Bullv14no8ForOCR.pdf


ST A TE. OF ILLINOIS 

DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION 

Vol. XIV. 

DIVISION OF THE 
NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 

STEPHEN A. FORBES, Chief 

BULLETIN Article VIII. 

FIRST REPORT ON A 
FORESTRY SURVEY 

OF ILLINOIS 
BY 

ROBERT B. MILLER 

PRINTED:BY AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 

URBANA, ILLINOIS 

March, 1923 





STATE OF ILLINOIS 

DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION 

A. M. 5HELTON, Di·rector 

BOARD OF 

NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION 

A. M. SHELTON, Chairman 

WILLIAM TRELEA.SE, Bi-Ology 
JOHN M. COULTER, Forestry 
EDSON S. BASTIN, GeolotY 
WU.LIAM A. NOYES, Chemistry 

JOHN w. ALVORD, Enginurini 
KENDRIC C. BABCOCK, &presenting lM 

President of the University of ]Uinois 

THE NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION 

STEPHEN A. FoRaEs, Chuf 



II 
II 



CONTENTS 
PAGE 

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 
I . Land classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 

The forest: 
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 
Forest types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 
Detailed exhibit of stand of types by counties for area surveyed, 

and per cent of it wooded. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 
Important trees and thei r main uses: 

Hardwoods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 
Tabulated data obtained by a stud y of types of upland and 

bottomland timber .................... . ................ . ... 313-317 
Annual cut in board feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 

Physiographic features: 
Topography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 
Drainage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 
Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 
Soil types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:?4 

Climate . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 
II. Milling and logging operations and wood-using industries in South-

ern Itlinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 
List of mills, with location and output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 
The veneer industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 

Manufacturers in the region, and products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 
Necessity for a local supply of "softwoods" for veneer purposes 333, 

Charcoal-making: Processes and yields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334 
Ties and mine timbers : 

Railroad cross-ties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 
Specifications, grades and sizes, species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 
Wood preservation and tie-treating plants in Illinois . . . . . . 337 

Timber used in coal mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 
111. Forest problems: 

Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 
Direct effects of fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 
Injury to reproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 
lnj ury to the soil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 
Injury to productive power of th e forest . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . 344 
Effect of severe burning upon you ng s tands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 

Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 
Grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 

IV. Forest policy and management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 
The uplan d timb er belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 

Outline of proposed fire-protection system for upland timber 
belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 

The so-calted farm wood-lots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 
The overflow bottomlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 

V. Volume and growth studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 
Stem analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354 
Appendix: 

Volume tables for leading species, and taper and growth tables and 
g raphs for white and black oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 





ARTICLE VIII.-First Report on a Forestry Sitrvey of Illinois. BY 
RoBERT B. MILLER, Forester, .Natural History Survey. 

INTRODUCTION 

The forest area in Illinois to which this report applies is bounded by 
the Mississippi River on the west and the third principal meridian on 
the east, and extends in a north and south direction from Thebes, in Alex­
ander county, to Oiester, in Randolph county. It comprises all of Jack­
son county and portions of Union, Alexander, Pulaski, and Randolph 
countie , a total of 697,286 acres. It forms the western part of the Ozark 
highlands of southern lllinois ( Colyer, '22), a region which extends across 
the state for 75 miles, with an average width of about 25 miles, from the 
mouth of the Big Muddy on the Mississippi to Shawneetown on the Ohio. 
The highest elevation of this highland belt is "Williams Mountain" (1,065 
feet), in the northeastern part of Pope county, Bald Knob, in Union county, 
coming next, with an elevation of 1,025 feet. The difference of elevation 
between the crest and the base of the Ozarks is often 500 to 600 feet. A 
relief map of the state hows that this entire highland region includes the 
'-Outhem parts of Jackson, Williamson, Saline, and Gallatin counties, almost 
the whole of Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, and Alexander counties, and 
a part of Massac county. Reports of the State Soil Survey for these ten 
counties sh<?w that the amount of rough and hilly land ranges from 23 
per cent in Gallatin county to 79 per cent in Hardin county. From the 
topography of these uplands and the lightness of their soils, which are 
classed either as yellow-gray or light gray silt-loams, it can be seen that 
the forces of erosion must be at their maximum, so that most of the region 
is in a mature stage of dissection. 

The occupations of the inhabitants are directly related to the topog­
raphy of the region. The bottoms of the Mississippi, Big Muddy, and 
Cache rivers make very fertile farming lands, suitable for corn when 
drained and cleared, while the steeper cleared lands may be used for mixed 
farming, but are better adapted to wheat than to corn. The narrower 
bottom of secondary stream are adapted to the rai ing of berries, melons, 
cucumbers, and tomatoe , f r the marketing of which there are good 
tran portation facilitie . Exten ive peach and apple orchards have been 
developed in some portions of the upland becau e the higher parts of ten 
e cape fro ·t which are destructive on the lower level . Some of the 



292 

uplands, besides having a value for timber growing and stock raising, ar 
underlaid with coal or contain deposits of silicon, ganister, and kaolin. 
Cliffs of limestone are frequent and furnish fertilizer and building stone, 
and the chert ledges yield road material. 

The. western portion of this highland region was chosen as a subject 
for a preliminary report on forest conditions for the following reasons: 

1. It has the most continuous body of timber in the state, and be­
cause of its nearness to important wood-using centers i admirably located 
for continuous forest management. 

2. The timber, being largely on uplands, is on cheap land which i 
poorly adapted to agriculture under ordinary methods of cropping becau e 
of high elevation, steep slopes, and a soil which erode very badly when 
the protecting forest cover is removed. 

3. A very considerable amount of information concerning the region 
has been accessible to us. The soil map and report on Union county are 
now in course of preparation by the State Soil Survey, while topographic 
maps of the Alto Pass, Jonesboro, Carbondale, and Dongola quadrangle 
are in various stages of preparation by the State Geological Survey, de­
tailed information having been available both on the geology and soils of 
the region. 

4. When the time comes for Illinois to acquire land for state fore ts, 
it is believed that this report and the accompanying map will be of service 
in showing where suitable tracts are located and will give some idea of 
their nature and value. As Henry S. Graves ( '21) points out, the acqui­
sition of public forests by states would furnish examples of the best 
methods of protecting and handling forests in the regions in which they 
were established. Thus managed they would also help to strengthen the 
local wood-using industries by assuring a regular supply of timber an I 
would become real factors in the upbuilding of rural communities. 

The total area represented by the map of this region accompanying 
this report, is 697,286 acres, 522,250 of which are cleared or in pasture 
and 175,036 acres are woodland. There are 147,636 acres of timber 

which may be classed as merchantable, 131,217 acres being upland an l 
16,419 acres bottomland timber. There are 13,299 acres which may be 
classed as culled forest, which means that the merchantable trees have 
been removed as the demand came, leaving trees which were defective, 
of inferior species, or too small for the market. Such lands have a future 
value if fire is kept out of them for a few years until the slash decay · 
and reproduction has started. There are 14,100 acres classed as sapling , 
that is, the ground is well covered with trees of sapling and pole size , 
not yet merchantable, but which will have a distinct value within the next 
ten years if properly protected and handled. Of the entire area covered 



293 

by our map, 30.8 per cent is wooded, and that portion west of the Mobile 
and Ohio Railroad ( which forms a rather distinct boundary between the 
more solid timber and the region of scattered wood-lots to the east) is 45.9 
per cent wooded. This region west of the railway is also different in its 
problems from the region of scattered wood-lots to the east, where the 
tracts surrounded by roads can be better protected by their owners against 
fire. 

In the 131,217 acres of upland forest, the main species and the per 
cent of the stand which they form, are as follows: black oak, 27.6 per 
cent; white oak, 20.8 per cent; beech, 18.1 per cent; hickory, 14.1 per 
cent; and tulip-tree, 5.1 per cent. Miscellaneous species, such as maple, 
black gum, red gum, ash, elm, walnut, and mulberry make up the remain­
der of the stand. Stand tables compiled for 117 acres at Alto Pass and 
for 65 acres at Jonesboro, both areas of the upland type, show that on 
the former area there were standing on an average acre only 33.32 trees 
of all species 6 inches or more in diameter breast-high ; and on the latter 
area, only 43.65 trees of all species of this size per acre. The average 
acre at Jonesboro contained 1,948 board feet and at Alto Pass 2,362 board 
feet, while a combination of the figures for 182.3 acres gave 2,228 board 
feet, or 8.68 cords per acre, counting 90 cubic feet as equivalent to one 
cord. These figures of the number of trees per acre, when compared 
with those for very similar sites which we find in published· yield-tables, 
show that these forests are decidedly understocked, because of fires and 
culling. The culling out of the larger specimens has its justification in 
meeting the demands of the market for certain species as they become 
valuable, and does not impair the usefulness of a forest as a protection 
against erosion; but the prevalence of fires is entirely unjustifiable on 
any grounds, and owners should be given assistance and encouragement 
in controlling them along the lines discussed under "Policy and Man­
agement." 

Our map shows 16,419 acres of bottomland forests; but not much 
time was spent on the bottoms because only that portion of them needs 
to be considered which is incapable of drainage or which has an imper­
vious subsoil. We listed 2,894 acres of lB* cypress on these lands and 
some No. 4* cypress running as high as 13,000 board feet per acre; but 
cypress is mostly in small patches or mixed with bottomland hardwoods. 
Owing to the number of drainage ditches, cypress will not long rank as 
a commercial species, since when cut on drained land its place is taken by 
gums, willow, soft maple, and cottonwood, called locally "softwoods." 
This latter variety of forest, when situated on land which can not be 
de,·oted to agriculture for some years because of periodical floods, should 

•Se• pa ~ 298, 29<J. 



-294-

not for that reason be overlooked, since it is valuable for the manufacture 
of veneers, and of charcoal for gunpowder, and willow and cottonwood 
are used for soda pulp manufacture. Where another crop of this timber 
can be raised on the land before it is needed for fanning, it should cer­
tainly be utilized for timber-growing, since it is Jess subject than the up­
land to damage by fires, and makes more rapid growth. 

From the most reliable information obtainable, we estimate the annual 
cut of timber in the region covered by our map at about 20,000,000 board 
feet. The veneer industry uses a large amount of the local supply for 
veneers for baskets and crates and hampers for fruit and vegetables; the 
railway companies secure large numbers of railroad ties from species 
along their rights-of-way which may be used directly or are sent for 
treatment to the wood-preserving plants in that region; st~tionary and 
portable mills saw out lumber, cross-ties, car stock, and mine ties ; while 
a very large amount of round timber purchased by contractors is shipped 
to mines in the counties farther east in the form of props, legs, and cross 
bars as well as hewed motor and mine ties. The present supply is coming 
from woods which if not practically destroyed in many cases by cutting 
and fires, are at best left with too few or too small trees to replace, by their 
annual growth, the volume removed by cutting. Even though some of 
these forests are of poor quality, they represent a resource which if 
properly developed will contribute very largely to the prosperity of the 
individual owner and of the community. Development lies along the line 
of their protection from fire and a handling which will improve their com­
position and the quantity and quality of their product. Maintenance of a 
upply of local timber such that the mills of the region will not be forced 

to move to other sources of supply, as to Arkansas and Missouri, and a 
development of new industries which will make a market for such species 
as cottonwood and willow, are measures of a constructive forestry policy. 
vVhile stressing better protection and the handling of existing stands, we 
do not intend to underestimate in any degree the importance of a restora­
tion of deforested and waste lands to productiveness by planting them 
when such a measure is necessary. 

The main problem in this region is the prevention of forest fires. Our 
investigations show that fires are the chief cause in reducing the number 
of trees far below what should stand on an average acre of upland forest, 
and are therefore chiefly responsible for the reduction in the volume per 
acre and in the amount of wood which accrues each year by growth. Some 
sample plots show that at least 70 per cent of the reproduction and young 
growth is killed by fire. This thinning out of the stand places the trees 
too far apart for adequate natural pruning and admits so much light that 
gra s and weeds come in, hindering the reproduction of the better species 
of trees and further increasing the fire danger. 



-295 -

A comparison of the present area of the upland forest at Alto Pas 
with soil and topographic maps of the same area shows that a large per 
cent of the forest is on the yellow silt loam along streams, where woods 
are needed to protect the banks anti prevent erosion, and that clearing has 
about reached the limit of safety for the ultimate good of such lands. The 
increase, year after year, in some of the southern counties, of lands once 
farmed and now abandoned, shows that areas hewed out on the slope or 
the top_ of a ridge are not adapted to permanent agriculture, while grazing 
them will undoubtedly result in erosion and the formation of gullies. 
l\fore intensive cultivation of land already cleared is a better agricultural 
policy than the further clearing of woodland areas of this description. 

The Mobile and Ohio Railroad runs from Sparta to Cairo through 
this region and divides it into two parts-a western, embracing most of 
the upland timber which is in more or less solid blocks; and an eastern, 
which is also rough and hilly but contains timber in wood-lots interspersed 
with farms and orchards. The Missouri Pacific Railway, from Chestet 
to Cairo, traverses the bottomland on its western edge. It is paralleled 
from Gorham south by a branch of the Illinois Central, while the main 
line of the Illinois Central from Chicago to Cairo cuts through its eastern 
ide. One of the main auto roads running north and south, the "Egyptian 

Trail," is being built through it, while other roads, hilly but quite pass­
able, connect Anna and Jonesboro with Cape Girardeau, Mo., and other 
points on the Mississippi. The roads in the back country shown on the 
U. S. topographic sheets as dotted lines can be easily traversed in summer 
with a light car or a buggy, since they usually ,vind up some rocky stream 
bed, or along the tops of the ridges. Where they cross wooded country 
the best mode of travel is on horseback or on foot, since in this way one 
can ecure from high point the be t idea of the country. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

We are particularly indebted to Dr. R. S. Smith. of the State Soil 
Survey, for base maps of many of the counties, without which rapid cov­
ering of this territory would have been impossible; also to the chief and 
members of the soil sun·ey party v,rorking on the Union county soil report, 
for information about the soil types in advance of publication of the 
report. Our sincere thank are al o due the Director of the United States 
Geological Survey for woodland sheets of the Dongola and Alto Pass 
quadrangles and for the Carbondale topographic heet, and to Mr. J. A. 
Duck, chief of the topographic survey party in that region, for valuable 
assistance. The woodland sheets publi hed by the State Geological Sur­
vey have been freely u ed, and have been of very great assistance as 
accurate base maps and for timber location; and Professor T. E. Savage 
and Mr. Frank Krey, of the urvey taff, have generously furni hed u 



-96 

with information on the geology of the region as a whole, and on specific 
areas-such as the Jonesboro and Dongola quadrangles. 

I. Land Classification 
Land is classified by the county assessors as improved or unimproved, 

the latter including woods and pasture . A brief statement of aondi -
tion for the three main counties embraced in this report i as follow 

County Improved land Unimproved land 
Alexander 63,806 acres 73,163 acres 
Jackson 224,703 acre 155,894 acres 
Union 159,901 acre 98,019 acres 

The average asses ed value of land ( which is ha! f the market value) 
varies from $2.04 to $4.23 per acre for the unimproved and from $9.24 
to $28.88 for the improved lands. These figures are given to show that 
there is a decidedly large acreage of unimproved land in these three 
counties-about 327,000 acres-and that its valuation, even at $4.23 per 
acre, is not so high as to discourage its purchase by public or private 
owners interested in the practice of forestry. In some of these southern 
counties where bottomland is asse sed at $100 per acre its use for for­
estry purposes is of course out of the question. 

For our purpose, we may classify the land under three heads: ( 1) 
cleared farm lands, (2 woodlands, and ( 3) absolute forest lands. By 
cleared land we mean that which was once cleared, even if it is now grow­
ing up to bushes. If reproduction on this is satisfactory, it is classed 
under saplings. By absolute forest land is meant, as ordinarily defined, 
" land fit only for forest growth." Since this would greatly restrict the 
area for forestry in this area, we pref er to say that absolute forest land 
is that which, on account of excessive slope, rockiness, poor drainage, or 
other f ea tu res, will grow a forest crop more profitably than any other. 
Under it would come gullied land whose reclamation by farming methods 
would be excessively costly, bottomland which can not be successfully 
drained, and bare rock cliffs. The area of the last is insignificant. 

The distinction between farm and absolute forest land is outside the 
present discussion, requiring an economic survey of some limited area 
typical of conditions in a much larger one, in which all the factors of cost 
of different crops, markets, and transportation conditions, should be con­
sidered by a forester who has specialized in economics; and such a survey 
is contemplated by the Natural History Survey as a part of its forestry 
program. The most reliable data to be obtained by soil specialists, agrono­
mist , and foresters should form the ba is of such an investigation and 
the results should go far to settle the best uses of our untilled lands. 

For our present purposes, land classification and utilization may be 
covered by the questions: ( 1) Is the land being profitably farmed now? 

I 



297 

(2) I it reasonably certain that it will be profitably farmed during the 
time required to grow a commercial forest on that site? If that presump­
tion is not reasonable, then that area belongs in for est and should sta-y in 
forest.* 

This would temporarily dispose of any questions as to our gullied 
land or wet undrained bottomlands. 

Of the entire area mapped, 30.8% is wooded; of that east of the 
l\Iobile and Ohio Railroad 16.1 % is wooded; while west of the same 
tracks the woodland area rises to 45.9%. The western upland region, 
with its high per cent of wooded area in rather large tracts, surrounded 
by passable roads, thus forms a distinct unit in any plan of management 
or protection, being the most important as a source of revenue and as a 
protection forest. The Mississippi bottoms are destined to be brought 
under cultivation in time; and much of this land is, in fact, already in­
cluded in organized drainage projects and is being profitably farmed. 
This 129,846 acres of bottomland can therefore be disregarded excepting 
those parts of it which can not be drained, and these we have not attempted 
to distinguish. The classification of upland and bottomland timber types, 
\Vith their acreages, will be found under the head of "Forest Types," pp. 
298 and 299. 

THE FOREST 

HISTORY 

Originally the entire area was covered by a dense forest. On the up­
land white and black oaks predominated, mixed with such other species 
a hickory, beech, black gum, red gum, hard maple, tulip-tree ( com­
monly called yellow poplar ) and cucumber-tree, these original forests 
averaging well over 8,000 board feet per acre. \i\Thite oak and tulip­
tree were early marketed, the former probably for staves and heading, 
and the latter for exterior finish or framing material for barns and houses. 
The best of hickory was cut for wagon material, and this practice of 
culling out the be t species according to the demands of the market has 
continued to the present time. About 1870, commercial orrharding de­
veloped in this general locality because some of the knobs and slopes were 
found to be usually very free from injury by frost. This made a demand 
for barrels and baskets, so that a market was afforded for many "soft­
woods" ( commercial u age) which has continued down to the present, 
when many of the cheaper species can also be used for veneers. Beech, 
which at one time was practically unused, was then sought in the ravines 
and coves because it was found that, when given a preservative treat­
ment, it made a good durable railroad tie. Sycamore, hackberry, and soft 
maple could also be so used. 

•Lov, · co y, 19. 



-298-

Repeated cullings have thu reduced the number of older trees stand­
ing upon an acre and repeated fires have prevented young trees from fill­
ing up the blanks. As a result, the present stands show an average of 
only 33 to 43.5 trees per acre, although normal yield-tables for such hard­
woods made up from _fully stocked stands show that at least 130 trees 
per acre, or four times as many, should be present ( see stand tables for 
sample acres at Alto Pa s and Jone boro, pp. 313,314). This decrea e of 
growing stock means dirnini hed Yolumes in uch stands and reduced 
growth per acre. 

The depletion of the stands has been stimulated by the excellent 
marketing and shipping facilities. Four lines of railway traverse this 
region in a north and south direction-the main line of the Illinois Central 
from Chicago to Cairo on the eastern side, the Mobile and Ohio through 
the center of the area, and on the west a branch of the Illinois Central 
and one of the Missouri Pacific running parallel from Leo Rock to 
Thebes. The nearness of these railroad lines makes it possible to ship 
logs, mine props, and railroad ties without hauling them any great dis­
tance. Several veneer plants are located on the main line of the Illinois 
Central and various wood-using industries have been built up at Cairo 
and Mound City, which, while drawing the bulk of their logs from the 
Ohio and Mississippi rivers, yet use some local logs. 

FOREST TYPES 

We have divided the fore ts of this region into upland and bottom­
land types, but no attempt has been made at further division on a basis 
of site. While we may u e the term beech-maple, oak-hickor} , and the 
like, in distinguishing fore t in thi region we shall attempt no close <lefini­
tion of their limits as it would be alma t an impo sibility to trace them. 
Writing of the forests of Alexander county, Ill., Dr. George D. Fuller 
('22) very pertinently ay : " The various types and their subdivisions 
merge into one another by gradations that are often alma t imperceptible, 
presenting degrees of difference that are quite impossible to di cuss or map 
in a preliminary survey like the pre ent study." 

Of the upland types we have distinguished the following: 

Culled forest-text symbol, C11/l*.- Stands from which merchantable 
trees have been entirely remo, ed, with occasional weed, or defective, trees 
left. There are 12,584 acres of this type. 

Saplings-text s31111bol, Sap.-Stands in which the trees are not large 
enough to be merchantable, including growth coming in on old fields or 
after a previous cutting. This type has a distinct future value. There 
are 13,489 acres of this type. 

*The symbols given in t h is connect ion are used only in t he text a nd tables, our map of the region 
b ing self-expla na tory. 



-299-

No. 1-text symbol, 1.-Stands from which the more desirable 
species and best trees have been cut. There are 118,247 acres of this 
kind of timber mapped, with an average of 1,000 and a maximum of 
2,000 board feet per acre. 

No. ,2-te:rt s3111ibol, 2.-Stands yielding from 2,000 to 5,000 board 
feet per acre, with an average of 3,750 board feet. These are generally 
very fair stands of desirable species where light cullings have been made. 
Our map shows 12,584 acres in this division. 

No. 3-tu:t svmbol, 3.-Stands which will run from 5,000 to 10,000 
board feet per acre; probably typical of the original stands, with an aver­
age of 7,500 board feet. No culling, or at most very light culling has 
taken place. The area is only 368 acres. 

No. 4-text s'ymbol, 4.-Stands which are exceptionally good, where­
the trees are large and are generally on good agricultural soil, with a 
yield of over 10,000 board feet per acre. Only 18 acres were classed as 
of this type. 

Total of the upland types, 157,290 acres. 
For the bottomland types the same designations as to yield are used 

as are applied to uplands except that each is followed by the letter B. 

Culled forest-text symbol, Cull B. . . . . . . 715 acres 
Saplings-text symbol, Sap. B. . . . . . . . . . . 612 acres 
No.' 1-text symbol, lB ................ 12,473 acres 
No. 2-text symbol, 2B................ 937 acres 

The foregoing are the straight bottomland symbols, but when strictly 
bottomland type and hardwood are mixed with cypress we have the fol­
lowing: 

1 B cypress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,894 acres 
2B cypress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 S acres 

Total of the bottomlands types, 17,746 acres. 
The strictly bottomland type as distinguished from the upland type 

is characterized by a greater number of species. These are pin, white, 
swamp white, red, and bur oak elm, sweet gum, hickory, locust, black 
walnut, and tulip-tree. Where cypress is found there is usually tupelo, 
red gum, and soft maple, with some willow and cottonwood. 

