jobbing service to handle the total

forest production (all products) of a community

or group of small owners.

Reconnaissance

The first steps in management are to collect

relevant information and to make a simple reconnaissance.

The forester must first of all locate, at least

approximately, the tract's exterior boundary lines

and then begin to get acquainted with the terrain,

the forest, and the marketing possibilities. In

addition to his field reconnaissance, three sources

of information are available. The first is written

material such as deeds, surveys, and old timber

cruises; the second is maps and photographs of

the area; and the third is personal contact with

persons who already have some knowledge of the

property. Public foresters or consultants working on very small tracts must, of course, look

to the owners for information about boundaries

and history.

Deeds and surveys are usually on file at the

county courthouse. Ordinarily, the only information the forester will need prior to his preliminary reconaissance is a plat showing land

subdivisions for areas under the Public Land

survey. Bearings and distances are, of course,

required for properties surveyed by metes and

bounds.

Cutoffs, recessions, and accretions may make it

difficult to establish the boundaries of lands lying

along major rivers. The forester in charge of

such properties should know the basic principles

of riparian law; information on this subject is

included in the appendix, p. 99.

Maps and aerial photographs are the chief tools

of a forester in becoming acquainted with a property. The study of drainage on planimetric maps

or drainage and contour lines on topographic

sheets usually helps in site delineation. Soil maps

are similarly useful. Topographic quadrangles

for areas east of the Mississippi River may be

ordered from the U.S. Geological Survey, Distribution Section, Washington 25, D.C. Orders for

areas west of the Mississippi River should be

addressed to the U.S. Geological Survey, Distribution Section, Federal Center, Denver, Colo.

Quadrangles for the alluvial valley of the Mississippi River and parts of tributary streams may be

obtained from the president of the Mississippi

River Commission, at Vicksburg, Miss.

Aerial photographs are unexcelled for orientation and for recognition of general forest types

and stand conditions. Foresters with a sound

knowledge of ground conditions may be able to

identify pure stands of cottonwood, willow, baldcypress, the túpelos, or yellow-poplar where photographs have been taken during the growing season.

Separation of other species is almost impossible in

mixed hardwoods, but important differences in

stand conditions are often obvious. Inexpensive

aerial photographs may be purchased from several

government agencies; a "Status Map of Aerial

Photography" covering all such work is available free through the U.S. Geological Survey,

Map Information Office, "Washington 25, D.C.

Local residents can be very helpful in locating

boundaries, landmarks, and routes of access, and

their memories may be the only source of information concerning past fires and logging. The

forester should make every effort to meet persons

living near the tract on a friendly basis right

from the beginning. Good public relations established at the start will reduce problems of fire and

trespass later.

The preliminary reconnaissance should provide

rough but intelligible information about the essential features of the forest and how they vary

from place to place. The collection of detailed

information on volume may be postponed until

needed for planning the first managed cut, but

major concentrations of especially valuable components should be located, as should open or other

nonproductive areas. Damage to growing stock

by fire, storms, insects, and livestock, together

with the relative density of cull or weed trees,

should also be considered.

The distribution of stand conditions (see first

column of table 5, p. 66) and of major sites or

species associations may -be noted or sketched on
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 61

a map or aerial photo. All this, affirmed and

qualified by observation and occasional rough

plot or point samples in the course of a systematic

walk-through inspection, will provide such information on volume as may be needed for broad

planning and policy decisions at this early stage.

The desirability of a detailed type map is debatable. Generally, the only really useful lines on

such maps are those delineating physiography

and ownership patterns, severe burns, or large

blowdowns. After some years of management,

other lines will tend to disappear.

For the stands regarded as operable, a clear

picture of logging conditions should be obtained.

At what seasons can the stands be worked ? The

answer will depend upon the drainage, soil conditions, and accessibility. What kind of physiographic obstacles exist? When and how frequently do floods occur; and how long do they

last? What kind of logging equipment will be

needed? Is it available now? If not, will the

need justify its acquisition? What major transportation systems are available—highways, railroads, rivers ? Are they suitable for the type of

operation anticipated? Are necessary rights-ofway legally open ? What, if any, logging will be

done by the landowner and what should be contract-logged ? If contracting appears desirable,

will the opportunities interest experienced operators ? What is the kind and quality of the labor

supply? The fact that most of this information

will be accumulated incidentally to other work

does not belie itsimportance.

Somewhat related to logging conditions is the

need for knowledge about markets. This information also may be obtained incidentally to reconnaissance and is usually part of a consultant's stock

in trade; without it planned management is

impossible. What markets or uses are in prospect ? How do they fit in with the timber supply ?

Can and should new or additional markets and

uses be developed ? If so, how and when can this

be done?

It is important to remember that markets for

major products are not localized. Hardwood

lumber logs are commonly shipped up to a hundred miles, and mills producing face veneer may

reach out several times that distance. Information on companies purchasing in the area can sometimes be obtained from local residents and other

foresters, but an informant's lack of knowledge

should not be taken as proof that markets are

nonexistent. Probably every stand of southern

hardwoods is within the reach of more than one

veneer or factory-lumber mill. Unless expert

advice is available, appropriate trade associations

and trade journals (listed on p. 99) are more adequate and dependable sources than local hearsay.

By way of summary: When the preliminary

reconnaissance is finished, the forester has, first

of all, an invaluable mental picture of the property, including a rough idea of timber volume,

location, kind, and salability. In addition, he has

maps, aerial photographs, and information on

logging conditions, markets, the fire situation, and

other general features. All the essential points

should be clearly and systematically recorded for

future reference.

Boundary Location

After the preliminary reconnaissance is finished, it is time for action—actual management

begins.

First of all, the boundaries of the property

should be accurately surveyed and plainly marked.

In most hardwood territory, untended boundaries are soon overgrown and obliterated. Old

corners should be relocated whenever possible.

If after diligent search a comer cannot be found,

a new one must be established either by agreement with adjoining landowners or by a court

decision. Any exchanges or agreements, and, of

course, all purchases, should be promptly recorded

in accordance with the requirements of State law.

Boundary disputes are annoying, time-consuming,

and expensive.

Once comers have been firmly established, the

lines between them should be run with a staff

compass and plainly marked. The most common

procedure is to paint heavily over a light bark

Ijlaze. Paint applied directly to rough bark soon

flakes ofl' and blazes alone are too hard to see,

while paint applied to a deep blaze through live

tissue is soon overgrown. In areas covered by

the Public Land Survey, metal plaques engraved

with the familiar General Land Office grid are a

(quick and suitable means of marking corners.

The plaques may also be used at the intersection

of boundary lines with roads and trails or other

well-defined natural or cultural features.

Installing a Protection System

Once the boundaries have been marked, the

next step is to place the property under protection

from fire, theft, and other trespass. A protective

system for southern hardwoods is not strikingly

different from one for pine, but a few features

deserve especial mention.

The local people in the bottom lands or most,

other hardwood areas seldom have a compelling

urge to burn the woods. Fires are very largely

accidental. A majority are caused by careless

trespassers and by the escape of fires set for clearing fields, ditch banks, and rights-of-way. This

situation is favorable because fire does not occur

so often as in pine and fewer people resent attempts to eradicate it; it is unfavorable because

people are unfamiliar with the destructiveness of

fire and make little effort to prevent or suppress it.

548307 O—60-
62 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Awakening or increasing fire consciousness, therefore, is an important part of the fire protection

scheme.

Hardwood lands are especially subject to pressure from hunters. Most fires started by hunters

are accidental and are caused by the escape of

small fires built for warmth or to smoke game

out of den trees.

Posting extensive or remote properties against

hunting seldom works. Resentment is aroused

and enforcement on scattered holdings is almost

impossible. Prc^bably the best plan is to allow

hunting by written permission. In this manner,

numbers may be restricted and responsiblity fixed,

at least to some extent. When the hunters apply

for permission the dangers of fire and the damage

it causes can be explained. Some landowners

have found that lease to a hunting club is a good

solution; fire protection can be made a condition

of the lease.

Firebreaks plowed annually late in the growing

season are highly desirable. They should be at

least 8 feet wide. Their spacing depends entirely

on the location and frequency of the roads, sloughs,

swamps, and drainage systems which they will

supplement. A very useful tool is the four-disk

fireplow, but any implement heavy enough to insure a clean swath of mineral soil is satisfactory.

Close maintenance is essential during seasons of

high hazard because dry leaves accumulate on the

plowed strips.

As access may be difficult in the bottom lands

and rougher uplands, it is likely that the existing

network of roads and trails on unmanagéd forest

land will have to be supplemented for protection

purposes. If the supplementary trails are to be

used only in fire seasons, they need be built only

to dry-weather standards.

A system of fire detection must be established if

the State does not assume this responsibility.

Towers are feasible on large ownerships in the

uplands, but air patrol may be necessary in extensive areas of bottom lands where tall timber on

flat terrain obstructs the view. Some supplementary ground patrol will be needed in either

case to detect small fires that start before all leaves

have fallen and to reduce the danger of fire by

holding trespass low. On small tracts, detection

will of necessity depend entirely on ground patrol

and State cooperation.

Suppression of fires in hardwoods generally

follows standard techniques except that building

a fireline is unusually difficult. The vegetation is

heavy, while the soil, often very hard and caked,

is fille/^ with tenacious roots. In the worst

seasons, the difficulty of fireline construction puts

the heaviest equipment to a severe test. In extended drouths, dead roots and buried debris

(and in muck swamps the organic soil itself) will

burn, often leading the fi,re below ground. Underground fires are extremely difficult to suppress and

mop up.

The best protection against trespass is a system

of plainly marked boundary lines coupled with an

occasional inspection to see whether theft or damage has occurred. This, together with the good

will and cooperation of the neighbors will generally keep the situation within bounds. In some

places, a long course of tactful education, plus

firm insistence on rights, may be necessary.

A special type of trespass is the grazing of livestock. Formerly, most of the South was openrange country. The only way of preventing

grazing was through fencing, and that was costly

and often ineffective. Many States now have

fence laws providing for the impoundment of

stray animals, but the open-range tradition dies

slowly. The exclusion of grazing can still be a

difficult proposition, generally best accomplished

by negotiation and enlightenment. Public outcry and even incendiary fires may follow abrupt,

forceful actions. Some degree of control must

be achieved, however, for intensive grazing will

prevent the establishment of hardwood reproduction.

Protection of hardwood forests from diseases

and insects is so far largely a matter of prevention.

Elimination of fire will greatly reduce damage by

heart rots, the most costly diseases. Deadening or

harvesting of trees that are infested by trunkboring insects, or whose vigor is so low that attack

is likely, will probably be beneficial.

Compartmentation

A^er a protection system has been installed,

but before cutting is started, a property should

be divided into compartments to facilitate technical management and general administration.

Customarily, compartment boundaries will coincide with natural featuressuch asstreams, swamps,

roads, and fields. Public Land Survey lines or

the boundaries of acquired tracts can be used where

natural features are not adequate or where manmade lines are more suitable for such purposes

as tax information. It is advantageous to use

forest type boundaries only where the type change

is abrupt, striking, and apt to be permanently

reflected by vegetation differences attributable to

site, not merely to variations in past history or

treatment.

Since compartments are the units of long-term

management, they should be very carefully selected

for permanence and with the specific purposes of

establishing an adequate but simple system of

permanent records. All compartment boundaries

should be plainly marked on the ground and on

a map.

The size of compartments will vary with the

size of the property. Volumes, rate and frequency

of cutting, access, and physiographic features are
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 63

FiGUBB 24.—Almost all

hardwood stands eontaLn

malformed and low-grade

trees whose removal or

deadening will improv»

the stand. Here, trees

marked with paper

squares should be removed.

the kind of factors to be considered in establishing management units. Properties smaller than a

few hundred acres may not require any subdivision at all, unless the owner plans annual cuts on

very small units.

Improving Abused Stands Through Harvest

or Deadening

The forester will usually find that through the

years fire, high-grading, liquidation cuts, or other

destructive influences have created a forest with

a high proportion of stems that are undesirable

as future growing stock. Low-grade, overripe,

overcrowded, damaged, or cull trees (and all

classes of trees of undesirable species) will be

occupying space that once supported and should

again support valuable timber. The goal of the

forester is to remove the undesirable components

and build up the stocking of desirable trees at

the same time that he is wresting some income

from the property. Treatments at this stage are

for stand improvement and are not in accordance

with any classical system of management or regeneration. That is, well-advised selection of

individual trees for removal, considering stand

relationships as well as the merits of the individual

trees, will accomplish the essential openmg for

reproduction and release (fig. 24).

The preliminary survey or reconnaissance may

furnish enough information for planning the first
64 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

cutting, particularly on small properties. A

diagnostic tally or inventory made especially for

this purpose will, however, furnish a sounder basis

for establishing policies and priorities.

Such an inventory need not be extremely

accurate or time consuming. It is possible to

get approximate estimates of volume and silvicultura! condition with little effort by using

point-sampling.' A field procedure and a form

of tally sheet useful in hardwoods are given on

page 83. Although plots or strips are probably

less efficient, they can be used to develop the

same information.

To be useful in the initial stages of management,

the inventory data should be broken down by

species group, tree class, and utility class. Species

similar in form and utility may be combined.

The general utility and grade for planning purposes may be adequately estimated from the

characteristics of the butt logs.

The silvicultural part of the inventory is the

breakdown into four tree classes: leave, storage,

cut, and cndl. These tree classifications are a form

of cutting priority. They serve as a basis for

planning harvest and improvement cutting and

for developing marking rules following analysis

of inventory data.

Leave trees are desirable growing stock and

include all trees that, in the judgment of the

forester, will grow in volume or increase in

value at a satisfactory rate for one cutting cycle

or more without unduly obstructing more desirable growing stock. The category includes trees

that are expected to attain merchantable size

and quality in the future as well as those now

merchantable.

Storage trees are not expected to make a generally satisfactory net increase in the value of

the stand, yet are unlikely to be lost, to deteriorate, or to damage surrounding trees seriously

if left in the forest for another cutting cycle.

Good mature trees may comprise the bulk of

this class but any trees that are borderline

between leave and cut will also fall into it. They

can be safely stored on the stump, with reasonable expectation that they will be available for

the next cut and thus may shorten the period

required to accumulate another operable volume

of Tion-leave trees. They may also be invaluable

in meeting special market demands or opportunities; the flexibility provided by this classification will help in budgeting the cut to suit the

° Among publications that deal with point-sampling are

the following :

Grosenbaugh, L. R. Better diagnosis and prescription

in southern forest management. U.S. Forest Serv.

South. Forest Expt. Sta. Occas. Paper 14.5, 27 pp.,

illus. 19.5.5,

Bruce, D. A new way to look at trees. Jour. Forestry 53 : 163-167, illus. 19-55.

needs of market or mill, or the landowner's

personal wishes.

Cut denotes trees that seem likely to lessen

the future value of the stand, either through risk

of loss or effect on better trees, if left for another

cycle. It includes most fully mature and all

overmature trees, those likely to suffer mortality,

damage, decay, or degrade, and those seriously

competing with better individuals. Trees with

exceptionally short stems and trees of very low

present or potential value may be cut for the sole

purpose of fostering reproduction.

Culls are unmerchantable for standard sawtimber because of species, form, knottiness, or

damage from rot or insects. Trees below sawtimber size are culls if they have no prospects

of future merchantability. Many so-called

sound but limby or malformed culls contain

cordwood and even bolt stock that under local

conditions may or may not be salable. Most

culls, though, cannot be harvested profitably

for any use.

All these tree classes except leave and storage may

be conveniently spoken of as "overburden," requiring removal or elimination as soon as

practicable.

Successful use of these tree classes will depend

largely upon the skill and judgment of the

forester, because no one can infallibly predict the

future from the past or judge the interior from the

exterior of a tree. It may, however, be helpful to

discuss the criteria that should be considered in

classifying a tree.

