FOREST SURVEY RIILEASE· No. 20 , 

SOUTHERN FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION 

E. L. Demmon, Director 

New Orleans, La. 

LONGLEAF PINE STUMPWOOD SUPPLY 

IN FOUR SOUTHEASTERN SURVEYUNlTS 

By 

SOUTHERN FOREST SURVEY STAFF 

I. F. Eldredge 

Regional Survey Director 

August 29, 193(l 

- 'f)' . 1181$ an advance release of Forest Survey data that will be included in cOll1plf3te re· 

to be published later. rrhis information is subject, to correction or amplification as 

tntiol)s proceed. 
LONGLEAF PINE STUNPI100D SUPPLY 

IN FOUR SOUTHEASTEHN SUHVEY UIUTS 

This release presents advanc3 ·information on the amount of longleaf 

pine stumpviOod in four Forest Survey Units. The wood referred to is that 

in the seasoned stumps resulting from the cutting of the longleaf pine 

of the original forest. These stumps, together with other highly rosinimpregnated wood in the tops and limbs of fallen old-growth longleaf 

pine, are used in the manufacture of wood turpentine, wood rosin, rosin 

oils, charcoal and other products. 

The units lie in the Coastal Plain region of South Carolina,Georgia 

and northeast Florida; as shown in Figure 1. Along the Atlantic and Gulf 

Coasts, .thecountrY"is characterized by sandy, poorly drained flatwoods 

that extend from twenty miles inland on the Gulf Coast of Florida to 

over one hundred· miles in southeast Georgia. Behind the·coastal strip, 

the country is higher, gently rolling, and better drained. The flatwoods 

make up 40 percent of the total area,rolling uplands,30 percent; swalilps, 

bays and river bottoms, 30 percent. . 

The area is well served by railroads and an extensive system of 

hard surfaced highways, graded county roads, and unimproved woods roads. 

Port facilities are available at Oharleston, Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville, and Fernandina. Opportunity for barge transportation existG 

on the larger riverG and the Intel'COaGtal waterway, which passes along 

the Atlantic Ooast. 

A steam-solvent wood naval stores plant is at Brunswick, Georgia, 

and two small destructive-distillation plants are at Allenhurst and 001-

lins, Georgia •. Two destructive-distillation plants are at Jacksonville 

and Gainesvil.le, Florida. The nearest active Vlood naval stores plants 

outside of the region are at Pehsacola,Florida and Bay rUnette, Alabama, 

both using the steam-solvent process. .,. .. 

The information presented in this releafle is based on data gathered 

during 1933 and 1934 by the Southern Forest Survey, an activity of the 

Southern Forest Experiment Station of the U. S. Forest Service. Ti'ained 

crUisers measured and recorded· forest and land-use conditions on nearly 

38,000 quarter-acre sample plots systematioally located at intervals of 

660 feet on parallel compass liileS, 10 miles apart, l'un entirely across 

the area from east to west. The preliminary estimates presented here are 

subject to revision later in the final SU1'vey l~eports. . 

In the presentation of these survey data,it is to be noted that owing to the sampling method used in oollecting them,usually the greater 

the area or volume in any given classification the more accurate the 

data for that classification. Classes that are of infrequent ocourrence 

and are relatively small in quantity cannot generally be determined with 

as high a degree of accuracy as is obtainable for classes that occur 

more frequently and in sUbstantiD.lly greater quantities. . . . 

LAND AREA 

The four survey units covered in this'release include a land area 

of approximately 30 million acres, of which over 20 million acres are in 

some stage of forest growth. In Tr,ble 1, the total acreage, the forest 

acreage, and the non-forest acreage c,re given for each survey unit. 
TABLE 1. -- Land area of each survey unit classified according 

to forest and non-forest area 

Units 

South Carolina #1 

Georgia #1 )} 

Georgia #2 

Florida #lY 

Total 

Total 

area 

Forest 

area 

'Uon-forest 

area 

--------------- Acres -----~---------

5,186,900 2,993,000 2,193;900' 

9,711,200 7,056,200 2,655,000 

5,585,900 3,020,400 2,%5,500 

9.515.600 7 .378.900 2.136.700 

29.999,600 2'0./.48 ,500 9,551.100 

)} Does not iryclude"Qkefenokee Swall)p and Coa:stal Islands. 

Y Does not include Ocala National Forest. 

STUMPHOOD ESTHIAT'E 

Proportion 

of forest 

57.7 

72.7' 

54.1 

77 .5 

68.2 

In the following tables the amount of merchantable stumpwood in 

each of the four survey units is given and classified according, to the 

topographic situation in which the stumps occur. The data are'further 

arranged according to the number of stumps per acre. To be merchantable, 

stumps ,must' be sound, well-seasoned heartwood of longleaf pine in such 

conditi'on and so ' lQcated 'that they can be either 'pulled by machines or 

removed with explosives. , The' amounts given are b,ased upon removal of the 

stumps by blasting; 'if the stumps are pulled rather than blasted, the 

amount of wood recovered Per stump is inc;reased' by 60 percent. Stumppulling operation:;!, because of the use of heavy'machinery,are'at present 

confined largely tO,the flatwoods and, even there, only to well lJlockedout areas of considerable extent that are ac,cessib1e to railroad transportation. , In addition to the merchantable stumpwood there' is a considerable 

amount that should be considered ,as a potential supply. This i{3 found, 

(1) in sound and seasoned stumps 'that are so located that" large~scal£l 

pulling or blasting operations, under current practices ,do n'ot'seem pra'cticable,(2} in recently-cut stumps from Old-growth pine that,are not yet 

sufficient:J-y seasoned, and (3) st,umps that will, result from the felling 

of old-growth longleaf pine trees now standing. The estimate of potential stumps, also' on a blasting bailis, is' carried as. a footnote Under 

each table. 