The composition of the upland type is well shown by the two stand­
tables on pages 33 and 34, compiled from strip surveys representing 117.18 
acres at Alto Pass, and 65.14 near Jonesboro. The cruising was done by 
a three-man party, one man running the line with a staff compass and 
tallying, and two others, known as caliper men or cruisers, each taking 
a strip 33 feet in width on one side of th chain, ca11ing out the species, 



-300-

diametex: breast-high, and merchantable heights of all trees 6 inches in 
diameter and over on his side of the chain. Topographic maps giving the 
location of ravines and ridges are very useful in cruising by this method, 
and in very rough country the steel tape may be dispensed with. When 
the party has progressed ten chains ( 660 feet) in this manner and with 
thi width of strip (66 feet) they have covered one acre. 

The area cruised out of a section of 640 acres will of course depend 
on the distance between the cruise lines. When they are run at intervals 
of 20 chains (a quarter ·of a mile) they give a S per cent estimate, and 
when at intervals of 10 chains ( an eighth of a mile, or 660 feet), a 10 
per cent e timate. In addition to recording the apparent effect of fires 
upon young growth, plots a square rod in size were measured off at inter­
vals of 10 chains in order to estimate reproduction. This plotting is easily 
and quickly done by the use of a SO-foot cloth tape, taking 16.½ feet on 
the center cruise-line and having the men form a square with the cloth 
tape 16.½ feet on the other three sides. All sprouts and seedlings within 
the square are then counted and tallied, with a designation as to height. 
This represents reproduction on 1/160 of an acre. 

f hT '\I LE EXHIBIT OF STAN D OF TYPES, BY COUNTIES, FOR AREA 

l{VEVEO, AND PER CENT OF IT WOODED 

Pulaski Co1111ty 

Type* Acres 
1B cypress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,894 
2B cypress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 
C ull B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 
No. 1 .............. . .... .... . . 616 
No.2 .. ............. . ..... .. . . 26 
No. 2B................... . . ... 50 
Sap. B ... .. ......... . .... . . ... 45 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,940 

T ta l are of county surveyed was 35,000 acres, 11.2% of it wooded. 

Randolph County 

Type Acres 
o. 1 ... ............. ··· · ··· . . 10,795 
o. 2 . .... . . .... . . . .. :. ... .... 400 

Sap . . ...... . .... . . . .. . . .... .. . 1,240 
Cull .... . ... . .......... ..... .. . 60 
No. lB . ... . . .. .. . . .. . . ... .. . . . 655 
No. 2B.. .... . ....... . ..... ... . 400 

Total .. .... . . . ... . . . . ... 13,550 

T t 1 . re of county surveyed was 26,427 acres, 51.2% of.it wooded. 

P'or definition:or type symbols see pp. 298, 299. 



-301-

Union County 
Timber west of 

M. & 0. R. R. to Timber east of Total area of 
timber in types 

Type 
No. 1. ....... . 

0. 2 ........ . 
Cull .... .. ... . 
Sap . . .. .... . . 
No. 3 ..... .. . . 
No. 4 ..... . .. . 

Mississippi M. & 0. R. R. 
Bluffs 
Acres 
23,564 
6,762 
1,853 
1,179 

Acres 
7,928 
1,672 

66 
565 
368 

18 

Acres 
31,492 

8,434 
1,919 
1,744 

368 
18 

33,538 10,617 43,975 
Total area of county surveyed was 151,261 acres, 29% of it wooded. 

Alexander County 
Timber west of 

M. & 0. R. R. to Timber east of Total area of 
timber types 

Type 
No. 1B .. . . . . . 
No. 2B . . .... . 
No. 1. ... . ... . 
No. 2 .. . .. . .. . 
Cull . ........ . 
Sap . . .... . .. . 
Cull B .. ..... . 
Sap. B . ..... . 

Mississippi M. & 0. R. R. 
Bluffs 
Acres 

214 

21,083 
1,583 
6,816 

36 

Acres 
855 

22 
1,567 

200 
190 
256 
521 
90 

Acres 
1,069 

22 
22,650 

1,783 
7,006 

292 
521 
90 

29,732 3,701 33,433 
Total area of county surveyed was 114,193 acres, 29.2% of it wooded. 

Type 
No. 1. ....... . 
No. 2 ........ . 
Cull .... . .... . 
Sap ..... .. ... . 
No. lB . ... .. . 
Sap. B ...... . 
No. 2B . ... . . . 

Jackson County 
Timber west of 

M. & 0. R. R. to Timber: east of 
Mississippi M. & 0. R.R. 

Bluffs 
Acres 
41,307 

1,595 
1,202 
1,059 

45,163 

Acres 
10,427 

346 
60 

9,154 
10,749 

477 
465 

31,678 

Total area of 
timber types 

Acres 
51,734 

1,941 
1,262 

10,213 
10,749 

477 
465 

76,841 
Timber on 

Fountain Bluff 
Type Acres 

Cull ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,337 
0 . 1............... .. ...... . . 960 

3,297 
76,841 

Total .... . ........ . . .. . . 80,138 
Total area of county surveyed, exclusive of bottomland, was 275,559 acres, 29% 

of it wooded. 



302 

MMARY OF FOREGO l NG DETAlL 

TOTAL OF TIMBER BY TYPES AS SHOWN ON OUR MAP OF THE REGIO 

Types Acres 
2B cypre s .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 
No. 1 .. . ... . .... . ............ 118,247 
No. 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,584 
Cull . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,584 
Sap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,489 
No. lB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,473 
No. 2B....................... 937 
1 B cypres... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,894 

Io. 3 . . ........ . ..... , . . . . . . . 368 
No. 4 ......... . ...... ... .. ... 18 
Sap. B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612 
Cull B . . ...... . ............ .. 715 

Total .... .......... ... . . 175,036 

IMPORTA TT TREES AND THEIR MAIN USES 

Hardw oods* 

List of white oaks:-

Quercus alba. White oak. 
Quercus platanoides. Swamp white oak. 
Quercus macrocarpa. Bur oak. 
Que1-cus michauxii. Cow oak. 
Q u.ercus minor. Post oak. 

The "White Oal~s."-Thi s group includes not only Quercus alba but 
swamp white oak, bur oak, cow oak, and post oak. The main distinction 
between the two groups of oaks, white and black, lies in the structure of 
the wood. In white oaks the large spring pores are plugged with a 
growth from the surrounding parenchyma cells known as tyloses, while the 
pores in the ummer wood are thin-walled and angular. In the black or 
red oak group the walls of the spring pores are without tyloses, while 
the summer pores are thick-walled and more nearly circular in cross-
ection. The white oak ( Q. alba) is marketed for saw and veneer logs, 

wagon stock, tight cooperage, interior finish, furniture, and flooring, the 
poorer grades going into railroad ties, mine timbers, and cross bars. 
Swamp white bur oak, and cow oak are marketed in the white oak group, 
as their wood is of equal quality and durability. Post oak is used largely 
for po ts and mine timbers. It grows on flat ridge-tops known as "post 
oak flats," and on light gray silt-loam underlaid by tight clay which char­
acterizes some of the poorer lands of the Ozark region. Black-jack 

*According to the use of the term by foresters, a hardwood tree is one that has broad leaves, while 
the term softwood refers only to a needle-leaved tree, or conifer. As used in veneer and allied trades 
in this region a nd by woodsmen and lumbermen generally, the term softwood includes such trees as cotton­
wood , soft maple, sycamore, gums, and other bottomland species remaining after oak and cypresg have 
been cut. As the forester uses the term, the only softwoods in southern Illinois are shortleaf pine, cypress, 
a nd red cedar. 



303 

( Q. 111ariJandfra) is another inferior oak which comes m thickly on 
burned lands. 

List of "black oaks":-

Q uercus rubra. Red oak ( sometimes called sour oak). 
Quercus ·velutina. Black oak, yellow oak. 
Quercu.s palitstris. Pin oak, water oak. 
Quercus coccinea. Scarlet oak. 
Q uercus f ale a ta. Spanish oak ( around Vienna). 
Quercus irnbricaria. Shingle oak (leaves resembling those of 

willow oak) . 

Black Oak or Red Oak Group.-The main trees coming under the 
red oak group, as it is generally called, are red oak, black oak, pin oak, 
scarlet oak, Spanish oak ( around Vienna), and shingle oak. 

These oaks go into the furniture and veneer trade; but with the 
development of wood preservation it has been found that red oak ties can 
be made as durable as white oak by the use of creosote or zinc chloride. 
The pin oak ( Q. palustris), of ten called water oak, and the shingle oak 
( Q. imbrfraria) are sold as black oaks, although the latter is more prop­
erly classed with the willow oaks. 

Liriodendron tulipifcra. J el/ow Poplar. Tul-ip-tree.-The tulip-tree 
is more likely to be found in the cooler ravines and small coves, along with 
beech and white oak, or in small undrained depressions where the seed 
finds proper light and germinating conditions, as it is intolerant of shade. 
Seedlings of this tree are also found in old fields which are growing up 
to sassafras and persimmon, where the soil has started to erode along 
the ravine . It make an ideal wood for all kinds of exterior house­
finish, such a iding, porch columns, and cornice, taking paint and resist­
ing the weather remarkably well. In this region it is more likely to be 
used for veneers for ba kets or sawed into rough lumber. The wood 
works ea ily and is ought by cabinet-makers for this reason. It can be 
distingui hed from the cucumber-tree by the fact that its vessels are of the 
pitted variety while those of the cucumber-tree are scalarifonn-a char­
acter to be made out only by the use of a compound microscope on the 
tangential urface of the wood. It is a tree of rapid growth and should 
be encouraged wherever there are seed trees and favorable conditions. 

Fagus grandifolia. Beech.-This i a tree which does well in shade, 
and hence grows on the northern slopes, along with hard maple. We 
could not find that it di criminate between limestone soils and cherty 
soils, as it is found on both. The beech has a heavy, strong wood, re­
sembling birch and hard maple, but it can be distingui hed from either 
of them by the fact that the pith rays are quite distinct and about twice 
a wide a th diameter f the large t pring pores. Within the last few 



-304-

years the woods of this region have been culled for beech, since, when sent 
to the treating plant, it makes a good railway tie; and it is also sawed 
for car stock and switch ties. Heavy cutting makes light and mois­
ture conditions unfavorable for beech, hence with rare exceptions it 
reproduces largely by root suckers, and is generally replaced in the new 
stand by more xerophytic species, such as black oak and hickory. There 
is still considerable beech around Alto Pass in woods which ha e not been 
burned over, because of moister conditions of the leaf litter. 

Hickories. ( Genus Hicoria.)-While there are several species of 
hickory in this region the classification of some of which gives trouble 
to the botanist, no distinction is made in the lumber. 

Hicoria ovata. Shagbark or Shellbark Hickory.-This tree is easily 
recognjzed by the bark, which exfoliates in long strips. The leaflets are 
three to five, ovate to obovate in shape, hairy beneath when they unfold 
and usually until maturity, but sometimes almost glabrous. The nut is 
small and sweet-one of the best of the hickory-nuts coming into our 
markets. Hickory is strong, but not durable in the ground, and is used 
principally for carriage and wagon stock, handles, and sucker rods, while 
young saplings are used for hoop-poles and rustic furniture. The old 
distinction in the trade by which only the white sap-wood was used for 
wagon parts or spokes has disappeared, since the brown heartwood is 
normally just as strong as the sap-wood. Hickory sprouts vigorously 
when the younger trees are cut and its sprouts are very fire-resistant, so 
that it is forming a larger and larger proportion of our southern Illinois 
upland forests. 

Hicoria laciniosa. Big Shellbark Hickor'_}1.-This hickory, also known 
a the big scaly bark hickory, is found in the bottoms, often associated 
with the shellbark hickory. The nuts are very much larger and harder 
to crack than those of the latter pecies. Its wood has similar properties 
and its uses are the same as those of the shellbark, althouo-h its bark, 
according to Professor Trelea e, i u ually less haggy. 

H icoria pecan. Pecan Hickory.-This species belongs to the water 
hickories, having from 9-17 leaflet., and buds which re emble those of the 
bitternut hickory. It is found on bottomlands subject to overflow, and 
in some parts of the region under di cu sion specimens are left standing 
in the fields on account of the value of their crop of nuts. When other 
trees in the woods are removed from around pecan the crown spreads, 
making it more valuable for nut production. Its wood i the poore t of 
all the hickories. 

Hicoria minima. B itternut Hickory.- Thi s is also one of the water 
hickories and can usually be identi fied by the more numerous and nar­
rower leafl et , and by the twigs and bud -both of which are sometimes 



-305-

coated with a glandular yellow pubescence. The fruit sometimes ha 
prominent sutures often slightly toothed, which split to a little below th 
middle of the nut. The kernel is bitter and not edible. It usua11y grow 
in moist situations along streams. The wood is white and the bark smooth. 

Hicoria glabra. Pignu,t Hickory.-According to Trelease ('96) the 
typical eastern pignut hickory ( C arya porcina), with nearly indehiscent 
husk, does not occur west of the Alleghanies, being replaced by the 
variety odorata. Dr. Trelease divides the species glabra into three varie­
ties: odorata, the bark of which resembles that of the elm, being deeply 
ridged but not shaggy, with often nearly red twigs; villosa, a hil1 form 
with hairy twigs, with a bark resembling that of the persimmon tree; and 
microcarpa, which has a bark often as shaggy as the hagbark, and a 
nut usually gray to whitish, angled, and having a sweet kernel. The 
varieties odorata and microcarpa shade into each other, making their 
eparation difficult. The wood of all the so-called pignut hickorie 

differs little in character and may be used for wagon stock, spokes handle~, 
etc. In southern Illinois it is often sawed into pieces about 6 feet qua re, 
long known as trolley poles for mines. It is also used for . prag and 
mine ties . 

. t.11 orus rubra. Red Mulberry.-The red mulberry ha a very durable 
wood and is classed in this particular with such woods as chestnut, catalpa, 
and sassafras. Mulberry grows on small, rich bottoms, and farmers when 
making a timber sale usually reserve the mulberry becau e of its value 
for fence posts, although we have seen it among mine timbers and in 
charcoal wood. The heartwood is orange to yellowish brown, becoming 
russet-brown upon exposure to the weather. The sap-wood is thin and 
nearly white. It somewhat resembles the wood of O age orange, whi h 
it approaches in durability. 

Liquida111bar styracifl1ta. Red Gum.-This is a species which im­
proved methods of seasoning and drying have converted into a valuable 
wood for interior finish, all kinds of furniture, cooperage, and thin 
veneers suitable for crates and berry boxes. In the trade it is known 
as "satin walnut" owing to the fineness of its texture, the best grades 
going into veneer logs for furniture and interior finish. The wood i · 
close-grained and tough, the color reddish brown, often with irregular 
dark streaks which make it valuable for doors and paneling. The tree is 
usually recognized by the star-shaped leaf and by its peculiar pronged 
fruits on long stalks. 

Nyssa aquatica. Tupelo.-This is one of the most characteri tic 
trees of the Mississippi and Cache river bottom , where it i associated 
with such trees as the red gum, cypress, swamp white oak, and 
black gum, N _yssa s31lvatica. There is very little dL tinction in color 
between the heartwood and ap-wood, although the f rm r i <;ometimes 



306 

cream-colored and is always the more durable. Former difficulties in 
easoning this wood have been overcome, so that now it makes a fairly 

good lumber for floor mouldings, wagon-box boards, furniture, and veneer 
and interior finish. Preservative treatment makes it vali.table for railroad 
ties and it is also a ~ood wood for paper pulp and charcoal for gun­
powder. It is sometimes sold in Europe under the name of bay poplar. 

Nyssa s31lvatica. Black Gum.-This tree is readily recognized by the 
fact that its leaves turn red or scarlet earlier than those of any other 
pecies, and that its branches come out almost at right angles to the stem. 

Its associates are about the same a tho e of the tupelo and its uses are 
imilar. Its greatest economic development in Illinois is in its use for 

the manufacture of egg crates. Its wood is tough and fibrous, making 
it very hard to plit, and it i not durable in the ground unless treated. It 
i one of the species which comes in great numbers after the logging of 
cypress, and men who have purchased land for cypress alone have found 
it becoming valuable on account of the pontaneous growth of black gum, 
tupelo, and red gum. 

Pim1s ec/1£11ata . liortlcaf E ·i11c.-It may be a point of interest to 
botanist to know that there i a stand of shortleaf pine in Illinois on an 
area commonly referred to as the "pine hills," a ridge above Wolf Lake 
Station, and paralleling Wolf Lake. This is an old ox-bow lake fed by 
prings and too deep to be successfully drained. Its location is shown 
n our map, and one of the plates in this report shows the character of 

the tand of timber as well as a log house which is built entirely of short­
leaf-pine logs. Judge Karraker, of Jonesboro, tells us that at one time 
a considerable number of logs were cut on these hills and sawed into 
boards. The soil is a dry cherty loam and, largely because of fires, the 
timber is not preacling, although trees of pole size are found in many 
place . The species can be identified by the needles, which are only about 
half as long a tho e of th long leaf pine ( P·inus palustris), and by the 
bark, which at maturity i scaly and yellowish red, in very pronounced 
irr~gular plates. The ncare. t out-state location of this specie i. in lY1is­
·ouri, where it is mixed with hardwoods-mostly white, red, black, and 
black-jack oak. 

Ta:rodi111n distichum. Bald Cypress.-The bald cypre s is of con­
siderable importance in 111inoi , occurring in the bottoms of the Missi -
ippi River, near Mc lure, and in tho e of the Cache River and the 

backwaters of the Ohio. In some small areas it occurs in pure stands; 
and elsewhere it is mixed with gums and other hardwoods. It has been 
rather closely culled out of the Cache River bottoms, the largest mill 
sawing cypress in quantities being that of Main Brothers, at Karnak, 
just outside this region. There is also a mill at Ullin belonging to the 
Defiance Box Company, of Defiance, Ohio, which saws some cypress into 



307 

box boards for crockery crates. Main Brothers use the drainage ditches 
to float cypress to the mill. This species is easily recognized by its but­
tressed base and "cypress knees," and by the way in which it towers above 
the other swamp species. Reproduction is at too low an ebb to produce 
another crop after the present one is cut, and it is being succeeded by 
hardwoods. 

Junipern,S virginiana. Red Cedar.- This tree, of some importance 
for fence posts, often occur in pure stands n lime tone outcrops along 
river bluffs and scattered over old pastures. Some 235 stem analyses of 
this tree were made by the State Natural History Survey in co-operation 
with the State Department of Agriculture to determine it rate of growth 
under different conditions. It is injurious in fruit regions because it 
bears the teleutospore stage of the apple rust in the so-called cedar apple . 

Fra.rinus americana. White Ash. Gray Ash.-The white ash i found 
as a bottomland species, associated with such trees as beech, sugar maple, 
linden, elm, and red oak, preferring openings where there is considerable 
light. In such situations and with good soil conditions it produces a tall 
clean stem. The sap-wood is white and the heartwood light brown, the 
wood being heavy, hard, strong, and elastic. Its main uses are for 
handles, athletic goods, butter-tubs, car and vehicle tock, automobiles, 
and implements. Like hickory, the second-growth ash is stronger than 
old growth, because of the larger proportion of fiber in the summer wood. 
Clear ash down to a length of four feet can be sold in the form of bolts 
for handles. 

Fra:rinus /anc eolata . Green Ash.-The green ash is found in wetter 
situations than white ash, with such trees as white elm, red and silver 
maple , cottonwood, aspens, linden, and even with cypress. The wood 
is similar to that of white ash but is inferior in mechanical properties. 
It . ucceeds well in plantations, but is subject in this state to injury by 
the oyster-shell scale. 

Acer saccharu.111. Hard 111 aplc.-This is one of the best of the 
maple and is commonly associated with beech in the shadier ituations, 
maple being very tolerant of shade. Hard maple is a good wood for 
furniture , flooring, and interior finish , and makes a good railway tie 
when treated. It is also suitable for the manufacture of basket veneers, 
and in this region most of it goes into the market for this purpo. e. at­
ural reproduction only takes place in shady, moist situations, uch as are 
found in some of the ravines and small bottoms along streams. 

Acer saccharinum. Soft Maple.-This tree occurs in the bottoms 
along with sycamore, elm, hackberry, and gums, and is used largely for 
veneers and railroad ties. It grows well from sprout and should be 
success fully rafred on the coppice system for charcoal. From the ilvery 
appearance of the under ide of the leaf it i ometimes called the II ilver 



- 308 -

maple." The wood is lighter in weight than that of hard maple, but 
-it is a much more rapid grower. Some very large maples were found 
in bottomlands of this region, one being mea ured near Ware, growing 
near the drainage ditch on the Spann tract, which scaled 1,173 board feet. 

Differences between Hickories (H-icoria) and Walimts (luglans).­
Both these genera belong to the family J uglandaceae but can be dis­
tinguished by the fact that most of the hickories have nuts with a dehiscent 
husk splitting into four parts, or, if not, the husk splits part way down 
by following the ridges or sutures, while the butternut and the walnut 
must be "hulled" to get at the nuts. Both genera are alike in having 
compound leaves but different in the fact that the walnut and butternut 
twigs have a pith with black partitions across them, while the hickories 
have the ordinary unchambered pith, like the ash. 

Ju.glans n:igra. Black Waln11t.-Black walnut was found as a scat­
tered tree in the small bottoms of this region and sometimes along pas­
tured ravines on farms, but it reache its best development in the rich 
bottomlands of the Mississippi River, where it often occurs with pecan. 
Walnut is one of our most valuable woods for furniture and veneers, and 
burled specimens are found which have a grairi resembling Circassian 
walnut. During the war it was sought for gun stocks and aeroplane pro­
pellers, and the dark brown heartwood ranks in durability with that of 
white oak and black locust. Prices for clear logs at the present time run 
from $40 to $150 a thousand feet, f.o.b. cars. Walnut should only be 
planted on good, rich bottomland, as it does very poorly on yellow silt 
loam soils. 

luglans cinerea. T¥hite T,fl a/nut.-An occasional tree of this species 
is found along streams and banks of ravines, a well-drained gravelly soil 
being preferred. It is easily distinguished from the black walnut by its 
grayer bark, by its clammy, almost sessile leaflets, and by the fact that the 
twigs, buds, and young fruits are covered with a glandular pubescence. 
The wood in microscopic structure can hardly be distinguished from black 
walnut, both being classed as "diffuse-porous" woods-that is, there is no 
marked contrast between the size of spring and summer pores as there 
is in oaks, ash, and chestnut, which are classed as "ring-porous" hard­
woods. The heartwooa is a light chestnut-brown, takes a good polish, 
and is easily worked, so that it is pref erred by cabinet makers for the 
lining and sides of drawers. The nuts are edible and their hull contains 
a juice which was used by the pioneers for dyeing carpet-rags and 
clothing. 