Successful hardwood silviculture and management demands recognition of the species-site relationships discussed earlier. Many good species

are poorly formed and infested with insects, fungi,

and stain when grown off-site. The forester

must also remember that growth capacity, form,

tolerance, reproductive capacity, quality, or

adaptation to an adverse site may justify leaving

a tree of a species otherwise held in low esteem.

To put it another way, not all yellow-poplars

should be saved nor should all water hickories

be liquidated.

The mere presence of a few obvious defects

(such as very large or punky knots) does not in

itself render a hardwood tree unsuitable for highquality products, while inconspicous faults (such

as numerous overgrown small knots or bird peck)

may prevent sound straight trees from ever being

used for anything but crossties or low-grade

structural or box lumber. Where defect-free

veneer, lumber, or bolts can be derived from

species ordinarily scorned, value may exceed that

of poor-quality trees from very desirable species.

A tree's relative vigor determines its growth

capacity and is usually correlated with the likelihood of early death. Indicators of vigor may be

characteristics such as the relative length and
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 65

shape of the crown; color, luster, and density of

foliage ; the ratio of young to old branches ; presence and prevalence of dead terminal twigs in

the upper crown; and epicormic branching.

Other indicators are bark characteristics such as

color, smoothness, texture, scaliness, Assuring,

plating, or ridging (fig. 25). Bark change lags

3-5 years behind physiological change, out is

otherwise a very useful clue to vigor. Size alone

is not a reliable indicator of vigor.

Overcrowding or overtopping rarely is critical

at the time of the first managed cut. Occasionally, however, the reason for marking a tree will

be to provide growing space for more desirable

individuals in a clump. For example, if a vigorous ash pole is being overtopped by an otherwise

desirable soft elm of commercial size, the elm

should be cut. Badly surpressed trees m clumps

or patches should be salvaged if merchantable.

In addition, occasional even-aged stands, especially of cottonwood, willow, sweetgum, the túpelos, baldcypress, and yellow-poplar, will require

a general thinning. Here the best stems should

be favored by removal of their less promising

competitors, generally of inferior crown class.

Thinning and stand improvement may still be

infeasible in many situations, especially in swamps,

if the cut is too light or if silvicultural marking

involves mainly trees too small for saw logs.

Postponement of thinning in such cases is preferable to premature cutting of the dominant

growing stock.

Most initial improvement cuts are composed

principally of low-gradej deformed, or damaged

trees that either have a dismal future or are interfering with better trees. The merchantability of

such cuts, however, is usually maintained at a

practical level by high-grade trees that are mature,

overmature, or short stemmed. Damaged but

otherwise promising trees that appear likely to

survive till the next cut without interfering with

better trees should be left unless needed for an

operable cut or unless the progress of cull or

degrade threatens to offset growth gains.

Under management, cuts can only be planned

intelligently after information such as that outlined on pages 63-64 is available. The volume and

basal areas of each compartment classified by

species, tree class, and grade will show the location,

kind, and amount of material available for cutting and that suitable for continued growth. The

stand classes suggested in table 5 may be helpful

in formulating cutting policies and priorities.

The classifications may be overly detailed for

some purposes, but can readily be condensed. The

table is intended to guide notation or sketch of

the silvicultural and economic character of stands

over a substantial area in a particular locality.

Its application is for description and prescription

rather than for formal management record.

From a purely silvicultural viewpoint, the best

procedure usually would be to remove the cut,

storage, and cull trees at once, saving all the leave

trees for future growth. Practically, one or more

difficulties may block such a simple solution :

The volume per acre in the cut and storage

categories may be too light to support a cut.

It may be impossible to market a cut composed

largely of small, low-grade material or undesirable species.

Removal of all cut and storage trees may so

reduce growing stock as to make a second cut

infeasible for too long a time.

The required investment in cull-tree elimination

may exceed the finances available.

The total merchantable volume in cut and storage categories might glut the market for

certain use classes or overload the local harvesting and logging facilities.

The owner may prefer to retain certain cut or

storage trees and gamble on a future price

increase.

On large properties, it may be preferable first

to cover the entire property with a light

salvage cut rather than to log some areas

fully while suffering unsalvaged loss in

deferred areas.

The owner may prefer to spread his income over

a considerable period instead of concentrating

it in the early years of management, either

for direct income purposes or to maintain

operation of a plant.

Only through compromise can silviculture be

reconciled with economics. Harvests too light to

to be operable or too low in quality to be salable

may be sweetened by cutting some leave trees, but

such cutting should be restricted to the absolute

minimum. The forester should assure himself

that the silvicultural and economic advantages of

an immediate operation more than offset the disadvantages of further reducing the density of an

already understocked stand. Cuts followed by

long years of inoperability are undesirable silviculturally, economically, and psychologica,lly,

since they preclude not only intermittent cleaning,

thinning, and salvage, but also the periodic revenue that may reassure a skeptical owner.

No cutting at all is usually better than premature harvest of a large component of desirable

frowing stock. Premature cutting should al^yays

e considered only as a last resort, a sort of silvicultural suicide that may indefinitely postpone

maximum sustained yield.

If removal of all undesirable material might

delay subsequent cuts and revenue too long, the

harvesting of all or some of the storage trees

may be postponed. However, the faster that

such trees can be removed, the sooner the property

will attain its full growth capacity. In general,

the period allotted to removal of the undesirable
66 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

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68 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F-477250-53

FIGURE 25.—Appraisal of tree vigor is often aided by bark characteristics. The barli patterns shown here signify high

vigor (A), medium vigor {B), low vigor (0), and decadence (D) in cherrybark oak.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODÇ 69

components should not be more than 10 years. If

such a schedule would liquidate stands more

rapidly than the owner desires or than the cuts

can be handled, it may be stretched out, but the

cost of the delay in terms of unsalvaged mortality or deferred reproduction must be acceptable. A partial alternative is a stop-loss policy

of cutting only poor-risk trees during the first

cycle.

Before expenditures for cull-tree elimination

are budgeted, all possible markets should be explored. This undertaking may challenge the ingenuity of the forester, but there is no excuse for

thoughtlessly destroying merchantable trees.

Markets for hardwood pulpwood are expanding

rapidly. Small and very knotty or deformed trees

of most sawtimber species and some nonsawtimber

species may become merchantable. In addition,

substandard lengths of saw stock may become

usable through integrated operation. Of course,

the prospects of these culls must be weighed

against the value of the growing space they occupy

and the reproduction they prevent.

Where the principal effects of the stand improvement measures are thinning and release, the

dangers of opening the canopy too much must be

carefully considered. Such dangers include establishment of a heavy ground cover of vines and

understory of weed species in advance of reproduction, and the encouragement of epicormic

branching. Research has not yet determined the

lower limits of density that will guard against

these dangers. Occasionally, therefore, a shift of

objective to regeneration, or a delay in all cutting,

may be appropriate.

When stand improvement cutting is aimed at

obtaining reproduction, openings should be made

boldly and of size sufficient to obtain the objective.

Most of the trees that would be likely to whisker

will thus be harvested, and prompt reproduction

will usually forestall the ground cover.

Sometimes, trees otherwise worthless must be

kept for their seed. As certain elements of form

or defect are heritable, culls should not be left for

seed unless the cause of deformation or defect is

environmental. It is probably safe to leave rotten

culls when it is obvious that the decay entered

through an old fire scar or mechanical injury.

The First Cut

Once the annual allowable cut for an entire

ownership has been set and decisions have been

made on cull-tree elimination, the question of

scheduling cut or treatment by compartments and

years arises. This cut will be exclusively for stand

improvement. In planning it, the compartments

with the heaviest volumes in undesirable growingstock trees should be given the highest cutting

priority. It may be necessary, especially at first.

to forego a complete job on any one compartment;

isolated stands of overmature or severely damaged

timber may require immediate salvage. Liquidation of the least overmature or damaged trees may

be postponed till more pressing salvage in other

compartments can be accomplished.

The cutting plan should be flexible enough to

conform to variations in the market. The demand

for many hardwood products fluctuates violently.

At times, sap gum lumber may be moving readily

when demand for flooring oak is weak. The converse may also be true. The markets for the best

veneer logs are almost on a custom basis. Marketing opportunities for the odd species such as the

pecans and elms are especially spotty. Thus, the

forester can increase the returns from the first improvement cut by operating in the compartment

that has more of the species and qualities in demand at the time. Periods of generally strong

demand should be utilized to move trees of poor

species or quality. When the market weakens, the

preferred species and grades can still be sold.

Management and regulation of cut for small

ownerships should be essentially the same as for

one or two compartments. Although the entire

cut for a cycle will usually be made in 1 to 3 years,

it is all the more important that the marketing be

done carefully and intelligently. Ill-considered,

hasty action is never necessary and usually results

in loss, waste, or damage to the residual stand.

Marking.—Marking a stand for the first managed cut is the implementation of the general policies decided upon after the preliminary reconnaissance and inventory. The kind, approximate

amoimt, and source of material to be removed have

been fixed ; the job now is to select and designate

the individual trees that are to be cut. This task

is the responsibility of the forester and should be

under his control. No cutting should ever be done

unless the stands are first marked, except in the

rare situations where low-grade or mature stands

are to be completely liquidated and the area

planted.

Each tree should be examined from all sides;

otherwise, catfaces or other injuries on the back

side may be missed and competitive conditions may

not be properly evaluated (fig. 26). A practical

procedure is for the marker to look back over his

shoulder frequently to check on the trees that he

has already examined. Tops should be sized up

from a distance and checked by a view from the

side.

Butt rot should be suspected whenever there

are old seams or abrupt changes in taper or bark

pattern near the base of the tree. Superficial indications of rot—e.g., catfaces showing only rotten sapwood, rotten limb stubs, and even broken

tops and hollow knots on upper stems—should be

discounted unless supported by other evidence.

All questionable trees should be sounded with a
70 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

F-486593j 486692

FIGURE 26.—From one side, this sweetgum appears sound, but the view of the other side emphasizes the need for a

marker or cruiser to look all around each hardwood.

belt ax, machete, or heavy Biltmore stick. Detection of rot or hollows by sounding requires some

skill. Sounding the tree in more than one spot

or sounding an adjacent good tree and listening

for differences in tone will often be helpful.

Pounding on trees with thick, corky, or loose

bark is not usually successful ; it is better to chuck

the corner of an ax bit into the wood.

An efficient crew for marking hardwoods consists of tJiree men : two markers and a compassman. The compassman runs a straight line

through the woods, helps orient tlie markers, and

carries a supply of extra paint. One marker

works on each side of the compass line, zig

zagging back and forth

strip.

line,

across his half of the

At the end of each strip, the markers

change sides for the return trip so that the inside

man is always working up to his previous marks.

Care should be taken to keep the marks at right

angles to the line and on the side facing the body

of unmarked timber.

In upland hardwoods, particularly in the bluffs

where the terrain is steep, it is usually inadvisable to carry uniform strips straight across country. Instead, each cove is treated as a unit and

marked out completely before the job proceeds.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 71

Climbing can be reduced if the markers work on

the contour.

When the trees are bare, a 3-man crew on favorable terrain can mark and tally approximately

80 acres of sawtimber per day. Where underbrush is thick, the same crew in summer will mark

less than 40 acres.

While visibility is good and travel through the

woods is fairly easy in winter, some indications

of vigor—notably the color, luster, and density

of foliage—are absent. Judgment of vigor must

therefore depend on bark and limb characteristics.

Abrupt changes in vigor are not immediately reflected by bark and limbs, and vigilance is especially necessary during severe droughts. To avoid

overlooking recent mortality at such times, it may

be necessary to mark wliile the leaves are on the

tree. In all marking, it is well to remember that

there may be a lag of 4 to 5 years before the bark

reflects either improvement or decline in vigor

and growth rate. Occasional checking with an

increment borer is advisable.

Poor visibility, heat, humidity, and insects make

summer marking slow and unpleasant. Low

brush and vines may hide defects at tlie base of

a tree, and it is difficult for a marker to keep

himself oriented. Wliole clumps of trees may be

missed. A satisfactory job can be done during

the summer, but only if the marker works a narrow strip and takes great pains to examine every

tree.

During seasons when foliage is notably sparse

or absent, marking may be complicated by difficulty in distinguishing recently dead trees and in

evaluating the dying ones. Likewise, the status

of trees of certain species that defoliate early or

leaf out late may be confusing. In marking during the early fall, the tendency is to penalize red

maple, silver maple, soft elm, and other species

that drop their leaves early. A bias against overcup oak and water hickory (species that leaf out

later than their associates) may develop in the

early spring. Here, however, the species penalized

are relatively undesirable and the phenomenon is

obvious and easily detected.

If the material from the first cut is to be sold

for a lump sum, an accurate inventory by species,

grade, and size will usually be necessary. In sales

involving less than 500 M feet, a 100-percent inventory is generally advisable. In larger sales,

considerable time and effort may be saved by measuring sample trees (as described on p. 84). If

the timber is to be sold by log scale or lumber tally,

measurement of marked trees may be superfluous,

although some approximate figures may still be

needed for planning sales and logging. If an inventory is to be made during marking, the compassman also acts as tally man.

In marking for a sale, the forester should be

especially careful in his handling of low-grade

and cull trees. Nothing repels prospective buyers

as fast as an abundance of marked trees too small,

too low in quality, or too unsound to be usable.

Trees that need to be removed but are of questionable mercliantability should be marked with an X.

The buyershould be told that such trees have been

excluded from the volume estimates and that he

can cut or leave them at his own discretion. The

marking of culls should be treated as a separate

job, after the merchantable volume has been removed. This will minimize confusion in the case

of inexperienced buyers or loggers. Moreover, a

better job of cull marking can be done with the

results of the commercial cut in view. Uncut X'd

trees can be deadened with the other culls.

Superiming the logging.—The forester has

three important purposes in supervising a lumpsum sale: first, to see that the logger cuts all

marked trees and no unmarked trees; second, to

minimize damage to the residual stand and to installations such as roads, bridges, and fences; and

third, to direct salvage of unmarked trees unavoidably damaged.

If the forester is manufacturing the timber or

selling logs, he has two additional objectives. The

first is to get every tree cut and bucked so that it

will yield the maximum volume of the highest

grade logs with a minimum of cull and waste.

The other is to assure due care in finding and

hauling all merchantable logs. On sizable operations, these objectives alone are well worth the

time of a good man.

Ordinarily, no serious difficulty will arise if the

forester deals with a reputable logger who is experienced in cutting marked timber or one who

is sincerely willing to learn. It is usually better

not to attempt an operation than to depend upon

an inexperienced, poorly equipped, or otherwise

unreliable man. Operation of small properties is

especially handicapped by dealings with irresponsible puchasers or unreliable loggers.

During the whole logging operation, the forester

should make inspections frequently, to avoid backtracking ; oversights and violations should be corrected as they occur. The forester can use his

knowledge of the tract to point out the location

of trails and bridges, the lay of the land, and

scattered groups of marked trees. Such helpfulness will usually be repaid by the good will and

cooperation of the logger.

The goal should always be to achieve cooperation rather than to demand compliance through

threats, but whenever stumpage payments are involved the forester should encourage the landowner to protect himself with an appropriate

timber sale contract or agreement, guaranteed by

a cash deposit. Provisions should be made for

penalties when unmarked trees are cut or when

unnecessary damage is done. A date should always be set for the termination of cutting, but it
72 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FiGTJBE 27.—This cedar elm

cull was deadened to provide growing space for

I)ole-size green ash and

willow oak.

should take into account the fact that weather

usually prevents year-round operation. A period

long enough to include two or three normal dry

seasons is customary for all but the smallest

transactions.

Occasionally, cases of outright fraud may arise.

Large, valuable trees that are not marked may be

cut and a paint mark placed on the stump. Such

deceptions can be detected and proved if the

forester has taken the precaution of adding to his

paint an unusual chemical or tagged ingredient

that can be identified by chemical analysis. Commercial laboratories can furnish such ingredients

and perform the analyses.

