Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Secretary of Agriculture report on watersheds

Item
?

Item’s are ‘child’ level descriptions to ‘parent’ objects, (e.g. one page of a whole book).

  • 12 APPALACHIAN AND WHITE MOUNTAIN WATERSHEDS. without hindrance. Every year millions of young trees, the hope of the future crop, are killed and the humus, the great storehouse of fertility and moisture, is consumed over thousands of acres. Through mismanagement a great part of the young timber has been destroyed. Much that remains is damaged by fire, insects, or fungi. Over the whole area the average growth is very little, probably not more than 10 cubic feet per acre annually. The inevitable conclusion is that there are lean years close ahead in the use of hardwood timber. There is sure to be a gap between the supply which exists and the supply which will have to be provided. How large that gap will be depends upon how soon and now effectively we begin to make provision for the future supply. The present indications are that in spite of the best we can do there will be a shortage of hardwoods running through at least fifteen years. How acute that shortage may become and how serious a check it will put upon the industries concerned can not now be foretold. That it will strike at the very foundation of some of the country's most important industries is unquestionable. This much is true beyond doubt, that the hardwood timber famine is upon us and we have made no provision against it. Studies of the forest conditions in the Southern Appalachians show that these lands, where they have been under protection for some time, are capable of producing an average of 50 cubic feet of wood per acre annually. Even taking the production at 40 cubic feet, this means for the area of 75 million acres a possible annual production of about 3 billion cubic feet, which is about equal to the present consumption of hardwood timber for all purposes. Since the Appalachians at present supply only 48 per cent of our hardwood, and since other regions will continue to furnish some, it is likely that the proportion from the Appalachians will never exceed 75 per cent. This allows a margin of safety of 25 per cent if we assume that there will be no increase over the present rate of consumption. If the Appalachian forests are taken soon enough and rightly handled they will eventually produce continuously three-fourths of the hardwood supply of the country, and do it without exhausting the forests. In fact, it can be done in such a way as to improve the forest. Our experience will doubtless be the same in this respect as that of Germany. In Saxony the cut, which represents only the growth, increased 55 per cent during the period from 1820 to 1904, bringing the annual yield to 93 cubic feet per acre. Prussia shows a still more pronounced increase. In 1830 the cut was only 20 cubic feet per acre, and in 1865 had increased to only 24 cubic feet. But in 1890, owing to proper management, it had risen to 52, and in 1904 to 65 cubic feet. These results came largely from nonagricultural lands, sandy plains, swamps, and rough mountain slopes, and from forests which had been mismanaged, much the same as ours. Under right management an equal increase may be expected from Appalachian forests. To this increase of yield we must look to meet the increase which is certain to come in demand.
Object
?

Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).