FOREWORD 

m I he nation-)vide Forest Survey, being conducted by the United I 

States Forest Service, was acthorized by the NcSweeney-P+lcNary Forest :I 

Resoarch Act of 1929. Its five-fold object is: (1) to make an inventory of the present supply of timber and other forest products, i 

j (2' to ascertain the rate at which this supply is being increased 

through growth, (3 to determine the rate at which this supply is 

being diminished through industrial and local use, viindfall, fire, 

and disease, (4) to determine the present requirement and the prob- .j 

1SJe future trend in the requirement for timber and other forest 

products, and 15: to correlate these findings with existing and anticipated economic conditions, in order that policies nay be formulated for the effective use of land suitable for forest production. 

m !.his release is based on a field survey made April 6 to July ': 

r3, 19.35, and two field canvasses of forest industrial plants to de- : 

termine forest drain, the 1-ast of which was made during May and June 

1938. It should he regarded only as a progress report since it con- I L Gains Forest Survey data that will be included in complete reports to 

he published later, and that, cll.though considered reliable, are subject to correction or am2lification as the work of computation proceeds. Iten & above, which is being studied on a naiion,?.l basis, is 

not discussed in this report. 

In the interpretation of these survey data, it. wdst be noted 

that,owing to the sampling method used in collecting thern, the 

greater the number of samples in any given classification the more 

accurate are the data for tha-t classification. Hence classes that 

are of infrequent occurrence and relatively small in quantity generally cannot be determined with as high a degree of accuracy as 

c!.asses that occur more frequently and in substantially greater 

quantities. Small tabular items are to be taken as showing, not the 

exact magnitude of the classas involved, bct their relative magnitude in comparison with those of other classes. 

In the South, the Zorest Survey flmctions as an activity of 

the Southern Forest Experiment Station with headquarters at Hew 

Orleans, La. 

kssisting Staff 

E. B. Faulks, Asscciate Forest Economist, In Charge of Field Work 

P. R. llheeler, Forest Economist, In Charge of Flensurational Analyses 

IIote: Assistance in the preparation of these materials was f~~rni3he? by the personnel of Work Projects Rdninistration Official 

Project 65-2-64-71. 
FOREST RESOURCES OF SOUTHEAST ALABAMA 

General Description 

Southeast Alabama (Forest Survey Unit Alabama No. 3) has long been one 

of t,he principal agricultural areas of the deep South. Since its forests, 

however, are almost as extensive as its fields, a recent study has bzen made 

of the r'orest resources and wood-products industries of this area to determine hw~ important they are and how thsir usefulness may be increased. The 

ar~a, which includes 21 counties with an aggregate of 9 million acres in the 

southeast part of the State, extends from the Florida boundary line northward 

to about the middle of the Stat,e, and from the Georgia line westward to the 

west side of Dallas County (see map, fig. 1). Approximately 47 percent of 

the land (table 1) is forested with various southern pines, hardwoods, and 

~ypress. More than three-fourths of the total population of 7159,000 (1930 

Census) is classzd as rural; whereas less than one-fourth of the population 

is urban, residing in Montgomery (the largest city and State capitol), 

 el ma, Doihan, Phoenix City, and other towns of 2,500 or more. 

Over four-fifths of the area lies in the Coastal Plain; the remainder, 

the northernmost part, is in the Fiedmont. The principal soils of the Coastal 

plain are grey-to-yellow sandy loams and sands, but the Black Belt Prairies, 

a fairly level area which runs east and west through Bullock, Macon, Mont.- 

gomery, Lowndes, and Dallas Counties and o-cupies about one-tenth of the entire 

area, have black or brown friable soil underlain by whitish limestone material. 

In the Piedmont portion of the area, which includes Chambers, Tallapoosa, and 

parts of Lee, Elmore, and Chi'ton Counties, the soils are dominantly brovmishred clay loans and gray sandy-loams, developed largely from crystalline rocks. 

Well drained by rivers that ultimately enter the Gulf of Me:iico, southeast Alabama is gently rolling, with elevations ranging from about 100 feet 

above sea level along the Florida line to 800 feet in the Piedmont. On the 

Alabama River from Montgomery southwestward to Mobile (outside this area), and 

on the Chattahoochee River from Phoenix southward, shipping facilities by barge 

and flatboats are available. The Louisville 62 Nashville, the Southern, the 

Seaboard Air Line, the Atlantic Coast L,ine, the Central of Georgia, the Western 

Railway of Alabama, and other railroads provide excellent rail transportation, 

while a network oC improved highways and country roads gives accessibiiity to 

all parts of the area. 

Among the many natural resources, water power is one of the most important in the upper part of the unit, where large hydroelectric plants are locatsd on both the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers. 

With an average annual rainfall of 50 to 60 inches per year, and a growing season of about 8 months, the three important sources of employment in this 

area are agriculture, forest industries, and textile mills. The first provides 

work for more than half of the gainfully employed throughout the section, while 

the last is largely centered in Elmore, Tallapoosa, and Montgomery Counties, 

each of which has over 50,000 spindles. The 1935 Census of Agriculture reports 

that farmers worked for pay array from their own farms more than 14 million mandays, and it is believed that a large number of these farmers find part-time 

work in forest industries. Alt,hough agriculture broadly defined includes both 
farming and forestry, iv !.his rzgort agr%CUlture is used to neac farming, and . . forestry to mean timber growing and >dtlllzaticn, 

Table 1. - Land area classified according to land use, 1935 

Forest: 

Productive 

Land 

kionproductive 

Total forest 

----- - Acres - - - - - - - - Percent - - - - 

4,792,900 47.2 

1 

Area 

- 

Nonforest: 

Agriculture: 

In cultivation: 

Old cropland 3,467,000 38.1 

New crop1 and 67,900 .7 

Out of cultivation: 

Idle 269,300 3.0 

Abandoned 306,800 3.4 

Pasture 148,100 

Total agriculture 4,559,100 

4.9 

50.1 

Other nonforest 215,300 2.6 

Total nonforest 4,794,400 52.7 

\ 

Proportion of total area 

Total 9,098,200 100.0 

According to tne Census of Agricult~ire approximately 71 percent of the 

total land area was in farms, of which there were 82,000 with a total area, 

including woodlands, of 5& million acres. These v~oodlands segregated slightly 

less than 2; million acres (37 percent of the total farm area) and were the 

source of many important forest producis either used on the farm or sold. 

Figure 7 shows the proportion of each coulty "available for crops" (including 

cropland and plowable pasture). Prectically all the area not "available for 

crops" is farm woodland or other forest land. 

Cotton and corn are the most important agricultural crops, but in 

southeast Alabama the corn yields are relatively poor - about 10 bushels per 

acre - as compared with the average of about 19 for the entire United States. 

The cotton yields per acre are about 1/3 of a bale, which is approximately the 

average for the entire cotton belt. 

Between 197L an? 1914, according to the Census of Agriculture, the 

cropland area decreased about 3 percent. In this period, the acreage in cotton, the chief cash crcp in this unit, declined 41 percent, a loss of over 2 

million acres. At the same time the sale price of cotton decreased from over 

46 million. dollars in 1924 to less t,han 19 million dollars in 1934 - a decrease of more than 27 mi.llion dollars: Prelimi.nary figures for 1938 indicate 

that, the value of the cotton experienced a further decline to 14 million dollar 
FIGURE 1.- FOREST TYPE MAP 

r, 

87' 86' 85 ' 

, ' 

~LONCLEAF L 5LASH PINES 

0 SHORTLEAF & LOBLOLLY PINES & HDWDS 

LOBLOLLI PINE II HARDWOODS 

MIXED BOTTOM-LAND HARDWOODS 

TYPE SYMBOL5 INDICATE AREA5 WHERE THE GIVEN 

TYPES PREDOMINATE. BUT THE FREQUENT LOCAL 

OCCURRENCE OF OTHER TYPES IS NOT PRECLUDED. 

ALA. 3 I ----~- 

F LA. 

TAREAS CHARACTERIZED 

BY MAJOR FOREST TYPES 

IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA PREPARED BY FOREST SIIRVEI 

SOVTYCRN FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION 

,*a, ! - M,,:> @ ; I 

R.0 A 6-22-Y) 87' 86' 85' 
FIGURE 2. - PROPORTION OF COUNTY IN LAND AVAILABLE FOR CROPS 

(CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE, 935). 