The greateot amount of stumps is to be f6und in the Florida unit, 

and the least in the South Carolina unit. The tonilage'per aCre also 

averages highest in the former unit,and, lowest in the latter. In Florida 

Unit No.1 and Georgia Unit No.1, the greater part of the stumps are in 

the flatwoods; in Georgia Unit No. 2,the greater part is in thii uplands, 

and in the, SouthCarcilina Unit, the supply is about evenly divided between the flatwoods and uplands. 

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A1LMHAO 

OamIJltKlI1AM 

ALABAMA 

OMONT!lOMtRY 

OBRt.WTON 

< 

LEGEND 

o tlYY ANO TOWN 

G 

... WOOD NAYAL STonES PLAHTS 

-"!. s JTATUTf. MILE.~ If 

E 

\ 

o 

TERN' LONGLEAF' 

FIGURE 1. 

OSPAATMIWRG 

sou T H 

R G A 

+ y 

o o 

COVERED BY --:-sTUM' PW06iD-!:Sl'TMATE-I~ 

Y NO, 20 

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.. TABLE 2. --·Amount of merchantable stumpwood, Florida Unit No.1 

Topographic situation 

Stumps - . Percent 

per Swamps, Total of 

acr~ Flatwoods Rolling bays, total , uplands Donds etc. 

- .. ------------- Thousand tons ------------_._-

5 or less 124 78 5 207 1.7 

6 - 13 983 629 16 1,628 13.1 

14 - 25 

-\ 2,456 1,031 36 3,523 28.3 

26 or over 5,901 1,117 ·72 7,090 56.9 

Total 9,464. 2,855 129 12,448 

Percent of 

total 76.0 23.0 1.0 100.0 

Note: Aloo 3,216,000 tons of potential otwnps (blasting basis). 

TABLE 3, -- Amotmt of merChantable stumpwood, Georgia Unit llo. 1 

--

Topographic oituation , 

StUf\ps ., Percent 

per 8warnpo, _ -. Total I . of 

acre Flatwoodo Rolling bayo, total 

uulands bonds· etc. I 

--~------------- Thousand tons ----------------

5 or lees 65 75 7 147 2.7 

6 - 13 /+91 445 23 959 17.5 

14 - 25 1,243 669 34 1,946 35.4 

26 or over .1,826 .552 61 2,439 44.4 

Total :2,625 1,741 125 5,491 

Percent of 

total 66 .• 0 31.7 2.3 100.0 

lIote: 1'.100 ~J645JOOO tons of potential stumps (blasting basis). 

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I 

" :, 

TABLE 4. -- Amount of merchantable stumpwood, Georgia Unit No.2 

Topographic situation 

Stumps Percent 

per Swamps, Total of 

acre Flatwoods Rolling bays, total 

uDlands Donds etc. 

--------------- Thousand tons ---------------

5 or less 22 74 2 98 3.9 

6 - 13 112 310 10 432 17.0 

14 - 25 195 489 55 739 29.2 

26 or over 425 817 24 1.266 49.9 

Total 754 1.690 91 2.535 

Percent of, 

total 29..7 66.7 3.6 leiO.O 

Note: Also 2,629,000 tons of potential stumps (blasting basis). 

TABLE 5. -- Amount of merchantable stumpwood, South Carolina' 

Unit No.1 

Topographic situation 

St1.lmpS Percent·, 

per ' Swamps', Total c of 

acre Flatwoods Rolling bays} total 

uDlands Donds. etc. 

--------------- Thousand tons ---------------

5 01' less 5 12 2 19 3.9 

6 - 13 56 61' 4 121 24.5 

14 - 25 86 92 7 185 37.5 

26 or over 96 66 6 168 34.1 

Total 243 231 19 493 

Percent of 

total ' !±9;j 46.9 2.8 100.0 

~ lfote;. Also 979,000 tons of potential stumps (blasting basis) . " 

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The otUlnpland area classif'ied as "mel'ohantable" ccmsti tutLell 41 percent of' the f'orest area of' Florida Unit No. 1;26 percent in Georgia Unit 

No. 2;23 percent in Georgia Unit No.1; and 6 percent in South Oarolina 

Unit No. 1. The greater part of these merchantable areas lie in lightly 

stocked standll of second-growth pine timber and in clear-out and in 

re-stocking areas., 

\vith a present supply of nearly 21 million tons of merohantable 

stumps, a potential supply of over 9 million tons, and a present annual 

requirement by' exiating Iltump-using planto of only 300-to 350 thousand 

'tono, it is obvious that there are enough stumpo to allow a considerable 

expansion in the production of' wood naval stores in this region • . Regardless of the suffioiency of the supply of' atumpwood, any considerable expansion of the wood naval stores industry must await a 

marked increase in the demand' f'or turpentine and rosin. From the standpoint of' timber supply in the naval stores belt as a whole! the outlook 

.for gum naval stores production indioates no likelihood of' prolonged reduction of output. Unless ~here is a marked increaae in naval stores 

oonsumption, both domestio and foreign, a full utilization of available 

and potential supplies of' both turpentine timber and atumpwood would undoubtedly bring about a condition of' ohronic over-production, und would 

demoralize both the gum and wood naval stores industries. 

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