Culls

Ordinarily it will be best for cull elimination to

follow the commercial improvement cut, for then

it is easier to identify the trees that should be

deadened. Trees ruined in logging can be removed, and advantage may be taken of logging

roads and skid trails for access. Not more than

a year should elapse between the improvement cut

and the deadening operation ; otherwise the trails

and openings will be grown up in briars, weeds,

and brush. In unusual circumstances, as when

the commercial cut is heavy and culls are scarce

or ground conditions difficult, it is advantageous
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 73

to have deadening done in advance of or at the

same time as commercial harvest.

The cost of girdling or frilling is roughly proportional to tree diameter, but the space occupied

by a tree tends to be proportional to its basal area.

Thus, it costs about as much to kill two 6-inch culls

as it does to deaden one 12-inch tree, but the two

smaller trees combined take up only half as much

space as the single large tree.

The greatest returns per dollar spent will be

obtained by concentrating on large dominant culls

(fig. 27) with deadening of small trees restricted

to occasional individuals and clumps whose demise

will improve or expand the openings made by

removal of large trees. Seed-bearing weed trees

of all size classes should be deadened, of course.

Trees to be killed should be marked by a»welltrained forester or woodsman; the complexity of

silviculture and utilization usually makes it impractical to issue general instructions to a labor

crew.

Conventional girdles kill tree crowns very

satisfactorily, but do not prevent young trees

from sprouting. The most popular way of killing

culls and inhibiting sprouts is to apply 2,4,5-T

in oil or water to a single-hack frill. Oil is recommended because it gives faster, more reliable

kills. It has to be transported through the woods,

however, while water is often convenient in

streams and sloughs. Trees treated in springseem

to die quicker and sprout less than those dosed

at other seasons. Whatever method is used, it is

vital that frills or girdles be complete enough to

sever all cambium. Narrow girdles not treated

with chemicals will often bridge over even though

the cambium has been completely severed.

The recommended concentration of chemical is

the same for water or oil. Commercial preparations of 2,4,5-T low-volatile ester usually contain

four pounds of 2,4,5-T acid equivalent per gallon

of concentrate. For pouring into the cut surface

of a girdle or frill, one part by volume of the concentrate should be mixed with 25 parts of oil or

water. An open-topped 5-gallon can with a mark

scratched on the inside at the 4-gallon level makes

a good mixing vessel. The desired concentration

can be obtained by mixing 20 oimces of the concentrate with enough water or oil to bring the liquid

up to the 4-gallon level.

Limiting cull-tree control to the larger trees

will not improve areas covered with thickets of

small weed trees. Some blanket treatment is

needed here, but research is required before recommendations can be made. Bulldozing and other

means of land clearing with heavy machinery are

very expensive, as are basal or foliage sprays.

Sprouting from rootstocks is a serious problem,

the more so because prompt reproduction of

desirable trees cannot always be relied on. Many

brushy areas are not so bad as they first seem.

FIGURE 28.—When he frilled and poisoned this willow oak,

the axman failed to chop through the folds of bark at

the catface. Three years later, the tree is still flourishing. On good sites a much narrower skip will enable

a tree to survive.

Close inspection often reveals desirable saplings,

and if there is one free to grow every 12 to 15

feet, the area will be fully stocked by the time the

trees reach pulpwood size. Before blanket treatments for such thickets and "brush patches" are

employed, their need, effectiveness, cost, and impact on game populations should be appraised.

The 8-man crew suggested for marking the first
74 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

improvement cut will also be suitable for marking

culls. The rate of work will be slower—from 40

to 60 acres per day in winter—because a great

many small trees must be examined.

On sizable jobs, six axmen and a supervisor

comprise an efficient crew for frilling and applying chemicals. Each axman should be equipped

with fibre or metal guards to protect his feet and

legs, for this work is more hazardous than timber

cutting, and the crews are generally less experienced. To improve the likelihood that all frills

will receive chemical, and to minimize lost motion,

it is usually best to have each axman carry a can

of herbicide and dose each frill as he completes

it. If frilling and chemical treatment are done

by different men, dye can be added to the solution

i-j o 11 r* Il PC K

The supervisor should mix the chemical and

see that the axmen leave no uncut cambium in

the frills and do not miss marked trees. The

frill must be continuous, even though a herbicide

is used. The tree may live if only a narrow strip

of inner bark is left uncut (fig. 28).

Power girdlers, tree injectors, and other new

developments are being used for deadening trees.

Since responses of individual species may vary

with weather and site, local trials should be made

before adopting any particular method.

ADVANCED MANAGEMENT

During the early stages of management, accumulations of undesirable growing stock and culls

must be removed, and balancing harvest against

growth may be neither necessary nor desirable.

But once the initial improvement cuts have been

made, and before a cycle of cutting based on increment is begun, it is time to calculate a periodic allowable cut somewhat less than or equal to periodic growth. A silvicultural policy must be

adopted that will insure good development of immature trees and bring about reproduction when

needed.

Some hardwood species, chieñy cottonwood, willow, sweetgiun, baldcypress, yellow-poplar, and

the túpelos, occur in extensive even-aged stands

and may be managed as such. The silvicultural

system will usually be seed-tree—perhaps a reserve

cutting in which especially desirable individuals

are retained not only for seed but to make some

valuable growth. ( The reserve stand of seed trees

should not be so dense as to encourage the development of undesirable tolerant species.) Cottonwood and willow cannot practicably be regenerated

naturally by this or any other system, but the

riverfront hardwoods that succeed them are usually acceptable.

For most of the remainder of the hardwood

forest, some modified system of partial cutting

(selection), with limitation of the cut by volume

rather than by area, is recommended. The forests

at present are primarily many-aged. Conversion

to even-aged stands would require uneconomic

harvesting of a great deal of immature timber

and cutting or deadening of much small but promising growing stock. This stock, if left, would

develop into needed sawtimber sizes in a much

shorter time than regeneration that might supplant it after cutting. Furtliermore, it is doubtful that even-aged stand structure could be either

attained or maintained in most hardwood types.

The prompt and uniform regeneration of hardwoods of desirable species over sizable operating

area is uncommon. Heavy har\^est cuts over wide

areas under unfavorable conditions can bring

about a jungle of vines and trees worthless because of poor form or species. Even if extensive

even-aged stands could be established, their maintenance would be almost impossible. Variations

in species growth rates, the vigor of individual

trees, and the microsite inevitably cause tremendous variations in tree size and economic maturity.

These many-aged forests are composed of

small groves of intolerant trees and are actually

a mosaic of small, even-aged stands of various ages.

Trees or groups should be marked or left

on their individual merits. Cleaning, thinning,

release, and harvest will be based on consideration

of the quality and needs of the individual tree in

comparison with those of its neighbors; these

considerations may vary even in closely adjoining

stands. This application of the so-called principle of "unit-area control" of small patches bears

only superficial resemblance to true even-aged

management, however, because such areas are not

permanent and cannot be used in recordkeeping

or for limiting or allocating the harvest.

The principle of regulation appropriate for any

system of repeated partial cutting is volume control. The allowable cut for the cutting cycle is

determined in units of volume and allocated to

classes of trees or areas in need of cutting.

Usually, treatments should be scheduled and

carried out for entire compartments on the basis

of the prevalent tree classes or stand conditions

disclosed by on-the-ground examination.

This does not mean that a uniform treatment

will be blindly applied to the whole compartment.

Tlie type of cutting at any given location will

depend only on the class of trees found on that

small area. Thus, though stand improvement

cuttings might form the major portion of the cut

for a compartment as a whole, the treatment on

one "unit area" within the compartment may be

the harvesting of a very large mature tree with

expectation of securing reproduction in the open-
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

FIGURE 29.—Under advanced management, partial cut*^ing and deadening of culls will leave young mixed hardwoods

in excellent growing condition. This stand, on the Obion River in western Tennessee, contains chiefly cherrybark

oak and sweetgum.

ing that results. On another small area in the

same compartment it may be primarily thinning;

on still another, principally salvage.

In contrast, cutting in species that form extensive even-aged stands will normally consist of

a uniform thinning or harvest over a relatively

large area (fig. 29) ; any other treatment will be

secondary. But the trees will still be selected for

cutting primarily on their individual characteristics, although judgment will be influenced by spacing. Naturally, any such extensive areas that are

distinct in fundamental respects may be taken into

account in mapping and recordkeeping.

The terminology of traditional silvicultural

systems is difficult to apply to the realities of

southern hardwood management. "Selection"'

and "group selection" are localized "clearcutting"

of small "units of area" for purposes of thinning,

stand improvement, harvest, or salvage. Literal

"clear cutting" harvests are seldom either appropriate or feasible. A common result of applying

the most appropriate silvicultural measures to

either all-aged or even-aged stands in need of

harvest or salvage is to leave a stand that resembles

a "shelterwood," but shelter is not desired once

regeneration is secured.

The backbone of regulation is the cutting budget, a schedule of areas to be cut and volumes to

be removed. The cutting budget should not be a

rigid, inflexible plan of action. Silvicultural requirements such as need for salvage, and economic

considerations such as market conditions, will invariably necessitate some deviations, as will unusual weather and logging conditions. At the

same time, the uncertainty of future events should

never be used as an excuse for unplanned, haphazard cutting. A schedule of cutting sliould lead

toward better stocking and stand structure even

though unforeseen circumstances may cause detours and temporary setbacks.
76 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Before a cutting budget can be set up, answers

are required to tlie following questions :

1. "What is the present stand density, diameter

distribution, species composition, merchantability, and distribution of the stands by compartments ?

2. What is the present total growth ?

3. Wliat is the desired level of stand density, the

desired diameter distribution, and the desired

species composition ?

i. How much of the total growth or increment

can be accumulated for the buildup toward

stocking goals ?

As will be indicated, accurate answers can be

obtained for the first two questions, and technical

knowledge has progressed far enough so that guiding principles and tentative goals can be offered

for the third.

The answer to the fourth question depends

largely upon the enlightened policy of the forest

owner. The volume left after the original improvement cut will be much less than necessary

for optimum sustained yield. A forester naturally will like to retain as mucli of the growth in

standing timber as possible, while owners in need

of funds or those with more desirable investment

opportunities will insist on cutting a large part

of it. Frequently, the tax position of the owner

or his wish to defer capital gains and build up an

estate makes him amenable to tlie same policy

that pure silviculture would dictate. In any case,

owner and forester must firmly establish a policy

that will put the stands on the road to satisfactory

stocking at some reasonable pace."

Present Stocking

Present stocking and diameter distribution

(or stand structure) may be determined from a

management inventory made according to procedures described on pages 83-84. However

obtained, the inventoi-y data for each compartment should include number of trees and volumes

segregated by species group, diameter group, tree

class, use class, and sometimes grade within a

use class.

The most important information for the regulation of the property as a whole is a stand table

showing numbers of desirable growing-stock trees

per acre and their volumes per acre by species

and diameter class. This table will be compared

with those from succeeding inventories as a check

on progress toward desired stocking and stand

structure; hence, volume estimates must employ

comparable procedures and be reasonably precise

for the property as a whole. The breakdowns of

data by compartments need only be approximate,

° A method of reaching a decision is described in : Dnerr,

W. A., Fedkiw, .J., and Guttenberg, S. Financial maturity:

a guide to profitable timber (/rowing. U.S. Dept. Agr.

Tech. Bull. 1146, 74 pp., illus. 1956.

but will be extremely useful to the forester m

planning the details of his cutting operations—

where to cut, what to cut, and how to market the

material. More exact estimates of volume to be

cut may be made by sample-tree measurement at

the time compartments are marked for cutting.

Growth

The first step toward obtaining adequate information on growth and stand development should

be taken promptly after the initial improvement

cut. This would be the establishment of carefully measured permanent observation points or

plots throughout the property. Remeasurement

of these permanent points before the succeeding

cuts will accurately indicate progress toward size,

volume, utility, and quality objectives. A method

for establishing and using such points is suggested

on page 87.

If no advance provision has been made for this

procedure (as will necessarily be the case with

small tracts), rough estimates to guide the first

regulated cut may be obtained by stand-table projection, Avith the aid of increment-core data collected for this purpose. The great weakness of

such projection is ignorance of probable mortality, and of the impact of future salvage and improvement cutting or the lack of it upon growth

rate. Until the cutting policy is at least tentatively established, there is also the diíRcult

question of which trees or classes of trees to sample

and tally for growth studies. It should be remembered that actual growth may be less than

predicted growth if part of the projected growing

stock is removed during the period covered by the

estimate. It will be greater than indicated past

growth if potential mortality can be salvaged.

Since assumptions must be made at this early

stage of development, projection of volume by

using growth percents (simple interest) usually

is the simplest technique and as accurate as any

other.'' If growth percents from comparable

stands are available, they can be used to approximate short-term growth. Much general information on growth percents can be gathered from

publications of the Forest Survey of the U.S.

Forest Service.

Total growth, even if closely estimated, tells

nothing about size, utility, or quality of its various components on any given tract, but only a

very rojigh figure is necessary at this stage. It

should conservatively represent the probable

growth on the desirable growing stock during the

expected cutting cycle and serve simply to warn

and guide against cutting too heavily into such

' A discussion of the use of simple annual growth percents to calculate allowable cut may be found in :

Gro.senbaugh, L. R. Alloivable cut as a neto function of

growth and diagnostic tallies. Jour. Forestry 56: 727-

730. 1&58.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 77

F-486690

FIGURE 30.—Most managed stands of southern hardwoods will contain trees, either singly or in groups, that vary in

size from seedlings to large sawtimber. This stand is on a flrst-bottom flat of the Mississippi Delta.

growth. Since a major proportion of growth

must be left for buildup at this stage, any reasonable estimate of growth will suffice. Before management can progress very far, though, these

arbitrary predictions must be replaced by

repeated measurements of growth at permanent

locations.

Ordinarily, the allowable cut will be computed

for the tract as a whole. It will rarely be possible

or desirable to operate individual compartments

as sustained-yield units—not, at least, until a long

course of management has put the stands in nearoptimum condition.

After the initial cut, very small ownerships

should aim at keeping cut well below growth for

the property as a whole, even though regular

equal harvests at short intervals may not be possible until good management has been in effect for

many years. If permanent growth samples are

deemed impractical, an intensive inventory should

be made immediately following the initial cut and

repeated at long intervals as a check upon the

crude interim estimates that have been suggested.

548397 O—60 6

Stocking and Stand-Structure Goals

Uneven-aged management.—Table 6 is a recommendation, based partly uj^on experience and

judgment, as to desirable stocking and diameter

distribution of uneven-aged southern hardwoods

on reasonably good sites (fig. 30). Future research may indicate modifications and local adaptations, but meanwhile the table offers a reasonable

goal for management.

The distribution indicated cannot, of course, be

expected on each acre. Rather it is the aggregate

of many different acres or the multitude of "unit

areas" witliin a fairly sizable area. Inevitably

some of the area in the aggregate will have only

seedlings on it, or will even be unoccupied, awaiting regeneraticm. Thus, the basal area indicated

by the table occupies only a part of the total area,

aiid densities on the occupied part will be greater

than the overall average. Finally, it should be

apparent that, under this system, there is no fixed

rotation age for harvesting stands or trees. The

prospective growth rate and the relative value in-
78 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

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MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 79

FIGURE 31.—This even-aged stand of water and swamp túpelos has reached the stage where a light thinning is necessary

to maintain growth. It is on a creek bottom in central Mississippi.

crease of individual trees determine their

maturity.

Above all, stand development should be directed

towards concentrating growth on large, vigorous,

high-grade trees. The aim is to have as many

trees of the larger sizes and as few of the smaller

sizes as possible—enough, but only enough, of the

small ones to funiish replacements for the large

ones as they are harvested. In fully developed,

intensively managed stands, trees 28 to 32 inches

d.b.h. will be the usual mature sizes on reasonably

good sites, but some exceptionally good 36-inch or

larger trees may be grown another cycle or two for

special products like fa«e veneer.

Even-aged managetnent.—The stocking of individual even-aged stands of mixed hardwoods

may be judged by table 7. It should be miderstood

that the terminal stocking indicated in the table

by even diameter classes is not the conventional

maximum implicit in "normal'' yield tables.