According to the forest survey made in 1935, there were 576,100 acres ( 

idle and abandoned. cropland, a large part of 'ihich probably wil:l revert to fo~ 

ests unless: (1) the prices of cotton and corn increase substantially; (2) tk 

acreage in some new crop such as tung oil is expanded; (3) the cattle industr: 

is.developed further. Also some areas no%:' in cultivation for cotton probably 

will be abandoned and ;,rill revert to forests, for in growing cotton many part: 

of southeast Alabama apparently cannot compe-te successfully with the more fer. 

tile areas of the Mississippi Valley or the West. 

The Forest Survey obtained a fairly accurate record of the 'jell-marked 

and destructive staces of erosion. Ignoring the milder degrees of erosion, tt 

field men recorded the folloihving forms: (1) sheet erosion, vrhere the soil is 

washing off from a ge~erally smooth surface; (2) shoestring erosion, where th€ 

soil surface is cut into, and a system of small, branching &ullies a few inches to 2 ft. deep is formed; and (3) gully erosion, where the soil surface 

is being destroyed by deep ylly systems. As sl?oim in table 2, some erosion i 

found on 39 percent of the abandoned cropland, 26 percent of the idle croplane 

7O percent of the cultivated land, and on 19 percent of the pasture, but on or 

12 percent of the forests. It should be pointed olit also that in many of the 

places vrhere accelerated erosion Ls occurring in the forest, there is heavy rx 

off from -the field above or the forest has groivn up on a critically eroded are 
on 

which it has not yeb ciiecked the washing away of tha soil, Gnc-3 orosic- ~,!a: 

reached a critical stage, it usually continues after cultivaticn is ahandonsi 

until a grass, weed, or tree growth is well established either through natural 

processes or with th? assistance of artificial run-off controls such as ter-- 

and check.dans. 

Table 2. - Correlation of land use with erosion, 1935 

 orea at 39799,900 212,000 125,800 163,100 4,303,800 

cropland in cultivation 7,824,400 424,100 219,200 67,200 3,534,900 

Idle Cropland 198,700 33,700 28,500 8,600 269,300 

Abandoned crop1 and 185,900 40,200 49,100 31,600 306,800 

Fasture 362,200 38,500 28,200 19,200 448,100 

Land us? 

Total 7,370,600 748,500 454,100 239,700 8,362,900 

percent of total 83.2 8.4 5.1 3.3 100.0 

A study of land ownership of 20 of the 21 counties in this unit (Russell 

County is excluded) made in 1935 by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, in 

cooperation with the Works Progress Administration of Alabama, shows that the 

land 18 held in about 39,000 ownerships. More thsn 83 percent of the holdings 

arn less than 260 acres each, but the small percentage of large holdings (17 

percent1 includes almost two-thirds of the total lad area. 

Total 

Type of erosion 

Percent of the Percent of th* 

0wnershius number 

None or 

arrested 

Les~ than 100 acres 5 2 

10C - 259 acres 3 r 

260 - 499 acras I0 

500 - 999 acres 5 

1,000 acres and more - 2 

109 

Shoe- Sheet string I 

fn the Black Deit Prairies, thz holdings are larger than the average; here 

Pol~r-fifth6 sf the srza is in omerahipa of 260 acres or mars, 

In the 20 sountles at~tiiisd, 77 paro~nt of the apea was owed by residants 

of the aarnn ~olmty; 92 percat, by raaidenta of other osmtioa in Alabama; 8 per 

eent, by nsn-reaid~ntn of the State; and 3 paraegt, by the publie or b ownars 

whose r~aldeesz il6 unknown. A180 not@worthy ia tho feet that farmer~l awn most 

of the area (w~ad-usin8 industrie~ own only 3 percent of the total), ae shown 

br the fallowing am.nary uf the prsportion of the land ownod by diffepeat busiReas grsupa: 
Farmers 66 

Merchants & 

Professional men 3 

Administrators and 

executors 3 

Banks and mortgage 

companies 6 

Wood-using industries 3 

Mining, power, nzd railroad companies 1 

Farming companies 1 

All other businesses 5 

Business unkndvrn 7 

Governmental agencies 

(pub! icly owned land) 1 

Total la-dForest Description 

Loblolly pine, which makes up about one-third of all the forest volme, 

is the principal species of the area, but shortleaf pine and many hardv;oods, 

especially gums, oaks, and yellow poplar, are also ';ell represented (fig. 3). 

According to the various species present, the forest stands are classified in 

four major forest type-groups. The pine type-group has a composition by cubic 

volume (including bark) of 86 percent pine and 14 percent hardwood; the pinehardwood type-group, 43 percent pine and 57 percent hardv~ood; the upland hardrioods, 8 percent pine and 92 percent hardwood, chiefly oaks, gums, hickories, 

and yellow poplar; and the bottom-land hardwood type-group is 4 percent pine 

and 96 percent hard~vood, chiefly gums and red oaks. 

SPECIES PER CEN T 

0 

0

5 10 15 20 2 5 30 3 5 

LOBLOLLY PINE 

SHORTLEAF PINE 

LONGLEAF. SLASH, 8 OTHER 

PINES,& CEDAR 

RED GUM 

BLACK8TUPELO GUMS 

YELLOW POPLAR 

OTHER SOFT-TEXTURED 

HARDWOODS INCL CYPRESS 

RED OAKS 

WHITE OAKS-HIGH GRADE 

POST. OVERCUP,& SCRUB 

OAKS-LOW GRADE 

ASH,HICKORY , 8 SPECIALUSE SPECIES 

OTHER FIRM -TEXTURED 

HARDWOODS 

FlGURE3.- PROPORTION OF TOTAL CUBIC VOLUME IN THE VARIOUS SPECIES. 
The prevalence of certain characteristic forest types over large areas 

is shown in figure 1, although within the broad ranges delineated, occur many 

small intermingled areas of other types, as well as tracts of cleared land. 

With the exception of the bottom-land hardwood types, which are confined almost 

entirely to the river bottoms, branch heads, and swamps, practically all the 

forest area is in the rolling uplands. As shown in table 3, the pine typegroup makes up 52 percent of the entire forest area; the remainder is well distributed am6ng the other three type-groups. 

Table 3. - Forest are& classified according to forest condition and 

forest type-group, 1935 

- - - - - - - - - - - Acres - - - - - - - - - - - Percent 

old growth: 

Uncut 27,400 22,600 10,100 57,000 117,100 2.7 

Partly cut 99,900 61,700 71,100 140,500 371,200 8.7 

Total 127,300 84,300 81,200 197,500 190,100 11.4 

Forest condition 

Second growth: 

1 

Total all 

types 

Sawlog size: 

Uncut 689,400 210,000 80,400 161,600 1,141,400 26.6 

Proportion of 

total 

Forest type-group 

Partly cut 431;700 205,300 85.900 124,900 847,800 13.7 

Under sawlog size 762,700 302,900 242,000 179,500 1,487,100 34.7 

~e~roductiod 204,500 52,300 41,500 25,000 326,300 7.6 

Total 2,088,300 770,500 452,800 491,000 3,802,600 88.6 

Pine 

Total all 

conditions 2,215,600 854,800 534,000 688,5004,292,900 100.0 

Upland 

hardwood 

Pinehardwood 

Percent of total 

forest area 51.6 19.9 12.4 16.1 100.0 

1/ Does not include 10,900 acres of nonproductive forest land. 

2/ Includes 19,500 acres of cypress type. 

3/ Includes 84,300 acres of clear-cut condition. 

Bottomland 

hardwood 2/ 

After many decades of forest utilization, only 11 percent of the present 

forest area can now be classed as "old growth," having the large, old, highquality trees that are characteristic of the original growth. While most of 

the old growth is in relatively small, widely-scattered patches, a few large 

blocks remain. More than half the old growth is in the hardwood types. If 

less than 10 percent of the sawlog-size trees - pines and cypress at least 9.0 

inches d.b.h. (diameter at breast height) and hardwoods at least 13.0 inches - has been cut from the stands, they are classed as "uncut." Uncut old-growth 
stands have an average volume oY 10,LOO b:~.lrd feet per acre (lumber tally, 

based on the International 2-inc!? rule) in the pine 'qjpe-group. The ";art17 

cut" old-growtk stznds, which have an area over three tines that of the uncut, hcve had 10 percent or more of their sawlog-size trees removed but are 

still characteristically old-growth. The pine type-group in this condition 

now has an average volune of 4,500 board feet per acre. 

