TABLE 5.-Height of young white oak at different ages in eastern Tennessee.

The sprouts measured upon the cove lands of the Holston Mountains were growing under an old stand of unusual density, which accounts for their comparatively slow rate of growth. These figures can be corpared directly with those for the rate of growth of white oak seedngs, which were obtained from exactly the same coves. By such mparison it is seen that under the same conditions as to soil moisture and light the sprouts of white oak grow about three times as fast during the first ten years as the seedlings.

The rate of growth of young white oak sprouts, while vigorous, is considerably less rapid than that of chestnut and of black oak and red oak. Instances are frequently found in the oak belt of central and western Tennessee and Kentucky where white oak sprouts have been outstripped in growth and badly suppressed by black and red oak sprouts of the same age.

Table 6 shows the growth in diameter of virgin white oak up to 21 inches. It is based on measurements of 509 trees taken in Jackson County, Ky., but represents the average rate of diameter growth of white oak throughout the Southern Appalachian region.

TABLE 6.-Height and diameter of virgin white oak at different ages.

The development of second-growth white oak after logging, with much better light conditions, is considerably faster than that of virgin timber. Measurements of second-growth white oak were obtained in Decatur County, Tenn., on lands which were cut clean for charcoal from fifty to sixty years ago. The rate of growth of this young timber in height, diameter, and volume is given in Tables 7 and 8.

TABLE 7.-Relation of height and diameter to age of second-growth white oak in Decatur County, Tenn.

TABLE 8.-Volume a of second-growth white oak of all types, Decatur County, Tenn.

The better soil and moisture conditions found on the cove and slope lands produce more rapid growth in height and diameter than on the ridges, and much more rapid volume increment.

Table 9 shows the volume of virgin white oak of different breasthigh diameters for height classes.

[Cir. 105]

TABLE 9.- Volume,a in board feet, of white oak [in the Southern Appalachian region] for diameters between 14 and 40 inches, arranged in height classes.

Because of its marked deficiency in natural reproduction as compared with other species, the outlook for future supplies of white oak timber under existing conditions is poor. White oak has been more heavily logged than any other of the Appalachian hardwoods except yellow poplar and walnut, and this has further tended to its replacement by the black oaks. The replacement of white oak by black and red oak is common in the second growth of the entire region, and the perpetuation of white oak in commercial quantities will necessitate the adoption of more conservative and far-sighted management of hardwood timberland.

ADVISABILITY OF MANAGEMENT.

With proper management there should be no difficulty in securing either seedling or sprout reproduction of white oak. While the tree is not as prolific a seeder as many of its associates, it reproduces freely, and its moderate tolerance insures greater persistency in the growth of its seedlings and better qualifies them for ultimate survival than those of its less tolerant competitors. Even now there is

a fair representation of young growth from seed in much of the cutover and second-growth forest; and with protection from fire, the reservation of seed trees, and a reasonable amount of care in logging, an ample reproduction of white oak can be obtained. Sprout reproduction, which is readily secured from trees under 14 inches in diameter, is suitable only for obtaining small timber.

The price of white oak stumpage is high. Low-grade stumpage, or cull and small trees less than 16 inches in diameter breasthigh, sells at from $1 to $2 a thousand feet at an average distance of 5 miles from shipping points; while better grades 20 inches or more in diameter breasthigh, yielding a large proportion of uppers, have, in like situations, a stumpage value of from $10 to $15 a thousand feet board measure.

The growth of large white oak for lumber, however, is profitable only in the best situations, such as coves, lower slopes, and valley lands. On the upper slopes and in other situations unfavorable to the best development of white oak, sprout reproduction, supplemented by light seeding, will yield timber suitable for such products as ties and slack barrel stock.

FIRE PROTECTION.

The first and most essential step in management is protection from fire. This is especially true in the case of young timber and cut-over forests, where the danger from fire is very great. The following protective measures, if carried out, should greatly lessen the fire danger:

1. The construction, wherever possible, of a permanent system of roads. They not only facilitate logging, but also render all portions of a property accessible in case of fire. Roads also serve as initial points in back-firing and will often of themselves check a slowburning fire.

2. The prohibition or restriction of grazing and swine herding within the forest. In middle Tennessee, and elsewhere where stock has been kept out, there has been a decided decrease in the number of fires.

3. The posting of fire notices, containing the local fire law and offering rewards for evidence leading to the conviction of violators. 4. The cooperation of owners with tenants. Tenants should be made fire wardens, given a nominal and fixed pay with limited pasturage rights for preventing fires, their services being required without additional compensation for fighting fires whenever they occur.

5. The employment of a guard on large tracts, especially while logging is in progress, and for several years afterwards. One man should patrol 15,000 acres.

6. The requirement, when logging is done by contract, that the contractor burn slash when it would become dangerous, organize logging crews into a fire-fighting service which can be used whenever a fire occurs, and, when a railroad is used, maintain a burned strip on both sides of the track.

UNLUMBERED AND LIGHTLY CULLED FOREST.

It is not advisable to cut mature white oak until there is a profitable market for tops and cull trees. From much of the white oak cut for staves and frequently even from that cut for sawlogs, only the choicest lower cuts are taken and the less desirable upper cuts left in the woods. In many cases a profitable sale could have been made of the low-grade timber had the stumpage been held a few years longer. Holding stumpage until the timber can be used with little waste insures the owner a return from the low-grade trees and upper cuts, and at the same time a higher price for the best cuts. It likewise enables the buyer to reduce the cost of logging by the larger stumpage cut. Contracts for the sale of stumpage should require the utilization of all sound timber over 12 inches in diameter in felled trees. The recent rapid advances in the price of car stock, ties, and bridge timber should justify holding white oak stumpage until utilization of such timber is possible. Nor is it advisable to cut white oak when it forms only a small proportion of the mixture unless some of the species of less value with which it is associated as beech, black oak, maple, and hemlock-can be simultaneously cut.

Because of the relatively small amount of virgin white oak, the use of high-grade timber should be restricted. Frequently very little discretion is displayed in making selection for specific uses, and highgrade logs suitable for plain uppers or quartered stock are converted into bill stock, bridge boards, or even ties or car stock. There is a large amount of low-grade timber and second growth available for these uses, while the amount suitable for high-grade lumber is appreciably lessening each year.

The stumpage value of large trees suitable for high-grade lumber is so much greater than that of small trees that in situations favorable for the best growth of white oak it would be profitable to cut to a high diameter limit-20 or 22 inches breasthigh-and leave the trees below that limit to grow. The rate of growth of the remaining trees should be good and well sustained; old timber should equal or exceed the rate indicated in Table 5, page 21, and second growth should equal or exceed that in Table 6. Under such cutting white oak should be sound and form reasonably long and clean stems. In situations where the large timber is defective and is adapted only to common uses, its