Rather it is the heaviest stocking in which individual well-situated trees can maintain good diameter

growth under intensive management. Such stocking is comparable with that of the all-aged table.

Table 7 is thought to be appropriate for most

species of normal form in ordinary mixtures and

on all but the poorer sites. For cottonwood and

willow^, which are quite intolerant, basal areas and
so AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 1 .—Hypothetical stocking and estimated development and yields per acre, for well-managed

Average d.b.h. Average basal area Average number of trees

All trees Leave trees Cut trees All trees Leave trees Cut trees Total Leave trees Cut trees

Inches Jiickes Inches Sg. ft. Sg.ft. Sg.ft. No. No. No.

2 2. 30 1. 90 46. 2 13. 8 32. 4 2, 120 475 1, 645

6 6. 55 .5. 55 93.2 47. 3 4.5. 9 475 202 273

10 10. 75 8. 95 110. 2 70. 8 39. 4 202 112 90

14 14. 80 12. 45 119. 7 85. 1 34. 6 112 71 41

18 18. 85 15. 95 125. 5 95.0 30. 5 71 49 22

22 22. 85 19. 55 129. 4 102. 3 27. 1 49 36 13

26 26. 80 23. 50 132. 7 105. 6 27. 1 36 27 9

30 30. 70 27. 35 132. 5 108. 0 24. 5 27 21 6

34 34. 60 31. 60 132. 4 107. 9 24. 5 21 16. 5 4. 5

38 38. 50 36.30 130. 0 103. 1 26. 9 16. 5 12. 75 3. 75

42 42.00 122. 6 122, 6 12. 75 12. 75

1 Revised from table appearing in: Putnam, J. A. Cutting schedule for even-aged bottomland hardwoods. Jour. Forestry 50: 866-867. 1952.

2 Duration of each growth period will vary with size of residual growing stock (leave trees), site, species composition, and, tor first cycle, on time lapse pending reproduction. End of each period is signaled by attainment of specifled average size. , ,„ , , u ^i, »„ ui Î Saw-log volume includes all sound, reasonably straight stems to a 10-inch minimum top diameter, inside bark, at least 12 feet above the stump. Foleiiumbers of trees should be reduced 15 to 20 percent. The reduced number of trees of these two

species nevertheless will still have about the same

tabular volumes, because of their above-average

height and form. Sweetgum and yellow-poplar

should probably exceed the table by 5 to 10 percent

in basal area and number of trees, and even more

in volume, because of their better form.

Table 8 is intended specifically for the túpelos

but may be roughly adjusted for baldcypress.

These species require separate consideration because of their radically différent form class, their

normally heavier stocking, and their greater average stem length (fig. 31). To approximate baldcypress, the numbers of trees and basal areas for

túpelo may be increased by about 10 percent and

the volumes by about 15 percent. D.b.n. (diameter above bottleneck) is taken 2 to 21/2 feet

above the shoulder of the butt swell or flare for

these species, and is used in place of the more

familiar d.b.h.

Expected yields.—The last columns of tables

6, 7, and 8 may be used to estimate yields from

well-stocked stands, provided that some informaTABLE 8.—Hypothetical stocking and estimated development and yields per cu;re, for well-managed

Average diameter above bottleneck Average basal area Average number of trees

All trees Leave trees Cut trees All trees Leave trees Cut trees Total Leave trees Cut trees

Inches Inches Inches Sg.fi. Sq.ft. Sg.ft. No. No. No.

2 2. 30 1. 90 56. 6 13. 3 43. 3 2,570 605 1,965

6 6. 55 5. 55 118. 6 50. 8 67. 8 605 259 346

10 10. 75 8. 95 141. 3 79. 5 61. 8 259 146 113

14 14.80 12. 45 155. 8 101. 6 54. 2 146 95 51

18 18. 85 15. 95 167. 9 118. 4 49. 5 95 67 28

22 22. 85 19. 55 176. 8 13L 1 45. 7 67 50 17

26 26. 80 23. 50 183.3 139. 5 43. 8 50 38 12

30 30. 70 27. 35 185. 5 143. 2 42. 3 38 29 9

34 34. 60 31. 60 183. 7 142.9 40. 8 29 23 6

38 38. 50 36. 30 178. 7 136. 2 42. 5 23 17 5

42 42. 00 166. 2 166. 2 17 17

' Duration of each growth period will vary with size of residual growing stock (leave trees), site, species composition, and, for first cycle, on time lapse

pending reproduction. End of each period is signaled by attainment of specified average size.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

even-aged southern hardwood stands at end of successive growth periods on average or better sites' '

81

Average voluntes ' Cumulative yield.s '

TotaS Leave trees Cut trees

Sawtimber Poletimber Topwood

Sawtimber Poletimber Sawtimber Poletimber Sawtimber Poletimber

Bd. fu Cords Bd.ft.' Corda Bd.fi.' Cords Pd. fl.' Cords Corrh

16. i

23. 5

7.0

10. 8

17. 0

5. 3

6. 5

7.0

ie.~r

28. 8

18. 8

18. 8

18. 8

18. 8

18. 8

18. 8

18. 8

18. 8

5, Î96

10, 623

14, 699

18, 243

21, 570

24, 963

28, 000

29, 500

5, 196

8,918

12, 528

15,417

18, 438

21, 120

22, 950

5, 106

10, 623

16, 404

22, 099

28, 272

34, 797

41, 677

48, 227

---

12. 7

18. 2

23.2

28.3

33.0

37. 0

41.0

1,705

2, 171

2,826

3, 132

3,843

5, 050

29, 500

timber and topwood are measured in cords of 128 cubic feet of wood, bark, and air. A conversion factor of 80 cubic feet of wood per cord has been assumed

Aggregate volume of topwood is shown only m last column (no topwood is credited to saw-log-size trees elsewhere in the table) * üoyle rule. '

tion is available as to diameter groTrth rates.

On most sites, the sawtimljer portion of all-aged

stands will require about 10 years to grow the 4

inches needed to complete a cycle as envisaged

in table 6. DiflFerences in average groAvth capacities of various diameter classes will affect the

projection of the diameter distribution, but an

approximately constant growth rate in the sawtimber sizes can be maintained by leaving only the

most vigorous large trees. Growth rat^s are

seldom such that cycles shorter than 8 years can

be sustained indefinitely. Need for cycles longer

than 15 years would reflect site and management

conditions so unfavorable that the table would not

be applicable; a shorter range of diameters and

probably lighter stocking would have to be

assumed.

In even-aged management, use of the tables

would involve variation in cutting-cycle lengths

because of the differences in growth rates by diameter classes. Under intensive management, this

variation would not be great and will be ignored

for convenience. At the same time, about the

same range in cycle length relative to site may be

even-aged túpelos at end of su/}cessive groioth periods on average or tetter sites ^

Average volumes ^ Cumulative yields ^

Total Leave trees Cut trees

Sawtimber Poletimber Topwood

Sawtimber Poletimber Sawtimber Poletimber Sawtimber Poletimber

Bd.ft.» Cords Bd.ft.» Cords Bd. ft.» Cords Bd.ft.» Cords Cords

14. 6

25. 9

18. 4

9. 0

18. 8

5. 6

7. 1

18. 4

14.6

31. 5

31. 1

31. 1

31. 1

31. 1

31. 1

31. 1

31. 1

31. 1

3, 335

8,970

13, 800

17, 796

21, 246

24, 587

27, 945

31, 280

3, 335

7,935

11, 615

15, 042

17, 940

21,016

23, 794

3, 335

8,970

14, 835

21,016

27, 220

33, 867

40, 796

48, 282

4. 3

1,035

2, 185

2,754

3, 306

3, 571

4, 151

31, 280

10. 8

16. 3

22. 1

27. 2

32. 2

36.0

38. 4

Í Saw-log volume includes all sound, reasonably straight stems to a 10-inch minimum top diameter, inside bark, at least 12 feet above the stump. Poletimber and topwood are measured In cords of 128 cubic feet of wood, bark, and air. A conversion factor of 80 cubic feot of wood per cord has been assumed.

Aggregate volume of topwood is shown only in leist column (no topwood Is credited to saw-log-size trees elsewhere in the table).

' Doyle rule.
82 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

assumed as in all-aged stands, i.e., 8 to 15 years.

For cottonwood and willow, however, a cycle of

5 years is considered appropriate.

Futhermore, the time required for regeneration

and growth to the 2-inch class will vary radically

from place to place and time to time. It may

ranije froui !* *-•' '"' ur even 15 years but may be as-

:. average lU years. Hardly half as long

will be needed ordinarily for cottonwood and

willow.

Estimates of yield from the even-aged tables

should also recognize that cutting the weakest,

poorest, and smallest trees at the end of each

cycle leaves a stand of increased average diameter,

and thus represents progress toward the desired

terminal diameter. In all-aged stands, this effect

is less important, as cut and leave are shown by

specific 2-inch diameter classes rather than by a

single average for the entire stand.

In all three tables, the cuts indicated at the

end of each cycle leave only enough growing stock

to form the next stand without allowance for any

mortality. Under the assumed highly skilled and

very intensive management, mortality, barring

catastrophes, should be small and largely salvaged.

As an aid in using the tables to predict yield,

table 9 lists diameter-growth rates that might be

expected from unmanaged woods-run hardwoods

in favorable competitive positions on average

bottom-land sites. The table was derived from

original data gathered by the Forest Survey from

thousands of sample trees randomly selected from

unmanaged, generally abused bottom-land forest.

Under the best intensive management on good

sites, the growth rates for the individual species

sliown in table 9 might eventually be increased

W percent. The increase for entire stands might

be close to 40 percent, because management would

improve the species composition. Thus it would

not be unreasonable to expect average 10-year

diameter growth rates of about 3.5 inches for 6-

to 12-inch trees, 4.0 inches for 14- to 18-inch trees,

4.5 inches for 20- to 28-inch trees, and 4.0 inches

for trees 30 inches d.b.h. and larger.

TABLE 9.—Ten-year average diameter growth

rates for trees free to grow in unmanaged stands

on average hottom-land sites

Species

Sweetgum

Red oaks

White oaks

Ashes

Túpelos

Pecan

Cottonwood

Willow

Overcup oak

Water hickory

Baldcypress (secondgrowth)

Miscellaneous rapid growers '_

Miscellaneous slow growers ^.

Average

Diameter class

6-12

inches

Inches

2.80

60

40

05

85

60

30

3. 80

2. 05

1. 95

2. 30

3. 20

2. 00

2. 55

14-18

inches

Inches

2. 85

4. 30

2.50

2. 30

3. 15

3. 55

5. 85

5. 45

2. 20

2.00

2. 60

3. 30

2. 10

2.80

20-28

inches

Inches

3.05

4.45

2.90

2.85

3. 25

3.60

6. 30

5. 50

2. 10

2. 30

3. 20

3. 80

2. 50

3. 00

30-1-

inches

Inches

2.30

3.25

2.70

2.65

3.00

3. 10

4. 65

4. 20

2. 15

2.55

2. 70

3. 70

2.30

2. 80

1 American elm, maples, American sycamore, honeylocust, waterlocust.

' Cedar elm, winged elm, black túpelo, hickories, sugarberry.

INVENTORY

In the past, most cruises of hardwood land were

made in connection with sales, purchases, tax valuation, or acxjounting. The information gathered

was commonly limited to volume by species and

area subdivisions, with occasional comments on

timber quality and tree size. Strip cruises covering 10 to 20 percent of the property were common,

and volumes were often recorded directly in the

field, log-by-log or tree-by-tree. Most cruisers

memorized the Doyle rule and estimated scaling

diameters by assuming an average upper-log taper

of 2 inches in 16 feet. Some extremely accurate

volume estimates have been and are still being

made in this manner, but such cruises do not provide information on basal area, tree size, alternative products, cull trees, or silvicultural considerations.

At present, a common procedure involves a tally

of trees on 14- or y^-iu^re plots by species, d.b.h.,

and log length, and conversion of this tally to

volume, basal area, and other information by the

use of tabled volumes and basal areas. Satisfactory estimates of volume can be obtained in this

manner, and stand tables, basal areas, and other

useful information can also be obtained in as much

detail as desired.

Recently, the popularity of plot cruises has been

challenged by a new technique—point-sampling

with an angle gage.^ In the inventory procedures

to be described, point-sampling is employed exclusively. Plot techniques are omitted because they

are too well known to require description.

As management of a forest progresses, several

types of inventories will be required. The sections that follow describe a simple inventory useful for reconnaissance, a method of sampling trees

marked for sale, and three systems of periodic inventories for estimating growth and stand development. The first periodic inventory to be

described employs only temporary sample points.

' Grosenbaugh, L. R. Point-sampling and line-sampling :

probability theory, geom.étrio im.plications, synthesis.

U.S. Forest Serv. South. Forest Eixpt. Sta. Occas. Paper

160, 34 pp., Ulus. 1958.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 83

The other two are based on a combination of

temporary and permanent points, but one provides for relocation of individual trees and the

other does not.

Simple Inventory for Beginning Management

The reconnaissance preceding the firet managed

cut should ordinarily be an inexpensive affair. An

inspection and sight estimate (with supporting

notes, as previously discussed) may suffice for experienced men, though a more formal approach

will be necessary for most foresters. The pointsampling teclinique makes it possible to get approximate estimates of volume with very little

effort. If a prism or angle gage with a basal area

factor of 10 is employed to select sample trees, 25

sample points distributed systematically over a

management unit will usually give a sampling

error for board-foot volume of less than 23 percent. The aggregate volume on four management

units will ordinarily be estimated within 12 percent two-thirds of the time. The goal is not extreme accuracy but rather rough estimates obtained as quickly and cheaply as possible.

If a more intensive survey is needed, the followmg tabulation may be used to obtain approximate

and usually conservative sampling errors as a percent of total volume :

Points Error

{numier) (percent)

25 23

50 17

100 12

200 8

400 6

1,600 3

For cruises of the specified intensity, differences

between sample volume and volume by 100-percent

tally will be exceeded, on the average, in only one

cruise in three. Five percent of the time, the difference might be twice the chosen limit, but 50 percent of the time the difference will be less than 68

percent of the tabulated error.

This means, for example, that a cruiser choosing

12 percent as his limit of sampling error may be

wrong by more than this amount on one cruise

out of three. In fact, one time in twenty his actual

error may be more than 24 percent, but half the

time his error will be less than 8 percent. In the

rare cases where a sample of low intensity might

deviate from the true mean considerably, an experienced cruiser will suspect the lack of representativeness and intensify the sampling accordingly.

Whether sample points are located systematically or at random, the area of the tract has little

effect on the number of points required for a given

sampling error. The important thing is the variability among the aggregate volumes sampled at

various points. The tabulation is based on average

variation over a large portion oí an entire southern

State. Errors may be larger in extremely irregular stands and smaller where stands are relatively

uniform.

A suggested tally sheet for tliis simple inventory is shown in figure 32. A single tally sheet is

employed for each compartment or other management unit. In the field, the number of 16-foot

saw logs in each qualifying sawtimber tree is tallied to the nearest half log under the proper tree

class and butt-log grade. A very approximate

and usually generous deduction for butt cull from

any cause may be made by reducing the merchantable height by twice the length of the cull section;

The number of 16-foot pulpwood sticks in each

qualifying pulpwood tree is similarly tallied to

the nearest half stick in the appropriate space on

the form. Cull trees are recorded by dot tally.

Suggested butt-log grades or classes are prime,

lumber, and minimum. Prime logs are those that

are larger than 17 inches m d.i.b. at the small

end and that are grade 1 on all four faces according to the specifications for hardwood log grades

for standard lumber. Lumber logs are grade 2

logs (or better) that do not meet the requirements

for prime. The minimum class includes all grade

3 factory lumber and all structural logs that cannot meet the requirements for grade 2 or better

factory-lumber logs. These grade breakdowns

can, of course, be modified. Separating grade 3

factory-lumber logs from structural material may

be of more interest to some than the suggested

break between prime and lumber.