Upon much of the old cut-over land and in many of the L'ields that were 

abar-doned years ago, the Survey found "second-growth" stands, which, althoug). 

far from perIect, zre remarkable in extent and development. That this second 

growth vr3.s not purposely grow by man, but happened to develop thro~gh natural 

means (often in spite of man's misuse] to the extent that it now occupi?~ over 

3 3/4 million acres, or 89 percent oI the forest area, is indeed worth? of note, 

1 Uncut second-growth sawlog-size stands, which occup;' almost 14 million acres, 

average, a11 types combined, about 3,800 board reet per acre; the partly cut 

stands, occupying over 750,000 acres, average about 2,700 board feet and hare a 

minimum of 400 board feet. 

1 "Under-sawlog-size" second-growth stznds occupy 12 million acres, and 

although they coiltain an zvcrage of less than 300 board feet per acre in a feu 

trees of saw-timbzr size, they have over 3 cords per acre of growing-stock material, including that in the associated smaller trees 5.0 inches d.b.h. and 

larger. The yo~ngsst forest stands, i.e., the "reproduction," which consists 

chiefly of seedlings and cpro~ts less than 1.0 inch d.b.h., occupy over 250,000 

acres. 

Areas showing less than SO seedlings per acre are classed as "clear-cct" 

and comprise approximat-ly 8l+,OI30 acres. Since these tracts have scattered seed 

trees, it is believed that many of them ultimately will be reforested if fires 

are controlled. Aost of the seedling areas have the same species composition as 

the adjacent stands, but the more prolific seeders tend to capture the site. 

Thus in the last three decades the loblolly and shortleaf pines have increased 

their range and representation at the expense of the longleaf pine. 

The classification of the areas dominated by loblolljr or shortleaf pines 

according to site index - a measure of the productivity of the forest areas, 

based upon the average height in feet of average dominant trees at the age of 

50 years - is as follows: 

Site index 

in feet 

90 or better 

80 

70 

60 

50 or less 

Total 

Areas dominated by: 

Loblolly pine Shortleaf uine 

Percent Percent 

The proportion of good pine sites in this area is greater than the average of 

the other Forest Survey units of Alabama. 
Figure 4, based on almost 2; million acres in the pine and pine-h3rdviooa 

e-oups (excluding longleaf and slash pine types), gives for the existing type-,- 

.tand the proportion of the area occupied by each l0-year age-class and the 

iubic feet of wood per acre in the respective age-classes. These volumes are 

with those for weighted-average sites in similar age-classes in the 

most heavily stocked 10 percent of the stands e., the "well-stocked" stands). 

The area and volume per acre of the forest is diagrammed from data based on 

field determinations of the age-classes. Approximately 26 percent of the forest area is occupied by stands 0 to 20 years old; 38 percent, by stands 21 to 

LO years old; 23 percent, by stands 41 to 60 years old; and only 13 percent, by 

more than 60 years old. The average gross volume per acre for the pre- 

&ling forest increases from almost nothing for the youngest age-class to almost 1,000 cubic feet for the 31- to 40-year age-class. The age-classes of 

~1-50 years and of 51-60 years show little increase over that of 31-40 years 

because of poor stocking, largely the result of partial cutting. The ageclasses of 71 years and over average 1,500 cubic feet per acre. The prevailing 

forest stands are so poorly stocked that their volumes are less than half those 

found in well-stocked stands of corresponding ages and on the weighted average 

of similar sites, as indicated by the dotted line. At LO years the volume of 

the most heavily stocked 10 percent of the stands has 2,200 cubic feet per acre 

and at 70 years, over 3,000. 

8% I 19 I 19 < a.,o,".. , PERCENT OF AREA iN VARIOUS AGE-CLASSES, (1935) 

FIGURE 4 - PREVAILING VOLUMES, BY AGE - CLASSES, COM PARED WITH THOSE IN 

WELL - STOCKED STANDS ( s~rro on P~NE AND PNL - ~1~~1001) TYPE - AREAS ' OF 2,450800 

ACRE, I. .LXCLUP,NT e,o.,o., ACRES I* THE LONTLFAT *NO 5LA5" PNE TYPES. 
A simila art. for the 1:ardr~ood stands was not made, b.~t an exmination 

of sample plots incicates that the hardwood stands also are p~)orly stocked. 

The stand diagrams in figure 5 show the number of trees by 2-inch 

classes (the 2-inch class includes trees 1.0 to 2.9 inches; the 4-inch class, 

those 3.0 to 4.9 inches; and so on) for the four important species-groups. 

These diagrams show a preponderant number of small trees, especially in the 2-, 

4- 6-, and 8-inch classes, and a relative scarcity of medium-sized and large 

trees. If all (or the greater part) of the small trees could be counted upon 

to grow into the larger size-classes and thus add to their very deficient 

stocking, an excellent future forest would be assured. Protection from firin essential, however, if the smaller trees are to contribute all their potential value in building up the larger and more valuable size-classes. 

Only 3 percent of the 4:- million acres of forest land is in public ownership; 56 percent is in farm woodlands; and 41 percent is in privztely ovmed 

industrial forests (i.e., in forests owned by sawmill companies, pulpmill 

companies, etc.) or in investment forests. A study of the forest practices 

on privately owed non-farm foreat land recently made by the Division of Stat* 

and Private Forestry of Region 8 of the Forest Service discloses that for 15 

properties investigated in this Unit, aggregating 266,000 acres, approximately 

64 percent of the forest land is "llandled under good lorestry practices for 

continuous forest crops"; 34 percent under practices that are "poor" but that 

leave the land productive; and only 2 percent is in "lands not left productive." Most of the properties included in this study were large; it is believed that the forestry practices on the smaller properties (generally farmerovmedj are not as good on the average. 

Estimates of Timber Volume 

Saw-timber volume 

The saw-timber inventory includes only living trees of thosz species 

having commercial value. Such trees must be at least 9.0 in. d.b.h. in 

pines and cypress, and at least 13.0 in. d.b.h. in hardboods; also they must 

have at least 50 percent of their volume sound, or have a sound butt log at 

least 12 ft. long. Although the top-dianeter limit varies with the quality of 

the stem, no pine logs less than 5% in. in diameter, inside bark, at the 

small end, and no hardwood logs less than 9; in. are included; the topdiameters actually used averaged larger than these minima. All figures are 

net, as necessary deductions have been made for cull because of fire scar, rot, 

crook, limbiness, etc., as well as for loss in manufacture due to sweep and 

hidden defects. 

Using the International &inch rule, which closely approximates green 

lumber tally, the total volume is 9,711 million board feet; or, according to 

the Doyle rule, which is used locally (although it gives an understatement because of the large preponderance of small trees in the stand), the total volume 

is 6,279 million board feet. Approximately 61 percent of the total saw-timber 

volume is pine, using the lumber tally as a basis, and the greater part of the 

pine volume is loblolly (table L). Hardwoods make up 39 percent of the total 

saw-timber volume, the principal species being gums, oaks, znd yellow poplar. 
- ... . . . ... ... SHORTLEAF. LONGLEAF. LOBLOLLI AND 

... . . . . 

. 

... 

. . . . AND SLASH PINES OTHER PINES . . . 

... . ... . . ... . . . 

"r 

b 

Lu 

rn 

2 4 6 8 10 I2 14 16 I8 208UP 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 I8 208UP 

DIAMETER -CLASSES ( INCHES j V 

SOFT-TEXTURED HARDWOODS FIRM -TEXTURED HDWCS 

(GUMS.YELLOW POPLAR,ETC.) (OAKS.HICKORIES,ETC 

2 4 6 8 10 I2 14 16 18 ZObUP 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 I8 208UP 

I 

! DIAMETER -CLASSES ( INCHES > 

FIGURE 5.- STAND DIAGRAMS OF SOUND TREES. 
Approximately half the white-oak -~olume listed is in the more valuable species 

such as forked-leaf white oak, while the other half is chiefly post oak. For 

all pine and hardvjood species combined, almost three-fourths of the saw-timber 

volume is in second-growth st,ands. 