Magnolia acumina.ta. Cuc1t1nber-free.-This is one of the magnolias 
whose range extends northward into the southern Illinois bottomlands. 
It grows in undrained swamps akmg with cottonwood, soft maple, tupelo, 



-309-

and black gum. Its wood can scarcely be distinguished from that of the 
tulip-tree, and it is used for the same purposes. It can be identified by 
the long pointed buds and by the fruit, which after the fall of the petals 
grows from the center of the flower to about the size and in the shape 
of a small cucumber. 

· Gleditsia triacanthos. Honey Lornst.-There are two species of 
Gleditsia in our district, t·riacanthos and aquatica, the latter having been 
found in the woods around Ullin. The first mentioned is the more impor­
tant commercial species, and is easily recognized by the long-branched 
thorns on trunk and branches, by the compound leaves, and by the long 
pods containing hard, dark-brown seeds. The heartwood is classed along 
with the larch for durability. The species is used for railroad ties, lum­
ber, and charcoal. The wood has a pleasing grain when quarter-sawed, 
but in durability it does not rank with the black locust. 

Tilia americana. Basswood.-This is primarily a tree of the river 
bottoms, where it is associated with elms, hackberry, tulip-tree, and black 
cherry. The wood is used for wooden-ware, carriage bodies, high-grade 
trunks and boxes, backing and drawers for furniture, excelsior, and 
matches. It is light but strong, resembling cottonwood. The genus Tilia 
may be known by the fruit, which consists of two or three nutlet 
attached to a foliar expansion which assists in scattering the fruit. 

Sassafras sassafras.-This is a common tree coming in on old fields, 
along with persimmon and sumach. It can be identified by the frequently 
mitten-shaped leaves and the aromatic odor of the inner bark. Its heart­
wood is brown and very durable, so that it is used for fence posts, cooper­
age, and boat building. Its roots are used for tea. 

Robinia pseudacacia. Black Locust.-This tree is quite common in 
the Ozark region, on slopes above the Ohio River, where it is not attacked 
by the locust-borer, which is so destructive to pure stands. The wood is 
strong, and in durability ranks with Osage orange, from which it is not 
easily distinguished except by the yellower color of the former. It is 
used for fence posts, telephone poles, and insulator pins, and during the 
war it was largely utilized for tree nails and for fastening together the 
parts of wooden ships. The destructiveness of the locust-borer makes it 
inadvisable to plant this species in southern Illinois, although it is one of 
the best trees for reclaiming worn-out soils subject to gullying, or for 
holding blow sand. 

Primus serotina. lVild Black Cherry.-Occasiona1 specimens of thi 
tree are found in bottomland fore ts. It can be recognized by the bark , 
which is broken up into square plates, and by its fruit, which grows in 
racemes. The heartwood is of a deep wine-red color, and fine in both 
grain and texture. It L a valuable cabinet, and an excellent propeller, 



310 

wood. It is used for fixtures, backing for cuts, car finish, professional 
and scientific instruments, furniture, handles, and brushes. It has a pleas­
ing, though not striking, effect when quarter-sawed, and its advantage for 
furniture lies in the fact that it becomes deep red when varnished without 
any stain. The wood is durable in the soil. 

C eltis occidentalis. H ackberry.-This species, as well as another of 
the genus ( Celtis rnississippiensis), is found in this region. It can be 
identified by the leaves, which resemble those of the elm, by the sweet 
berry, which is largely seed, and by the wart-like excrescences on the bark. 
Its wood, like that of the elm, is very hard to split. The sap-wood is 
lemon-yellow, and is hard to season without its splitting. It has no espe­
cial merit as lumber, but it is sometimes used for fence boards and is 
quite commonly made into railroad ties, which have to be treated, how­
ever. It can be classed as a bottomland species in this region, growing 
on land subject to overflow. 

Ulm·us americana. An1,erican Elm. liVhite Elm.- This is the com­
monest of the elms in southern Illinois, although we also have the slip­
pery elm, (Ulmus pubescens) and the winged elm (Ulnius alata) . Ulmus 
serotina has been reported by Ridgway in the extreme northeast corner 
of Wayne county, but we have not yet found this species. The white 
elm is found in meadows where there is considerable seepage and in rich 
bottomland wood , vvhere it reaches an immense ize. One was mea -
ured on the Spann tract, in Union county, which was 30 inches in diam­
eter breast-high, and scaled 921 board feet. Its total height was 60 feet 
and its merchantable length 42 feet. Such trees are used in the manu­
facture of rotary-cut veneer for baskets and coiled hoops; many of them 
go into railroad ties. 

R ed or slippery elni has more pubescent leaves and fruit than white 
elm, a pinkish, more durable wood, and is used for the same purposes. 

The winged elni has smaller leaves than other species and the twig 
have prominent ridges of cork to which it owes its name. 

· Populus heterophylla. S w amp Cottonwood. Black Cottonwood . 
Swamp Poplar.-This tree reaches its best size in river swamps along with 
red gum, soft maple, cucumber and tulip, attaining diameters of 4 to 6 
feet. with very thick deeply ridged bark. According to Deam ('21), of 
Indiana, the pith of the shoots of this species is orange, while in all of 
the other cottonwoods it is white. The wood is white, light, and tough, 
and fa irly easy to work, undergoing indentation without splitting. It is 
a va luable box and crate material, especially for eggs. It is also used for 
wagon-box boards, veneer, excelsior, paper pulp, and as match stock. 
Cottonwood thrives best in full sunlight, and for this reason readily gains 
a foo ting in old corn fields along the Mississippi River and on san<l-bars 



JI l 

with willow and sycamore. It is a prolific sprouter and if there were pulp 
mills in this region it could be raised profitably by the coppice method on 
a twenty-year rotation. 

The common cottonwood (Populu.s deltoides) may be classed with 
this species so far as commercial uses are concerned. Both are grown 
easily from cuttings on overflow lands. 

Platamts occidentalis. S3,cantore.-This tree grows along streams in 
bottomlands and on and-bar with willow and cottonwood. It is ea ily 
identified, even at a distance, by the green and white spotted bark and by 
the fruit, known as the buttonball, which is simply a head-like mass of 
seeds. The wood of sycamore gives a pleasing grain for interior finish 
when sawed radially, but most of it goes into veneer logs, ordinary di­
mension lumber, and railroad ties. It is also used for plug-tobacco 
boxes, and butcher blocks. It grows rapidly on overflow land, both from 
seedlings and sprouts, and might do well on gullied lands which are not 
too dry. The largest sycamore in the country is reported by Robert Ridg­
way ('82), of Olney, Illinois, as growing not far from Mt. Carmel, Ill., in 
the Wabash bottoms. His measurements show that it had a height of 
160 feet, a diameter of 15 feet above the swell of the base, and a spread 
of 134 feet, making it probably the largest tree of any species east of 
California. 

Salix nigra. Black Willow.-The black willow is prevalent along prac­
tically the whole course of the Mississippi and this species and the cotton­
wood are as a rule the first trees to appear on sand-bars and islands. \Vil­
low is a very light wood, with the s~.p-wood whitish to creamy yellow and 
the heartwood pink to reddish brown. The annual rings of all willows 
are relatively indistinct, and the wood is quite uniform throughout. Under 
the microscope black willow can be distinguished from the white by the 
tendency of the pores in the late wood to form wavy tangential lines. 
Willow wood is u ed for lumber, slack cooperage stock, excelsior, char­
coal, pulp, artificial limbs, baskets, and fence posts. It is easily raised for 
revetment work and basketry by the system of pollarding. After cypress 
is cut in the Cache River bottom there is a large amount of willow 
left which on a short rotation would be profitable for charcoal. 

Dogwood, Persininion., Redbud, Hop H ornbeani, and Blue Beech.­
These trees are of common occurrence but can not be rated as of much 
economic importance. Dogwood, (Cornus /lorida ) form an under story 
in some forests and is quite prominent after a cutting-over of the woods. 
Persimmon ( Diospyros virginiana) grows in old fields and along road­
sides and, with dogwood, might be used for shuttle blocks. Its heart­
wood is black and known as "American ebony." Redbud or Judas tree 
(Cercis canadensis) with its characteristic purple flowers, is found in 
bottomland wood along with dogwood, and may be recognized by it 



-312-

small pods and simple leaves. An occasional hop hornbeam ( Ostrya vir­
qiniana) occurs on slopes along streams, and may be known by its hop-like 
fruit and by its bark, which exfoliates something like that of a red cedar. 
Blue beech ( C arpinus caroliniana) is another small tree, with grayish bark 
and fluted stem, growing along small streams, and may be recognized by 
its fruit, which consists of a small nutlet at the base of a three-cleft bract. 
Both of these latter species may be classed as weed trees and should be 
removed to give room for more valuable species. Hop hornbeam, on 
account of its hardness and strength, is used for skids, handspikes, and 
wooden wedges. 

Tabulated data obtained by a study of typ es of upland and botto1n-land 
timber follow. 



D.B.H . t White 
Inches oak 

6 1.41 
7 .83 
8 . 86 
9 . 77 

10 . 78 
11 .53 
12 .49 
13 .50 
14 .26 
15 . 27 
16 .24 
17 . 17 
18 . 12 
19 .09 
20 .09 
21 . 12 
22 .09 
23 .01 
24 .04 
25 .01 
26 .02 
27 .01 
28 .01 
29 . . . . . . . 
30 .02 
31 .01 
32 .... . . . 
34 .02 

Totals 7. 77 

TABLE 1.-NUMBERS OF TREES OF VARIOUS SPECIES* (UPLAND TYPE) ON AN AVERAGE ACRE 
BASED ON 117 .18 ACRES, AL TO PASS 

Black Beech Hick- Ash Maple Black Tulip- Black Sassa- Elm Red Mui~ 

oak ory gum tree walnut fras gum berry 

1.06 . 33 1 .33 . 17 . 15 .02 .09 .07 .02 .21 .05 .01 
. 72 .18 . 73 . 12 .08 .02 .09 .03 . . . . . . . .06 .01 ....... 

1.09 .15 .72 .07 . 02 .02 . 12 .04 ...... . . 17 .02 .... ... 
1.36 . 16 .34 . 10 . 02 . 03 . 07 .04 .01 . 16 .02 .... . . . 
1.40 . 15 .48 .05 .02 . 06 . 11 .03 .01 . 11 ....... . . . . . . . 

.90 . 19 .27 .03 .03 . 04 . 11 .03 .01 .05 .02 .. .... . 

.90 . 16 .39 .03 .02 .08 .07 . . . . . . . .02 . 07 .02 . . ... . . 
1.09 . 32 . 25 .06 . 03 .08 .07 .01 .02 .02 ....... . . . . . . . 

. 65 . 11 .22 .02 .04 .09 .03 .01 . . . . . . . .03 . 01 ....... 

. 58 . 22 . 18 .03 .03 1. 10 .04 ..... .. . . . . . . . .02 ....... . . . . . . . 

.38 . 22 . 16 ....... .03 . 10 .04 . .. .. .. . . . . . . . . 02 ....... . . . . . . . 

.31 . 19 .08 .03 .04 .04 .02 .01 .. . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. 15 . 27 . 13 . . . . . . . .01 .04 .03 . .... .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

.22 . 21 .03 . . . . . . . . 07 .03 .03 .01 ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. 14 . 24 .04 .02 .02 .03 .01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .02 ... .. .. . . . . . . . 

. 11 . 24 .03 .01 .02 .03 .03 .02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .01 ....... 

.08 . 15 .01 . . . . . . . . 02 .02 .01 ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. 03 .08 .01 .... .. . . . . . . . . .01 .01 . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' .01 . ...... 

.02 . 13 .02 ....... .01 .02 .. ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
....... .08 .01 . . . . . . . .01 .01 . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ....... . . . . . . . 

. 01 .05 .01 . . . . . . . .02 .. ..... . 01 . ...... . . . . . . . .02 . ...... . . . . . . . 

.06 . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' .01 . ..... . .01 . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. 04 .. .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ... .. .. . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . . 01 .... '.' . .... . . ' ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

. 02 . 03 ...... ' ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . ' ..... ' ... ... ' ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . . .03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .01 ... . . .. . . . . . . ' ' .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. . ' ... . .01 . . . . . . . ... . . .. ' ... .. . . ' ..... . . . . . . . ' ...... . ., ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ..... ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

11 .32 3.91 5.44 .74 .70 .88 .99 .31 .09 .96 . 17 .01 

•Used. of course, in the sense of sort or kind. tAbbreviation for diameter breast-high. 

Butter- Totals nut 

....... 4.92 

. . . . . . . 2 .87 

. . . . . . . 3 . 28 

. . . . . . . 3.08 
.01 3.21 

. . . . . . . 2 . 21 
.01 2 . 26 
.01 2.46 

. . . . . . . 1.47 

. . . . . ' . 1.47 

. . . . . . . 1.19 

. . . . . . . .89 w 

. . . . . . . . 75 -w 

. . . . . . . .69 

. . . . . . . .61 

. . . . . . . .62 

. . . . . . . .38 

. . . . . . . .16 

. . . . . . " . 24 

. . . . . .. . . 12 

. . . . . . . .14 

. . . . . . . .09 

. . . . . . . .OS 

. . . . . . . .01 

. . . . . . . .07 

. . . . . . . .OS 

. . . . . . . .01 

. . . . . . . .02 

.03 33.32 



D.B.H. 
Inches 

6 
7 
8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 

Totals 

White 
oak 

1. 67 
1.09 
1.12 

. 88 

. 88 

. 58 

. 57 

. 58 

. 46 

.41 

. 29 

.28 

. 20 

. 17 

. 08 

. 09 

. 12 

TABLE 2.-NUMBERS OF TREES OF VARIOUS SPECIES (UPLAND TYPE) ON AN AVERAGE ACRE 
BASED ON 65.14 ACRES, JONESBORO 

Black Beech Hick- Ash Maple Black Tulip- Black Elm Red Bass- Misc. oak ory gum tree walnut gum wood 

1. 85 . 11 1. 26 . 05 . 11 .09 . 14 ....... .06 .04 ..... . . .015 
1.80 .06 .91 .05 . 03 . 21 . 12 .015 .03 . 015 ...... . .015 
2 .06 . 20 .90 .09 . . ..... .03 . 11 .015 015 .OS . 03 .015 
1. 98 . 12 .80 .09 .06 .05 . 12 ..... . . . 05 .OS . . .... .015 
1 . 75 . 26 .44 . 08 .03 .06 .07 ... . ' '. .03 .03 . .. . .. .015 
1 .38 . 17 .37 .06 .015 . 14 . 14 . . . . ' . . .03 .03 . . .... .03 
1. 66 . 26 .40 .015 .08 . 12 . 17 .015 .03 .06 ....... .015 
1. 29 . 26 .34 .03 .015 .09 . 14 . 015 .015 .06 . . . ... . . . . . . 

.95 .34 .23 . 015 .06 .09 . 20 ... . ... .015 .OS . . ... .015 

. 77 . 28 .25 .015 .06 . 015 .09 .. ... . . . . . ' . . . .09 . ...... .015 

.57 .41 . 23• .015 .03 . 11 . 08 . . . . . . . . 03 .015 ..... . . ' ... . . 

.51 .38 07 .... . . . .08 . 12 . OS . .. . ' .. . . . . . . . .06 ' ...... . . . . . . . 

. 27 .40 .03 ....... .03 .015 .OS . . . ... . . . . . . . . . 015 ... . .. ' ....... 

. 26 . 17 .06 ..... . . 015 .015 ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05 . .... .015 

. 15 43 .05 . ...... .03 .015 .03 . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . ' .. . . 

. 11 . 23 .03 . ' ..... .015 .015 . 015 . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . 015 ...... . . . . . . . 

.06 . 21 . 08 . . .. .. . . . . . . . . .015 . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . ~ . . . ' ... 
.015 . ' .... . 12 . . .. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .015 . 015 ...... ' .. . .. . . .015 . . . . . . . ... . .. 
. 05 .015 . 12 .015 ....... .015 .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . ' . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
. 05 ...... .06 . .. . . .. . . ' . ... . . . . . . . .015 . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' .' .. . ' .. . . . 
.015 .. . ' ... .08 .015 . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .015 . ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
.015 .015 .05 . ...... . . . . . . . ' ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

.. ' .. .. . . . . . . . 08 . ' ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' .. . . ' .. . . . . '. ' .. ' ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
.015 ....... 06 . . ... . . . . . . . . . . ... o •I• o • o .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' 

015 015 . . . . . . . ... . ... . . . . . . ' . ., . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . ' ....... . ..... . . . . . . 

9 .63 17 .45 4 .88 6 .48 .St . 69 1.26 1 . .54 .06 .31 .64 . 03 . 17 

Totals 

5 .40 
4.34 
4 .64 
4 . 21 
3.65 
2 .95 
3 .39 
2 .84 
2 .43 
2 .00 w 
1. 78 .... 

-I>, 
1.55 
l. 01 

. 75 

. 78 

. 52 

.49 

. 18 

. 21 

. 12 

. 12 

.08 

.08 

.08 

.03 

43 .65 



315 

TABLE 3.-ESTnlATE, BY SPECIES, OF BOARD FEET lN STANDS (UPLAND TYPE) 
AT BOTH ALTO PASS AND JONESBORO. AVERAGE FOR 182.32 ACRE 

(BASED ON DATA lN TABLES 1 AKD 2.) 

Species Alto Pass Jone boro 

Black oak. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608 592 
White oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525 357 
Beech. . ..... . . .. ........ . .. ..... . ... . . . . . . 415 -133 
Hkkory.. ... . ... . . ... ........ .. . . . . . . . . . . . 351 238 
Tulip-tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-i 97 
Maple ... . ..... . . .................. .. . . . ... 128 58 
Black gum .. ......................... ...... 114 75 
Ash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 29 
Elm .. .... ........ . ..................... .. . -10 18 
Red gum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 37 
Miscellaneous ............ . . . ....... . ....... -11 14 

Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,362 1,948 

It can be seen from these figures that the species m order of im­
portance are black oak, white oak, beech, and hickory, in both regions, 
followed by maple, tulip, and black gum. Species of minor importance 
are ash, elm, and red gum, with a few others such as walnut, mulberry, 
sassafras, butternut, and hackberry occurring only occasionally. 

Combining the results obtained on the 182.32 acres at Alto Pass and 
Jonesboro, we get the following table of yield by species in board feet, 
with the per cent of the entire amount that each forms. 

TABLE -l 

Boa rd ft . per ac re 
Black oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603 
White oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 
Beech ......................... . . . . . . . . . . . 40-l 
Hickory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · 316 
Tulip . . ............ . ........... .. .... . .. . 114 
l\laple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 
Black gum ... .......... ....... .. .... . ..... 100 
Ash ............ . ......................... 37 
Elm...................................... 32 
\:Valnut ................................... 23 
Red gum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 
1\1 iscellaneou · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Total. . ............................... 2,22 

Per cent of tand 
27 . 6 
20.8 
18 . 1 
14 . 1 
5.1 
4 . 6 
4 . 5 
1 6 
1.--! 
1. 0 
l 03 

. 00.J. 

99 . 3-l 



316 

The stand in cubic feet for the average acre for both tracts com­
bined, by species, is given in the following table. 

TABLE 5.-VOLUME BY SPECIES ON AN AVERAGE ACRE, U PLAND TYPE 
(BASED ON THE 182.32 ACRES) 

TOTAL CONTENTS IN C UBIC FEET 

D. B. H . White oak I Black oa k Hickory Beech Tulip-tree Inches 

6 6.47 6.09 4.25 5.50 1.21 
7 5.47 7.18 5.08 4.08 1.47 
8 8.92 10.99 6.64 4.78 1.05 
9 9.02 12.52 6.65 1.04 1.62 

10 9.90 18.05 8.74 2.30 2.34 
11 7.97 17.10 8.76 2.50 5.00 
12 8.74 24.76 12.51 3.46 5.94 
13 11.07 29. 75 8.92 5.63 5.86 
14 8.00 24.00 9.46 5.94 8.29 
15 12.48 23 .78 11.55 7.70 6.57 
16 10.14 19.97 12.25 12. 71 8.69 
17 10.23 20.29 4.68 11.96 6.44 
18 11.34 12.07 3.68 14.00 4.16 
19 9.23 15.60 2.34 11.42 4.06 
20 9.57 10.15 2.56 22 .00 4.38 
21 8.03 8.80 1.89 15.18 3.28 
22 8.66 5.92 2.76 13.14 2. 76 
23 10.08 .95 
24 4.45 t. 75 
25 3.21 1.65 . 
26 1.97 
27 1.49 4.62 

- - - --- - - - --- ---
Totals 176.44 275.99 112.72 143.34 73.12 

Gra nd total, 781.61 cubic feet, or 8.68 cords (90 cu. ft .= 1 cord) . 

TABLE 6.-AvERAGE N UMBER OF BoARD FEET PER AcRE, BoTTOMLAND TYPE 
(SYMBOL, No. 2B*). BASED ON 13.63 ACRES 

White oak . . . . . . . . . . . . 983 
Red gum . . . . . .. . . .... 819 
Elm .. . .... . . . . ...... 477 
Sycamore . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 
Hickory .. .. . . . ... . ... 286 
Black oak . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 
Ash .. . .. . ....... . . . . 218 

Tulip-tree . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 
Maple . . . . . .... .. . .. . 130 
Black gum . .... ..... . 109 
Water locust ..... .. . .. 59 
Beech . . . . .... .. ..... . 56 
Walnut . . . . . . .... . . .. 30 

Tota l. . .. . .... . 3,945 

N. B.- This bottomland tract of 13.63 acres a veraged 33.38 trees per acre, but onl}· those trees wer 
measured whose D. B. H. (dia meter breast -high) was 10 inches or more. 

*For expla na tion of symbols see pages 298 and 299. 



317 

TABLE 7.- ESTIMATE, BY TYPES, OF TOTAL MERCHANTABLE TIMBER FOR 
AREA MAPPED 

Type* 

No. 1 
No. 2 
No. 3 
No. 4 

No. 1B 
No. 2B 
1 B cypress 
2B cypress 

Totals 

*See pages 298 and 299. 

Acreage Average board feet 
per acre 

UPLAND-131,217 ACRES 

118,247 
12,584 

368 
18 

1,000 
3,750 
7,500 

12,000 

BOTTOMLAND-16,419 ACRES 

12,473 
937 

2,894 
115 

147,636 acres 

1,000 
3,750 
1,000 
3,750 

ANNUAL CUT IN BOARD FEET 

Total board feet 
for type 

118,247,000 
47,190,000 

2,760,000 
216,000 

12,473,000 
3,513,000 
2,894,000 

431,250 

187,725,000 board feet 

The total cut for the region under discussion and covered by our 
map is hard to estimate, but it was arrived at in the following manner: 
The best information obtainable was secured as to the amount of timber 
used by the veneer plants at Jonesboro, Anna, Cobden, and Dongola­
towns which lie at the center of the fruit-producing section; the average 
railroad tie was figured as containing 33 board feet, and the estimate of 
timber going into them was based on returns from the various railroad 
companies as to the number of Illinois-produced ties requisitioned by them 
in 1921-a total of 913,940. With this number as a basis for estimate'" it 
was assumed that southern Illinois in normal times produced 500,000 and 
that 300,000 of these at least would come from this region; the amount of 
sawed lumber was obtained by adding to the actual output of the large 
tationary mills an assumed amount for the smaller portable mills based 

on the actual number of days which they might run-which is quite a 
variable period; and the amount of mine timbers cut in the region and 
shipped to adjacent counties, upon which there is no definite check, was 
placed at 4,000,000 board feet. While the individual assignments are 
necessarily inexact we believe that the total, when made up as follows, 
is approximately correct. 