COMPARTMENT DATE

USE

SPECIES GROUP /

CUT

PRIME

/

LUMBER

MINIMUM )

PULPWOOD

CULL ^

LEAVE

PRIME

\

LUMBER /

MINIMUM \

PULPWOOD \

STORAGE

PRIME \

LUMBER /

MINIMUM

PULPWOOD \

FIGURE 32.—Tally sheet for preliminary survey.
84 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Volumes and basal areas, all on an acre basis,

are obtained directly from the field tally as

follows :

Volume

1. Sum the logs in each breakdown.

2. Sawtimber (board feet) : multiply each sum

of logs by 60 times the instrument factor

and divide by the number of sample points.

3. Pulpwood (rough cords) : multiply each sum

of logs by 0.07 times the instrument factor

and divide by the number of sample points.

Basal area

1. Count the trees in each breakdown.

2. Multiply the number of trees by the instrument factor and divide by the number of

sample points.

Pulpwood volumes are in rough cords and sawtimber volumes are by the International 14-inch

rule. Doyle volumes can be obtained by first estimating the average tree size and then multiplying it by the corresponding ratio from the following list :

Average d.h.h. Ratio- °°y^^ (inches) International

16 0.62

18 .68

20 .74

22 .78

24 .81

26 .83

28 .86

30 .89

The value of this simple inventory can be further enhanced if supplementary observations are

made during the field work. Notes or a sample

tally might be made on the distribution of trees

by diameter classes, the proportion of individual

species within the species groups, and any other

factors of interest or importance.

Inventory of Trees Marked for Sale

If the material from the first cut is to be sold

for a lump sum, an accurate inventory by species

and grade is usually advisable. In sales involving less than 500,000 feet, each marked tree should

be tallied by diameter and height. In large sales,

considerable time and effort, is saved by sampling

diameter and height (or volume) within broad

diameter classes.

A suggested field procedure is outlined here:

1. Estimate and tally the d.b.h. of each marked

tree by 4-inch classes.

2. Select sample trees from each broad d.b.h.

class and record their d.b.h. to tlie nearest

inch and their mercliantable length to the

nearest half log.

Tlie average volume per tree for a given 4-inch

class is then computed from the appropriate sample trees. Total volume in a class is obtained by

multiplying average sample-tree volume by the

total number of trees marked and tallied in the

broad diameter class.

For a sawtimber sampling error of approximately 3 percent when all marked trees are stratified into 4-inch classes, 200 sawtimber-size sample

trees should be measured. The sampling interval

for a given tract may be obtained by estimating

the total number of sawtimber trees to be marked

and dividing by 200. Thus, if it is estimated

that 2,000 trees are to be marked, every tenth tree

should be taken as a sample tree. To ensure that

at least 200 sample trees will be obtained, the estimate of the total number of trees to be marked

should be conservative.

Using a single sampling interval for all size

classes is not recommended. More reliable results

will be obtained with the same number of trees

if the larger size classes are sampled more intensively than the smaller ones. Optimum allocation

of sample trees by d.b.h. classes can be approximated from the equation

HU)2 _

Here, F is the desirable sampling interval for a

given diameter class, F is the average sampling

interval for all trees, estimated in the manner

previously described, D is estimated average d.b.h.

of all trees to be marked, and D is midpoint of the

given d.b.h. class.

Thus, an average sample interval of 1 in 10

for a sale with an estimated average tree d.b.h. of

24 inches would be modified as follows :

13- to 17-inch class

(upper and lower class

limits shown)

17- to 21-inch class

(upper and lower class

limits shown)

/24—2Y

A 15-2/

/24—2Y

X 10=28

X10=16

29- to 33-inch class ^24 o\2

(upper and lower class F=l _'1 \ X10=5

limits shown) ^'^^ '^'

Every twenty-eighth tree would be taken as a

sample tree in the 15-inch class, every sixteenth

tree in the 19-inch class, and every fifth tree in the

31-inch class. All sampling intervals should be

rounded downwards to the nearest whole tree.

Ordinarily, all trees larger than 33 inches should

be measured as sample trees.

A variable sampling interval complicates the

field work to some extent, but is feasible where a

tallyman records for two or more markers on a

t;iilly sheet of the form illustrated in figure 33.

Space is provided on the left for a dot tally by

broad diameter classes, but the tally should employ units corresponding to the sampling interval for the d.b.h. class rather than the usual square

of 10 trees. Thus, to continue the previous ex-
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

SPECIES

85

DATE

POLE SAMPLE TREES

CLASS

LIMITS

(Inches)

DOT TALLY D. & H HEIGHT VOLUME D B, H HEIGHT VOLUME D B. H HEIGHT VOLUME

5-9

9-13

SAWTIMBER SAMPLE TREES

CLASS

LIMITS

(Inches)

DOT TALLY D B.H.

CULL PRIME LUMBER MINIMUM

HEIGHT VOLUME HEIGHT VOLUME HEIGHT VOLUME HEIGHT VOLUME

13-17

17-21

l^ J--~^—^—V,-^-^...^-^— --^^'--J_^- V—1 [/ ^-^L.- -~J

FIGURE 33.—Tally sheet for trees marked for sale.

ample, the tally unit would b« 10 trees for the 21-

to 25-inch class and 7 trees for the 25- to 29-inch

class. A specimen of the line and dot pattern

made by a tally unit for each class should be

entered on the tally sheet in ink or colored pencil

to aid recognition of sample-tree occurrence.

Whenever spaces for sample trees in one diameter

class are exhausted, it is advisable to start a new

tally sheet for all classes to avoid having to manipulate several tally sheets.

The selection of sample trees by a crew in the

field is simple. The tallyman dot-tallies the trees

as the markers call the diameters by 4-inch classes.

When a tally unit is completed, the tallyman calls

"sample" and the sample-tree data are recorded.

Tlie markers should not know whether a tree is

a sample until after they have marked it. The

procedure just described will accomplish this purpose when one man tallies for several marker's.

When a single marker works alone, some device

must be used that will select sample trees at

random.

For a pulpwood sample tree, the diameter to the

nearest inch and the merchantable height are entered in the squares provided. For sawtimber

trees, diameters are also tallied to the nearest inch,

but the tally of merchantable height may require

height estimates to as many as four diiïerent

points : height of butt cull, height to a prime log

top, height to a lumber log top, and height to top

of a minimum log. The estimated height to a

prime log top should include the length of cull

butt ; the height to a lumber log top should include

butt cull and prime ; and the height to the top of

the minimum grade log should include cull, prime,

and lumber. Thus, for a tree with 8 feet to top of

butt cull and with 20 feet (accumulative) to top of

lumber log, the 8 feet should be repeated in the

prime column, even though the tree has no prime

material in it. Also, the 20 should be repeated m
86 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

the minimum column, even though the tree contains no minimiim material. Similarly, for a

sample tree with prime, no lumber, but some minimum material, the prime heifiht should be repeated in the lumber columns. The reason is that

volumes will be calculated by subtraction, and for

Fi — Fo to equal zero, V2 must be the same as Fi.

The units in which heights are tallied should,

of course, correspond to those of the volume table

to be used." International y^^-mch and cubic volumes for height intervals of 1 foot or more may be

obtained from Grosenbaugh's giant-tree table.^" A

similar table for the Doyle rule is given in the

appendix. The giant-tree tables are based on a

constant upper-log taper of % inch per foot. Conventional volume tables employing variable upperlog tajjers are not appropriate when total volume

is partitioned into portions appropriate to different segments of the tree.

Occasional difficulty will be experienced with

grade inversions. For example, consider a threelog tree with a butt log of lumber quality, a second

log of prime, and a third of minimum grade.

The tree should be tallied as two logs to a prime

top and three logs to a minimum log top or as two

logs to a lumber top and three logs to minimum

log top. The lower logs can be considered either

as both prime or both lumber, as the interests of

the owner dictate. This procedure is far from

ideal, but alternative methods are more complicated. Fortunately, grade inversions are so

infrequent in hardwoods that the distribution of

volume by grade will not be seriously disturbed.

A similar difficulty arises when upper-log cull

lies between merchantable volumes. The recommended procedure here is to subtract IV2 times

the length of such cull sections from the merchantable heights. The procedure is not exact, but

again complicated alternatives do not appear

worth while. Most cull in southern hardwoods

is caused by fire and occurs at the base of the tree.

Once the field work is completed, the first step

in the office computations is to look up the volume

or volumes for each sample tree, and enter them

in the squares provided on the field sheets. The

computation of total volume by grade for a given

species-diameter class is then :

1. Add the sample-tree pulp volumes.

2. Divide by the number of sample trees.

3. Multiply by the number of trees tallied in

the class.

' Suitable table.s for estimating a single total cubic

volume for a tree will be found in : Mesavage, C. Tables

for estimating mibic-foot volume of timher. U.S. Forest

Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta. Occas. Paper 111, 71 pp.

1947.

" Grosenbaugh, L. R. New tree-measurement concepts:

height accumulation, giant tree, taper and shape. U.S.

Forest Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta. Occas. Paper 134,

32 pp. 1954.

4. Repeat for butt cull, prime, lumber, and

minimum.

The volumes obtained are total butt cull, gross

prime gross lumber and better, gross minimum

and better, and gross pulp. Net sawtimber

volumes by use-class may be obtained by

subtraction :

Net prime= gross prime less cull.

Net lumber=gross lumber and better less gross

prime.

Net minimum=gross minimum and better less

gross lumber and better.

Another method of handling butt cull in the

field for sawtimber trees is to reduce sawtimber

lengths of stem by the length of cull and then

reduce the d.b.h. measurement by 1 inch for each

6 feet of cull. Wlien necessary, the d.b.h. should

also be corrected for abnormal or exceptional butt

swell that often accompanies rot. This rule is

accurate enough for practical use with all species.

In principle, however, a smaller reduction in d.b.h.

is in order for a form class higher than 75, and

vice versa. The computation of volume by grade

proceeds as before, except that cull volumes do not

enter. This alternative procedure may be preferable where accurate d.b.h. stand tables or basal

areas are not desired.

The sampling error of 3 percent applies only

to the grand total volume of net minimum and

better" for all trees marked. The error applicable to a given species-diameter (4-inch classes)

breakdown for net minimum and better can be

approximated from the equationj

Percent error = 40^N -n

Nn

where N is total number of trees tallied in the

class and n is number of sample trees in the class.

Periodic Inventories With Temporary

Sampling Points

Once intensive management has begun, the importance of periodic inventories can hardly be

overemphasized. Timber growing is an enterprise in which the product and the productive

machinery are one and the same. With accurate

and detailed inventory data, the forest manager

can balance cut with growth. Changes in the

structure of the forest become apparent, and

policies can be formulated against a background

of facts instead of opinions and guesses.

The system of periodic inventory to be described

uses temporary sampling points with sample

"The sampling errors appropriate to various portions

of volume in each grade will be larger than those computed for the total minimum and better volume. The

errors could be computed from the field data, but a description of the technique is beyond the scope of this

publication.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 87

trees measured for volume and grade. It is

simple and inexpensive, but it does not obtain reliable information on growth over short intervals

as efficiently as do the more complicated systems

discussed later.

The tally sheet in figure 33 is suitable. Three

sheets will be necessary for each species group—

one for cut trees, one for storage, and one for leave.

The field procedure is very similar to that for

the inventory of marked trees. Trees qualifying

according to the prism are dot-tallied by 4-inch

diameter classes on the proper species-tree class

sheet. Cull trees may be dot-tallied in the spaces

around the diameter-class legends for the cut class.

Every fifth tree in each diameter class is selected

in some unbiased manner as a sample tree and the

sample-tree data are recorded exactly as described

previously. A sampling interval varying by diameter class is unnecessary here, because trees tallied with an angle gage are already selected with

frequency proportional to basal area.

A prism with a basal area factor of 10 is recommended. Careful work is required for good

results. Doubtful trees must be checked by

measuring tree diameter and the distance from

the sampling point to the heart center of the tree.

If the ratio of distance in feet and tenths to diameter in inches is less than 2.75, the tree should

be tallied.

After the field work is completed, the first step

in computing total volume for species-diamet«r1 -i i_^ • volume ,. tree class groups is to obtain i¡ ; ratios basal area

Time will be saved if the

volume tables to be used are converted to

for the sample trees.

basal area

ratio tables by dividing each tabulated volume by

the appropriate basal area. The ratios for each

sample tree can then be taken from the tables and

entered on the tally sheets in the columns headed

volume. Next, the sum of the ratios of volume

to basal area for each diameter class is computed

for cull, gross prime, gross lumber and better,

gross minimum and better, and gross pulpwood.

Finally, the ratio of the total number of trees

tallied in the group to the number of trees measured for volume is used to convert the sum of

ratios to volume per acre, thus :

MÍXÍ>

where F=volume per acre

Ä=sum of ratios of volume to basal area

for the species-diameter-tree class

group

A^=total number of trees tallied in the

group (including those sampled for

volume and those merely tallied)

71=number of sample trees measured for

volume in the group

^=number of temporary sampling points

F=basal area factor

For example suppose that 16 red oaks are tallied

as leave trees in the 29- to 33-inch diameter group

and that three of them are sample trees with the

following ratios of Doyle volume to basal area for

gross minimum and better:

Tree No. 1:^1,^^=153.2 4.91 sq. ft.

Tree No. 2: |l|_M^=i56.i

5.24 sq. ft.

r^ ,. „ 1,023 bd. ft. ,„„„ Tree No. 3: -z^ 7:-= 183.3 5.58 sq. ft.

492.6

If 100 sample points were occupied, and the

basal area factor of the prism was 10, the estimate

of the average volume of minimum and better for

the group would take the form :

V-- Y^Y^y92.6=262.7bd. ft. per acre

The computations are repeated for cull, gross

prime, and gross lumber and better. Net volumes

by grade are obtained by subtraction.

No flat recommendation can be given as to the

number of sampling points. The tabulation on

page 83 may be used to obtain approximate

sampling errors in percent of total volume for

numbers of sample points varying from 25 to

1,600.

If the difference between two consecutive independent inventories is to be used to estimate net

growth, the sampling error for growth will be

approximately 1.4 times as large as the error for

the original volume estimate where hoth errors

are in units of volujne. For example, if a cruise

of a tract shows 5,000 board feet per acre with a

standard error of 5 percent, the error applicable

to growth as estimated from two cruises would

be 1.4x0.05X5,000 or 350 board feet per acre for

the whole period.

Periodic Inventories With Temporary and

Permanent Sampling Points

The system just described can readily be

adapted to a combination of permanent and teniporary points. It will then supply a good estimate of present volume at a reasonable cost.

Remeasurement of the permanent points will furnish a sensitive and reliable estimate of growth

and of stand and tree development at reasonably

short intervals.

Two changes are required :

1. Every fifth point is moniunented as a permanent sampling point. Monuments should

be as inconspicuous as is compatible with

reasonably certain relocation.
88 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

2. AU trees tallied at the permanent points are

taken as sample trees but no volumes are

taken at the temporary points (i.e., dot-tally

only, by species, tree class, and diameter

class).

After the field work is completed, two quantities must be calculated: Class sample volumes

per acre, computed from the permanent points

alone; and adjusted class volumes per acre, based

on both temporary and permanent plots. The

class sample volumes per acre are computed as

follows :

PR

Class sample volume per acre (^S') = -pAvhere B is the sum of the vokmie

basal area

ratios for

a given grade in a given species-tree

class-diameter group, P is the number of

permanent sampling points, and F is the

basal area factor of the prism or angle

gage employed.

Adjusted volumes are obtained by multÍT

])lying the class sample volumes by the appropriate factor Í )( p,r^ ), where N is the total

number of trees tallied at temporary points, E is

the total number of temporary points, n is the

number of trees tallied at permanent points, and P

is the number of permanent points. Two or more

classes must be combined when there are no sample

trees in one of them. The adjusted class volume

computations may be illustrated by means of the

red oak trees from page 87. If 20 of the 100

sample points were monumented as permanent

points, the class sample volume per acre (based

on -3 tallied trees) would be

^X 492.6 or 246.3 bd. ft.

and the corresponding adjusted class volume per

acre would be

(^)(2ô¥80>^^-^-2«2.7 bd. ft.