Table 4. - lint board-foot volume (areen lwnber tally. based on International 

;-inch rule) in the various forest condftions. 1935 

I I I I I I 

------- Thousand board feet - - - - - - - d Percen' 

Pines : 

I \ I I~roport;~ 

Tree species-group 

Loblolly pine 283,100 209,200 2,943,600 134,100 3,570,000 36.7 

Shortleaf pine 73,800 105,300 949,800 55,300 1,184,200 12.2 

Longleaf and slash pines 58,500 273,400 194,700 94,300 920,900 9.5 

Other 29,900 69,800 130,800 10,100 240,600 2.5 

Old growth 

Total pines 445,300 657,700 4,518,900 293,800 5,115,700 60.9 

Second growth 

Uncut 

Hardwoods: 

Red gim 100,700 137,800 486,800 16,500 714,800 7.7 

 lack and tupelo 

@"'a 68,000 127,400 234,700 17,600 447,700 L.6 

Yellow poplar 32,100 74,300 373,700 8,500 488,600 5.0 

Other soft-textured 

hardwoods/ 83,900 149,000 211,1~00 14,600 458,600 4.7 

Red oaks 90,600 213,000 403,500 33,200 760,300 7.9 

ilhite oaks 42,4.00 122,900 160,900 18,200 344,400 3.5 

Other firm otured 

hardwoods4 , -j~ -- 70,900 210,400 249,200 26,400 556,900 5.7 

Partly 

cut 

Total hardvioods 488,600 1,054,800 2,119,900 135,000 3,792,300 39.1 

Total all 

Sawlog 

size 

species 933,900 1,712,500 6,638,800 428,800 9,714,000 100.0 

Percent of total 9.6 17.6 68.3 4.5 100.0 

L/ Includes 24,800 M board feet in t!le reproduction and clear-cut conditio~.s. 

- 2/ Includes cedar. 

3/ Bassv~ood, bay, box older, cottonr~ood, cypress, majpolia, na~le, io: etc. 

4/ Ash, beech, birch, elm, hackberry, hickory, sycamore, etc. 

- 

Under 

Figure 6, 1.1hich indicates the proportional area and gross volume per 

acre of saw-timber stands, classified according to volume of saw timber per 

acre, shows that most of the stands in the sav:log-size conditions have volunes 

thzt greatly exceed the minimum per acre required for logging. 

Total of 

total 
~~055 VOLUMEPER-ACRE CLASS BD.FT. GREEN LUMBER 

TALLY PERCENT 0 5 10 15 20 25 3 0 3 5 

I I I I 1 I I 

137.100 THAN1OOACRES 1 j I 1 i I 

~E~:os,eoo M sD.Fr. ~ 

231. 100 ACRES 

3,000 TO 3.999 a03. 00 u 80 FT 

421.800 ACRFS 

100,600 ACRES 

4":3?, *OTDOM='2O9PT 

I 

I AREA ~ 

VOLUME ' 

, OCO ro 999 63. soc u 60 F T . F- zzI3 

103. 100 ACRES 

10,000 AND OVER , , 

l.30l.400 M BOFT ?' : " 

A-PINE AND PINE -HARDWOOD TYPES (1.74e.000~~~~~) 

GROSS VOLUMEPER-ACRE CLASS 

bD. FT GREEN LUMWR PERCENT 

TALLY 

32.OW ACRES 

LESS THAN 1.000 24.zrn u BOFT. 

I4O.PW ACRES 

1,000 TO 1.999 228.4M U BDFT. 

145.20-2 ACRES 

2900 TO 2,999 

39,700 U B0.FT. 

114. OW ACRES 

3,000 TO 3.999 

391,000 M -0. FT. 

7s. e00 ACnE5 

4.000 TO 4,999 

354,WO U BDFT. 

30.700 ACRES 

10,000 AN0 OVER 492.600 U BD FT !bk,,l j I 

0- UPLAND- hARDWOOD AND BOTTOM LAND-HARDWOOD TYPES ( 731. a00 ACRES ) 

FIGURE 6. - PROPORTIONAL AREA AND VOLUME OF THE SAWLOG-SIZE 

CONDITIONS, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO VOLUME OF SAW TIMBER 

PER ACRE. 
Considering the pine and pine-hardwood tj-pe-groups con5ined fci~iirt A), 

about one-third of the saw-timber area but only one-tenth of The vol.ume is in 

stands of less than 2,000 board feet per acre; it follows that about two-thirds 

of the area and nine-tenths of the volume are in stands having at least 2,000 

board feet per acre. For the upland hardwood and bottom--land hardwood types 

combined (chart B), about three-fourths of the saw-timber area and over ninetenths of the saw-timber volume are in stands having 2,000 board feet or more 

per acre. Although some error is possible in the interpretation of the first 

class (less than 1,000 board feet), owing to the fact that the data were takec 

1 on x-acre plots, the combined figures for the first two classes show a reasonably accurate picture. 

Although lumber and veneer producers in this area usc.cr1ly consider pines 

less than 13 in. d.b.h. and hardwoods less than 19 in. d,b,h, as somelvhat undesirable for manufacturing purposes, over one-third of the pine saw-timber 

volume and over half of the hardwood saw-timber volume are in trees below these 

minimum sizes (table 5). 

Table 5. - Diameter distribution of net board-foot volume (grzen lumber tally, 

based on International a-inch rule) in the various forest conditions, 1935 

- - - - - - - Thousand board feet - - - - - - - Percent 

Species-gronps 

and 

diameter-classes 

(in inches) 

Pines : 

10 - 12 39,600 110,100 1,970,100 204,100 2,324,100 39.3 

14 - 16 88,300 195,800 1,524,000 67,500 1,875,600 31.7 

18 - 20 121,400 150,800 674,300 16,100 962,600 16.3 

22 and over 196,000 201,000 150,500 5,900 753,400 12.7 

Total pines &5,300 657,700 &,I '18,900 233,800 5,915,700 100.0 

Hardwoods: 

- 2/l/* - l$ 187,500 456,700 1,151,500 110,800 2,208,500 58.2 

20 - 28 219,000 523,100 632,500 24,200 1,396,800 36.8 

30 and over 82,100 75,000 31,900 - 191,000 5.0 

Old groxth 

Total hardwoods 488,600 1,054,800 2,119,900 115,000 1,798,300 100.0 

Includes 24,800 M board feet in the reproduction and clear-cut. conditions. 

Includes 21,700 M board feet of cypress in the 10- and 12-5nch classes. 

Uncut 

Having developed in open stands, many of the saw-timber trees are of relatjvely low quality. The Forest Survey, in a supplemental study, classified 

the pine trees, according to the appearance of their stems, as nsmooth,ll 

"linby," and "rough." As shown by table 6, nore than half the loblolly and 

shortleaf pine saw-timber volune is in limbg and rough tree-. The old-growth 

trees are much better suited for lumber than the second growth, which is characterized by old-field stands. 

Partly 

cut 

Second growt,h 

Total 

Satwlog 

size 

Proportion 

of 

total 

Under 

sawlog 

size!/ 
Table 6. - Classification of pines according to grade of trees 

of saw-timber quality 

- I 

Species and 

stand condition 

Weighted average 40 45 15 100 

shortleaf pine: 

Old growth 98 2 .- 100 

Second growth 49 40 11 100 

Smooth 

Weighted average 5 6 14 10 100 

Tree 

I I 

Loblolly and Shortleaf pines: 

Old growth 95 5 - 100 

Second growth 36 48 16 100 

Total 

- - - - - - - - Percent of volume - - - - - - - ~oblolly pine : 

old growth 94 6 - 100 

Second growth 31 51 18 100 

Limby 

Weighted average 44 12 14 100 

i/ Smooth trees have 20 ft. or more of clear length and at least 50 percent of their total usable length practically free of limbs and indications 

of knots; limby trees have at least 12 ft, of clear length and 30 to 49 

percent of their total usable length practically free of limbs and indications of knots; rough trees have less than 12 ft. of clear length, or less 

than 30 percent of their total usable length practically free of limbs and 

knots. 

Rough 

Cordwood Volume 

The entire usable volume of wood in all live trees 5.0 in. d.b.h. 

and larger, sawlog-size trees included, is over 54 million standard cords 

(4 x 4 x 8 ft.), including bark (table 7). Almost three-fourths of this is 

in pulping species, while one-fourth is in species usually considered nonpulping. Of the 40 million cords in pulping species, almost 22 million are in 

pine; and the remainder is in soft-textured hardwoods such as gum, yellor! pop 

lar, maple, magnolia, bay, and cypress. Oak, hickory, ash, elm, and beech 

which are mostly firm textured, are usually considered "nonpulping," although 

in the future some of these may be considered as a source of pulp. All the 

volumes mentioned herein are net, since necessary deductions have been made 

for unusable volumes. 