Veneers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000,000 board feet 
Cross-ties . .. . . . .. . ........... 10,000,000 " " 
Sawed lumber . . .... ... . ... . . ~ 4,000,000 " " 
Mine timbers . ... . .. . ... . . . . .. 4,000,(:)()() " " 

Total . ... . ...... . ........ 20,000,000 board feet 



318 

Growth on the average acre, U,pland type.-Growth per cent on 
the average acre of upland timber was · roughly figured by Pressler's 
form~la, . 

V-v 200 -- x -, 
V+v n 

where V equals the present volume on the average acre; and 1.1, its volume 
n or ten years ago. The merchantable volume at present was computed 
as 635.53 cubic feet and by figuring from growth tables the volume of 
each diameter class ten years ago, the total volume at that time was found 
to be 477.68 cubic feet. Using the formula, we get 2.87 as the growth 
per cent. This can be applied like simple interest to the present stand, 
giving the annual increment on the average acre as 18.05 cubic feet, or 
about 1/5 of a cord per acre per annum. It would have been more exact 
to follow Recknagel's method (Recknagel, '16) and to have found a 
growth per cent for each diameter class, applying this as a percentage to 
get the increment on the volume of that diameter class and totaling these 
increments, but according to Chapman ( '21) it is not safe to apply such 
a figure over large areas because the average age, thrift, or other condi-· 
tions may differ widely from that of the sample area. If, however, this 
figure were applied to our 131,217 acres of upland merchantable timber 
it would give an annual increment of about 13,000,000 board feet, assum­
ing that a cubic foot is equivalent to 5.5 board feet. 

Whether this growth of about 1/5 of a cord per acre per year for 
upland timber is correct or not, it indicates that the annual growth is very 
low owing to poor stocking, to fires, and to lack of thinning at proper 
intervals. Baker ( '21) cites an example of oak in the sandy region of 
southern New Jersey where a thinned acre had increased in volume at the 
rate of about one cord per acre per annum, whereas a check plot near it, 
not thinned, had only increased 1.1 cords in seven years. An improve­
ment cutting in a stand of 20-year-olcl mixed hardwoods in the same 
state resulted in a gain of 9.4 cords per acre in 10 years, or, again almost 
a cord per acre per year. 

PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES 

TOPOGRAPHY 

The area covered by this report may be divided for con enience into 
the Mississippi bottomlands and the interior highlands. The Mississippi 
bottomlands occupy about 18o/o of the total area of the 697,286 acres, with 
an average width of four and one-half miles. The relative width at two 
different places is shown on the Profiles sheet. This part of the area 
is cut by old river channels and is still subject to local overflows. Natnral 
drainage is poor, the river having an average fall of only six or seven 
inches to the mile. 



'TOO 

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.e:-

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~y~.:,ni"ol sc-,2,le t,F:!futJ 

'errkt2/ .Sep/~, 1 '' =...,.:n:;; ~ 



319 

The former banks of the Mississippi rise abruptly above the flood­
plain to heights of 250 feet in places and this elevation continues across 
the southern part of the state as a part of the Ozark highlands. There 
is a north and south axis parallel t<? the Mississippi culminating near the 
western part of the Jonesboro quadrangle in bluffs which rise to the 
height of 700 feet in the north, increase to 880 feet in the middle portion, 
and decrease again to 700 feet in the southern section. A detached fea­
ture of these highlands rises like an island from the Mississippi plain at 
Fountain Bluff, but elsewhere they are continuous. The east and west 
axis ends in the chain of heights known as the Shawneetown hills, in 
Hardin county. 

The highe t point of our area i some six miles east of the western 
bluffs at Bald Knob, Union county, where the north and south axis i 
intersected by the Ozark east and west axis, reaching a height of 1,025 
feet. Bald Knob, as already stated, is exceeded in height by \Villiams 
Mountain, in Pope county, and, again, by Charles Mound, in Jo Daviess 
county, but since Bald Knob overlooks the flat flood-plain of the Mis­
sissippi, its actual relief is probably much greater than that of the other 
two points. 

Heavy erosion characterizes the western uplands, flanked as they are 
by the low Mississippi flood-plain. Innumerable short valleys with almost 
precipitous sides are found, separated by long, very narrow-topped ridges 
-a form of topography which does not readily lend itself to agriculture. 

This minutely di~ected upland occurs in a strip averaging five to 
ten miles in width. East of it the stream valleys are wider, the slopes 
less precipitous, and the ridge-tops broader, so that the eastern section 
is well adapted to fruit-growing and general agriculture. In the north­
ea tem part, on the Big Muddy, and in the southeastern section, on the 
Cache River, wide flood-plains are found. 

DRAINAGE 

The northern and northwestern part of the region drains into Big 
Muddy River and its tributaries. Clear Creek, Dutch Creek, Harrison 
Creek, Horse Creek, and Sexton Creek break through the western bluffs 
into drainage ditches, emptying into the Mississippi River, while Mill 
Creek, Lingle Creek, Cooper Creek, and Sandy Creek, in the Jonesboro 
quadrangle, take their rise in the chert hills, and drain south or southeast 
into the Cache River. ( See the Profiles heet.) Geologists tell us that 
the l\ii i ippi was at one time not the master stream, but that some of 
the tream now draining into it flowed south or southeast. 

\v hile the rock strata have in general a slope towards the outhea t or 
ea t, fault have somewhat broken up the continuity of this slope. The 
fact that there is uch slope can be brought out by comparing elevations 



320 

prevailing at the western bluffs with those on the eastern border. At the 
north the difference in elevation is 300 feet, in the central portion about 
the same, and in the southern portion 260 feet. 

GEOLOGY 

A study of Plate LXXI, which was traced directly from the map of 
the State Geological Survey, will give a very good idea of the geology of 
this region from Thebes to Chester and west to the third principal 
meridian-the boundaries of the map. The oldest rocks are placed first 
in the legend. As we proceed eastward from the Mi i- ippi we encounter 
: ucces ively younger strata, those laid down later in geological history. lt 
: hould also be kept in mind that this whole region experienced periods of 
ubmergence beneath the sea, with a deposition of limestones, sandstones, 

or shales, depending upon the conditions of the inland waters, these 
periods of submergence alternating with periods of elevation and sub­
equent erosion down to base level so that where new layers of sediment 

were deposited upon the old eroded land forms, there are many examples 
of what the geologi t calls "nonconformity." 

The Ordovician and Silurian, which are the oldest rocks exposed by 
erosion in Union and Alexander counties, lie like a thin wedge betwe n 
the Quaternary deposits on the west and the Devonian on the east, run­
ning north and south from Fayville to Reynoldsville, and consist mostly 
of limestones, sandstones, and shales. Since these Pre-Devonian rock 
have been fully described by Savage ('08, '09, '10), any attempt at a full 
<le cription would be out of place here. 

The Devonian may be divided into the Lower, Middle, and Upper, 
and Savage ('20) say that the total thickness of the Devonian rocks in 
southwestern Illinois is not less than 800 feet. The lowest series of the 
Devonian is the Helderbergian, represented by Bailey limestone a-nd Back­
bone limestone. The high bluff facing the Mississippi from Harrison 
Creek south to Thebe , which one pa ses in driving from Jonesboro to 
Reynoldsville along the Cape Girardeau road, may be classed as Helder­
berg limestone. The Clear Creek chert i a characteristic layer of the 
Middle Devonian and may be found in two forms: in limestone, as 
nodules from one inch to two inches in thicknes ; and as a regular forma­
tion constituting the axis of such elevations as Hamburg Hill, Atwood 
Ridge, Pine Knob, and Dago Hill, extending down through the Jonesboro 
quadrangle to Tamms. The gravel pit at Tamm is in this formation, 
and the silicon which is mined at Delta, in Alexander county, is in the 
Clear reek chert which has disintegrated. \Ve speak of it because it 
outcrops in the beds of so many streams, such as Clear Creek, and others, 
and is an important road-builder and soil-former. Overlying the Clear 
Creek chert is the Dutch Creek sandstone, so called because it i best 



PLATE LXXI 

(" .... .,-; 1: . .->I tJrt.f'flncion,, .5i/vr/bn 

1::-:·::= .::-·.:::;;I Oevt?nian , 

E~~I Lo we r/'1i.ssi.ssi/7plan ~ 
~{lpr'er " 

11111111111 Penns11ll/e:1nian 

I S'b ~ ggl C reTa~eovs-7 e Tl"lt:1 r If 
_ ___.I Qv4f"ernartt 

5ovrhern Lirniro;; 
6/aciarlon 

,F,,..orn map o1 The 
Ills Geo/. .Svrve'I-

' : . 

.' o 
·. o 
\ o 
.:o 
·o 

,•'oO 

/ oO 
··, o O 

.' 0 
··· 0 oo • · . .. tJ O o0 o 

: 000 00 0 
: 0o0o O O o 
;o'boJ8a° 
\ 0o o 0 00 ° \ O~ .• q• •• 00 ·.• ·• .. i 



32. 

exposed along Dutch Creek, in the southwe t corner of Union county. 
Grand Tower limestone, a layer about 150 feet in thicknes , is well 
exposed in an old quarry a hort distance east of Grand Tower, in Jack­
son county. Lingle limestone and Meisenheimer shale are other repre­
sentatives of the Middle Devonian . The Upper Devonian is made up of 
two layers, the Alto Pa formation and the Mountain Glen shale, which 
i a black shale showing up near Mountain Glen, northwest of Jonesboro. 

Above the Devonian i the Mi sissippian, shown at the extreme right 
of Plate LXXI, and this is divided into the Lower Mississippian and the 
Upper Mississippian, the latter being known as the "Chester group." The 
Springville, or "calico," shale (locally called "ganister",) which is mined 
in some places to be manufactured into refractory fire-brick, is classed 
with the Lower Mis issippian. The Chester group is made up of lime­
stones, sand tones, and shale , from 700 to 1,200 feet in thickness, and 
it is partly in this group that the sink-holes in the region of Anna are 
developed, that entire region being a limestone area. Proceeding upwards, 
we come to the Penn ylvanian, who e lower layer is the Pottsville sand­
stone which forms the bluffs at Pomona, all of the northeast corner of 
the Dongola quadrangle being in fact mo tly sandstone where there is 
considerable poor, gullied land. 

Above the Upper Mi is ippian are the layers of the Carboniferou 
which contain coal beds developed at l\ (urphysboro, Herrin, and Harri -
burg-more thoroughly described in the published geology of the Herrin 
quadrangle. The coal bed indicate that at intervals there were fresh­
water marshes which received an accumulation of plant remains, thi coal 
being formed during what i known a the Carbondale and l\IcLeansboro 
period of the Penn ylvanian. 

The Permian epoch, which fo ll ,ved the Carboniferous, was one of 
upli (t, faulting, and intrusion f lava, during which the eastern extension 
of the Ozark highlands occurred, and as a consequence of which we have 
faults, dikes, and volcanic plug formed in many of the southern countie . 
During Cretaceou and Tertiary time , clays, sands, and gravels were 
laid down, as shown in the lower right-hand corner of Plate LXXI, from 
Fayville to Tamms. After thi came the deposit of sands, gravels, and 
clays, with glaciation of part of the area during the Quaternary or more 
recent period. 

Glacial and w ind actio11.-As can be seen from Plate LXXI, the south­
ern limit of the Illinoian ice sheet extends across the northwestern corner 
o f our area. According to Savage and Shaw ('12), this last advance of the 
glaciers southwards covered about 1000 square miles south of the parallel 
38 degrees. It left no sign f a terminal moraine, but worked over mate­
rial deposited previously, brought clown rocks, such as quartz, from Can­
a la, and filled up and modified former drainage channels. An example of 



PLATE LXXI I 
/"ti 

i===~i:r-.:i~"1"i;'ll"t':::!a 

LEGEND 

\ 
\ 

~ l{ellow S✓-lf Lot:1m 

□f~llt:>W6rd'f 5i/f-Lc;gm 

.M,·xedLonm 

Scale I H= 1 /'f//e 

\ 
\ 

\ 
\ 



324 

the latter is found in the fact that at one time the outlet of Big Muddy 
River into the Mississippi was filled up, forming a large lake called "Big 
Muddy Lake," which was northeast of this region. Glacial striae, having 
a general north and south direction, are found just ea t of thi region at 
Bush, while in another place in the Herrin quadrangle they run south 
30 degrees west. 

Glacial deposits have been modified or covered up in places by loes. , 
which was blown up by the wind from some of the great outwash plain 
formed by the glaciers. According to Savage, this may be of two kind , 
the deep loess, which has a depth of 50 feet in places, and thin loe 
about 10 feet in thickness, the two often shading so imperceptibly into each 
other that they may be considered parts of the same deposit. The thick 
loes may ha, e been deposited in the forested region and the thin loe 
in the undrained lowlands. The true loess weathers with a more or 1 s 
vertical face, gives a test for lime with acids, and contains the remain of 
land hell . A good example is found in the cut at Dug Hill, betw n 
Jone boro and \'fv are, along what is known as the Dug Hill road. South 
of the ·ache River in the Dongola quadrangle the loe s is not typical but 
is non-calcareous, and can hardly be distingui hed from the silt loam . 

SOIL TYPES 

A. Upland so1Js.-In the upland area the vanat1on in soils is n t 
marked. Prevailing opinion holds that loess is present in almost all of the 
upland soils in degrees varying from light deposits in the eastern section .. 
covered by this report, increasing to the west, to the true deep loess 
depo its on the bluffs from Dutch Creek, in the Jonesboro quadrangl , 
outh to Thebes. The true loess contains a considerable percentage of 

lime, and we have found lime concretions imbedded in the banks of the 
streams. The loess soils, according to the "county advisers" in thi 
region whom we have consulted, will grow good blue-grass, sweet clover, 
or red clover, and the presence of certain leguminous plant on top of 
. ome of these ridges shows that the soil contains considerable lime; hence 
is not at all acid, as many of the soils on run-down farms are apt to be. 

Two soil types, the yellow ilt loam and the y llow-gray silt loam, 
tog ther comprise O\'er 80 per cent of the upland soil . They differ in th 
fact that the yellow-gray silt loam is an intermediate phase, approaching 
the gray ilt loam on tight clay, being a mixture of the gray silt loam. 
with the yellow silt. 

The three main soil types are shown in Plate LXXII : the mixed loam 
in the bottoms; the yellow silt loam on the side of the hills and ravines; 
and the yellow-gray ilt loam on the top of the 1-idges. Roughly speak­
ing, the la t two types are of about equal ar a, and are o represented. 



PLATE LXXII [ 

TopograDhY corresponding to the soils ~hown in Plate LXXII. Con­
tour interval SO feet. Scale one inch to the mile. 

Arrows indicate st reams. 



. 

326 

The soil surveyors cover each section by "fortie " and their map agrees 
very closely with the topography (see Plate LXXIII). Near Alto Pass, 
when timber maps and soil maps were compared it was found that the 
present timber areas corresponded very closely with the yellow silt loam 
type of soil, the ridge tops and bottoms having been largely cleared. 

The gray silt loams are also found on the ridge tops, while the 
yellow silt loams are below, coming to the surface on the slopes. As the 
topography n ar the bluffs on the western side is a series of narrow val­
leys separated by long, exceedingly narrow-topped ridges, the prevailing 
soil type is the yellow silt loam. At distances varying from four to five 
miles from the western bluff, the ridge tops become wider and the yellow­
gray silt loam occurs with increasing frequency. 

These two soil types are both characterized by porous, friable surface 
soil and pervious subsoil . They are capable of absorbing large quan­
titie of water and are very resistant to drought. They do not bake hard 
when dry, but remain loose and porous. 

While rated high as agricultural soils, both types are deficient in 
nitrogen, although the yellow ilt loams of this area seem richer in nitrogen 
than the average upland-timber yellow silt loams. 

T he body of continuous timber follows closely the yellow silt loam 
area, not because of any relation between timber types and the physical 
or chemical nature of the oil, but because these soils are found over the 
very rough topography. Both the yellow and the yellow-gray silt loams 
are suitable for agriculture, but the yellow silt loam is found on the steep 
slopes which tend to erode if cultivated and hence have been left in 
timber. As a test of this statement, we have found that if the soil map 
of the Alto Pass region of Union county showing the yellow silt loam 
were uperimpo ed over the timber map made by our party, the two would 
closely coincide so far as the upland area is concerned. 

The soils derived from chert are apt to have a poor moisture-retaining 
capacity where the rock fragments are fairly large. This kind of soil 
resembles gravel, but the fragments are angular and flinty . The degree 
of chertiness is reflected in the type of tree growth, in the extremely 
cherty soils, the o-eneral forest of white oak, black oak, and hickory giving 
way on them to a very inferior post-oak type. The shortleaf pine on the 
we tern lopes of the bluffs near Wolf Lake is on a moderately cherty soil. 

B . B ottomland soils.-As the eroding process is general in the 
upland , the flood-plains of the secondary streams draining these · uplands 
are con tantly receiving a portion of the wash from the slopes, strips of 
sedimentary deposits being thus formed. With the exception of the val­
l~ys of the Big Muddy and Cache rivers, these strips are very narrow. In 
general such soils are mixed loams ( see Plate LXXII), and since they 



3r _, 

lend themselves readily to cropping after drainage, almost every acre of 
them has been cleared. An exception, however, is the gray silt loam on 
tight clay along the Big Muddy River. This does not drain well and may 
be classed as an absolute forest soil. Among the other bottomland-soil 
types are the yellow fine sandy loam, the brown sandy loam, brown silt 
loam, and drab clay loam. Cypress swamps seem to predominate on this 
la t variety of soil. 

CLIMATE 

At Chester, on the upper boundary of our area, the annual rainfall is 
45.18 inche and at . nna the mean temperature is 57.3 degrees F. The 
milclnes · of the climate at Anna can be judged by the fact that /llag11olia 
grandiflora flouri ·he as a street tree. At Cairo, just beyond the lower 
boundary of the region, the mean annual temperature is 58 degrees F. and 
the annual rainfall 41.6 inches. From this it can be seen that both rain­
fall and temperature are favorable to tree growth ; and only rarely is there 
a total loss of fruit due to spring frosts. 

II. Milling and Logging Operations and Wood-using 
Industries in Southern Illinois 

The awrnills of this region, portable and stationary, range in their 
daily cut from 2,000 to 20,000 feet. According to Seerey ('18), the 
smaller cut mentioned would rank a mill as belonging to Cla s A and the 
larger cut would indicate a Class B mill. 

Portable mills are usually equipped with rack and pinion or cable 
drive and friction or belt feed or a com_bined belt and friction feed, though 
many in thi region are run with a traction engine. A 25 horse-power 
engine, if properly handled, will keep a circular saw working to capacity 
and at the same time will run a mall planer and edger. The owner usually 
ha a circular sa"·, ranging in diameter from 54 inch upwards, with 
oli<l or in erted teeth. According to experts the diameter of the saw 

'h uld be approximately one and one-half time the diameter of the large t 
log to be cut, that i , a 36-inch log needs a 54-inch saw and a 40-inch log 
a 60-inch aw. F r very large log in large mills a double circular saw 
mu t be u ed, that is, a smaller saw above the larger one, re,·olving in the 
ppo ite direction, commonly called a top-saw, so that the awdu t fr m 

the top-saw will not be thrown into the lower one, otherwi e, in cutting 
large logs, the saw will not cut through the top of the log and the lab 
mu t be removed by means of an axe resulting in much lo of time. 

According to Seer y the life of a portable mill may be placed at 2 to 
IS years, th maximum time it is operated each year being about 150 day . . 

The amount of lumber ecured from a log depends upon several 
thing.-. uch a the condition of the saw and machinery, the defects ·,n the 



328 

log, and, especially, upon the skill of the awyer in getting the possible 
maximum of high-grade lumber out of every log, that is, reducing the 
labs and edging to the lowest possible figure. An experienced sawyer 

can "size up" a log before it comes on the carriage, and will know how 
to turn and handle it so as to get the most desirable and best-sized pieces 
out of it. One method is to saw the log "alive" or through and through, 
edging up the boards afterwards with the circular saw. Still another plan 
is to slab off the boards on four sides of the log, leaving the "wane," or 
bark, on each board and then cutting up the squared timber into planks 
or boards. The "waney" boards are then sent to the edger, which re­
moves the bark, or, some small mills may ship them, since mills are not 
always equipped with an edger. The slabs may be cut into fire-wood with 
a cut-off saw or used as fuel for the engine. 

Logging operations and costs.-With this digression into mills and 
machinery, we may next describe a specific logging and milling operation 
which we took a little time to follow in detail. It was condl'tcted at Ava, 
Illinois, by the Old Ben Coal Company. The timber being handled was 
located about 4¼ miles southwest of Ava, in Kinkaid township, Jackson 
county. The mill was in the S. E. corner of Section 32, T. 7 S., R. 4 W., 
and the cutting area included parts of sections 32, T. 7 S., R. 4 W., and 
Section 5, T. 8 S., R. 4 W. Land and timber had been purchased by the 
company and after cutting the timber the land was to be sold for farming 
or pasture purposes, at a price around $15.00 an acre. 

The ordinary operations connected with logging consist of felling, 
bucking, and loading the logs on 9rays or log-wagon for transportation 
to the mill. Skidding, which means hauling the logs for short distances 
to piles or skidways in the woods by means of horses or other power, wa 
eliminated in this instance as the logs were hauled directly to the mill, 
about a mile distant, on log-wagons or drays. 

The felling crews consisted of two men each, and for felling the tree_ 
and cutting them into log lengths they received $3.50 per l\I. feet, the 
minimum top-diameter of logs being 12 inches, Doyle-Scribner scale. 
According to Seerey, two men working in timber which will run from 8 
to 10 logs per 1,000 feet will ordinarily cut between 5,000 and 6,000 feet 
per day, the logs varying in length from 12 to 16 feet. In Illinois men 
could not do so well, but two men should cut 4,000 feet per day. \¥age 
in this region have to be graded by what men can receive in the mines, 
o that good inducements must be offered woods workers, especially in 

the summer. Teamsters with their teams received about $8.00 per M. 
feet for hauling logs to the mill and did their own yarding, swamping, 
and road-building. 