The suggested minimum interval for remeasurement of the permanent points is .5 to 7 years.

The field procedure for remeasurement is the same

as that followed at the time of installation, except

tliat cull lengths are not tallied and only one

height (to a minimum-log top) needs to be estimated for sawtimber trees. Changes in cull percent and grade of individual trees will ordinarily

be too small to detect until several remeasurements

liave been made.

PR After eacli re-inventory, the fornnda /S'= -^-

is used to compute new sample gross class volumes

per acre for pulpwood and minimum and better

classes of trees. Adjusted curi'ent gross class

volumes per acre are then calculated by multiplying each new sample gross volume by the same

/iV+nY_P \ ^ in the initial inventory.

New net volumes are computed by applying cull

i)ercentages from the initial inventory. Net

change (or survivor growth plus ingrowth less

mortality less harvest) may then be obtained as

the difference between original volume and current

volume. . ,

After the permanent sample points have been

remeasured three to five times, a completely new

set of temporary and permanent plots should be

established by the same field and office procedure

as in the initial installation. The purpose here

is twofold: First, to obtain new adjustment factors ; second, to obtain a complete new sample more

closely correlated with the existing stand.

Periodic Inventories With Relocation of

Sample Trees

If the individual sample trees at the permanent

points are mapped or numbered so that they can

be identified at subsequent remeasurements,

growth data can be collected in great detail. Net

growth can be separated into its components—

survivor growth, ingrowth, mortality, and harvest.

Computation of growth by tree class—cut, leave,

and Htorage—also becomes feasible, as does calculation of survivor growth by diameter classes.

In addition, growth rates and changes in grade

and tree class can be followed for individual trees.

The computations, while not complex, are so

voluminous that the data had best be processed

on punchcards in modern business machines.

Field Procedure

The field procedure is similar to that described

for use where sample trees are not relocated.

Point-sampling with the same angle gage is employed, with every fifth point monumented for

relocation. All trees tallied at the permanent

points are taken as permanent sample trees and

a)ll qualifying permanent sample trees should be

tallied, even those as small as one-tenth inch in

d.b.h.

A map is prepared for each permanent point to

show the approximate location of the sample trees.

The mapping may be done by eye, as great precision is not required except where similar trees

are close neighbors. No more than 10 trees will

be tallied at most points, and the variety of species

and range of diameters and other characteristics

common in hardwoods will aid identification in

doubtful cases.

Mapping rather than numbering with tags or

paint is recommended for two reasons. First, the

field work is simplified ; there are no tags to keep
COMPARTMENT

MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS

PLOT DATE

89

TREE NO, CLASS SPECIES DB.H FORM CULL PRIME LUMBER MINIMUM PULPWOOD USE

-^~\^- _^—\ /^O ^^ /-^-.---vJ ^-——-_.-—L^^„-^^L/-^-^

FIGURE 34.—Tally sheet for mapped permanent points.

in order and no painting paraphernalia to be

carried. Second, the sample trees are much less

conspicuous; this greatly reduces the possibility

of vandalism and makes bias in the growth figures

caused by cutting the plots differently from the

rest of the tract unlikely.

A tally sheet for the mapped permanent points

is illustrated in figure 34. One tally sheet is used

for each plot, one line for each tree. The entries

to be made under each heading will be described

in detail.

Tree Number.—The first tree tallied at each

point is numbered 1, starting from north and proceeding clockwise. The number on the tally sheet

also identifies the tree on the map of the permanent

point.

Tree Clms.—Each tree larger than 5 inches is

classified as culL cut. storage^ or leave. Key

punching will be simplified if coded entries are

made in the field, possibly

Cull Ö

Cut 1

Storage 2

Leave 3

Species.—Again the office work can be simplified by coded entries in the field.

D.h.h.—All diameters are measured and rounded downwards to the first integral tenth inch below

the actual measurement. Thus, if a d.b.h. were

10.39, it would be recorded as 10.3, as would a

d.b.h. of 10.31. Such rounding permits combining tenth-inch classes into larger classes having

nominal midpoints at whole inches. Thus the 10-

inch class will be composed of all trees in classes

9.5 to 10.4 inches, and the class limits will be 9.5

to 10.5 inches.

The diameters of all trees should be measured

at exactly breast height, regardless of swollen

butts or other abnormalities, because point-sampled growth estimates may be seriously in error

unless diameter values are at breast height and

strictly comparable from remeasurement to remeasurement. The lessened accuracy of the volume estimates caused by use of an arbitrary d.b.h.

ratlier than d.l).n. (diameter above bottleneck)

for swell-butted species must be accepted. The

type of inventory described here is designed to

obtain much information useful in management,

but is not intended to furnish precise estimates

of volume for sales or purchases.

Each stem of a tree forked below breast height

is tallied as a separate tree. The stems of trees

forked between 4.5 and 12 feet are also tallied as

separate trees, but the diameter of the tree at

breast height is recorded for each. Trees forked

above 12 feet are tallied as single trees(fig. 35).

Form.—An average Girard form class (the d.i.b.

at the top of the first 16-foot log as a percentage

of d.o.b. at breast height) may be assigned for

each species, except baldcypress and túpelo. For

these two species, form class should be estimated

tree by tree.

Individual estimates should also be made for

forked trees and for trees with abnormal swell.

A form class is estimated for each stem of a tree

forked below 12 feet, but the top of the first log

is taken as 16 feet above the fork. Thus, the form

class for such stems is the d.i.b. 16 feet above the

fork expressed as a percentage of d.o.b. at breast

height.

The tree-by-tree estimates of form class required

for baldcypress, túpelos, or other swell-butted

trees, or for forked trees, are best obtained by

working back from an estimate of d.i.b. at the top

of the first log (fig. 36). Direct estimation of form

class is difficult for these odd-shaped trees.

CuU.—L^\\ë^\\ of butt cull is estimated to the

nearest even foot. The punky butts of baldcypress and túpelo normally left in the woods are

tallied as cull. , ,

Prime, Lumber, Minimum, Pulpwood.—Dsíiüie

lenffth of the tree is recorded to the nearest even

foot for all classes of trees. The lengths of cull
90 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FIGURE 35.—Forked trees require special handling in tallies.

r-4g6585^ 486588, 486687

butts and other cull sections aie deducted before

the lengths are entered on the tally sheets.

Vue.—For each tree, a notation should be made

as to the most important class of usable material it

contains :

None 0

Pulpwood 1

Bolts or staves 2

Sawtimber 3

The above discussion applies only to the trees

sampled at permanent points. At the temporary

points, qualifying trees larger than 5 inches are

dot-tallied by species and tree class in 4-inch diameter classes. A suitable tally sheet is shown

in figure 37. A single tally sheet is used for

each compartment. Culls and weeds may also be

tallied at the temporary points if so desired.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 91

r-48e586

FiGUEE 36.—Form class Is

estimated tree by tree for

swell-butted species like

baldcypress.

Working Up the Data

The procedures to be described rely almost entirely on punchcard, data-processing machines.

Relatively simple equipment such as key punch,

sorter, reproducer, and multiplying punch is utilized. Nevertheless, any organization using the

system should have at least one forester familiar

with the capabilities and operational features of

such equipment, even though machine work is
92 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ordinarily contracted.

The first step in organizing tlie data is to keypunch the information from the permanent-point

tally sheets onto cards—a separate card for each

tree. All information except diameter is punched

as recorded in the field. As the diameter tallied

for each tree is the lower limit of the tenth-inch

class in which the tree falls, 0.05 must be added to

bring this lower limit to the midpoint of the class.

The addition is performed by expanding the threecolumn d.b.h. code to four columns and gangpunching a 5 into the additional column.

A diameter-group code for the sample trees at

permanent points may also be entered at this time

by sorting on the first two d.b.h. columns and

punching :

Lower limits of

Code diameter-class groups

(inches)

0 less than 05

1 0.5, 06, 07, 08

2 09,10,11,12

3 13,14, 15,16

4 17, 18,19, 20

5 21, 22, 23, 24

6 25, 26, 27, 28

7 29, 30, 31, 32

8 33, 34, 35, 36

9 37, 38, .39, 40-^

Basal area is obtained after sorting by compartment and gang-punching compartment acreage {A), number of permanent sampling points

in a compartment (P), and number of temporary

sampling points in a compartment (E). Cards

are next sorted for trees at permanent points

within a compartment by species, tree class, and

diameter group and punched with the number

of trees (n,) tallied m each breakdown. Then

the numbers of trees (Ni) tallied in corresponding

strata on the tally sheets for the temporary

points are summarized. Finally, (w,) and

\ni + N'i) are punched on each sample-tree card

in the ¿"^ stratum. The basal area B represented

by each permanent sample tree is computed from

the formula :

^\ UÍ^AP+K)^ for trees larger

than 5 inches

B = 1^\F for trees smaller than 5 inches,

where F is the basal area factor for the angle gage

employed.

For example, the basal area represented by a

30-inch red oak leave tree in a 1,500-acre compartment with 80 temporary points and 20

permanent points would be

(^X^o)«—-ftif 13 such trees were tallied at the temporary

points and 3 were measured at the permanent

points. The basal area represented by a tree less

COMPARTMENT, DATE .

CLASS

LIMITS

(Inches)

SPECIES /

)

CUT LEAVE STORAGE CUT LEAVE STORAGE CUT L(

5 — 9 -]

9-13

13-17

17-21

— -

\

_ \

21-25

25-29^ ^_Jk,,^-^ ^-^^ _^^_^ JÜ

FIGURE 37.—Tally sheet for temporary sampling points.

than 5 inches in d.b.h. tallied at a permanent

point in the same compartment would be

(^)-=750 sq. ft.

Number of trees {M) represented by each sample tree is computed from the formula

183.3 B

^ {à.h.h.y

The number of trees represented by the 30-inch

red oak in the preceding paragraph would be

183.3 X 800

900 -or 162.9 trees.

and C

The procedure suggested for computing volumes

per tree involves calculating first-log diameter as

a function of d.b.h., length of butt cull, and form

class. First the cards are sorted by use, and the

unusable trees are removed. Then the following

operation is performed on a calculating punch or

similar machine:

Z> = 16Ç (d.b.h.)-2 6'

where Q is Girard form class \ \ '—-,—r-r" ^ d.b.h. (o.b.)

is length of butt cull.

Pulpwood volumes are approximated from the

formula :

_{D + 2S-LyLM

'' 46,937

where Vp is volume per tree in cubic feet inside

bark, L is usable length in feet to a pulpwood top,

and M is number of trees. The volume computations for 10.5-inch tree with a form class of

0.75, 4 feet of butt cull, and 32 feet of usable

length, would be

Z)= (16X0.75) (10.5)-(2X4) =118

and

,(1184-28-32)^ 32 _

^' 46;937 8.86 cu. ft.

Results, coded as necessary are rounded and

punched into four columns.
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 93

Board-foot volumes per tree can be computed

according to Doyle or International i/4-inch rule

by using one of the following formulae :

,{D~'i'è-LYLM

4,096 Vny _{D-LYLM

' 5,120

where VD is board-foot volume by the Doyle rule,

and Vi by the International y^-mch rale. L again

is usable length, but to a prime, lumber, and minimum-log top in turn. Volumes are computed for

each grade, coded, and punched into four columns.

The volumes are cumulative and must be differenced to show volume in each category.

The computations are now complete, and volume, basal area, and number of trees may be tabulated as desired. When uncoded, results will be

totals for the tract or compartment.

Remeasurement of Permanent Points

It is suggested that the permanent points be reinventoried at intervals of 3 to 5 years. No new

trees are tallied during these remeasurement«. All

information on growth is obtained from trees

measured when the points were established.

Before the field work is begim, the following

information from the original tree cards is listed

on business-machine paper in compartment, plot,

and tree order :

Compartment number

Plot number

Tree number

Species

D.b.h.

Tree class

Use

Each plot can be regarded as a separate list of

trees, and each sucli list can be used as a plot tally

sheet. Some additional headings will be required

on these tally sheets :

Growtli component

Current tree class

Current d.b.h.

Current fonn class

Current cull

Current usable length to a prime top

Current usable length to a lumber top

Current usable length to a tie or timoer top

Current usable length to a pulpwood top

Current use class

Under "Growth component,'' all trees are classified into 6 categories :

Dead 0

Hai"vested 1

Pulpwood ingrowth 2

Pulpwood sui-vivor 3

548397 o—60 7

Sawtimber ingrowth 4

Sawtimber survivor 5

No data are needed for dead and liarvested trees

except identification and notation (by appropriate

original tree number) as to growth component.

Current tree class and current d.b.h. are recorded

for all surviving trees. Cull is estimated for those

trees that have developed it since the firet inventory, and appropriate usable lengths are recorded

for trees that liave reached pulpwood size or grown

from pulpwood into sawtimljer. Current values

of cull for trees with cull at the first inventory and

present usable lengths for trees whose use class

remains unchanged will be obtained by projecting

old values. Field estimates of stem length and

cull are not sufficiently precise to measure change

over a short time. Current fonn class is not

needed.

After the completion of the field work, a second

set of tree cards is prepared. The following data

are punched from the old tree cards into the new :

Compartment number

Plot number

Species

Old tree class

Old d.b.h.

Old form class

Old cull

Old usable lengths to pulpwood, minimumlog, lumber, and veneer tops

Old use class

Old d.b.h. group code

Old number of trees

Information from the re-inventory tally sheets

is added to the new cards by key-punching. Current cull and current usable lengths are left unpunched where not tallied in the field. Current

d.b.h. is key-punched for all trees as three columns

(inches and tenths), with a fourth column gangpunched with the digit five as previously described

(to denote the nominal midpoint of the tenthinch class). Old form class is reproduced as current form class for surviving trees.

Current cull will have been key-punched for

originally sampled submerchantable ti-ees which

have become merchantable subsequent to previous

tally, and also for survivors that were sound at

the original inventory but now have cull. For

survivors that still are free of cull, current cull

is gang-punched as zero.

For trees with cull at the first inventory, the

procedure is to sort for cards that are not 00 in

the old cull columns and apply the equation where

C' = C + Q.l^Y

€' is length of current cull in feet, C is length of

old cull in feet, and Y is the number of years smce

original measurement. The value of 0.13 is an

average yearly rate of cull increase in teet tor

southern hardwoods.
94 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Current usable lengths not already entered by

key-punching are obtained by projecting old

usable lengths parallel with length-over-diameter

curves prepared from the data taken in the first

inventory. Separate curves should be made for

pulpwood, prime, lumber, and minimum-class

logs, but all species may be combined. As the

curves will be used only to obtain the increase in

usable length from one diameter to another, their

general level is not important and differences in

slope and curvature between species are usually

minor.

Preparation of the curves can be facilitated by

first sorting the old tree cards into 2-inch diameter

classes and tabulating the usable lengths on a business machine. Average lengths are then computed

by hand for each class. Curves are fitted to the

data, either by least squares or by the method of

selected points, with equations of the form

Z = &o + &i (d.b.h.)+&3 (d.b.h.)^

where L is in turn usable length to a pulpwood,

prime, lumber, and minimum-log top ; d.b.h. is old

diameter at breast heiglit and the 6's are coefficients determined from the data. The actual projections are accomplished on the computer by use

of the modified formula :

Current i= 01d Z + Old Í7 - Current C + ôi

(D.B.H.-d.b.h.) -f 6, [(D.B.H.)^ - (d.b.h.)^]

where d.b.h. is old diameter and D.B.H. is current

diameter. Since the coefficient ¿»o is not used in

projecting lengths, only ôi and 62 need be computed in fitting the original cun'e.

Tlie number- of trees {M) represented by each

sample ir'n^ remains unchanged from the first

invfentory.