In table 7, four sources of cordwood material are shown. Volumes in the 

first column include the sawlog portion of saw-timber trees shown in cords - 

this is the material given in the preceding section in board feet - and make 

up 41 percent of the usable cordwood from all sources. The second column includes the material above the sawlogs in saw-timber trees to a usable top, the 

minimum allowable top diameter never being less than 4 in. In pines the upper 

stems only are considered usable, while in hardwoods and cypress both the 
.jpper stems and larger limbs arc Ir?cluded; J: ..~sfi~ they contain I./ percent of 

the total cordwood volume. In "sand trees uil::ai. sawlog size," the full stems 

only (without limbs) are included up to a variable minimum top diameter but never less than L+ in.; this makes cp 29 percent of the volume from all sources. 

"C~l1 trees" include the usable portions of cull trees and all scrub oaks; 

volume in such trees, most of which are hardwoods, is almost 9 million cords, 

or 16 percent of the total usable cordwood material. 

Table 7. - Net cordwood volume in various classes of sound m~terial, - 1935 

Pines 13,068,900 2,574,800 L,930,200 1,199,900 21,773,700 - 

Species-group 

Hardwoods: 

Soft-textwed 5,251,6012 2,823,100 6,327,900 3,786,600 18,192,200 

Firm-textured 4,026,&00 2,276,500 4,190,LOO 3,714,000 1L,207,300 

Total hardwoods 9,281,000 5,099,600 10,518,300 7,500,600 32,399,500 

- - - - - - - - Cords (brrk included) - - - - - - - - 

Total all species 22,319,800 7,6'74,4OO 15,448,500 8,700,500 54,171,200 

l-/ Includes all scrub oaks. 

Sound trees sawlog 

size 

Approximately two-thirds of the net cordwood volume of sound trees, cull 

trees omitted, is in ~a~~~log-size trees (fig. 7). 

Sovnd trees 

under sawlog size Sawlog 

material 

MILLION CORDS 

SPECIES- TREE 0 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 

GROUP OIAUETFRCLASS 

(I*cxr,, 1 6.0 I 

Upper 

stems 

PINES 10 L 12 

Cull 

ti-eesv 

........................... 14 6 LARGER ............. .............. ............. .............. 

.............. ............. 

- 

Total 

all 

classes 

FIRM - qa,m., 12 

TEXTURED 

HARDWOODS 14 6 LARGER 

MI\TERIAL TOO SMALL MATERIAL 1N SAW-LOG 

FOR LUMBER MATERIAL IN UPPER PORTION OF TREES STEMS AND LIMBS 

FIGURE 7.-CORDWOOD VOLUMES BY SIZE CLASSES, SOUND TREES ONLY. 
Of the 54 million cords in the total cordvtood volume, about 40 million 

are in the volume that constitutes the growing stock; the remaining 14 million 

cords are in cull trees and in the upper stems and limbs of sawlog-size hard 

woods and cypress that are not included in the growing stock. The average cordwood volumes of growing stock per acre (as computed by dividing the total volmes by the corresponding forest areas) vary greatly with the forest condition 

and type-group, as shown in table 8. 

Table 8. - Average volumes of cordwood per acre in 

growing-stock trees, 1935 

Old growth 

Pine 27.5 12.6 14.8 10.0 3.0 8.5 

Pine-hardwood 30.8 16.9 16.1 11.9 3.4 10.1 

Upland hardwood 13.3 12.2 12.2 9.3 2.4 6.3 

Bottom-land hardwood 21.6 17.1 17.0 14.1 6.8 13.7 

Second growth 

Forest type-group 

Weiehted - 

averages, all types 24.0 14.9 15.3 11.0 3.4 9.4 

&/ Includes areas of reproduction and clear-cut conditions. 

- - - - - - - Cords (bark includd - - - - - - - - 

Poles and piles 

- 

Almost 12 million pine trees in southeast Alabama are suitable for conversion into poles and piles (table 9). Although these trees are included in 

previous volume estimates, the premium in stumpage price usually paid for trees 

suitable for poles and piles justifies a separate inventory. While it is difficult to judge accurately whether or not standing trees will meet the exacting 

specifications of the American Standards Association for poles, the present 

estimate of poles and piles is believed to be conservative and probably is under 

the actual number on the area. Three-fourths of the poles and piles are in 

loblolly and shortleaf pines; the remainder is in round or turpentined longleaf 

and slash pines. Over four-fifths of the pieces are in trees less than 13.0 

in. d.b.h., outside bark; also, most of the pieces are 20 and 25 ft. long and 

are too short for many commercial uses. A growing tendency to use shorter poles 

is noted in rural areas, however, especially since the establishment of activities such as the Rural Electrification Agency and the Tennessee Valley 

Authority. 

uncut 

A1 I 

conditionsl/ 

P:iE1y 

- 

Sawlog size 

Partly Uncut cut 

Under 

sawlog 

size 
Table 9. - Total number of pine poles and piles, classified according to 

I enct,h, 1935 

Loblolly and shortleaf pines?/ 6,201 1,839 766 8,806 74.9 

Round longleaf and slash pines 1,671 556 153 2,380 20.3 

Turpentined longleaf and slash 

pines 378 166 18 5 62 4.8 

Species 

Total all species 8,250 2,561 917 11,748 100.0 - 

Percent of total 70.2 21.8 8.0 100.0 

I/ Includes a few other pines and also cedars. 

---... ---- Thousand pieces - - - - F 

Percent 

Forest Increment 

Pole and pile length 

(feet) 

Net annual increment is defined as the difference between the growingstock volume at the beginning and the end of any year, before the commodity 

drain for the same year is deducted, It is the volume added by growth to the 

individual trees, plus the merchantable volume newly created by small trees 

developing into merchantable sizes, and minus mortality. For trees cut during 

the year, only their growth until the time of their removal is included. 

Neither the volume in cull trees nor that in the upper stems and limbs of sawlog-size hardwoods and cypress is considered growing-stock material. 

Total 20 

and 

25 

For the saw-timber part of the growing stock, the total growth in 1935 

amounted to 641 million boa~d feet (lumber tally); the mortality, 90 million 

board feet; and the resulting net increment, 551 million board feet. A large 

part of the mortality is caused either directly or indirectly by fires; if 

these and the resulting mortality were reduced, there would be a corresponding 

increase in the net increment. Approximately nine-tenths of the net increment 

of saw-timber material occurs in second-growth stands, and about two-thirds of 

it is pine (table 10). 

1 

Proportior, 

of 

total 

For all growing-stock material, including trees to a minimum of 5.0 in. 

d.b.h. as well as those of saw-timber size, the net increment in 1935 amounted 

to 142 million cubic feet of wood without bark (table lo), or 2 million cords 

of wood with bark (table 11). Fifty-nine percent of the net cubic-foot increment for all growing-stock material was in pine and 41 percent was in hardwoods. 

Probably more than half the net hardwood increment was in soft-textured species. 

30 

and 

35 

40 

and 

over 
! Table 10. - Net increment in the various forest conditions, 1935 

- - Thousand board feet - - - Thousand cubic feet - - 

(Green lwnber tally) (Inside bark) 

19,800 38,900 58,700 4,310 9,740 14,050 

r( 

Forest condition 

Second growth : 

Sawlog size 251,500 126,300 377,800 50,360 33,460 81,820 

[Inder sawlog size 84,500 29,000 113,500 28,810 14,620 43 ,430 

Reproduction and clearcut 1,200 200 1,400 340 360 700 

/ 

~otal all conditions 357,000 19l+,l+OO 551,400 83,820 58,180 142,000 

Includes cypress. 

Saw-timber material 

Table 11. - Net increment in cords classified according to forest 

condition, 1935 

Pine 

component 

All growingstock material 

I , -- . 

Forest condition Pine 1 ~ardwood I Total 

Pine 

component 

------ Cords (including bark) - - - - - - 

!/ 

Hardwood 

component 

Old growth 55,700 14.4,600 200,300 

Total 

1/ 

Iiardwood 

component 

second growth: 

Sawlog size 661,400 510,600 1,172,000 

Uud-r sawlog size 393,500 229,800 623,300 

Reproduction and clear-cut 4,500 5,600 10,100 

Total 

Total all conditions 1,115,100 890,600 2,005,700 

Includes cypress. 