The mill was above the average in efficiency and cut about 4,000 feet 
per day, this lumber being hauled to Ava, a distance of 4¼ miles, at a 



329 

probable cost of $7.00 per thou and feet The lumber wa well manu­
factured and there wa Yery little waste, since almost everything could 
be utilized either for riprap lumber for the mines, or for cap-pieces, made 
out of the slabs. Six men were employed around this mill and wages ran 
from $ 3.00 to $ 5.00 per day. To run such a mill there would be required 
a ~awyer, an engineer, a setter, one slab sawyer, an off-bearer, and a man 
to take away awdu t. After the logs had been taken out of the trees, 
ther crews went in to make ties and mine props out of the tops, for which 

they were paid by the piece. It is the custom in some places to go through 
and tak out the young white oak trees for legs and cross-bars, as it is 
claimed that such trees will be badly damaged by felling the large timber. 
:\11 .:pecie ·were being cut in this operation and the average tree would 
yield not far from 100 board feet. We are indebted to Mr. Charles W. 
\Veaver, superintendent of operations, for the many courtesies extended 
to u -following the felling crews and making stem analyses of trees, 
:-,-etting in formation about prices, etc., etc. 

Log ru.le.-The official rule for scaling logs in the state of Illinois 
i the Doyle-Scribner rule, which Chapman calls a hybrid or combination 
log-rule. The straight Doyle rule is based upon a rule of thumb which is 
. uppo ed to make certain deductions for saw kerf and slabbing of the log, 
and reads: "Deduct 4 inches from the diameter of the log at the small 
i:nd a~ an allowance for slab. Square one-quarter of the remainder and 
multiply by the length of the log in feet." For logs 16 feet in length this 
re~o]ves itself into deducting 4 inches from the diameter at the small end 
and squaring the remainder, this giving the contents by the Doyle rule. 
For example, a 16-foot log 12 inches at the top end inside the bark would 
have a content of 64 board feet. This makes it very easy to apply as a 
rule of thumb, but for small diameters it gives very low results as com­
pared with some other log rules-about half as much a the Vermont rule 
for an 8-inch log, the Doyle giving only 16 board feet where the Vermont 
give 40 board feet. For large logs the Doyle rule gave large results, so 
for log 28 inches and over the Scribner rule values were taken and the 
combined rule wa known a. the Doyle-Scribner. The Forest Products 
Laboratory, Madison, \V isconsin, in commenting upon various log rules 
after an exhau tive study, ays: 'A combined Doyle-Scribner rule, using 
Doyle on logs up to 28 inche in diameter and Scribner for logs 28 inches 
and over give the large t po sible overrun for both large and small logs." 
The term "overrun" mean the amount by which the mill tally of lumber 
sawed exceed · the ·caled content. of the logs on the log deck or in the 
wood.. o far as we have inve tigatcd the subject in thi region the 
overrun given by the Doyle-Scribner rule is from 20o/o to 25%, varying of 
course with the ize and oundne of the 1 g. and the degree of utilization 
practiced by the op rator or in the region. 



Name a nd address of operator 
or manager 

David M. Palmer, Ava, Ill . .. . . . ... . . . 
Indian Creek Mill, Murphysboro .. . . . . 
Old Ben Coal Co., West Frankfort .... . 
George Chester, Ava .. . .. .. .... .. ... . 
Ben Phelps, Jacob . ... .. .. ... . . .. .. . . 
Holmar Avers, Leanderville .. .... . ... . 
Matthews Lumber Co . .. . .. . . .. .. .. . . 
Merchants Box & Basket Co., Grand 

Tower . .. . ... . .. .. . .. . ..... . . . . . . . 
Rendleman Bros., Alto Pass . . ..... . .. . 

W. A. Friese, Alto Pass .. .. . . .... . .. . . 

H . A. Dubois & Son, Cobden .. . . . . ... . 
R . L. Lawrence, Cobden . .. .. ...... .. . 
Union Fruit Package Co., Anna ... . .. . 

Fruit Growers' Package Co .... . ...... . 

Defiance Box Co., Ullin . .. .. ........ . 
(Defiance, Ohio) 

George W. Miller, Mill Creek ........ . 
Bert Colema n, Ubedam Hollow 
Hardwood Co., Ware . .. . ... ......... . 
Matthews Lumber Co., Vinela nd . .. . . . 
Van-Sickle & Son, Thebes . . .. . ....... . 
Dongola Box Co., Dongola .. .. ....... . 
Albright & Laurence, Dongola . ... . .. . . 

LIST OF MILLS, WITH LOCATION AND OUTPUT 

Location of mill or plant 

S. E. ¼ of S. E. ¼ of Sec. 29, Tp. 6 S. , R. 3 W. 
N. E. ¼ of Sec. 1, Tp. 9 S., R. 3 W .. ....... . 
S. E. ¼ of S. E. ¼ of Sec. 32, Tp. 7 S., R. 4 W . 
N. W . ¼ of N. E. ¼, Sec. 28, Tp. 7 S., R . 4 W . 
Sec. 24, Tp. 8 S:, R. 4 W . .. . . . ... ...... . . . . 
N. E. ¼, Sec. 18, Tp. 7 S., R. 5 W . . ...... . . 
Sec. 16, Tp. 9 S., R. 3 W . .... .... .. .. . .... . 

Sec. 25, Tp. 10 S., R. 1 W ... . . . ..... ...... . 
S. E. ¼ of S. E. ¼, Sec. 19, Tp. 11 S., R. 2 W. 

{S. W. ¼ of Sec. 25, Tp. 11 S., R. 3 W .. ... . . 
Sec. 10, Tp. 11 S., R. 2 W . . .. .. . . ..... ... . . 

{Jonesboro . .. . ........................... . 
Sec. 19, Tp. 12 S., R. 2 W ................. . 

Sec. 8, Tp. 15 S., R. 3 W .................. . 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . ......... . .. ' ..... ' ..... . 
Sec. 25 , Tp. 13 S., R. 1 W ........... .. .. . . . 

Type 

Portable . . 
St a tionary 
Portable .. 
Portable .. 
Portable .. 
Portable .. 
Stationary 

St a tionary 
Stationary 
Portable . . 
Stationary 
Stationary 
Stationary 
Stationary 
Stationary 
Portable .. 
Stationary 

Stationary 
Portable .. 
Stationary 
Stat ionary 
Stationary 
Stationary 
Portable . . 

C d .. I 
on 1t10n 

Running . . 
Running . . 
Running . . 
Running . . 
Running . . 
Idle . .... . 
[die . . ... . 

Idle .... .. 
Running . . 
Runnin g . . 
Idle .... .. 
Running . . 
Running . . 
Running . . 
Running. 
Running . . 
Running . . 

Running. 
Running. 
Running . . 
Runnin g .. 
Running .. 
Running . . 
Running. -I 

Daily or yearly 
capacity 

board feet 

2,000 (daily) 
7,000 (daily) 
4,000 (daily) 
2,000 (daily) 
2,000 (daily) 
2,000 (da ily) 
2,000 (da ily) 

12- 14 M.(daily) 
100 M. (yearly) 
2,000 (daily) 
20 M. (daily) 
150 M. (yearl y) 
150 M. (yea rly) 
100 M. (yearly) 
200 M . (yearly) 
2,000 M. (daily) 
100 M. (yearl y) 

2,000 M. (da il y) 
2,000 M. (da ily) 
5,000 M. (da ily) 
5,000 M. (da il y) 
5,000 M. (dail y 
3,000 M . (daily) 
2,000 M. (daily) 

c.,., 
w 
0 



331 

THE VENEER INDUSTRY 

The term veneer covers thin strips or lice of wood u ed in the manu­
facture of crate , hampers, berry boxes, and ha ket . The center of manu­
facture for thi - region may be said to be at nna, Jone boro, Cobden, Alto 
Pa , and Dongola. There are three kind f veneer: sawed, sliced, and 
rotary cut, and mo t of the veneer manufacture I in this region may be 
aid to be of the la t variety. The main log. going into this trade are · -

called •·s ftwood · ," uch as elm, sycamore, red and black gun1-, maple, 
cottonwo d, and tulip-tree, which come from bottomlands that are being 
cleared for farming. Logs may be hauled in to the mills by dray or motor 
truck, shipped in on railroad cars , or rafted down the Ohio and Ii · -

1 1ppi river . \ ery large log are pref erred for Yeneer , but they can 

be u ·ed down to 12 inches, or even le s at the . mall end. 
In making !iced or rotary cut , eneer from the log, 1t 1s first cut 

into bolts of certain lengths depending upon the length of the lathes upon 
which they are turned out . . ome runnin(T up t 76 inche · ; but usually the 
bolt · are shorter. The) are then teamed for 12 to 24 hours to . often the 
wood, after which they are spanned in a machine resembling a lathe and 
turned pa t the edge of a large tationary knife which may take off a con­
tinual roll like a thin piece of paper, or short pieces uch as go into the 
side. of hamper . There may be considerable wa te in this process, due 
to twi ·ted grain, plits. fro t cracks, seams, kn t , and other defects in 
the log . but with a clear ound log, the number of uperficial feet of 
ven er ecmed i · c m,iderable. Rough wa te may be u. ed to fire the boil­
er , and the ix- or eight-inch cores which are left at the center of the 
bolt m.ay be u · ed for the bottoms of berry boxe or sold to ome pulp 
company for pulp-w od. • ome of the proce. ses in connection with the 
manufacture of different cla. se of veneered I ackage may now be con­
. idered in greater detail. 

Bushel baskets for shipping fruit.-At pre ·ent the main wood u ed 
f nr this purpo. e i black gum, a it make a good-looking white basket. 
I• or the top hoop of the ba ket oak was formerly u ed, but now good 
ho p · ar made from black gum and pecan, . oaked before being bent. To 
make these hoops, which give ~trength to the top of the basket and over 
which the cover fit , logs are sent into the mill in length of five feet two 
inches. They are split into boards ½ of an inch thick with a band-saw, 
having a kerf of 1/16 of an inch. . that there i · very little waste. The: e 
board. , after slabbing, are nm thr ugh a machine with a serie of mall 
circular saws, like a lath-machine, which ·plit. the b0ard · into trip of a 
:uitahl thickne f r bending. The main part f the ba ·ket, called tht· 
"web." i · mad h) hand by laying trips n a circular form and joining 



332 

them at the center. The e 'webs" are then ent to an automatic ma­
chine which turns out about five baskets per minute. Wire handles are 
also put on automatically from wire in rolls and the basket is ready for 
the cover. Baskets are dried outside on an open porch and the loss in 
drying is very small. 

Hampers.-In the ca e of hamper , hich are u ed for shipping 
vegetables such as sweet potatoes, the staves are of veneering, each stave 
24 inches long. The bottom is made of two half-circular boards joined 
together with a staple, 'cores" left by the circular veneer machines, being 
used for this purpose. Hampers are made on automatic machines, the 
staves being fed into the machine with the two narrow flexible strip 
which, after being tapled, will hold them all together. Good operators 
when speeding up with the e automatic stapling machines can turn out 
1 SO hampers per hour. Another form of package turned out by the mill 
and in large demand for shipping peaches and tomatoe is the popular 
four-basket crate, the baskets nesting in a box made from trips of veneer­
ing; and some mills turn out mall baskets used for shipping cantaloupe · 
and cucumbers. 

MANUFACTURERS IN THE REGION, AND PRODUCT 

Among the manufacturers whom some of the member of our ur­
vey party have vi ited we may mention the following: 

Merchant's Box and Basket Co. Grand Tower, Illinois. Their mill 
is located on the Mi sissippi River and gets 90o/o of its raw material from 
Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It uses from 
three to four million feet yearly and employs from 100 to 125 hands, u ing 
daily about 12,000 to 15,000 board feet. It manufactures berry crate , 
grape baskets, bushel hampers, and half-bushel hand-baskets. The v. ood · 
used are mainly red gum, sycamore, tulip-tree, and tupelo, but a very little 
beech is used. Logs from 16 inches in diameter and upwards are pre­
ferred, and the mill can handle a bolt as long as 76 inches. According 
to their statement there is very little prime veneer-timber left in Illinoi , 
the best tract, near Reyn'oldsville, having been cut some years ago. 

Rendleman Brothers, Alto Pass. This firm has a mill in the south­
east corner of Section 19 Tp. 11 S., R. 2 vV., which has been running for 
six years. It is located near the source of supply, and is equipped with a 
planer and a veneer machine. It employs six hands, uses annually about 
100,000 board feet, and the product i hauled to Alto Pass or Cobden. 

W . A. Friese, Alto Pass. Mr. Friese has two mills, one located on 
Clear Creek in Section 25, T. 11 S., R. 3 \V., and another in Alto Pass. 
The town mill uses about 20,000 board feet annually in supplying part of 
the local trade with baskets while the mill out of town aws lumber ancl 
railway ties. 



I 

333 

H. A. DuBois & Son, Cobden. This firm specializes in fruit baskets 
and hampers, using about 150,000 board feet annually. The foregoing 
description of processes of making baskets and hampers (pp. 331, 332) 
was obtained on a visit to their mill. 

R. L. Lawrence, Cobden. This manufacturer buys most of his logs 
in the state, and ships his products to eight states. He uses about 150,000 
feet annually and turns out barrels, fruit crates, and fruit baskets. Staves 
for slack barrels can be made by the veneer process, but the price of 
barrels has advanced so much in this region within the last few years that 
it almost prohibits their use, so that smaller packages, like baskets and 
hampers, are being used. 

The Union Fruit Package Co., Anna. Mr. John C. DeWitt is the 
manager of this company, which is organized on a co-operative basis to 
furnish grower5 with strawberry boxes, four-basket crates, and other 
containers for fruits and vegetables. It uses about 100,000 board feet 
annual-ly, .the logs being purchased locally. 

Fruit Growers' Package Company. This company has a mill at 
Jonesboro, and another located in the woods near Ware, not far from the 
toll-gate. They are among the largest manufacturers, in this region, of 
four-basket crates for peaches and tomatoes, melon crates, and many other 
kinds of packages for local and outside trade. Much of the material is 
cut during the winter months, and stored and allowed to season for 
assembling in the summer. 

Two other box concerns were found in this region, the Defiance Box 
Company, located at Ullin, with main office at Defiance, Ohio, making 
crockery crates; and the Dongola Box Company, at Dongola. 

NECESSITY FOR A LOCAL SUPPLY OF "SOFTWOODS" 

FOR VENEER PURPOSES 

Since southern Illinois is a fruit and vegetable country, we believe 
it to be very essential to the prosperity of its business that there should 
be a local supply of bottomland timber, such as elm, sycamore, cotton­
wood, and gum, for the making of packages for shipping fruit and vege­
tables. This is a point which we believe companies adding to their 
acreage of orchards are not appreciating as they should. Some of the 
local mills see only a five years' supply of local logs ahe~d of them, which 
means that when supplies of this kind have to be shipped from more 
distant points, the grower will have to pay more for them and this in­
crease will have to be charged up to the consumer. 

Col. Greeley cites the fact that the supply of lumber for boxes is 
getting to be a very serious matter with the citrus growers in Florida. 
They use 12,000 boxes yearly, each requiring about S½ feet of lumber, 
while the shippers of tmck-produce require about 13,000,000 additional. 



334 

The rapid exhaustion of southern pine may in a few year greatly hamper 
the expansion of the citrus industry. 

The fact that southern Illinois faces a similar situation . hould, we 
believe. lead men who do not need wet bottomland tracts for farming to 
ave these woods, since their growth is rapid and there should always be 

a good market for the faster growing varietie in the form of log for 
veneer. 

HARCOAL- fAKING 

PROCESSES AND YIELDS 

1\fr. J. E. Black, Ullin, Illinois, has a battery of ix brick kiln , each 
with a capacity of about 60 cord , and about one mile southea t of Olive 
Branch, on the Illinoi Central Railway, there i a battery of four kilns. 
Cordwood which come from bottomlands in which the cypres ha been 
cut out, costs about $3.00 per cord, delivered at the plant, and the charcoal 
product from it is old to companies making gunpowder. Almost any 
pecies of hardv.,ood can be made into charcoal, but we are informed that 

to make the right kind of charcoal for blasting powder a mixture of the 
coals resulting from carbonizing different species must be made. As a 
rule the denser the wood the heavier the coal, charcoal made from cotton­
wood being about half a heavy as that from ash. For this reason. the 
lighter wood , such a willow and cottonwood, are better adapted to port­
ing powders. 

The wood i cut into cordwood length and in the best practice is 
allowed to season for a year, either in the wood or at the plant. The 
main reason for this is that the higher water-content of the green wood 
nece sitates more fuel for carbonization. Palmer ('14) say that hard­
wood is distilled in three forms of apparatus : (a) in brick kilns, ( b) in 
retorts, and ( c) in ovens. The retort is the modern form of apparatu 
because the valuable vapor are saved and condensed to make wood alcohol 
and acetate of lime, and because the wood is drawn into them on steel 
cars, and less work i re iuired for charging and recharging than with 
brick kilns. The kiln type i only economical when 'the chief product 
de ired is charcoal, for which a fair price can be btained, and in loca­
tion. where wood i fairly cheap and plentiful. 

The brick kiln ha. a circular ba e, the entire tructure re embling a 
beehive in form. fter it ha been filled with wood it is lit at the top 
and clo ed up except for outlet hole5 near the base "hich can be opened 
or closed with brick or fire clay to increase or decrease the draft. The 
time required for fini hing a kiln depends somewhat upon ,, eather con­
ditions, but it is u ually from 12 to 22 days, including the charaing of the 
kiln, the cooling, and the clischargina. The yield (Geer '07) per cord of 
wood from the brick kiln i from 45 to 52 bushels of charcoal, and prices 



JJj 

may vary from seven to ten cents per pound, depending upon market 
conditions. The fact that with oven ·retorts the charcoal is more or less 
of a by-product makes it very hard for operators of brick kilns to com­
pete in the open market with the prices made by operators of retorts and 
ovens, since the latter can make a profit on other valuable products, such 
as wood alcohol and acetate of lime, and powder companies will not main­
tain kilns of their own when they can buy their charcoal in the open 
market for le.5s than the cost of production. 

Trns AND J\hNE T1MBERS 

RAILROAD CROSS-TIES 

\Vhile tie-treating plants in the state are getting a very large majority 
of their ties from neighboring states to the south of u , Arkansas, Mi -
souri, Tennessee, and Kentucky the number of cro -ties actually produced 
in Illinois is by no means in ignificant. Report from ten railroad com­
panies show that in 1921, ties to the number of 913,940 were produced in 
Illinois and landed along their rights-of-way. l\Iaking an allowance for two 
roads out of this number which did not purchase their normal number in 
1921, we can safely say that one million ties is tbe normal output of the 
whole tate of Illinois, and of this number from 300,000 to 500,000 w uld 
be produced in sonthern Illinoi , the majority of the e coming from the 
region covered by the forest survey party this pa t summer. Assuming that 
it take.5 32 ties of good size to make 1,000 board feet of lumber, there 
would be 32,000,000 board feet of timber reqnirrcl for this purpose every 
year in Illinois. 

Specifications, Grades a.nd Si.zes, Species 

According to the specifications of one of the leading railway com­
panies purchasing tie in lllinoi , "All ties hall be free from any defect 
that will impair their strength or durability as cross-ties, such as decay, 
split , shakes, or large knots, and should be made from trees which have 
been felled not longer than one month. All ties shall be· straight, well 
manufactured, cut square at the ends, bottom and top parallel, and have 
the bark entirely removed. All ties shall be 8 feet, or 8 feet 6 inches long." 

=-

Ties according to size are graded a follows: 

Grade 

l 
2 

3 

4 
.s 

TABLE 8 

awed or hewn top, bottom, 
and side 

one accepted 
6" thick X 7" wide on top 

6" thi k X 8" wide on top 

i " thick X 8" wide on top 
7" t hi,·k Y ()" widf' nn ton 

Sawed or hewn top and bottom 

6" thick X 6" wide on top 
6" thick X 7" wide on top 
7" thick X 611 wide on top 
7" thick X 7" wide on top 
6" thick X 8" wide on top 
7" thick X 8" wide on top 
7" thick X 9" wide on top 



336 

On the basis of the durability of the different woods, the same rail­
way company divides them into two· classes, ties which need to be treated 
and those which do not, with subclasses under each of these based on 
relative natural durability of the wood, as follows: 

Group Ua 
Black locust 
White oal...-s 
Black walnut 

Group Ta 
Ashes 
Hickories 
Honey locust 
Red oaks 

CLASS U. Trns WHICH MAY BE USED UNTREATED 

Group Ub Group Uc Group Ud 
"Heart" pines "Heart" cedars Catalpa 
"Heart" Douglas fir "Heart" cypress Chestnut 

CLASS T. TIES WHICH 

Group Tb 
·' ap" cedars 
" ap" cypre s 
"Sap" Douglas fir 

Hemlocks 
Larches 

"Sap" pines 

Redwood Red mulberry 

SHOULD BE TREATED 

Group Tc 
Beech 
Birches 
Cherry 
Hard maples 
Hackberry 

Group Td 
Elms 

oft maples 
Spruces 
Sycamore 
Butternut 
Gums 

The board-foot contents of a cro s-tie eight feet long ( Chapman '21) 
may be found by looking up the log scale for a log of that length and 
diameter inside the bark, ju t as if the log were being scaled. Or the 
cubic-foot contents of the tie may be calculated from the basal areas of 
the top and bottom, converting this into board feet by the use of a con­
verting factor. For ordinary purposes we may consider that a cubic 
foot is equivalent to 5.5 board feet, since in awing a log quite a large 
amount is lost in edgings and sawdust. Mill men estimate that a tie eight 
feet long with a 6-inch by 8-inch face ( a No. 3 tie) scales about 32 board 
feet and that 30 of such ties will make 1000 board feet of lumber. Ties 
which are 8¼ feet long and have a 7 by 9-inch face (No. 5 tie) contain 
from 4D to 44 board feet each, or we may say that it takes from 23 to 25 
of them to make a thousand board feet of lumber. Switch ties are cut 
about twice the length of ordinary ties and consequently with this greater 
length would have a still greater content. 

Out of a total of 280,077 railroad ties purchased by one road in Illi­
noi in 1921, we find that 155,940 came in class Ta, comprising such 
species a the ashes, hickories, honey locust, and red oaks. This shows that 
over half of the ties came from species that were not durable by nature, 
but were used because of the growing scarcity and high price of white oak 
and other durable species. It also hows the increasing value of many of 
our bottomland species which have until very recently been considered of 
little value for ties. The reason for this will be discussed later under the 
head of wood preservation. 

In the summer of 1919 prices received for ties as well as the price 
for making them, reached their peak, the former varying near Jonesboro 
from $1 to $1.90, the higher price being received for a No. 5 tie (7 by 
9-inch face) of such pecies as hackberry and soft maple, delivered at the 



337 

railroad. The prices paid for hewing ties varied from 30 cents for o. 1 
up to 50 cents for No. 5, and about 25 cents each was paid for hauling 
them a distance of six miles. During the summer of 1921 prices had 
fallen considerably for both ties and labor, so that the best ties brought 
about $1 delivered, and the cost of hewing was from 15 to 25 cents each. 