Current basal area represented by each surviving sample tree is computed from the formula:

/i = 0.005454 7l/ (D.B.H.)^

where B is the basal areji represented by each

sample tree

and M is old (and current) number of trees.

Current firet-log diameters and volumes are

computed for all surviving trees by use of the same

formulae employed in the first inventory. The

values inserted are, of course, present values of

D.B.H., cull, and usable length.

Subsequent Inventories

After the permanent sample points have been

remeasured 3 to 5 times ( 10 to 20 years after the

initial establishment), a new set of temporary

plots should be installed and the original permanent points sliould be completely re-inventoried

by the same field and office procedure as in the original installation. The main objects will be to get

a more precise estimate of current volume and

stand structure and to obtain a new base for future

estimates of growth. An additional reason for a

fresh start at intervals is to include a component

of growth neglected in remeasuring only the old

sample trees. After 10 years or more, an appreciable number of trees that were less than 4.5 feet

tall at the time of the first inventory will have

grown into pulpwood size ; such trees are not represented among the old sample trees.

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74 pp., illus.

BNGLERTH, G. H., BOYCE, J. S., JR., and ROTH, E. R.

1956. LONGEVITY OF THE OAK WILT FUNGUS IN BED OAK

LUMBE». Forest Sei. 2: 2-6, illus.

BYRE, F. H.

1939. SILVICULTURAL MANAGEMENT OF NORTHERN HARDWOODS. Jour. Forestry 37 : 719-721.

FLETCHER, W. F.

1942. THE NATIVE PERSIMMON. U.S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 685, rev., 22 pp., illus.

FREESE, F.

1952. YELLOW-POPLAR UNDE^RPLANTING. U.S. Forest

Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta. South. Forestry

Notes 77. [Processed.]

FROTHINGHAM, E. H.

1922. FOREST PROBLEMS OF GEORGIA'S HARDWOOD REXJION.

Amer. Forests and Wildlife 28: 673-677, illus.

FURNIVAL, G. M.

1954. DEADENING CULLS IN BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD

STANDS. South. Lumberman 189(2369) : 123-

124, illus.

GAMMAGE, J. L., and FUBNIVAL, G. M.

1957. CHEMICAL DEBARKING IN BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS.

South. Pulp and Paper Mfr. 10(9) : 78, 80,

illus.

GIRARD, J. W.

1933. VOLUME TABLES FOR MISSISSIPPI BOTTOMLAND

HARDWOODS AND SOUTHERN PINES. Jour. Forestry 31: 34-41, illus.

GOOCH, F. S.

1953. NURSERY CULTURE OF CYPRESS. South. Lumberman 186(2324) : 37-38, illus.

GRANO, C. X.

1957. PRUNING-WOUND CLOSURE ON SOUTHERN RED OAK.

Jour. Forestry 55: 669.

GUENTHER, K. W.

1951. AN INVESTIGATION OF THE TOLERANCE OF WHITE

ASH REPRODUCTION. Jour. Forestry 49: 576-

577.

GUTTENBERG, S.

1952. SWEETGUM SEED IS OVERRATED FLIFTR. Jour. Forestry 50: 844.

HADLEY, E. W.

1926. A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE GROWTH AND YIELD

OF SECOND-GROWTH TUPELO GUM IN THE ATCHAFALAYA BASIN OF SOUTHERN LOUISIANA. Lumber Trade Jour. 90(10) : 17-18, illus.
96 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICXJLTURE

HADLEY, E. W.

1926. NOTES ON BUTT TAPER OF TUPELO GUM (NYS8A

AQUATiCA). Jour. Forestry 24: 202-203, illus.

HALL, T. F., and SMITH, G. B.

19.55. EFFECTS OF FLOODING ON WOODY PLANTS, WEST

SANDY DEWATERING PROJECT, KENTUCKY RESERVOIR. Jour. Forestry 53: 281-285, illus.

HARLET, J. L.

1949. SOIL CONDITIONS AND THE GROWTH OF BB:ECH SEEDLINOS. Jour. Ecol. 37: 28-37, illus.

HARRAR, E. S.

1954. DEFECTS IN HARDWOOD VENEER LOGS : THEIR FREQUENCY AND IMPORTANCE. U.S. Forest Serv.

Southeast. Forest Expt. Sta. Paper 39, 45 pp.,

illus. [Processed.]

HENRY, B. W.

1951. OAK LEAF BLISTER SET^'ERE IN SOUTH MISSISSIPPI.

Plant Dis. Rptr. 35: .384. [Processed.]

HEPTINQ, G. H.

1935. DECAY FOLLOWING FIRE IN YOUNG MISSISSIPPI

DELTA HARDWOODS. U.S. Dept. AgT. Tech. Bul.

494, 32 pp., illus.

1955. THE CURRENT STATUS OF OAK WILT IN THE UNITED

STATES. Forest Sei. 1: 95-103, illus.

HOFFMANN, C. H.

1942. ANNOTATED LIST OF ELM INSECTS IN THE UNITED

STATES. U.S. Dept. AgT. Misc. Pub. 466, 20 pp.

HOLSOE, T.

1947. THE RELATION OF TREE DEVELOPMENT TO THE TIMING OF THE FIRST THINNING IN EVEN-AGED

HARDWOOD STANDS. Harvard Forest Papers

1(2) : 20-2.5, illus.

1948. CROWN DEVELOPMENT AND BASAL AREA GROWTH OF

RED OAK AND WHITE ASH. Harvard Forest

Papers 1(3): 28-33, illus.

HUCKENPAHLER, B. J.

1955. AUXINS FAIL TO STIMULATE ROOTING OF YELLOWPOPLAR CUTTINGS. Bot. Gaz. 117: 73-75.

JEMISON, G. M., and SCHUMACHER, F. X.

1948. EPICORMIC BRANCHING IN OLD-GROWTH APPALACHIAN HARDWOODS. Jour. Forestry 46: 252-

255, illus.

JOHNSON, J. W.

1950. COTTONWOODS RESPOND TO SELECTION CUTS. U.S.

Forest Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta. South.

Forestry Notes 66. [Processed.]

1950. RELEASE SPEEDS GROWTH OF BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS. South. Lumberman 181(2262) : 41^2,

illus.

1955. THE PULP INDUSTRY LOOKS AT HARDWOOD. ForCSt

Farmer 15(1) : 5, 20, illus.

JOHNSON, R. L.

1958. BLUFF HILLS—IDEAL FOR HARDWOOD TIMBER PRODUCTION. South. Lumberman 197(2465) : 126-

128, illus.

1958.

19.59.

1959.

CLIP OR DEEP-PLANT CYPRESS? U.S. Forest Scrv.

South. Forest Expt. Sta. South. Forestry Notes

116. [Processed.]

FRILLS MUST BE COMPLETE. U.S. ForeSt Serv.

South. Forest Expt. Sta. South. Forestry Notes

119. [Processed.]

PRUNING COTTONWOOD. South. Lumberman 198

(2473) : 28-29, illus,

JOHNSTON, H. R., SMITH, R. H., and ST. GEORGE, R. A.

1955. PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF LYCTUS POWDER-POST

SETTLES. South. Lumberman 190 (2375) : 72,

74, illus.

KOEHLEB, A.

1926. THE IDENTIFICATION OF FURNITURE WOODS. U.S.

Dept. Agr. Misc. Cir. 66, 76 pp., illus.

KORSTIAN, C. F.

1927. FACTORS CONTROLLING GERMINATION AND EARLY

SURVIVAL IN OAKS. Yale School Forestry Bui.

19, 115 pp., iUus.

1930 ACORN STORAGE IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. Jour.

Forestry 28: 858-863.

KOWAL, R. J.

1949. CONTROL OF WOOD-BORING INSECTS IN GREEN LOGS

AND LUMBER. Fore-st Products Res. Soc. Preprint 81, 10 pp.

LAMB, G. N.

1915. WILLOWS : THEIR GROWTH, USE, AND IMPORTANCE.

U.S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 316, 52 pp., illus.

LINDENMUTH, A. W., JR., and KEETCH, J. J.

1949. OPEN METHOD FOR MEASURING FIRE DANGER IN

HARDWOOD FORESTS. U.S. Forest Serv. Southeafst. Forest Expt. Sta. Tech. Note 71, 11 pp.

[Processed.]

LocKARD, C. R., PUTNAM, J. A., and CARPENTER, R. D.

19.50. LOG DEFECTS IN SOUTHERN HARDWOODS. U.S.

Dept. Agr., Agr. Handb. 4, 37 pp., illus.

LOTTI, T.

1955. YELLOW-POPLAR HEIGHT GROWTH AFFECTED BY SEED

SOURCE. U.S. Forest Serv. Tree Planters'

Notes 22, p. 3. [Processed.]

LuNT, H. A.

1933. EFFECT OF WEATHERING UPON COMPOSITION OF

HARDWOOD LEAVES. Jour. Forcstry 31: 943-

945.

LUTZ, J. F.

1955. HICKORY FOB VENEEB AND PLYWOOD. U.S. Forest Serv. Southeast. Forest Expt. Sta. Hickory Task Force Rpt. 1, 12 pp., illus. [Processed.]

MCCARTHY, E. F.

1933. YELLOW POPLAR CHARACTERISTICS, GROWTH, AND

MANAGEMENT. U.S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bui. 356,

58 pp., illus.

McCOBMACK, J. F.

1955. AN ALLOWANCE FOB BARK INCREMENT IN COMPUTING TREE DIAMETER GROWTH FOR SOUTHEASTERN SPECIES. U.S. Forest Serv. Southeast.

Forest Expt. Sta., Sta. Paper 60, 6 pp. illus.

[Processed.]

MCKNIGHT, J. S.

1950. FOREST MANAGEMENT BY OLD MAN RIVER. South.

Lumberman 181 (2273) : 233-235, illus.

1956. THINNING OUR YOUNG GUM. Forests and People

6(3) : 28-29, illus.

195

1958.

1953

1957

1952

BLACK WILLOW . . . HINTS FOR MANAGEMENT.

Forests and People 7(3) : 30-31, 50, illus.

THINNING STANDS OF WATER OAKS. La. State

Univ. School of Forestry, Seventh Ann. Forestry Symposium Proc, pp. 46-50. [Processed.]

and JOHNSON, J. W.

FENCE POSTS FROM DELTA HARDWOODS GIVE GOOD

SERVICE. Miss. State Col. Serv. Sheet 426,

2 pp.

and MCWILLIAMS, J. S.

IMPROVING SOUTHERN HARDWOOD STANDS THROUGH

COMMERCIAL HARVEST AND CULL-TREE CONTROL.

Soc. Amer. Foresters Proc. 1956: 71-72.

and PUTNAM, J. A.

LOGGING CUT-OVER STANDS OF BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS. South. Lumberman 185(2321) : 184-

186, illus.
MANAGEMENT AND ESTVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 97

MAISEN HELDER, L. C.

1951. PLANTING AND GROWING COTTONWOOD ON BOTTOMLANDS. Miss Agr. Expt. Sta. Bul. 485, 23 pp.,

illus.

1951. PROBABLE RETURNS FROM COTTONWOOD PLANTATIONS. U.S. Forest Serv. South. Forest Expt.

Sta. South. Forestry Notes 74. [Processed.]

1957. PROPAGATION OF SOME DELTA HARDWOODS BY ROOTING. Soc. Amer. Foresters Proc. 1956: 55-58.

1957. TIPS FOR PLANTING SOUTHERN HARDWOODS. SOUth.

Lumberman 195(2441) : 93-94, illus.

1958. NATURAL REGENERATION FOLLOWING SELECTION CUTTING IN BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS. La. State

Univ. School of Forestry, Seventh Ann. Forestry Symposium Proc., pp. 21-26. [Proccessed.]

1958. UNDERSTORY PLANTS OF BOTTOMLAND FORESTS.

U.S. Forest Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta.

Cecas. Paper 165, 40 pp., illus.

and HEAVRIN, C. A.

1957. SILVIOS AND SILVICULTURE OF THE PIONEER HARDWOODS—COTTONWOOD AND WILLOW. Soc. Amer.

Foresters Proc. 1956: 73-75.

MATTOON, W. R.

1915. THE SOUTHERN CYPRESS. U.S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 272,

74 pp., illus.

1932. PLANTING BLACK WALNUT. U.S. Dept. Agr. Leaflet 84, 8 pp., illus.

MERZ, R.

1951. COMPARATIVE SURVIVALS AND COSTS OF PLANTATIONS BY DIFFERENT METHODS OF GROUND PREPARATION AND PLANTING. U.S. Forest Serv. Cent,

states Forest Expt. Sta., Sta. Notes 64, 2 pp.

[Processed.]

and BOYCE, S. G.

1956. AGE OF OAK "SEEDLINGS". Jour. Forestry 54:

774-775, illus.

MlGNERY, A. L.

19.56. BASAL SPRAY CONTROLS IRONWOOD AND HAWTHORN.

Texas Forest News 35(4) : 10.

MiNCKLER, L. S.

1958. BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS RESPOND TO CUTTING.

U.S. Forest Serv. Cent. States Forest Expt.

Sta. Tech. Paper 154, 10 pp., illus. [Processed.]

-and LAMENDOLA, P. B.

1953. GROWTH OF WELL-STOCKED COTTONWOOD STAND.

U.S. Forest Serv. Cent. States Forest Expt.

Sta., Sta. Notes 7.5, 2 pp. [Processed.]

MOORE, B.

1928. GERMINATION AND EARLY SDKVIVAL IN OAKS. ECOL.

9: 104-106.

MORRIS, R. C.

1955. INSECT PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN HARDWOOD FORESTS.

South. Lumberman 191(2.392) : 1.36-139, illus.

1957. LUMBER DEFECT—WHAT IS THE INSECTS' SHARE?

South. Lumberman 195(2431) : 26-27, illus.

1958. INSECT PESTS OF COTTONWOOD. Mlss. Farm Res.

21(5) : 8, illus.

NELSON, I. L.

1958. REFERENCES ON THE MANAGEMENT OF BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS AND BALDCYPRESS. U.S. FOrest Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta., 11 pp.

[Processed.]

NELSON, R. M.

1940. VIGOROUS YOUNG YELLOW POPLAR TRE:ES CAN RECOVER FROM INJURY BY NECTRIA CANKERS.

Jour. Forestry 38: 587-588.

NELSON, T. C.

19ö7. ROOTING AND AIR-LAYERING SOME SOUTHERN HARDWOODS. Fourth South. Conf. on Forest Tree

Improvement Proc., pp. 51-.W.

1957. SURVIVAL AND EARLY GROWTH OF AN EASTERN

COTTONWOOD PLANTATION ON THE PIEDMONT.

U.S. Forest Serv. Tree Planters' Notes 28, p. 9.

[Processed.]

and BEAUFAIT, W. R.

1957. STUDIES IN SITE EVALUATION FOR SOUTHERN HARDWOODS. Soc. Amer. Foresters Proc. 19.5^; :

67-70.

• and JACKSON, L. W. R.

1956. YELLOW POPLAR PLANTATIONS. Forest Farmer

15(10) : 11, illus.

Ross, R. D., and WALKER, G. D.

19.57. THE EXTENT OF MOIST SITES IN THE GEORGIA PIEDMONT AND THEIR FOREST ASSOCIATIONS. U.S.

Forest Serv. Southeast. Forest Expt. Sta. Res.

Note 102, 2 pp. [Proc-essed.]

OsTRANDER, M. D., and ENGLERTH, G. H.

19.53. HARDWOOD LOG GRADING STICK IMPROVED. U.S.

Forest Serv. Northeast. Fore-st Expt. Sta. Res.

Notes 24. [Processed.]

PUTNAM, J. A.

1928. BUTT SWELL IN SOUTHERN SWAMP HARDWOODS.

South. Lumberman 133(1734) : 213-21.5, illus.

1928. THE OCCURRENCE OF HEARTWOOD AND FIGURE IN

RED GUM. South. Lumberman 133(1734) :

204-206, illus.