In 1935, the average net increment per acre for the entire forest area 

(i.e., including the reproduction and clear-cut areas), assuming that the 

stands had not been influenced by cutting, was 131 board feet of saw-timber 

material, or 0.48 cord of all growing-stock material (table 12); these averages are slightly higher than the comparable figures for the State. The 

largest incrsments per acre occurred in the uncut sawlog-size second-growth 

Stands. 
Table 12. - -. Averas-, net increment per acre in the various forest conditionfi 

uninfluenced by cutting, 1935 

~\ 

Total per acre 

Forest condition Pine component Bardr~ood componont all specie; 

-------- Bd.ft. Cu.ft. Cords Ed.ft. Cu.ft. Cords Bd.ft. C~.ft. Cords 

Old .gro.::th: 

Uncut 58 9.4 0.17 100 28.7 0 158 38.1 0.5~ 

Partly cut 38 9.2 0.12 75 17.5 .26 113 26.7 0.38 

Second growth: 

Sawlog size: 

Uncut 165 33.8 0.45 68 19.3 0.29 233 53.1 0.71 

Partly cut 85 5 0.21 59 13.9 0.21 14 29.7 0.~2 

Under sawlog size 5'1 19.9 0.27 0 10.0 0.16 77 29.9 0.~3 

Rep-oduction and 

clear-cut 3 1.0 0.01 1 1 .I 0.02 4 2. 0.03 

Weighted averages 85 202 0.26 -6 13.7 2 131 33.9 0.48 

Includes cypress. 

Forest Industries 

Southeast Alabama was settled early in the nineteenth century at a time 

when there were no important markets lor its forest products. Agricultural development isms rapid and, with the exception of that in Butler and a few other 

counties, much of the original forest was cut and bcrned to provide cropland. 

Although transportation facilities 5j railroad and steamboat were available 

before 1'260, only a relatively few sa):~;:mil?s were located here before the World 

\far. Within the last three decades, ho,:~ever, a large number of small sa~.mills 

have come into this area, and largely because of their zreat activity a peak 

of lumber production probably was reached about 1925. 

In 1937 southeast Alabama produced 431 million board feet of lumber, 

about 25 percent of the total production for the State. That gear the area 

contained 421 sawnills, of which 396 had a cutting capacity of less than 20,000 

board feet per 10-hour day (fig. 8 and table 13). Powered bj tractors, small 

steam engines, stationary motors, or old automobile engines, these "peckerviood" 

outfits are extremely mobile and when market conditions are favorable they coms 

and go like swarms of locusts. In L,ee Co7an.ty, for example, there were in 1929 

about 35 small sahmills, in 1930 less than half of these remained, and in 1937 

there were about 21. Generally several small saimills scattered through the 

woods are operated in connection with one concentration yard and planing mill. 

The chief product is pine "roofers" I-inch, air-dried, surfaced boards, generally taken as log run and grading principally CIo. 2 cornon. llhilc the amo~nt 

of lumber cut in 1937 by these small savmills vari.ed greatly, their average production was 750,000 board feet and their total production was 296 million board 

feet, or 69 percent of all the imber produced that year in so~theast Alabama. 
FOREST INDUSTRIES 

IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA 

PREPARED BY FOREST SURVEY 

SOUTHERN FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION 
Table 13. - Number and size of sawmills and amount of lunber produced, 1937 

1 - 19 (small) 396 280,000 16,000 296,000 

20 - 39 (mediun-sized) 22 30,500 69,900 100,400 

4O.C (large) 3 31,700 2,700 . 34,400 

Daily (10-hours) 

rated capacity 

Total 421 342,200 88,600 430,800 

1/ From stands both within and without this area. 

FIGURE 9.-LUMBER PRODUCTION IN MILLION BOARD FEET,BY COUNTIES, 1937. 

- 22 - 

Thousand board feet -Thousand board feet (lunber tally)-- 

Number 

of 

sawmill s 

Lunber produced,l/ 1937 

Pine 

Hardwood 

and 

cypress 

- 

Total 
With an average annual cut per mill of almost 5 million board feet of 

lumber, the 22 medium-sized sawmills i.. mills with a daily rated capacity 

of 20,000-39,000 board feet) had a total production in 1937 of over 100 million board feet, of which more than two-thirds was hardwood. These mills, 

&ich are relatively stationary, produce a variety of lumber items. Only three 

sa~,mills have an individual capacity of at least 40,000 board feet per day, but 

in 1937 these three produced a total of more than 34 million board feet. 

As shown by figure 9, the lumber industry in both Butler and Chilton 

Counties produced 40 million board feet or more in 1937, whereas Bullock, 

Chambers, Coffee, Henry, and Macon Counties each produced less than 10 million. 

In 1937, in addition to the 421 sawmills in the area, there were 11 

veneer mills, 8 handle- and dimension-stock plants, 1 cooperage-stock mill, 1 

wood-treating plant, and about 17 naval-stores stills. (In addition, there are 

some shingle mills, mostly small and cutting principally for local use; these 

are not shown on the industry map.) Most of the veneer produced was for 

packaging and was made from red and black gums, yellow poplar, pine, and magnolia. The handle plants used ash, white oak, and hickory; and the dimension 

plants used dagwood, ash, hickory, and hackberry. The naval-stores stills produced almost 5,000 barrels of turpentine and about 16,000 barrels of rosin 

(valued at about one-quarter million dollars) from the gum of living longleaf 

and slash pines. Approximately 1,209,000 cords of fuel wood and 3 million 

fence posts were produced, mostly for use on the farms of the area. 

Table 14. - Wood-products employment, 1937 

Industry or commodity 

- Thousand man-days (10 hours each) - 

Sawmil 1 s : 

Smal I 3LO 555 895 

Medium 1 26 193 31 9 

T-arge 37 73 11 0 

Total sawmills 5 03 821 1,324 

I 

Fuel wood 1,408 .- 1,408 

Gum naval stores 89 5 94 

~ul~woodA/ 103 - 103 

Veneer and cooperage 22 43 65 ! 

Cross ties, poles, and piles 53 - 53 

Miscellaneous manufacturingz/ 11 2& 3 5 , . Fence posts 49 - 1,9 i ! 

Total all industries 2,238 893 3,131 

I/ All the pulpwood produced in the unit is shipped to mills outside. 

2/ Includes treating plants and shuttle, handle, dimension, and shingle 

pi ants. 

Employment 

In woods At plants Total 
All forest, iniiustrie; combined provided 3 milllon days of 'work (10 hoGr, 

each) in 1937. Slightly less than half of this labor was devoted to the cutti- "g and hauling of file: wood and fence posts, mainly for farm use (table 14). ~t is 

difficult to estimate accurately how many people were employed in the forestproducts plants and in the woods, for most of the inchtries operated only pa,ttime, but excluding the labor involved in producing fuel wood and fence posts, 

it is roughly estimated that betwesn 15,000 and 20,000 people had full or parttime employment in the r~oods and mills. 

Coinmodity Drain from the Growing Stock 

In 1937, the net increment was 55% million board feet, Pmber tally, 

after deducting mortality, while for the same year, as shown by table 15, the 

commodity drain from saw-timber material for industrial and domestic use, 

amounted to 570 million board feet. This commodity drain also includes logs 

cut for mills outside the area and the saw-timber material wasted in logging. 

More than three-fourths of the commodity drain from saw-timber material comes 

from pine; less than one-fourth, from the hard1,voods and cypress. Lmber, which 

makes up 75 percent of the total commodity drain from saw-timber material, is 

by far the biggest single item; but other important items of drain are fcel 

viood (10 percent), cross ties (4 percent), and pulpwood (4 percent). 

Table 15. - Convodity drain from the sound-tree growing stock, 1937 

From saw-timber material From all growing- Reason for drain 

s Lock material 

Pine 

- - Thousand board feet - - Cords 1/ , Thousand 

(lumber tally) Fz?7' 

Lumber 345,800 81,900 427,700 995,600 76,230 

Fuel woou 42,500 14,400 56,900 523,400 37,460 

Pulpwood 22,200 - 22,200 95,400 7,220 

Veneer ,and 

cooperage 3,000 12,200 15,200 2'3,800 2,290 

Cross ties 17,100 4,400 21,500 51,600 3,950 

Miscellaneous 

manufacturing 400 1,200 1,600 4,900 - 

360 

Poles and piles 1,500 1,500 5,600 430 

Fence posts 100 1,500 1,600 24,900 1, 730 

Miscellaneous farm use 13,600 a, 000 21,600 119,300 8 ,&90 

Total lkb6,200 G/ - 123,600 569,800 1,850,500 138,160 

lf Outside bark, or bark included. 

Inside bark, or bark not included. 

3/ Material cu.t on farms makes up over half the fuel-wood drain. 