Ties are produced in this region chiefly in three ways: ( 1) by small 
portable mills, sawing a large proportion of beech, (2) by farmers who 
get out ties during the winter or other slack periods, and ( 3) by prof es-
ional "tie hacker " who generally work in pairs, maintaining a small 

temporary camp financed by the operator who has the contract. Where 
coal companies are clearing off timberland it is the custom to send in men 
after the logging to work up the tops of trees into railroad and mine 
ties, effecting in this way a rather close utilization of the tree contents. 

Wood Preser-uatio11 and Tie-treatiJ1g Plants in Ill-inois 

The increasing prevalence of preservatiYe treatment in Illinois will 
Yitally affect the future timber supply and forest management. Any proc­
e s by which the durability of a species can be doubled or trebled will 
lessen to just that extent the drain upon our forests; and instead of taking 
a longer time to grow white oak, for example, attention may be given to 
cottonwood, soft maple, willow, sycamore, gum, and other fast-growing 
hottomland timber, on short rotations. According to C. P. Win low, 
Director of the Forest Products Laboratory at Madison, Wisconsin, for­
e ters are prone to emphasize the great loss in the forest through forest 
fires and say little about the amount of material saved to the country by 
pre ervative treatment. This is a phase of conservation which therefore 
de erves some consideration. 

_ complete list of the tie-treating plants in Illinois, everal of wJiich 
\\'e ha,·e visited, is as follows: 

American Creosoting Company, Marion 
Ayer & Lord Tie Company .... Carbondale 
J oyce-\Vatkins Creosoting Co .. :\1etropoli . 
Indiana Tie ompany ....... J ppa (,\lain office at £yansville, Incl.) 
Kettle River Company ......... ::Vladi on 
T. J. Moss Tie Company ...... It. Vernon and East St. Louis 

. B. & Q. Treating Plant ..... Galesburg 
.:\lidland re oting Co ........ Granite City 

\1/ e have vi. ited personally the plants at :\Iarion, Carbondale, Mt. 
\ ernon, Ietropolis, and Galesburg, to get some information about proc­
c e and number of ties and amounts of other timber treated annually. 
In general these plants may be divided into two cla e , those which pre-
er e ties for their o\\·n railroad lines, as tho e of the C. B. & Q. and 



338 

those which do commercial treating for everal railro;,:s or for private 
companies. With the exception of the plants at Gaiesburg and Madison, 
these plants receive ties from the region now under discussion. 

The railroad companies have taken the lead in timber preservation 
because of the increa ing scarcity and high prices of railway ties, thi 
being one class of material for which no satisfactory sub titute has been 
invented. They have found that many species of timber not ufficiently 
durable for cross-ties may be made so by pre ervative treatment. Many 
of them have been creosoting timber long enough to obtain reliable data 
from experimental tracks laid with ties treated by variou method , upon 
which exact observations have been made through extended period under 
all classes of climate and soil conditions. 

A number of the lar(Te team road , for example, the Burlington in 
Illinois, have. exten ive treating plants fitted to handle large quantitie of 
timber in an efficient manner. Starting in with cross-tie , many have 
found out that it effects a great saving to treat every tick of timber used 
for trestles, piling, bridge-stringers, and telephone poles. They have found 
out that all species need air-seasoning for a considerable length of time 
and some of them keep a much as ix million feet of material in their 
yard for a year-which mean carrying a heavy inve tment. The idea 
seems to be growing that all specie are benefited by pre ervative tr at­
ment and that all can be treated uccessfully and advantageously. 

Nearly all cro -ties are treated by the closed tank or "pre ure 
process," in which the wood i subjected to treatment under pressure 
de igned to secure a heavy absorption of the preservative. There may be 
as many as eight of these treating cylinders at one plant, each about 125 
feet long and from five to six feet in diameter, with heavy air-tight door 
which can be locked while the cylinder is being subjected to an initial 
vacuum or to pressure. Each cylinder will hold about 16 steel cars or 
' 'cylinder buggie ," which aft r being loaded with 52 eight-foot tie , are 
drawn into the cylinder by means of cables or small donkey engine , each 
filling by these car being known a a "charge." The di placement f one 
of these cylinders is about 3,900 cubic feet. 

Preserva.tives uscd.-The principal preservative in u e at the present 
time are creosote oil zinc chloride, and an emul ion of zinc chloride and 
creosote, treatment with the la t being knO\vn as the ' ard proce " from 
it inventor. Modification of the method known a the "pre ure proce " 
have been devised to bring about pre ervation without taking too much of 
the liquid. One of the e, kn wn a the Rueping proces u ed with 
creosote at the plant at l\letropolis and elsewhere. Since it de ign i 
to leave the creosote only in the cell walls and not in the pores of the 
wood cells, it is sometime called the "empty cell" proce s. 



339 

Creosote has the advantage that being more or less oily, it does not 
wa h out of the wood readily, so that it is adapted to ties in wet places. 
Zinc chlpride, while classed as a soluble salt, has given good satisfaction 
and i applied with pressure in the same manner as creosote, the process 
being known as "Bumettizing." We were shown a red oak tie at the 
:;\It. V rnon plant which had been treated with zinc chloride in 1899 and 
the wood was still sound and heavy, the main failure being where it had 
been cut by the tie plates. This showed a durability of 22 years, wherea 
red oak untreated is rated at about eight or nine years only. This would 
--eem to belie the statement that zinc chloride is unsatisfactory because of 
it solubility in water. There has been complaint that it interferes ·with 
the automatic ignals by its ffect on the electric current. 

Results of treatment a11d effect on different species.-Mr. J. H. Water­
man, Superintendent of the Galesburg plant, rates the value of the dif­
ferent proces. es in the following order: first, straight creosote; second, the 
Card proces ; and third, Bumettizing ( zinc chloride). According to hi 
experience the aYerage life of an untreated tie is not over four years, but 
over twelve years' life are got out of some of their treated ties, with the 
po ible exception of chestnut. He believes that much depend on the 
thoroughness of the treatment and the time of the year when the timber 
i. cut. Thorough air-seasoning i recommended for every tick of timber 
treated. 

Hi ob en·ation · upon the ordinarily less durable species are of value 
in thi di cu sion. He states that cottonwood if properly treated with creo­
:,ote will give as long life a. any tie he handles. Beech, birch, and maple 
will only give about four years' service without treatment, but make good 
tie vhen properly treated. A to hard maple, hi road has in Nebra ka 
a number of these treated ties in the track and he believes that they will 
get twenty years of life out of 90 per cent of them because they were cut 
in th winter months; and the same can be said of birch, soft maple, and 
beech i{ properly handled. The latter i a . pecie which has been brought 
into the market within the last few years, altogether because of the use 
of preservative . 1r. \i\Taterman further believes that durability of ties 
will be doubled by the use of heavy rails and tie plates, since the failure 
nf many oftwood ties is due to cutting rather than to decay. 

Ordinar31 pressure proccss.-Leaving out the Rueping proces the 
ordinary pre ure process with zinc chloride or creosote i to put the tram 
carrying ties or other material into the retort and draw an initial vacuum 
nf about 25 inche for one hour, more or le according to the pecifica­
tion of different railroad.. The creo ote i then introduced under u f­
ficient pressure to drive the pre. ervative into the pore of the wood, the 
length of time for :ih-;orption dependina upon the . pecie. of w od and, 



340 

again, upon the specifications under which the contractor are workin , but 
varying from two to three hours. The pressure is then removed, the 
preservative is withdrawn to the storage tanks, and the material i allowed 
to drip for some time before being returned on the trams into the yards. 
The amount of preservative is usually specified at so many pounds per 
cubic foot, a "full cell treatment" requiring 12 pounds per cubic foot of 
wood. Owing to the large amount of material kept on hand for ea on­
ing and the space needed for storing, receiving, and di patching it the e 
timber-treating plants are usually located at some di tance from town - and 
adjacent to railway lines, with a large tract of land for buildin , purs, 
and yards. 

Some of these plants have been equipped for treating wood-block 
paving, the blocks being made at the plant from southern pine , and the 
process being similar to that for treating railway ties, except that the 
blocks are put in containers with perforated sides in tead of being loaded 
upon trams. The plant at Granite City specializes on pavino- block and 
piling, and does not treat over 3,000 tie a year. It u e the Ruepino­
process entirely. 

TIMBER USED IN COAL MINES 

Of the four counties coming within the scope of this report, only Jack-
on county mines any coal. It is credited with an output of 1,204,949 

tons for the year ending July 30, 1921. The timber supply of the other 
three counties, however, is very important as furnishing a supply of mine 
timbers to adjoining counties-to Williamson, which mined 10,822,566 tons, 
and to Franklin, which produced during 1921 12,723 700 ton , exceeding 
the amount produced by any other county in the tate. High freight rates, 
of course, have their effect upon the distance to which mine timbers are 
hipped, but in general we may say that the coal-mining countie have 

naturally pref erred to save some of their own timber and buy from out­
side sources. 

Kind and description of t·imber used in coal 11iines.-The main kinds 
of timber used in coal mines may be listed as follows: 

1. Cross-bars or legs. These must be made of white or bur oak. 
They vary from 10 to 16 feet in length, and must be not le s than seven 
inches at the top end, inside the bark. Thrifty young white oaks are of ten 
cut for bars when by leaving them for a few years they might grow into 
trees of tie size. 

2. .Mine props. Mine props may be in the round, or split from large 
trees, and are from 5.5 to 10 feet in length and not less than four inches 
at the top end. They are classed as mixed oak, which brings the best 
prices, and miscellaneous, which includes almost any of the bottomland 
species except willow and cottonwood. 



34 l 

3. lvf ine ti.es. These are of two kinds-room ties and motor ties. 
The former are of smaller size and are used by the miners in mining the 
coal out of a "room"; while motor ties must be larger, since over them 
the heavy motors run which convey coal to the hoisting shaft. Room ties 
are about 5 feet in length, of any kind of hardwood, hewed on two sides, 
and with a 4-inch by 6-inch face. Motor ties are usually 5 ,½ feet long, 
hewed on two sides, with a face 5 by 7 inches. Sometimes the smaller 
ties are sawed out by a portable mill. So far as we have seen, creosoted 
mine-props are not being used, since it is not intended that they shall giYe 
a service of over three or four years. For more permanent construction 
near shafts and in flttor-spar mines, cement or steel may be used. 

4. Mine caps. "Cap pieces.'' These are pieces of boards of mixed 
oak, 1 inch by 6 inches by 16 inches in length, which are placed on top of 
mine props to tighten them up. Some of the sawmill use defective lumber 
for this purpose. 

5. Wooden tracking. Thi is u ed in pieces u ually 8 feet long and 
3 by 4 inches in diameter, to take the place temporarily of rough or poor 
grade lumber which may be used to keep coal from falling down. It may 
be sawed at portable mills, and is worth about $20 per thousand board feet. 

6. Riprap lumber. This term is used to designate a kind of rough 
pr cheap grade of lumber which may be used to keep coal from falling 
down in mines or is used in cars and may be sawed at portable mills. It 
is worth about $20 per thousand board feet. 

7. Lagging. Small round pole or poor grades of slab - from port­
able mills u.sed to keep coal from falling through. 

8. Sprags. Pieces of hardwood, preferably hickory, 2 inches in 
<liameter and 18 inches long, used by miners to thru t bet\\'een the poke. 
of coal cars to stop them. 

Besides the kinds enumerated, large amounts of yellow pine and 
other kinds of lumber not considered here are used for tipples, bed , 
buildings, and office . 

Amount of timber required to mine a ton of coal.-This i:, a very hard 
point to determine. One operator states that ten times a much timber i 
required in the Danville district to mine a ton of coal as in the Taylor­
ville district, due largely to a difference in roof conditions. 

Figuring it, however, by four different methods from data given u 
by some of the large ·t coal companies on timber used and coal mined for 
a single period, we find by averaging the figures from five different 

ources, that it takes not far from .25 cubic foot of limber to mine one ton 
of coal, or 20,000,000 cubic feet for the whole state, not includrng lumber 
u ed for buildings and other construction purposes. Ilall and Ingall's 
('11) e. timate that it take<; one-fifth of a cubic fo t f woon to mine one 



342 

ton of c al, agrees very well with our figure. This amount is less tt1an 
that given by some other authorities. Andros ('1 S) says that for "loog­
wall mines" in District 1, from 1.5 to 3 props per ton of coal are needed 
and for "Room and Pillar" timbering from 2 to 12 props per ton of coal, 
depending upon roof conditions. 

III. Forest Problems 
FIRES 

Fire is the most important sir-igle factor affecting the forests of this 
region, and fires must be controlled before any policy looking towards the 
securing of a fully stocked fore t can be made effective. Some part of 
th continuou timbered bluff area i burned over every year. The fall 
o f 1921 was unfavorable for forest fires because of heavy rain at the 
11 su;:tl fire period, but with the rank vegetation now on the ground the 
. pring of 1923 if fairly dry will be a dangerous period. Out of 33 sections 
in different part of thi region examined during the ummer of 1921 , 
12 had burned over completely or partially within the last three year . 

The fore t-fire hazard i quite pronounced for s~veral reasons. \N"here 
the stand are well stocl ed with mature trees, the forest floor is carpeted 
with leave in autumn; and where the stand have been opened up too 
freely gra and weed. grow luxuriantly on the fertile soil. Hence, 
throughout the wooded area condition favor burning. Also the con­
tinuity of the wood d areas in the bluffs permits fires to spread -if once 
tarted, and it is alrno t certain that they will be started somewhere in the 

hill by hunter , by traveler , by settlers clearing land, by tie hackers or 
other wood worker who have no. interest in the woods by farmer 
burning along the edge f th woods to kill chinch-bugs, by railroad 
engines, by incencliarie , or by lightning. Probably hunters set more fire 
than any other cla, Fire also burn into the hills from the Missis ippi 
bott ms. 

DIRECT EFFECTS OF FIRES 

The direct damage don by fires (Hawley '21) consists in the injury 
to trees containing merchantable material, the injury to young growth, 
including reproduction. injury to the soil, and inj,ury to the productive 
power of the fore t . A t mperature of 54 9egrees Centigrade ( 129.2 F.) 

ufficient to kill the cambium or grov,,ing layer of a tree, this layer being 
v ry much more en itive to heat during the early part of the growing ea­
, n. Trees standing upon lope are usually clamaged worst on the uphill 
ide if the fire i sweeping up the lope, because that side is more sheltered 

temporarily ancl there i usually a greater accumulation of leaves and 
litter there at the base of the tree so that the fire burn longer and more 

verely. 



343 

\Ve have found trees OYer 12 inches brea. t high burned down by 
repeated fire., which means, of cour e, a direct loss of the merchant­
able timber in these trees. If not killed outright by the intense heat, young 
trees are fire-scarred, the wood is finally expo ed by the peeling off of the 
hark, and an entrance point thus made for the spores of wood-destroying 
fungi which start decay at the base of the tree. In uch timber a heavy 
discount must be allowed in making e timates. If left for seed, it 1 • 

Yery unlikely that uch trees will survive long or produce good crop 

INJURY TO REPRODUCTION 

Fires kill the young growth outright both of . prout and seedling origi n , 

the amount of complete destruction depending on the thickne of the 
bark, the black oaks and hickories evidently being more fire-re i tant than 
the white oaks. Repeated burning off of sprouts may cau e an abnom1al 
growth of young sprouts, too dense to amount to much in restocking the 
tand and only adding fuel to the next fire. corn , nuts, and other eeds 

are also so scorched and burned that they will not germinate no matter 
how favorable oil conditions may be; and the opening up of the tand 
through repeated fires hinders the reproduction of the bette r pecies 
brought into unfavorable competition with a covering growth of weeds, 
grass, and inferior species like sassafra , persimmon, and sumach. Thi ­

fact of w?rthless growth, and the consequent drying out of the soil due 
to burning, is changing the beech-maple type of forest to the more 

xerophytic oak-hickory type. 

INJURY TO THE SOIL 

Prior to the w0rk of Hes elman, the main value of humus in forest 
soils was thought to be its effect upon the phy ical characteristics of the 
oil, increa ing its water-holding capacity, rendering heavy clay oil lighte r 

and better aerated, and making sandy s ils more retentive of moisture an<l 
heat. Moore ( '22) shows that humus in ·oil or v n in and ha a decided 
effect to timulate the growth of tree seedlings of variou pine and the 
sugar maple. He also says that "the nutrient value of humus and it 
influence on rate of growth in certain fore t · e ms amply demonstrated. 

urfacc:-burning in a forest, by acldinrr a . hes to the -,oil. may timulate 
growth temporarily; but ince it de troys the nitrogen, which seems to 
be such :t large factor, and allows the remaining nutrients to be rapidly 
carried off by rain, its ultimate re ult must be to eriously check growth." 
Thi may explain the low humus content of our upland timber soils in 
many countie as r eferred to by the Soil Survey. These oils have under­
gun repeated burning, coupled with a leaching out of their o luhle 

humu" ntent. 



344 

INJURY TO PRODUCTIVE POWER OF THE FOREST 

Another fact empha ized by one of our field party is the injury 
to other tree by a reduction in the density of stocking. Through this 
thinning-out proce s due to fire , the young trees that are left lose the 
benefit of competition with their neighbors. In restocking a forest the 
mo t desirable trees for timber are those which have a long, straight, 
well -pruned trunk and a . hart crown. Such tree are produced only by 
crowding when young and by the consequent struggle upwards for the 
light. U nder present condition there i no crowding during the sapling 
and pole stages o that the young trees branch close to the ground, with 
not enough side hacle to I ill off the ide branche and thu to make good, 
clear lumber. 

Thi reduction of d n ity in tand - of mature timber is shown be t 
by our stan I tables Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 313, 314) for average acres at Alto 
Pass and Jonesboro, where we have 43.65 trees per acre 6 inches and 
above in one case, and only 33.32 in the other owing to fires and culling. 

ormal yield-tables for hardwoods of similar age show that we should 
have 130 tree or more per acre in order that they may properly utilize 
the soil and prune each other ufficiently. Data following in tables 9 and 
10 obtained (a) near Ava, Illinois, in a tract which, according to state­
ments of the owner, was 35 years old and had been burned over 8 years 
before, and ( b from an unburned New England stand will bring out 
more strongly this diminution in the number of trees and the consequent 
los of volume-growth which results. 

Three qua rter-acre plots were laid off in the Ava tract and the trees 
one inch and upwards in diameter were calipered. As can be seen i11 

Table 9, the main specie were white oak, black oak, and hickory, the 
percentages as follows : 

White oak . .... . . . ... ......... ..... 51.5% 
Black oak .......................... 23.6% 
Hickory . . .. ... .... ...... .. ..... ... 15.3% 
Elm .. ... .. ............ . .......... 6.0% 
Miscellan ou ...................... 3.6% 

A comparison with an unburned inferior second-growth hardwood 
tand in New England ( Spaeth, '20) thirty years old, is shown .in Table 

10 just below our figures for one acre of Ava woods. The sites, if com­
pared 011 the average heights of the dominant trees, can be said to be 
fairly analogous, 34.4 feet in New England as against our 30 feet. A 
comparison of the basal areas of each acre shows that our stand was 
decidedly understocked, 85.3 square feet in New England as against 60.2 
quare feet for the Ava stand, this reduction in numbers resulting in a 



345 

much ~mailer yield-9.8 cords per acre for the Ava stand and 20.63 cords 
for New England. The mean annual growth at Ava was only 21.3 cubic 
feet per acre for the 35-year period as against 48.6 cubic feet in New 
England. 

T .\BLE 9.-0,\T.\ o:--: THREE ¼-ACRE SAMPLE PLOTS-35-YEAR STAND, UPLAND 
TVPE. LOCATION, SEC. 8, TP. 8 S., RANGE 4 w., AVA, ILL. 

Diameter, 
lnche 

1 
2 
3 
4 -
6 
i 

9 
10 
11 
12 

Total · 

(LIGHT BURN 8 YEAR AGO) 

\\'hite Black Miscel-Hickory Elm Totals oak oak laneous 

. 
• o. ol. No. \'ol. No. \ ol. No. ol. No. Vol. o. Trees 

3 cu. ft. 2 cu. ft. 24 cu. ft. 3 cu. ft. 1 cu. ft. 33 
H 2.8 4 .8 19 3.8 1 .2 2 .4 40 
-17 1 .8 25 10.0 6 2.4 3 1.2 2 .8 83 
47 -12 .3 16 11.2 4 3.2 4 3.6 3 2.7 74 
40 56.0 15 21.0 2 2.6 4 5.6 4 5.6 65 
11 15.0 14 35.0 0 . . . . 5 12.5 0 .... 30 
12 40.8 9 30.6 0 .... 3 10.2 1 3.4 25 
13 57.2 2 8.8 2 8.8 0 .... 1 4.4 18 

7 39.2 3 19.5 2 12.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 12 
4 32.0 1 8.0 . . . ' . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . .. .... 5 
0 . . 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . .... . . . . 0 
1 13.0 . . . . . . . . . ... . . ' . ' ... . . . . .... 1 

-------- ---- ---- ----
199 327.1 91 14-l.9 59 3-l.6 23 3-U 1-l 17 .3 386 

I 

TABLE 10.-COMPARISON BETWEEN AVA (ILL.) STAND 
AND ONE IN NEW E. GLAND* 

Basal area 
of stands 

sq. ft . 

.198 

.880 
4.117 
6.438 
8.840 
5.880 
6.665 
6.282 
5.304 
2.725 

.785 

48.21 

Total Total Average Total Volume Mean 
number ba al area volume verage Age annual 

of of stand height D.B.H. yrs. in growth in feet tn inches cords trees sq. ft. cu. ft. cu. ft. 

Ava ( Ill. ) 
3.-4 -acre basis I 3 6 48.2 :rn 558.2 5.0 11 35 7.30 15.9 
One-acre ba is j -1-41 60.2 30 747. 7 5.0 35 9.8 21.3 

, ew England 
1-acre basi , 

econd -
growth 
hardwood .. 1,-15 85.3 3-l .-l 1,460 3.21 30 20.63 48.6 

-
EFFECT OF SEVERE BURNING UPON YOUNG STANDS 

The effects of fire upon one stand are shown by the following figures, 
wh1ch were carefully taken on a quarter-acre plot in a thirty-year old 
tand where a severe fire had occurred in 1917. The trees were tallied, 

according to diameter, under two headings, "alive" and "dead," the 
diameter ranging fr m one inch to eight inches. \ e saw trees of this 



346 

latter size which had been injur cl beyond any hope of recovery. :-\ , can 
be seen from the final figure , 70% of the stand had been killed. reducing 
the living tree from 632 to 188 per acre. A quarter-acre tand examined 
under similar conditions, but unburned, showed that there \Yere on it 200 
trees ix inche an I over in diameter, or 800 thrifty trees per acre. 

TABLE 11.- HOWING FIRE 
191 i, . ECTrON 

ON ¼ -A RE •. \MPLE I Lor, BtrR:-:Eo 1:-,. 
. , R.\NGE ➔ \ ., :-:EAR AV.\. 