1951. MANAGEMENT OF BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS. U.S.

Forest Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta. Occas.

Paper 116, 60 pp. [Processed.]

1953. MANAGEMENT POSSIBILITIES IN ITPLAND HARDWOODS, IF ANY. La. State Univ. School Forestry, Second Ann. Forestry Symposium Proc,

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1955. GROWING HARDWOOD TREIES AS A CROP. ForeSt

Farmer 15(1) : 6-7, 30-31, illus.

1957. OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS IN THE SILVICULTURE

OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS. Soc. Amcr. Foresters Proc. 19.56: 62-64.

1959.

1932

1949,

ROTH,

1948

MANAGEMENT OF SOUTHERN HARDWOOD FORESTS

RELATIVE TO THE SUPPLY OF RAILROAD STOCK.

Cross Tie Bui. 40(2) : 18-19, 22, 24-27.

and BULL, H.

THE TREES OF THE BOTTOMLANDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA REGION. U.S. Forest Scrv.

South. Forest Expt. Sta. Occas. Paper 27. 207

pp., illus. [Processed.]

and MCKNIGHT, J. S.

DEPLETED BOTTOM-LAND HARDWOODS MAKE QUICK

COME-BACK. South. Lumberman 179Í2249) :

14:^-146, illus.

E. R.

HEALING AND DEFECTS FOLLOWING OAK PRUNING.

Jour. Forestry 46: 500-504, illus.

1950. CANKERS AND DECAY OF OAK ASSOCIATED WITH IRPEX

MOLLIS. U.S. Bur. Plant Indus. Plant Dis.

Rptr. .34: .347-348, illus. [Processed]

19.50 DISCOLORATIONS IN LIVING YELLOW-POPLAR TREES.

Jour. Forestry 48: 184-185, illus.

I!t56 DEC.W FOLLOWING THINNING OF SPROUT OAK

CLUMPS. Jour. Forestry 54 : 26-30, illus.
98 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ROTH, E. R., and HEPTING, G. H.

194.3. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF OAK STUMP SPROUTS

AS AFFECTING THEIR LIKELIHOOD TO DECAY.

Jour. Forestry 41: 27-36, illus.

and HEPTING, G. H.

1943. WOUNDS AND DECAY CAUSED BY REMOVING LARGE

COMPANION SPROUTS OF OAKS. .JouF. Forestry

41: 190-195, illus.

SCHOMAKER, 0. E.

19.58. TWO-YEAR RESULTS OF PLANTING YELLOW-POPLAR IN

NORTH ALABAMA. JouT. Forostry 56: 37-38,

illus.

SKUNK, I. V.

1939. OXYGEN REQUIREMENTS FOR GERMINATION OF SEEDS

OF NYSSA AQUATICA TUPELO GUM. Sci. 90:

565-566.

SiLKER, T. H.

1948. PLANTING OF WATER-TOLERANT TREES ALONG MARGINS OF FLUCTUATING-LEVEL RESERVOIRS. lowa

State Col. Jour. Sei. 22: 431^47.

SMITH, R. H.

19.54. A LEAF-CHEWING BEETLE CAUSES CYPRESS FOLIAGE

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Southeast. Forest Expt. Sta. Res. Note 70, 2

pp. [Processed.]

SMITH, W. R.

19.55. THE SOURCE OF LUMBER FOR FURNITURE PLANTS IN

NORTH CAROLINA. N.C. Forestry Assoc. Furniture, Plywood, and Veneer Council, 5 pp.

1956. SPECIALTY PRODUCTS FROM HARDWOOD AND PINE IN

THE SOUTH. Jour. Forestry 54 : 646-649, illus.

SOUTHERN FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION ET AL.

1949. PREVENTION OF DETERIORATION IN STORED HARDWOOD LOGS. U.S. Forest Serv. South. Forest

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STERNITZKE, H. S., and PUTNAM, J. A.

1956. FORESTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA. U.S. Forest

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STERRETT, W. D.

1915. THE ASHES : THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND MANAGEMENT. U.S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 299, 88 pp., Illus.

1921. A GENERALIZED YIELD TABLE FOR EVEN-AGED, WELLSTOCKED STANDS OF SOUTHERN UPLAND HARDWOODS. Jour. Forestry 19 : 382-389.

SWENNING, K. A.

1924. MANAGEMENT STUDIES ON COTTONWOOD AND SILVER

MAPLE. Jour. Forestry 22: 178-183.

SWITZER, H. D.

1948. THE MANAGEMENT OF COTTONWOOD IN THE BOTTOMLANDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. South. Lumberman 177(2225) : 1.53-1.57, illus.

TiLLOTSON, C. R.

1921. GROWING AND PLANTING HARDWOOD SEEDLINGS ON

THE FARM. U.S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui.

1123, 28 pp., illus.

1927. TIMBER GROWING AND LOGGING PRACTICE IN THE

CENTRAL HARDWOOD REGION. U.S. Dept. Agr.

Bul. 1491, 39 pp., illus.

ToOLE, E. R.

19.54. DISEASE PROBLEMS IN HARDWOOD FORESTS OF THE

LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. South. Lumberman 189(2369) : 179-181, illus.

1954. SWEETGUM BLIGHT—A PROBLEM IN FOREST MANAGEMENT. South. Lumberman 189(2362) : 35,

illus.

1955. RED STAIN OF BOxELDEE. U.S. Agr. Res. Serv.

Plant Dis. Rptr. 39: 66-67. [Processed.]

TooLE, E. R.

19.58. DECAY AFTER FIRE INJURY TO SOUTHERN BOTTOMLAND HARDWOODS. U.S. Dcpt. Agr. Tech. Bui.

1189, 25 pp., illus.

19.59. CANKER-ROTS IN SOUTHEKN HARDWOODS. U.S.

Dept. Agr. Forest Pest Leaflet 33, 4 pp., illus.

1959. SWEETGUM BLIGHT. U.S. Dept. AgF. Forest Pest

Leaflet 37, 4 pp., illus.

and BoYcE, J. S., jR.

19.52. FOMES ANNOSUS ON ATLANTIC WHITE CEDAR. U.S.

Bur. Plant Indus. Plant Dis. Rptr. 36: 330.

[Processed.]

and BROADFOOT, W. M.

1959. IRRIGATION LESSENS SWEETGUM BLIGHT. U.S.

Forest Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta. South.

Forestry Notes 120. [Processed.]

and BROADFOOT, W. M.

1959. SWEETGUM BLIGHT AS RELATED TO ALLUVIAL SOILS

OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODPLAIN. ForeSt

Sei. 5: 2-9, illus.

and MOKNIGHT, J. S.

19.56. FIRE EiTECTS IN SOUTHERN HARDWOODS. U.S. Forest Serv. Fire Control Notes 17(3) : 1-^, illus.

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS.

1955. TIMBER PROTECTION IN RESERVOIRS. PrOJeCt CW515, New Orleans District, 46 pp., illus. [Processed.]

U.S. FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY.

1949. HARDWOOD LOG GRADES FOR STANDARD LUMBER AND

HOW TO APPLY THEM. U.S. Forest Serv. Forest

Products Lab. D1737-A, 16 pp., illus. [Processed.]

19.53. HARDWOOD LOG GRADES FOR STANDARD LUMBER:

PROPOSALS AND RESULTS. U.S. Forest Serv. Forest Products Lab. D1737, 64 pp., illus.

[Processed.]

1955. WOOD HANDBOOK. U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Handb.

72, 528 pp., illus.

19.56. WOOD: COLORS AND KINDS. U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr.

Handb. 101, 36 pp., illus.

U.S. FOREST SERVICE.

1948. WOODY-PLANT SEED MANUAL. U.S. Dept. Agr.

Misc. Pub. 654, 416 pp., illus.

WAHLENBERG, W. G.

1949. FOREST SUCCESSION IN THE SOUTHERN PIEDMONT

REGION. Jour. Forestry 47: 713-715, illus.

1950. EPicoRMic BRANCHING OF YOUNG YELLOW-POPLAR.

Jour. Forestry 48 : 417-4:19, illus.

1952. THINNING YELLOW-POPLAR IN SECOND-GROWTH UPLAND HARDWOOD STANDS. Jour. Forestry 50:

671-676, illus.

1953. THRBa: METHODS OF REHABILITATION FOR DE3>LETED

APPALACHIAN HARDWOOD STANDS. JouT. Forestry .51 : 874-880, illus.

WENGER, K. F.

1952. EFFECT OF MOISTURE SUPPLY AND SOIL TEXTURE ON

THE GROWTH OF SWEETTGUM AND PINE SEEDLINGS.

Jour. Forestry 50 : 862-864.

1953.

1956. HispiDus CANKER. Forest Farmer 16(1) : 7, illus.

THE SPROUTING OF SWEETGUM IN RELATION TO SEASON OF CUTTING AND CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT.

Plant Physiol. 28 : 35-49, illus.

WHEELER, P. R.

1958. THE BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD FOREST RESOURCE.

La. state Univ. School of Forestry, Seventh

Ann. Forestry Symposium Proc, pp. 1-4.

[Processed.]
MANAGEMENT AND INVENTORY OF SOUTHERN HARDWOODS 99

WILLIAMSON, A. W.

1913. COTTONWOOD IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. U.S.

Dept. Agr. Bui. 24, 62 pp., illus.

WiLLiSTON, H. L., and HUCKBNPAHLER, B. J.

1957. lÍARDWOOD UNDERPLANTING IN NOKTH MISSISSIPPI.

Jour. Forestry 55 : 287-290.

WINTERS, R. K., and OSBORNE, J. G.

1935. GROWTH AND YIELD OF SECOND-GROWTH RED GUM

IN FULLY STOCKED) STANDS ON ALLUVIAL LANDS

IN THE SOUTH. U.S. Forest Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta. Occas. Paper 54, 12 pp., illus.

[Processed.]

YEAGER, L. E.

1949. EFFECTS OF PERMANENT FLOODING IN A RIVEBBOTTOM TIMBER ABEiA. Bul 111. Nat. Hist. Surv.

25(2) : 3:^-65, illus.

APPENDIX

Hardwood Trade Associations

American Veneer Package Association

1225% N. Orange Avenue, Orlando, Fla.

American Walnut Manufacturer Association

666 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 11, 111.

Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Inc.

414 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

Associated Cooj^erage Industries of America, Inc.

408 Olive Street, St. Louis 2, Mo.

Fine Hardwoods Association

666 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago 11^ 111.

Hardwood Dimension Manufacturers Association,

Inc.

218 Broadway National Bank Building, Nashville 3, Tenn.

Hardwood Plywood Institute

600 S. Michigan, Chicago, 111.

Hickory Handle Association

Jonesboro, Ark.

National Hardwood Lumber Association

59 East Van Buren Street, Chicago 5, 111.

National Wooden Box Association

Barr Building, Washington 6, D.C.

Railway Tie Association

1221 Locust Street, St. Louis 3, Mo.

Southern Hardwood Producers, Inc.

805 Sterick Building, Memphis, Tenn.

Wirebound Box Manufacturers Association

327 LaSalle Street, Chicago 4, 111.

Some Trade Papers Particularly Interested

in Southern Hardwoods

National Hardwood Magazine

2065 Union Avenue, Memphis, Tenn.

Southern Lumber Journal

P.O. Box 440, Jacksonville, Fla.

Southern Lumberman

2916 Sidco Drive, Nashville 4, Tenn.

Wood and Wood Products

139 N. Clark Street, Chicago 2, 111.

Examples of Problems in the Law of Waters

Any forester or landowner involved with bottom lands should acquaint himself with the laws

of riparian rights that apply to his property.

Innumerable court decisions and articles have

shown the complexity of the law of waters affecting accretions, relictions, avulsions, boundaries,

apportionment, and titles generally. Each State

has its own laws by statutes and court decisions.

In Tennessee, the riparian owner's title on a navigable stream stops at low water (Cunningham v.

Prevotu, 28 Tenn. App. 643; 192 S.W. 2d 338

(1948) ). In Arkansas, the riparian owner's title

on a navigable stream stops at the high-water

mark {Wallace v. DHver, 61 Ark. 429; 33 S.W.

641 (1896)).

It is generally recognized that the riparian

owner takes to the middle or "thread" of a nonnavigable stream or lake (Tiffany, Real Property,

Ed. 3 §663). However, such ownership should

not be assumed without a check of the laws of the

State in which land is owned.

In Arkansas, one of the leading and basic cases

on the law of riparian ownership is Wallace v.

Driver, supra. In this case, the court made the

following remarks (33 S.W. 642,643) :

"The water boundaries of land on running

streams, whatever they may be in the beginning,

whether the thread of the stream, the water's

edge, ordinary high or low water mark, always

remain the same when they change gradually,

as by the process of accretion or attrition.

They gradually shift as the water recedes or

encroaches, and the area of the riparian owner's

possession varies as they change by this process.

Whatever constituted them at first still constitutes them so long as it remains permanent or

shifts gradually and imperceptibly. Hence

lands formed by alluvion, or the gradual and

imperceptible accretion from the Avater, and

land gained by reliction, or the gradual and imperceptible recession of the water, belongs to the

owner of the contiguous land to which the addition is made." [Italics supplied.]

*****

"The reverse of what has been said of accretions and erosions is true of aindsioiis. Wliere a

stream which forms a boundary line of lands

from any cause suddenly abandons its old, and

seeks a new, bed, or suddenly and perceptibly

washes away its banks, such change of channel

or banks (if its limits can be determined works

no change of howndary. The owner still holds

his title to the submerged land. If an island

or dry land afterwards forms uponit, the same

belongs to him." [Italics supplied.]
100 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

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102 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK N"0. 181, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The foregoing general principles are clearly stated

as being the law even when the boundary line between States is involved, as in Arkansas v. Tenrtessee,246U.S. 158 (1917).

Those who desire more information should refer

to American Jurisprudence, volume 56, under the

subject of "Waters." Subdivision X, §§ 273 to

290, deals with "Riparian and Littoral Proprietorship and Rights." Subdivision XIX, §§448

to 498, deals with "Beds, Banks, and Shores."

Subdivision XX, §§ 504 to 507, relates to

"Islands."

Giant-Tree Table for Doyle Rule

The giant-tree table given here for the Doyle

log rule is modeled after one prepared by L. R.

Grosenbaugh for cubic-foot volumes and the

International 14-inch rule.^^

A giant-tree table is helpful in sampling cull

percents or the proportion of the volume of individual ' trees that falls into various grades of

product classes of varying lengths. It is also convenient as a sort of universal volume table, entered with a single d.i.b. at any specified height

above the worst of the butt swell ; it then assumes

a taper of one-eighth inch per foot of length in

" Grosenbaugh, L. R. New tree-measurement concepts:

height accumulation, giant tree, taper and, shape.

U.S. rorest Serv. South. Forest Expt. Sta. Occas. Paper

134, 32 pp. 1954. [Processed.]

either direction. The easiest way to visualize it

is as a giant tree whose cumulatively increasing

height and volume can be read at each d.i.b. in a

diameter series diminishing upward in steps of

one-eighth inch for each foot of length.

The table is used by entering at the desired

small-end d.i.b., noting the volume foimd opposite

this diameter, then moving down the '"length" column a distance equal to the desired log len^h,

marking the volume found there, and subtracting

the two values. The volumes of a 20-inch log 16

feet long would be determined as follows :

Board feet

Read the volume opposite 20 inches 14, 620

Length at this pomt is 240 feet; move

down the length column to 224 feet and

read the volume 14, 364

Subtract the two volumes- 256

For 16-foot logs, the values from the table will

exactly correspond to those computed from the

formula (D—4)^. Because the Doyle rule does

not allow for taper except when long lengths are

scaled as more than one log, the table assumes that

all logs will be cut 16 feet long and that there will

be 2 inches of taper per 16 feet. Actual log scale

will be somewhat greater than tabular values for

logs shorter than 16 feet, and somewhat less for

longer logs. The table is internally consistent,

however, and has many advantages over erratic

use of the raw Doyle rule.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: I960 O—54B397