4/ Includes cypress. 
In 1937, the total commodity drain from the sound-tree growing stock 1 ,mounted to almost 2 million cords of v~ood, including the bark, or 138 

cubic feet of wood, excluding the bark. This total commodity drain includes drain of saw-timber material, upper stems of sa>,~log-size pines, and small trees 

below sawlog size but not less than 5.0 in. d.b.h. It also includes growing stock cut for plants outside the area and the material wanted in 

opera- tions. Of the total comnoditj drain expressed in cords, lumber makes up 54 percent; fuel wood, 28 percent; miscellaneous farm use, 6 percent; pulpwood, 5 percent; and all other comnodities, 7 percent. The total commodity drain, allocated to the commodities for which the trees were cut, is shovm in table 15. 

Comparison of Increment and Drain 

For a 3-year period, Jan. 1, 1935 - Dec. 31, 1937, after making additions for growth and deductions for mortality and commodity drains, the growing stock volume in cubic feet of sound trees 5.0 in. d.b.h, and over was 

found to have increased about 2 percent (table 16). As show graphically in 

figure 10, while the gross growth increased gradually from 1935 to 1937, the 

drain increased more rapidly than the growth, so that in 1937 the two were approaching a balance. Practically all the increase in drain for the 3 years occurred in industrial and domestic use. Although during 1937 "incomes" (increment) and "withdrawals" (drain) were nearly equal, this condition is not per- ! 

manent, for drain for such products as lumber, pulpwood, cross ties, etc. easily 

may be increased to the point at which drain exceeds growth. Mortality drain, 

i.e., the loss due to fire, insects, wind, etc., makes up about one-fifth the 

total drain. Much of this mortality is preventable through fire protection and 

improvement cuttings, and it is apparent that a reduction in mortality would 

bring abor~t a more favorable relationship between growth and drain. This 

~ould provide more material for industrial and commercial use and for building 

up the grov~ing stock. 

In 1935 and 1936, saw-timber growth exceeded the drain against it (table 

17 and fig. ll), but during 1937 the rapidly increasing drain exceeded the 

growth by approximately 12 million board feet. If only one-seventh of the mortality had been prevented in 15137, the growth would have bzlance2 the drain. 

It should be remembered when deallng %ith growti: and drain in southeast 

Alabama that, for 1935, 1436, and 1937 each amounts to not more than 7 percent 

of the growing stock, and that normal fluctuations in the grovith an2 drair! 

would change the groiving stock very little. For the entire 3-year porioe ending Jan. 1, 1938, the saw-timber cornpollent of the growing stock increased approximately 2 percent. 

Although the voPi~ve of the saw-tirnber growing stock increased slightly 

in the past 3 years, its quality has been 1or)ered steadily (a) by woods 

burning, which increases the number of cull and defective trees, and (b) by the 

practice of cutting only the larger, good trees and leaving the poorer trees 

to accumulate. In the hnrdwood stands, deteri~ation of quality has been 

accelerated by cutting only the more valuable species, such as forked-leaf 

white oak, yellow poplar, and ash, and by leaving in the growing stock a 

steadily increaslng proportion of the less oaiuable species, amocg which are 

black gum, post oak, bay, and elm. 
Table 16. - Comparison of growth and drain for the entire grow in^ stock 

for 1935, 1936, and 1937 

- 

Item 1 pine ~ardl,?,oodu 1 Total 

- 

--- Thocsand cGSic feet (i.S.) - - - % 

Mat growing shck, Jan. 1, 1935 1,563,250 1,301,600 2,366,850 

Growth, 1935 

EIortalitg, 1935 

Net increment, 1935 

Commodity drain, 1935 

Net change in groviing stock, 1935 +370 +30,630 +31,000 

Net growing stock, Jan. 1, 1936 1,563,620 1,334,230 2,297,850 

Growth, 1936 103,590 73,150 176,740 

Mortality, 1936 16,890 11,070 30.960 

Met increment, 1936 86,700 59,080 11+5,780 

Commodity drain: 1936 92,200 32,120 124,320 

Net change in growing stock, 1936 -5,500 ~26,960 ~21,460 

Wst growing stock, Jan. 1, 1937 1,558,120 1,361,190 2,919,310 

Gro'?:th, 1937 

Mortality, 1937 

Met increment, 1937 

Conmoditj drain: 1937 

1Iet c!lange in growing stock, 1937 -17,220 +26,450 ~9,230 

Net growing stocli, Jan. 1, 1938 1, ?LO, 900 1,387,640 2,928,540 

2 I/ Includes cypress. 
FIGURE /C.-COMPARISON OF GROWTH AND DRAIN FOR THE ENTIRE GROWING STOCK. 
Table 17. - Comparison of grov~th and drain Eor the saw-l-,imber component 

of the growing stock for 1935, 1.936, and 1937 

Itern 

Saw-timber part of the 

growing stock 

Pine 1 Hardwoodu Total 

.- - . - Thousand board feet - - - - 

ilwnber tally) 

Net gro,:~ing stock, Jan. 1, 1935 5,915,700 3,795,300 9,714,000 

Growth, 1935 413,800 227,300 641,100 

Mortality, 1935 56,800 32,900 59,700 

iiet increment, 1935 35'7,000 194,400 551,400 

Comodity drain, 1935 335,100 89,200 424,300 

Net change in gro;:ing stock, 1935 1k2:I ,900 t105,200 +1?7,100 

Bet growing stock, Jan. I, 1936 5,937,600 3,903,500 9,841,100 

Grouth, 1936 41 8,400 730,400 61+5,800 

?.lortality, 1936 55,200 34,000 92.200 

Net increment, 1936 360,200 196,400 556,600 

Comodity drain, 1936 383,9O,O 135,l+00 499,300 

Net change in growillg stock, 1936 -23,700 tR1,000 +57,300 

Net grov~ing stoclr, Jan. 1, 1937 5,9i3,900 3,984,500 9,898,400 

Ch-ov~th, 1937 41 8,200 233,400 651,600 

P.lortality, 1937 59,100 34,900 94,000 

increrzent, 1937 359,100 198,500 557,600 

Commodity drain, 1937 446,200 123,600 569,800 

IJe-t change in growing stock, 1937 -3'7,:lOO k74,900 -12,200 

Ilet groc.ing stock, Jan. I, 1938 5,826,800 4,059,400 9,886,200 

1/ Includes cypress. 

2/ Based on International $-inch rule. 
Summary of the Forest Situation 

Forests ere valuable to the extent that they enrich the lives of people. 

The Forest Survey data are given by this report in such a way as to enable the 

reader to evaluate for himself the importance of the forest and to evolve plans 

to make this resource contribute more fully to -the public 

Southeast Alabama, one of the oldest cgricultural areas of the south, 

presents a rolling surface with light soils, often severely sroded. since cotton, the principal cash crop, no longer can be depended upon to give adequate 

economic support, new incustries and greater soilrces of income are urgently 

needed. Over 42 million acres, or almost half the total area of 9 million 

acres, is classed as forest land. Only 3 percent of the forest area is in 

public ownership, while 56 percent is in farm woodlands and 4.1 percent is in 

pivately owned non-fzrm forests. 

Loblolly, shortleaf, longleaf, and other pines, and gms, oaks, and 

yellow poplar are the principal species; pine and pine-hardn,ood are the most 

prevalent forest type-groups. Sawlog-size second-growth stands cover almost 

half the forest area; under-satvlog-size second-growth stands make up twothirds of the remainder. Old growth occupies only 11 percent; reproduction and 

clear-cut conditions combined, less than 8 percent. 

Site quality, or the timber-producing capacity of the soils, averages 

medium to good, and the proportion of the better sites is higher than the average for similar forest types in other Forest Surve2 units of Alabama. The forest stands are so poorly stocked, however, owing to the prevalence of fire and 

to cuttine, that the volumes per acre of the average iorest stand are only onethird to one-half of the volume that could be expected under better care and 

management, as shown by the volumes found on the most heavily stocked 10 percent 

of the stands (fig. 4). 

Most of the stands are young, i.e., less than 50 years old, and most of 

the trees are in tile 2-, 4 6-, and 8-inch diameter-classes. 

The forest inventory showed almost 10 billion boar2 fe~t, lumber tally, 

of saw-timber material, mostly second growth. Much of this, however, xas in 

trees less than 15 in. d.b.h. and in trees that were limby and rough. For 

the pine and pine-hardwood types, almost nine-tenths of the volume in sawtimber stands stood at the rate of 2,000 board feet or more per acre. 