Species 
White oak .................. . 
Black oak ... . . ......... .. . . . 
Dogwood .... . .. . ... . . . .... . . 
Persimmon ........ . ........ . 
Hickory .. . . .... . . . . . .. . . . .. . 
Sa afras . . . . ............... . 
Black gum ..... .. .... . . ..... . 
Mulberry ................... . 
Tulip-tree .............. . ... . 
Eln, . ...... .. ............... . 

herry . . . . .... . ............ . 
Ah .. ..... . . .... . .......... . 

Totals ....... . .... . . . . . . . 

Per cent killed, i0% 

,.J live 
16 
8 
i 
1 
3 
6 
2 

Dead 
26 
28 
10 
0 
6 

18 
14-

1 
2 
1 
1 
➔-

111 

Note.- The total number of seedlings and saplings ranging in diameter from I inch to inches. was 15 . 
or 632 per a.ere. The slope, exposed only in spots, was JO degrees towards the north. ground grassy , 'N-ith 
bare soil. Fire had resulted in a succession of sassafras. sumach. and grape-vines. with which t he better 
,pecies of eedlings would have to compete for light and growing space. 

EROSION 

\1Veller t al '20 , 111 peaking of topography an<l farming in Hardin 
county, ay that not over half the total acreage is under cultivati n and 
that gullying ha followed the abandonment of the land. te p lopes 
made cultivation difficult and al o favored the washing a,rny of the ~oil 
whose upper layer at lea t had been enriched by th organic matter 
deposited by the growth of plants and trees. They believe that f r the 
futur~ good of the county, "it \YOttld be well if all cleare I lands ha,·ino-
lopes of more than 600 feet per mile w re refore tecl." 

lt eems that, in Union county at lea. t, a eparation of land into 
tho e which will gully and tho e which will n t n the basi · of slope alone 
will hardly hold, since we have found ero -ion to be very erious on ome 
long, gentle lopes of not over 5 .½ degr e , while other lope f 2 ~ de­
crrees have with tood clearing and pasturing without h wing _erious _igns 
of ero ion. There are other factors which mu. t be con idered. uch a 
the character of the soil and sub oil, the maintaining of the hurnu:- con­
tent of the oil by better methods of cropping, and th vigilance of the 
own r in filling up gullies a 0011 as they start. The dispo ition of gullied 
land really britws up the que tion of an economic nn,ey of uch doubtful 



-347-

lands-a project which is a part of the program of the Natural History 
Survey. 

Speaking of the en roachment of the fore t upon the prairie through 
erosion along the water-courses, and of the fact that the organic matter 
in forest soils is only about 25 to SO per cent of the amount present in 
adjoining prairie soils, Sampson ('21) says: "The farmers of the state 
have been slow in recognizing this effect of floral history upon the present 
value of soils. In my own community in the Southern Illinoisan glaciation 
the clearing and cultivation of forested areas seemed to have an alluring 
appeal entirely unrelated to economic values. Many of the farmers con­
tinued to clear the forest in spite of the fact that some of the forested 
areas after ten to fifteen years of cultivation yielded no better crops than 
adjacent prairie areas that had been cultivated for forty years. Many 
of the slopes formerly protected by forest vegetation have been cleared, 
farmed for a few years, and then abandoned to the forces of erosion. An 
intelligent constructive forest policy, that can be taught and convincingly 
explained to the farmers, is the only hope for remedying the. e regrettable 
conditions." 

GRAZING 

lt is not the cu tom to graze the western section of the highlands 
where the wooded areas are extensive and relatively continuous. Here 
the clearings are fenced, while the wooded areas are not-probably becau e 
it involves too much trouble and expense. Unless opened up by heavy 
cuttings or repeated burning, the forest normally shades out the grasses 
so that very little pasturage is afforded. A heavy growth of grass or 
weeds indicates to the forester that the stand is not fully stocked, and 
our stand tables of the average acre for the Alto Pass and Jonesboro 
quadrangles, as cited previously, show this condition graphically. There 
is enough lime in the soil to favor the growth of blue grass, Japanese 
clover, blue stem, and sedge, and all of these varieties were found in the 
woods. It is unlikely that this rough wooded section will ever be made 
a field for cattle-raising on a large cale since the woods do not yield 
ufficient forage in dry season , and if cleared the extremely steep lope 

, ill erode and form gullies. 
Elsewhere in the highland the woods generally occupy the slopes 

or ravines. Here the forests are more of the wood-lot type or else are 
strips along the slope. These wooded areas are of ten grazed to supple­
ment the other pasture . H re grazing may cause seriou ultimate loss, 
since the reproduction will he destroyed and grasses encouraged. The 
land has been kept in timber becau e it is too steep to clear, yet continued 
pa turing results in the disappearance of the timber and with it the top 
soils. 



348 

IV. Forest Policy and Management 
The forestry problem in this region may be discussed with reference 

to three kinds of forest: ( 1) the large, more or less continuous tract of 
upland timber extending from Thebes to Chester which we have called the 
western region, which is most important for a future supply of cro s­
ties, mine props, and lumber; (2) farm wood-lots which are scattered 
and usually surrounded by roads; and ( 3) the overflow bottomland , 
some already included in organized drainage projects, which will not be 
farmed for some years-at lea t not during the short rotation required 
to grow a timber crop of the faster-growing bottomland pecie . 

THE UPLAND TIMBER BELT 

The upland timber belt present , ome intere ting pr bl 111'. Dun­
lap ('21) mentions a fact in 1lis ouri which finds its counterpart in thi 
region, since this is a continuation of the Mis ouri Ozarks. He says that 
in this Missouri area there are from 5 to 10 million of acres of timber­
land which are producing only three or four ties per acre per year when 
they might be producing ten ties per year. The technical side of timber­
growing in such a region i , according to him, quite easy, being largely 
a matter of suppressing fore t fires and prohibiting grazing-at lea t while 
the areas are reproducing. A combination of forestry in the hills and 
farming in the narrow valleys will furni h employment for farmers in 
summer and for wood workers in winter, thu bringing about a better 
economic and social condition; whereas destruction of the timber means 
abandonment of many farm and decreased revenue to their owners. 

\,\There private owners and companies do not take sufficient interest 
in these large tracts to protect them, the question is one of the wisdom 
of enforcing certain silvicultural requirement in the int rest of the public 
-which undoubtedly is concerned in a permanent timber supply-or of 
state or other public ownership of such tracts. Whenever the time is ripe 
for the state to purchase these lands-after a careful valuation-to pro­
tect them from fire, to carry on improvement cuttings and thinning -
thus affording at times a revenue to reduce the initial investment-and 
to hold them for a future timber supply and protection forest, this would 
be one possible solution. By means of its aggregation as a unit capable 
of successful forest-management, and its nearness to markets whose 
demands promise to increase rather than to dimini h, the entire ituation of 
this tract is both unique and strategic in Illinois, and we know of no other 
equal area in the state which combines like advantages. 

OUTLI ~ E OF PROPOSED FIRE-PROTECTION SYSTEM 

FOR UPLAND TIMBER BELT 

In general, the attitude of these timber owners is favorable to pro­
tection, and their co-operation could be secured if they were convinced 



3-t9 

that effective protection could be given. The essential parts of such a 
ystem are fire prevention and fire control. 

The necessary steps in the direction of fire prevention would be a 
campaign of education emphasizing the need of fire protection, and the 
posting of notices explaining the fire danger and the penalties for starting 
fires. Actual fire control will require ( 1) a centrally located station where 
a lookout may be established. t times during the fire season a lookout 
man might not be able to locate fires because the smoke in the hills make 
seeing over five miles very difficult, and his main work would be telephon­
ing over the district to find out about the presence of fires. (2) A division 
of the area into districts, with telephone connections from the lookout 
station, and a responsible person in each district closely in touch with 
woodland owners who will as ist in a sembling and organizing men for 
fire-fighting. 

This system should work out about as follows: If any one notices a 
fire he telephones its location and probable size to the lookout man, who, 
in turn, calls up the district leader and gives him the details so far as he 
has learned them. The district leader summons local help and puts out 
the fire, which would usually not be difficult if fires are caught when they 
start, and the men properly equipped with tools. The lookout man would 
receive a monthly wage during the fire seasons of spring and fall, giving 
his entire time to the work. The district leader and the local fire fighters 
would be paid for the number of hour actually ·pent in fire-fighting. Such 
fires can be whipped out with brooms, burlap bags dipped in water, or 
green bru h, and the mo t important point is to get to the fire early with 
from ten to twelve men. The keeping of important ridge trails and road 
craped bare might also be helpful wherever such roads and trails would 

serve as a means of stopping fire or as a vantage point for fighting them 
as they came up to the top of the ridge. So far as we have seen, these 
roads are well located for fire line , and it would be neither a difficult nor 
an expensive matter to keep them open. 

THE 0-CALLED FARM \V 00D-LOTS 

The cattered farm wood-lot are being fairly well managed on 
the whole, many of them being held by the older citizens who see the ad­
vantage of conserving them and who are deriving some profit from the sale 
of timber at more or less regular intervals. Timber alone on forty acres 
of uch land sells for $1,000, or 25 per acre, with no expense to the 
owner of handling it, a ide from fire protection. Those farmers who do 
not appreciate the advantage to them elves or to others of taking care 
of their timber can be reached through the county farm advi ers. 



-350-

TnE OvF.RFLow BoTTOMLANDS 

.Since a very large proportion of the bottom lands of the Mi sissippi, 
Big Muddy, and Cache rivers yet in timber will in time be cleared and 
cultivated, the main work here consi ts of separating tho e areas which 
can not be drained from those which are true farming soils. Some of 
these stands, after they have been cut over by veneer or lumber com­
panies, still contain a good stock of bottomland speries which grow very 
rapidly and will soon be again of merchantable size. We have been told 
by a large manufacturer of ven~er material in the Cache River district 
that he has enough of this kind of land with gum up to ten inches in 
diameter on the stump to supply a charcoal company with wood for ten 
years. Willow and cottonwood will likely dominate such stands after a 
partial clearing of the other hardwoods, and willow can be used for char­
coal wood or excelsior, and cottonwood is now being marketed for soda 
pulp on the upper parts of the Mississippi and Illinois river bottoms. 
The erection of up-to-date wood-distillation plants and a pulp mill to use 
such bottomland hardwoods might apparently be a good business invest­
ment and distinctly favor forestry in this region. Besides, there is a 
demand for about 2,000,000 board feet of "softwood " of the larger 
diameters coming from the veneer mills located in an important fruit­
growing section of the state; and we have been informed by operators of 
such mills that ·when the local upply of this bottomland timber is ex­
hausted, which will probably be within five years, they will be compelled 
t move to Arkan as or Mis ouri, nearer the ource of suppl) . 

V. Volume and Growth Studies 

The volume and growth of any species are best studied by making 
complete stem analyses of felled trees, since haphazard stump measure­
ments are of little value, especially if made from a small number of 
trees. It was difficult to find in southern Illinois lumbering operations 
suited to the requirements for growth measurements, but two very good 
opportunities were afforded, one at A'va, and another at Inrlian Creek, 
near Murphysboro. One disadvantage in following the choppers is that 
logs are not cut by them in the ten-foot lengths preferred by the forester 
and the cutting is not carried up to a certain minimum top diameter, as 
the smallest diameter of the logs depends on the degree of utilization 
characteristic of the region. During the sum!J}er, however, complete 
stem analyses were made of 67 black oaks, 68 white oaks, and 33 trees 
classed as miscellaneous, along with many measurements for the volume 
table . In the Appendix, pp. 367-371, are given the results obtained from 
these stem analyses of white and black oak, but a study of the j_'.{rowth of 



-351-

tulip-tree, hickory, 3ycamore, and other species must be def erred until 
more measurements are secured in this region. It is realized that the 
number of black and white oak trees is small, but it is believed that the 
figures are reliable for the area covered by our map. 

STEM ANALYSIS 

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with the field measure­
ments taken on an individual felled tree, a stem analysis blank such as was 
used is reproduced on page 352, filled out as it was in the field by a party 
of tluee men. Two men make the required measurements for each section 
of the tree as sawn by the choppers, and a third makes the record. The 
diameter at 4,½ feet above the ground (D. B. H.) can be taken with 
calipers before felling, or measured with a 4,½ foot stick held on the bole 
of the tree after felling. 

It will be seen that this sheet contains all of the data necessary to 
a calculation of the growth of the tree in height, diameter, and volume, 
so the rest of the work can be done in the office. We have also the 
growth at different ages as hown at different heights above the ground. 
Since we know the diameter inside the bark and the length of each sec­
tion, we have all the data needed to scale the logs by any log rule or to 
compute in cubic feet the volume of the separate logs, stump, or top. It 
will be noticed that the fifth section of this tree, left in the woods on 
account of crook, had a length of 12 feet and diameters at the ends inside 
the bark of 16.3 and 12.9 inches respectiv~ly, and that it scaled 61 board 
feet, and measured 9.84 cubic feet by the Smalian formula for com­
puting volumes. By adding together the contents of all the unused pieces 
for the whole number of trees analyzed, a very reliable discount or "cull 
factor" for crook or rot can be obtained for any species, and this can be 
applied to the total e timate for that species. 

The procedure in the office is as follows, and Graphs I (p. 372), III, 
IV, V, and VI illustrate some of the steps taken. 

1. Separate the blanks into classes based on their D. B. H. ( diameter 
brea t-high ); for example, putting 10.6-inch trees into the 11-inch class, 
10.5-inch trees into the 10-inch class. 

2. ).lake curves of height and D. I. B. ( diameter inside bark) for 
each D. B. H. class represented, plotting D. I. B. at the top of each sec­
tion a rec rded, including the stump. 

3. From the curve thus plotted, read off ets of D. I. B. tables for 
log at 8, 10, 12, 14, etc., feet above an average stump height of 2 feet. 

4. Harmonize the last readings by making curves for each 2- or 4-
foot section, ha ed on diameters brea t-high. Read off for final taper-table 
( ee Table £ II. pp.), giving the D. I. B. at different height above the 



Locality, Ava, lllinois 

Species, Tulip-tree 

STEM ANALYSIS FIELD-SHEET 

Date, Oct. 8, 1921 No. 69- Sturnp height, 3 feet 

~-g . I I I I I I I I I u~I 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I I 
Distance on Average Radius from Center to Ring by Decades (inches) 

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 
- - ----------------,--,--1--1--1--. 1--1--1--1--1--1--•--

1 11. 7 11.0 10.4 9.8 9.1 8.0 7.0 5.8 4.1 2.2 1.8 
2 9.75 9.0 8.5 7.5 6.8 5.4 4.5 3 .1 1.9 .2 
3 8.9 8.0 7.4 6.8 6.2 5.1 3 .8 2.5 1.1 
4 8.6 7.8 7.0 6.2 5.1 4.2 3 .0 1.9 1.0 
5 8.15 7.4 6.7 5.8 5.0 3.6 2.1 .35 
6 6 .45 5.3 4.6 3.9 2.8 2.0 .8 
7 5.70 4.9 4.1 3 .3 2.05 .4 
8 . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · · · · I · .. · I · · · · I · · · ·I .. · · · · I· · · · · · I· · .. · · I· · · .. · 1-- .. .. 1-- · · .. I .... · · I· .. · .. I .. · · .. I .. · · .. I .... .. I .... · · 
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
I I I I --- --- ------ ------,--- - --

Distance on Average Radius from Length Diam. Width Diam. Age of Width Diam. ~.§I Center to Ring, by Decades (inches) of Age inside of outside sap- of Used Merc h. Clear Total breast 

5 ~ 22 I 23 I 24 I 25 I 26 I 21 I 28 I 29 I 3o 
section years bark bark bark wood sap- length length length height high 

feet inches inches inches years wood feet feet feet feet inches 

--,---,---1---1-- -1---•---•---1 - - - 1---1----1----1----l----l----i----l----l----l----l----.J----
1 . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 108 23.4 .8 25.o I ..... . I .... .. I 52 I 55 I 55 I 92 I 22.8 
2 ' ... . . . ' . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 91 19.5 .7 20.9 
3 .... . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 88 17.8 .7 19.2 
4 ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 87 17.2 .7 18.6 
5 ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 73 16.3 .7 17.7 
6 .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 67 12.9 .7 14.3 
7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 54 11.4 .7 12.8 
8 ' ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . .... ' ' .... ' ' . ... . 11.5 
9 

10 

Tree class, Dominant. Length of crown, 3 7 feet. Width of crown, 35 feet. 

(.,J 
VI 



353 

tmnp for different diameter brea t-high. It can be seen that with -uch a 
table, ·which is a "taper table," the size of the average tree can easi ly be 
a. certained, and that all the data are in hand necessary for scaling its 
contents by any log rule or for computing its volume in cubic feet. 

5. Plot curves of total and merchantable heights based on D. B. H. 
for both black and white oaks. Also make up tables from curves show­
ing the board foot and cubic foot contents of trees based on D. B. H. 

6. To get volumes based on age, plot the measurements taken under 
the heading "Distance on average radius from center to ring by decade " 
hown on the field sheet. Taking the stump section first, plot the diameter 

grown in ten years, by doubling the radius measurement each time. 
Diameter inside the bark is used as the ordinate and age as the absci a 
for the curve. 

7. Repeat the same procedure for the other sections, or logs, marked 
I 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, on separate sheets of cross-section paper, and finally 
assemble all of these curves on one sheet. In this case the curves for 
different lengths are moved out to the age corresponding to the number 
of years required to grow up to that height from the ground. 

8. 'Nith such a set of curves of diameter-growth at different heights, 
read off the time required to grow a log of any length or any top diame­
ter in ide the bark by following with the eye a line from the D. I. B. 
across to the curve representing the length desired. Project a line down 
from that curve to the base line and read the age required for the growth 
from the ground of such length of log. 

9. After this set of curves is made, the re ults can be read off to 
form a table, and the volume of the logs can be computed, since their top 
diameters and lengths are known. 

As stated by Pegg ('19), \\·orking up the data from stem analysis 
heets can be greatly facilitated by the use of an adding machine and a 

slide rule. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

ndros, S. 0. 
1915. oal mining in Illinoi . Bul. 13, Ill. oal Mining Inve tiga-

tions. 

Baker, Willi , M. 
1921. One cord an acr a year. Jour. Fore try, 19 (No. 7): 755-756. 

bapman, H. H. 
1921. Fore t mensuration . "\Viley & on , New York. 

Colyer, Frank H. 
1922. The geography of the Ozarks. Tran . Ill. Acad . ci. 14 : 36-43 . 

Deam, Charles C. 
1915. Fifteenth Annual Report Indiana tate Board of Forestry. 

Con enration Commi ion of Indiana. 
1921. Trees of Indiana. D partment of n ervation, tate of In-

diana, Publication 13. Indianapoli . 

Dunlap, Frederick N. 
1921. Growth of oak in the Ozarks. Re earch Bul. 41, Mi souri 

Agr. Exp. Sta. Columbia, Mo. 

Fuller, George D., and Miller, R. B. 
1922. Forest conditions in Alexander county Illinoi . Tran . Ill. 

Acad. Sci. 14: 92-108. 

Geer, W. C. 
1907. \i\lood di tillation. Fore t Senrice ircular 114, U. S. Dept. 

Agr., "\Va hington D. C. 

Graves, Henry S. 
1921. New Hampshire and the new movement in fore try. Pub­

lished by the Society for the Protection of ew Hampshire Forests, 
4 Joy Street, Boston. 

Hall, R. C., and Ingall, 0. D. 
1911. Fore t condition in Illinois. Bul. Ill. State Lab. Nat. Hi t., 

Vol. IX, Art. IV. 

Hawley, L. F ., and Palmer, R. C. 
1914. Yields from the destructive distillation of certain hardwoods. 

Bul. U . S. Dept. Agr. No. 129. 



Hawley, Ralph, C. 
1921. The practice of ilviculture with particular reference to· it... 

application in the United State . \Viley & Sons, New York. 

Lovejoy P. S. 
1919. The egregation of farm from forest land. Jour. I•ore try, 

17 (No. 6 : 645, 646. 
Moore, Barrington 

1922. Influence of certain oil factor on the growth of tree seed­
lin<YS and wheat. Ecology, 3 ( Io. 1 : 69-70. 

Palmer, R. 
1914. Di ·tillation of hardwood. Compiled from bulletins of the 

C. S . Fore. t erv1ce. Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, 
\Viscon in. 

Pegg, Ernest 
1919. l\Iechanical aid m tern analy. i-;. Jour. Fore try, 17 (No. 6): 

682-685. 
Recknagel, A. B. 

1916. A practical application of Pres !er' formula. Forestry Quar­
terly, 14 (~o. 2): 263. 

Ridgway, Robert 
1883. _.Tote on the native trees of the lower \Vabash and \Vhit 

River valley in Illinoi . and Indiana. Proc. U. S. Nat'! l\fus. 5 : 
49-88. 

1895. Additional notes on the native trees of the lower \ Va bash 
alley. Proc. U. S. Nat'l Mu . 17: 409--421. 

Samp on, Homer C. 
1921. An ecological survey of the prairie vegetation of Illinois. Bui. 

Ill. State Nat. Hist. Surv. 13 (Art. 16) : 547-548. 

Savage, T. E. 
1908. The Low r Palaeozoic formations 111 outhwe tern Illinois. 

Am. Jour. Sci. 25: 431--443. 
1909. The Lower Pala ozoic formation 111 southwestern Illinoi . 

Ibid. 28: 509-519. 
1910. The Pre-Devonian of outh rn Illinoi~. 

. urv., 1909, Bui. 16: 304-341. 
1920. The D vonian formation of Illinoic;_ 

169-182. 
·avage, T. E., and haw, E. \\'. 

1912. Geological atla of the nited Stat ·s, 
folio. . urvey d in co-operati n with the 
Jllinoi . 

Yearbook Ill. Geo!. 

, 111. Jour. ci. 49: 

Murphy ·boro-Herrin 
eologi al urvey of 



35 

eerey, Daniel F. 
1918. Small awmill , their equipment, construction and operation. 

Bul. 718, U. S. Dept. Agr. Contribution from the Fore t Service, 
\ ,\ ashington D. C. 

Spaeth J. Nelson 
1920. Growth tudy and normal yield tables for second growth hard­

wood stands in New England. Harvard Forest Bui. No. 2. Peter­
sham, Mass. 

T relea e, \Vm. T. 
1896. J uglandaceae o f the U nited State . Seventh Ann. Rep. Mo. 

Botanical Garden p. 25. 

\\ eller, Stuart, et al. in co-operation with the U. S. Geol. Survey 
1920. The geology of H ardin county and the adjoining part of Pope 

county. Bul. 41, Ill . State Geo!. Survey, pp. 43-44. Urbana, 
Illinois. 



.. 

APPENDIX 

VOLUME TABLES FOR LEADING SPECIES) AND TAPER AND GROWTH 

TABLES AND GRAPH FOR BLACK AND WHITE OAK 

From measurements taken on felled trees of leading specie it was 
po -sible to make local volume tables for white and black oak. Since the 
nt1111ber of field measurements made on trees of other species "a not 
ufficient for the formation of a satisfactory basis for volume table , it 

was thought wi e to collect in the appendix the best tables extant for the 
other species which the wood-lot owner would ordinarily encounter. For 
convenience in citing to this article these tables are numbered consecu­
tively beginning with one (I), but the original, author's, table-number, if 
any, is retained as facilitating reference to the table in its original con­
nection. 