Considering all usable material, both saw timber and non-saw timber, in 

trees 5 in. d.b.h. and larger, the inventory was over 54 million cords, of 

which 22 million were ir. pines, IS million in puiping. hardwoods, and 14 million 

in nonpulping hardwoods. 

Usable material in sound and rotten cull trees amounted to almost 9 million cords. Approximately half the net cordwood volume of souncl lrees (culls 

omitted) was in trees 13.0 in. d.b.h. and larger. Although only three-fourths 

of the total usable cordwood volume was included in the groxing stock, the 

entire forest area, all conditions combined, had ,an average volume per acre 

of 9.L cords of growing-stock material. Included in the inventory figures are 

almost 12 million pine trees suitable for conversion into poles and piles. 
Mcny forest industries, incl~~ding 421 ~3%I?ill~, 11 veneer nillc, 2nd 10 

other wood-Products plants (mostly small), were fo~md in ccutheast AlaLcLnc 

1937. Second on* to agrlc~lt~~re, the forest-prodccts industries both in the 

.:ioods and in the mil!s provided 3 nillion man-days of emplopent. Lumber, pGSl 

~r;ood, and pulpviood were the most inportant items of commoditjr drain for ind1zctrial and domestic use. p1o pulp mill is located vithin southeast Alabama, but 

pulp mills in adjacent sections of Alabama and Florida draw p~lp~~ood from many 

parts of this area. According to one authority,l/ VJOO~ economically accessibls 

to a pulp nil1 inclc.i-.s timber within LO miles or a pulp or paper mill, or, 

c.ithin 12 mil~es of a railroad (allo~ving pulpv~ood rates) and not over approximately 200 miles froni the mill, and within 12 miles of water transportation to 

3 mill. " 

From Jan. 1, 1935, to Oec. 31, 1937, the volume of the growing stock in 

trees 5.0 inches d.b.h. and larger experienced a slight increase since grov~th 

exceeded drain. In 1937, the growth and drain for all species combined were 

almost equal; while pines showed a decrease, hardwoods increased. 

In 1937, the say!-timber component of the growing stock, all species combined, -as reduced I? mil~lion board feet because drain exceeded growth. If the 

mortality drain had been reduced and the growth had been increased by fire protection and stand-improvement cuttings, this loss might not have occ~rred. For 

the 3-year period ending Dec. 31, 1937, the saw-timber growing-stock volme increased slightly. 

So pooriy stocked are the forest stands that fire protection and other 

good foirest-nanagenent practices r.ndoubtedly would increase the growth, SLI~ it 

?:.ill be some tine before grovling stock can be developed sufficientljr to utilize 

fully the high productivi-ty possible under the conditions of climate and forest 

soils found here. Although forest ~ra;~th and drain are now approximately equal 

forest industries in southeast 63abama could be expanded as and if steps are 

taken to increa-se the ann~:~a-I increment. Any expansion of the uses of forest 

raw materials, hvi:ever, should be ad;justed to the increased groiLlth expect.ed, 

the material in cull trees, thai salvaged fron tllinnings, and that saved througl 

the reduction of fire losses. 

Measures liecessarg to Improve the Sik~ation 

Uith only 3 percent of the forest in public ovmershLp and v:ith aboct 

39,000 different private oumers, many of vhom neglect their forests and are not 

skilled in even the elements of good forest management, the problem of getting 

good forestry practices adopted throughout the area is difficult b~lt not inpossible. Today, in traveling through southeast Alabama, one is impressed with 

the large nunbe; of nev:ly terraced fields, the wide use of cover and soilbuilding crops, and -the developing ca-ttle and dairy inductries. All these recent inprovements owe their existence largely to publicly directed extension 

t:ork. Forestry an? agricu:l.%ure, with much in common, can be taught Sy approximately the same methods. 

.- 

1/ Earl Porter, Southern Fine Forestry !lotes, No. 54, March 1939. 

Dept. of Conservation, Southern Fine Ass'n., New Or1 eans, La. 
Making personal contacts >with individual forest oiAmers, sitting up i;.: 

demonstration areas, and sample marking not onCJ will build up a cons~iousne~s 

and appreciation of good forestry practice and its possibilities but will 

train individual ormers in fire protection , thinning, imp-ovement cctting, 

selective logging, careful utilization, and other steps necessary for sovnd 

forest management. If forestry-extension agencies first upon 

the larger properties (17 percent of the number of ownerships), the area involved will be almost two-thirds of the total. It is fundamental, however, that the general public, including tenants and urban residents. be t,nl;pht tho --.-.-. ""..- desirability of protecting and developing the forest. 

Increased effort is needed in the prevention and suppression of forest 

fires, which damage the forest in two principal ways: (1) The] cause a loss 

in actual volume and reduce the grade or quality of the timber not killed; and 

(2) they prevent the survival and development of many young trees which are 

badly needed to augment the stocking of the stands. Only a small pal-t of southeast Alabama has organized fire protection. For prompt and effective results, 

it is essential that protection be extended to the entire area, possibly on a 

comty-wide basis. As manj forest fires in this area ire either wilfully or 

carelessly set by the general pu-blic, a proportionate part of the costs of protection should be borne by the public. 

 man:^ trees, especial1:ithose in old field-stands, have grovm in such 

open stands that they are limby, rough, and consequently of low quality for 

many uses. Also many trees are growing in stands so crowded that growth has 

stagnated, while fire-scars and other defects have placed still other trees in 

the class of culls. Stand-improvement cu-ttings are recommended for these 

stands, therefore, wherever the returns from products obtained in thinnings and 

the cutting of undesirable trees will pay at least the cost of the improvement 

measures. 

In place of the present practice of cutting only the highest-qualitjr 

trees, a system of selective logging should be adopted; the slow-growing and 

undesirable trees, as well as some of the best trees, should be removed, leaving the stand in a healthy, rapidly growing condition. Cuts, which should be 

gaged to the growth 02 the stands, should be as light and as frequent as economic conditions permit. After making several selective cuttings, an appreciable increase in both the volume and quality of the growth may be expected. 

Effort should be made to secure for the lando~mers and forest-products 

manufacturers the full and most economic use of the trees cut. All usable 

parts of the tree should be converted into the product for which they are best 

suited. Thjs involves integrated utilization, which means that the trees removed in any cutting are converted into sawlogs, poles and piles, cooperage and 

veneer stock, p~~lpwood, etc., depending upon which forest product yields the 

greatest stumpage returns. This would eliminate the cutting of saw-timber 

trees into fuel wood and would limit utilization for this purpose to the nearly 

9 million cords in cull trees, vh5ch should be removed to improve the stands. 

More forest industries that can use the low-grade raw materials of the 

old-field second-growth stands of southeast Alabama are sorely needed. A pulp 

mill, for which ample supplies of low-quality material are in sight, not only 

could use much of the material now without a market, but also could aid materially in furnishing rural labor a much-needed opportunity for full or part-time 

employment. The special Unemployment Census taken in Nov. 1937 disclosed that 
<j in this Sur~ey .Lait there cere 3/,3CO people either =enployed and wacting 

work, or or. relief, md 35,000 partial.lji employed and wanling more vtorli. 

If greater market demand for the forest prockxts of this unit in the 

futnre can be anticipated, it mag be expedient to plant abandoned fields and 

clear-cxi forest areas that are so large or so far removed from seed trees that 

natural seeding fron adjoining forests .i:ilI be slow if not impossible. Of the 

total areas of idle or abandoned farm 1ar.d and clear-cut forest land, which togethzr amount to about 660,000 acres, it is roughly estinated that about 160,000 

acres ma./ justify artificial! reforestation, 1::hhile the remaining 50C,000 acres 

can be expected to reforest natl:.rally, if given fire protection. 

Although the drain for inck~stri-I and domestic we and for mortality 31- 

ready approximates the groiwth: no previously brought out in Chis report, the 

present groivth represents on17 n fraction of the potentialities of the sites, 

owing 3arge7y to the pooriy stocked condition of the stands. In the long run, 

the forest-prodxcts indcstries must be ke2t v~lthin a sound pattern of ristained 

yield, in which the cut over a period of years nay epal but not exceed the 

growth; but rith a vrldespread adoption of good forest-management practices, the 

grov:Ch can be increased to a point probcbly doulale ahat it is at present. Then, 

enriched by greater sup!ies of raw materials for ma and expanded industries on 

a pernailent basis, the forests of souiheast Alabai-na .?:ill help provide the people 

of this area with a bzt.ter I;--' A~~ng and with greater seccritr than they not,: enjoy.