TABLE I* 

T-i\BLE VI 1.- HOWING TOTAL HEI HT, LEAR LENGTH AKO VOLUME 
FOR CYPRESS OF DIFFERENT DIAMETERS. l\11 SI SIPP! BOTTOlll 

Diameter Total \'olume 
Breast High Height Clear Length [Doyle Rule] 

lnches -Feet Feet Board Feet 

10 78 4,3 89 
11 82 46 116 
12 85 .;9 147 
13 88 53 184 
14 90 56 231 
15 93 59 280 
16 95 62 336 
17 97 65 399 
18 JOO 68 468 
19 102 71 546 
20 104 73 632 
21 106 76 715 
22 108 79 8)7 
23 109 81 928 
24 111 83 1,037 
25 113 85 I, 153 
26 114 87 1,277 
27 116 89 1,309 
28 117 91 I ,551 
29 119 92 1,700 
30 120 93 1,840 
31 122 94 1,986 
32 123 95 2,139 
33 124 96 2,290 
34 125 97 2,450 
35 126 97 2,620 
J6 128 98 2,800 

From the Wood,m:ln's Handbook, Part I, by H nry S. Grav~. 
of Agriculturt>, Bur""3u of Forestry, Rulktin No. 36. 1903. 

t . S. D('r>.:1rt roent 



- 358-

TABLE II* 

T LIP TREE (YELLOW PO PL.-\.R) 

D . B. H. Volume 
Age Outside Bark Height [Doyle Rule] 

Year~ Inches Feet Board Feet 

60 10 78 22 
68 11 82 32 
75 12 86 47 
82 13 89 63 
90 14 92 87 
97 15 95 113 

104 16 97 150 
112 17 99 190 
120 18 101 238 
128 19 103 290 
136 20 104 352 
144 21 105 420 
152 22 106 490 
160 23 107 565 
169 24 107 644 
178 25 108 725 
186 26 108 813 
195 27 109 905 
204 28 109 1,002 
212 29 110 1,106 
221 30 110 1,215 
230 31 111 1,327 
240 32 111 1,445 
248 33 112 1,563 
258 34 112 1,685 
267 35 113 1,811 
276 36 113 1,940 
286 37 113 2,074 
296 38 114 2,210 
306 39 114 2,342 
317 40 115 2,475 

*From measurements ta ken on 4-0J t rees in ot t!a nd Anderson counties , T ennessee, 
hy F . E . Olmsted, of t he. . . Forest Service. 



-359-

TABLE Ill* 

"Table 8 gives cubic contents of hickory trees according to diameter and merchant­
able length. It is based upon the measurements of 630 trees. By its use the total 
contents of a tree may be estimated without reference to the individual logs." 

TABLE 8-Cubic contents of Mckory accord1'ng to diameter and merchantable length. 

Merchantable length- feet 
I 

Diam• 
Diameter eter 

breast-
5 I 10 I 15 I 20 I 

25 I 30 I 35 I 40 I 45 50 I 5.5 60 I 6.5 inside 
high- bark of 
inches top-

\'olume-cubic feet 
inches 

---
5 ...... 1.0 1.8 2.3 .. . .. .. .... ...... ....... ... ... ...... . .... ..... ..... 4 
6 ... . . . 1.3 2.5 3.2 3.6 ...... •·· ···· . . . . .. . .... .. ··•· · · . . .... ·• · ·· ..... 5 
7 . .... •. 1.6 3.2 4.2 5.0 5. 7 .. ... ·· ·•· ....... ... ... . . ..... .. .... ·· · · · · •·· ·· 6 
8 2.0 4.0 5.4 6.5 7.5 .. ..... .. ... ,. ,, . . .. ···• ·· . ..... .. .... ... ... .. , , . 6 
9 .... . . . 2.5 4.8 6.6 8.2 9.6 10 .0 . .... .. .. .. .. ...... ······ ...... ... , .. ... .. 7 

10 •..... 3.0 5 8 8.1 10 .0 11.5 13 .0 .. . . . .... .. . . . .. ...... ..... . ..... . . .. .. 8 
11 3.5 6.9 9. 7 12 .0 14 .0 16 .0 18 .0 .. ... . .... ..... .... . . .... . . .. . 8 
12 .. . .. . 4.1 8.0 11.5 14 .5 17 .0 20 .0 21.5 23 .5 .. ..... · · · ·· · ... ·•··· !) 

13 4.8 9.3 13 .5 17 .0 20 .5 23 .5 26 .0 28 .5 31 ··· ··· ..... -··• ·· ·•··· 10 
14 . . .. . . 5.5 10 5 15 .5 20 .0 24 .0 27 .5 31.0 34 .0 37 . .. . . . .. ...... ...... 11 
15 .... .. 6 2 12.0 17 .5 23 .0 27.5 32 .0 36 .0 39 .0 43 . .. . . . .. ·• .. ...... 11 
16 . .... . i 0 14 .0 20 .0 26 .5 31.0 36 .0 41.0 45 .0 50 54 . . . . .. . . .... . .. . .. 12 
17 . .. . .. 8.0 15 5 23 .0 29 .5 36 .0 41.0 46 .0 51.0 56 61 66 .. . . . ······ 13 
18 ...... ..... 17 .5 25 .5 33 .0 40 .0 46 .0 52 .0 58 .0 63 69 74 . ... . · • •··· 14 
19 .. . . . .. 19 .5 28 .5 37 .0 45 .0 52 .0 58.0 64 .0 70 76 82 .... .. .. .... 14 
20 .. ... ·•· · · 21 5 32 .0 41.0 50 .0 57 .0 64 .0 71.0 78 84 90 97 103 15 
21 .. . .... . 24 .0 35 .0 45 .0 54 .0 63.0 71.0 79 .0 86 93 100 107 113 16 
22 · · · · · · ..... 26 .0 38 .0 50 .0 60 .0 69 .0 77 .0 86 .0 94 102 110 ll8 126 16 
23 .. .. ..... 28 .5 42 .0 54 .0 65 .0 75 .0 84 .0 93 .0 102 111 120 128 137 17 
24 .... ···· · 31.0 45 .0 59 .0 70 .0 81.0 91.0 102 .0 Ill 121 130 139 148 18 
25 .. .. 34 .0 49 .0 64 0 76 0 88 .0 99 .0 110 .0 121 130 140 149 158 19 
26 ·· ••· .... . . 36 .5 53 .0 69 0 82 .0 95 .0 107 .0 119 .0 130 140 151 161 171 19 
27 ···· ·· ..... ...... 57 .0 74 .0 89 .0 103 .0 116 .0 128 .0 140 151 lll2 173 183 20 
2 .. . .. . .. · ····· 61 0 80 0 97 0 112 0 

I 
125 .0 137 .0 149 161 173 185 197 20 

*From Bulletin 80, Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, "'The Commercia l Hickories," 
by Anton T. Boisen and J. A. Newlin, 1910. 



3 0 

TABLE I * 

TABLE No. 16-VoLuME TABLE FOR R ED l\I PLE 

Diam- Total height of tree (feet ) 
eter, Basis breast 
high 20 30 40 so 60 70 80 

(trees) 

(inche ) 
-- -----
Cu.Ft. Cu . Ft. Cu. Ft. Cu. Ft . Cu . Ft . u. Ft. Cu . Ft . 

2, 0 .25 0 .35 0 .55 - - - - 59 
3, .60 . 71 1.00 1. 2 - - - 51 
4 , 1.00 1 30 1.65 2 .0 - - - 36 
5, - 2 15 2 .40 3 .0 3 .6 - - 38 
6, - - 3 .45 4 .3 5 .2 6 . 2 - 42 
7, - - 4 . 70 5.9 7 . 1 8 .4 - 25 
8, - - 6 .05 7 .8 9.4 10 .8 11. 39 
9, - - 7 .65 10 . 1 12 .0 13 .5 14 .8 28 

10, - - - 12 . 7 15 .0 16 . 7 18.2 20 
11, 

I 
- - - 15 .6 18 .S 20 .S 22 .0 23 

12, - - - 18 .9 22 .S 24 .8 26 .4 10 
13, - - - 22.6 26 .8 29 . 7 31 .4 9 
14, - - - 26 .8 31 . 6 35.0 36.7 8 
15, - - - 31 . 5 37 .0 40.7 42.7 3 
16, - - - 36 .6 43 . 2 47 .0 49 . 7 4 
17, - - - - - - 58.4 2 

--
397 

*This volume table was constructed by E. E. Carter and first published in the Bulle­
t in of the H a rvard Forestry Club, Vol. 2. 191 . A revised a nd enlarged form of it ap­
peared in " The Northern Hardwood Fore t : Its Comnosition, Growth and Management," 
Bui. 285 of the U . S. Dept. of 'A.gr., pn. 61-63 . 



3 l 

TABLE V 

COMPOSITE VOLUME-TABLE FOR WHITE OAK 
CONTENTS IN BOARD FEET 

D.B.H. Ava table Iaryland table By Doyle- By Doyle-Scrib-

inches (Maine rule) ( laine rule) cribner rule ner rule, plus 
25% over-run 

8 9 't 2 2 
9 18 15 4 5 

10 28 20 10 12 
11 41 25 16 20 
12 51 so 24 30 
13 77 65 34 42 
14 97 80 48 60 
15 120 100 65 81 
16 147 150 84 105 
17 172 175 105 131 
18 222 210 143 169 
19 245 235 168 210 
20 285 260 207 259 
21 323 295 243 304 
22 366 325 281 350 
23 413 465 329 -Hl 
24 464 510 372 465 
25 520 560 426 532 
26 582 600 467 584 

N. 8.-Tbe figures in column 4 of the tahle give what an average tree of a certain 
diameter should actually saw out at the mill. The difference between what it saws out and 
ils scale in the woods or on the log-deck is called ··over-run." The figures in column 2 were 
clerived from contents of trees measured at Ava. Jackson county, scaled by the Maine rule . 
The figures in column 3 of the table were secured from State Forester F. W. Besley, for white 
oak trees in Maryland which were scaled by the Maine rule. 



D. B. H ., 
inches 

8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 

-362-

TABLE Vl* 

COMPO ITE VOLUME-TABLE FOR BLACK OAK 

CONTENTS IN BOARD FEET 

Ava table lVIaryland By Doyle-table (Maine rule) ( Iaine rule) cribner rule 

20 12 4 
39 15 15 
51 20 20 
64 30 28 
83 45 37 

103 55 51 
129 70 70 
154 105 89 
185 120 111 
215 140 148 
263 165 184 
289 240 217 
344 275 259 
394 315 304 
455 355 376 
506 400 409 
560 445 464 
621 490 515. 
695 550 605 
770 605 651 
845 665 720 
920 725 798 

1,000 805 900 

By Doyle-Scribner 
rule, plus 25% 

over-run 

5 
19 
25 
35 
46 
64 
88 

101 
136 
185 
230 
271 
324 
380 
470 
511 
580 
639 
756 . 81-! 
900 
998 

1,125 

*The expla nations below preceding table for white oak, are also a pplicabl e to this table. 



363 

TABLE Vil* 

VOLUME TABLE FOR RED OAK 

(BASED ON 130 TREES MEASURED AT NEW HAVEN, CONN.) 

Height of tree in feet 
Diam-
eter 

breast 
high, 

inches 

20 I 25 I 30 I 35 I 40 I 45 I so I 55 

Merchantable cord-wood in cubic feet [tl 

5 I 1. 23 1.61 1. 91 2 . 24 2.55 2 .91 3 . 12 
6 1. 78 2 .31 2 .83 3 .31 3 .77 4 .22 4 .61 
7 . . . . . . . . . .. ..... 3 .79 4.40 5 .08 5.68 6 . 25 
8 .... .... . . . . . . . . 4 .88 5 . 75 6 .56 7.31 7.99 
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ 8 .31 9 .27 10 . 13 

10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 .62 
11 i . . . . . . . . . . . ..... . . ...... 15.70 I"""" • • • • • • • ·1· .•••••. 

' I 

TABLE VII* (continued) 

Height of tree in feet 

Diameter 

I 
breast 

60 
I 

65 
I 

70 
I 

75 80 
I 

85 high, 
inches 

Merchantable cord-wood in cubic feet 

I 

··· ·····1·····1 ...... 5 3 .66 ......... . . .. . .... 
6 5.45 5 .81 6.16 .................. .. . ...... 
7 7.32 7.81 8 .31 8 .78 9 .27 ......... 
8 9 .43 10.07 10. 70 11. 31 11 . 93 .. . ...... 
9 11 . 76 12 .62 13 .31 14 .04 14 .75 ......... 

10 14 .63 15.62 16 .52 17.42 18 .30 19 . 20 
11 18 .04 19 . 16 20 . 18 21.17 22 . 15 23 . 12 
12 12 .33 23 .62 24 .90 26 .04 27 . 15 28 . 16 
13 27 .33 28 .85 30 .34 31 .62 32 .98 34 . 21 

•From "Forest Mensuration," by Henry S. Graves. 
tCubic feet can be converted into cord! by dividing by 90. 

3.40 
5 .04 
6 . 79 
8 . 75 

10 .97 
13 .64 
16 .87 

I 90 

. . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . . . 

......... 
24 .06 
29.14 
35.40 

. 



-364 -

TABLE VIII* 

TABLE 7.-B LACK WILLOW-M I I s I PPI ALLEY [Do\-LE R t:LEI 

' Tota l height of t ree- feet 

Dia m- Diam-

I I I I 
eter eter 60 70 80 90 

I 
100 11 0 

I 
120 

I 
130 in ide Basi · breast-

high ba rk 
of top 

Volume- board feet 

Inches lnche Tree · 
14 52 64 82 100 130 140 .... ' . . . . . . . 10 . . .... . 
15 60 80 100 120 150 160 . . . . . . . ..... 1l 2 

16 68 97 120 150 170 180 190 . .. .. . 12 3 
17 73 110 150 170 190 210 220 . ... . . 12 11 
18 79 130 170 200 220 240 250 270 13 9 
19 ... . .. 150 200 230 250 270 290 310 1-1 6 
20 .. . ... 180 230 270 290 310 330 350 14 12 

21 . . ... . 200 260 300 330 360 370 390 15 23 
22 . ... . . 230 290 340 370 400 420 440 16 25 
23 .. . . . . 260 330 380 410 450 470 490 17 23 
24 .. . . . . 290 360 420 460 500 520 5'10 17 23 
25 . . . . . . . .... . 400 ,470 510 550 570 600 1 15 

26 . . . . . . ..... . 450 510 560 600 620 660 19 15 
27 . . . ... . . . . . . 490 560 610 650 680 710 19 16 
28 . . . . . . . ' .... 540 610 660 710 740 770 20 9 
29 . . . . . . .. . . .. 590 660 720 760 800 840 21 7 
30 . . . . . . . .... . 650 710 770 820 860 900 22 8 

31 . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . 760 820 880 920 970 22 8 
32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810 870 940 990 1,040 23 3 
33 ... . .. . . . . . ' .. . ... 860 920 1,000 1,050 1,100 24 6 
34 . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . 920 980 1,060 1,120 1,170 2-1, 3 
35 . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . 970 1,030 1,120 1,190 1,240 25 1 
36 . . . . . ' . . . ' . . .... . . 1,020 1,090 1,180 1,250 1,310 26 1 

---
229 

* From Bui. No. 3 16, U . S. D ept. Agr.: " Willow· : t heir G rowth , Use a nd Impor ta nce, " by eorge :-: . 
L mb. 



Frothingham, 1915 

-365-

TABLE IX 
VOLUME TABLE-BEECH 

U. S. Forest Service Bulletin No. 285 Michigan: Based on 285 trees 

D.B.H.ob 
in 

inches 
1 

10 22 
11 25 
12 29 
13 35 
14 42 
15 so 
16 . . . . . . . . . 
17 . . . . . . . . . 
18 . . . . . . . . . 
19 . . . . . . . . . 

20 . . . . . . . . . 
21 . . . . . . . . . 
22 . . . . . . . . . 
23 . . . . . . . . . 
24 . . . . . . . . . 
15 . ' ....... 

Merchantable Volume in Board Feet 

Number of 16-foot logs 

111 I 2 2½ 

32 47 67 
36 52 77 
42 61 91 
50 74 110 
60 92 130 
75 120 160 

......... 150 190 

.. . ...... 180 220 

..... ... . 220 260 

. . . . . . . . . ...... ... 290 

......... . . . . . . . . . 330 

. . . . . . . . . .. .. ..... 370 

.......... . . . . . . . . . 400 
• • ♦ o o o • o I ....... . . 440 
. . . . . . ' . ... . ..... 490 
. . . . . . . . . .. '.' .. . . 530 

TABLE X 
VOLUME TABLE-BEECH 

3 

87 
100 
120 
140 
170 
200 
230 
270 
310 
350 
390 
430 
470 
520 
570 
620 

3½ 4 

110 
130 
150 170 
170 200 
200 230 
230 270 
270 310 
310 360 
350 410 
400 460 
450 510 
500 570 
560 640 
610 710 
670 780 
740 870 

\\'aha and Cheever, 1903 New York: Based on 485 trees 

l\1erchantable \ oJume in tandard Railroad Ties-

Number of umber of 
D.B.H. ob, inches standard ties, D .B.H. ob, inches standard ties, 

7" X 9" X 8' 7" X 9" X 8' 

12 1 22 7 
13 2 23 8 
14 3 24 9 
15 3 25 10 
16 3 26 11 
17 4 27 11 
18 4 28 12 
19 5 29 13 
20 6 30 1-1 
21 7 



366 

TABLE XI* 

TABLE 9.-SHOWING TOTAL HEIGHT, CLEAR LENGTH AND VOL ME FOR DIFFERENT 
DIAMETERS OF COTTONWOOD GROWING IN MISSISSIPPI BOTTOMS 

Diameter 
Breast High 

inches 

6 
7 
8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 

•compiled by S. J. Record. 
tDoyle Rule 

Total height Clear length, 
feet feet 

58 24 
65 28 
72 31 
78 34 
83 36 
86 38 
93 40 
97 42 

101 44 
105 46 
109 47 
113 48 
116 50 
119 51 
122 52 
125 53 
127 54 
130 54 
132 55 
134 56 
136 56 
138 57 
140 57 
141 58 
143 58 
144 58 
146 59 
147 59 
148 59 
149 59 
150 59 
151 59 

Volume 
board feet [ t] 

20 
40 
60 
85 

115 
145 
180 
225 
275 
340 
405 
480 
560 
645 
735 
820 
910 

1,000 
1,090 
1,175 
1,265 
1,360 
1,450 
1,540 
1,635 
1,725 
1,820 



TABLE XII.-TAPER TABLE FOR WHITE OAK, AvA, ILLINOIS 

Feet above the Stump 

D.B.H. 8 I 10 I 12 
I 

14 I 16 I 20 
I 

24 
I 28 I I I I I Inches I 

30 
I 

32 
I 

36 40 42 
I I 

Diameters inside Bark (inches) 

6 4.6 4.3 4.1 I I . . .. . . . . . .. . . ... . ' .. . . .. . ... . . . . . ... . ... 
7 5.6 5.1 4.9 . . . . 4.3 . .. . . .. ' . . . . . . .. . . . . .... . ... . ... 
8 6.4 5.9 5.7 .... 5.1 4.4 4.0 . ... . ... . ... . ... . .. . . . . . 
9 7.3 6.8 6.5 6.2 5.9 5.1 4.7 ... . . . .. . . . . . ... . ... . ... 

10 8.1 7.6 7.3 7.0 6.7 5.9 5.5 . . . . . ... . ' .. .... . ... . ... 
11 9.0 8.4 8.1 7.8 7.5 6.7 6.3 . . . . . . . . .... . . '. . .. . . ... 
12 9.8 9.2 9.0 8.6 8.4 7.5 7 .1 6.1 6.0 . . '. . .. . .... . ... 
13 10.7 10.0 9.7 9.4 9.2 8.3 7.9 6.9 6.8 6.4 . . . . . ... . ... 
14 11.5 10.9 10.5 10.2 10.0 9.1 . 8.7 7.8 7.6 7.2 6.8 .... 
15 12.3 11.7 11.3 10.9 10.9 10.0 9.5 8.6 8.4 8.0 7.6 6.2 . ... 
16 13.2 12.5 12.1 11.8 11.8 10.8 10.3 9.4 9.2 8.8 8.4 7.0 .... 
17 14.0 13.3 12.9 12.6 12.6 11.6 11.1 10.2 10.0 9.6 9.2 7.8 6.3 
18 14.9 14.1 13.7 13.4 13.4 12.4 11.9 11.0 10.8 10.4 10.0 8.6 7.2 
19 15. 7 15.0 14.5 14.2 14.1 13.3 12.i 11.8 11.6 11.2 10.8 9.4 8.1 
20 16.6 15.9 15.3 15.0 15.0 14.0 13.5 12 .6 12.4 12 .0 11.5 10.2 9.0 
21 17.4 16.7 16.1 15.8 16.5 14.7 14.3 13.4 13.2 12.8 12.2 11.0 9.9 
22 18.3 17.5 17.0 16.6 16.6 15.5 15.1 14.2 14.0 13.6 13.0 11.8 10.8 
23 19.1 18.3 17 .8 17.5 17.5 16.3 15.9 15 .0 14.8 14.4 13.7 12. 7 11. 7 
24 19.9 19.1 18.6 18.3 18.3 1 7 .1 16.7 15.8 15.6 15.1 14.4 13.5 12.6 
25 20.8 20.0 19.4 19.1 19.1 18.0 17.5 16.6 16.4 15.9 15.2 14.3 13.5 
26 21.7 20.8 20.2 20.0 20.0 18.8 18.3 t 7.4 17 .2 16.5 15.9 15.1 14.4 
27 22 .5 21. 7 21.1 20.8 

I 
20.8 19.6 19.1 18.2 18.0 17.4 16.6 15.6 

I 
15.3 

28 23 .3 22.5 21.9 21.7 21. 7 20.4 19.9 19.0 18.8 18.2 17 .4 16.7 16.2 

NOTE.-A taper table shows the diameter inside the bark at specified heights above the stump, the average stump height in this case being taken as two 
feet. With such a table one can read for a tree with a given diameter breast-high outside the bark (o.b.) its size im,ide the bark at 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, etc .. feet above 
the stump, and look up the board-foot contents of a certain length log by any log rule. Jt also affords the data for computing the contents of trt>es in cubic feet or 
estimating top diameters of railroad ties. Volume tables in board-foot or cubic-foot units can also be easily made from good taper tables. 

w 
°' '-I 



D.B.H . 8 I 10 I 12 
I Inches 

8 7.2 7.0 6.7 
9 8.1 7.8 7.5 

10 8.9 8.6 8.3 
11 9.7 9.4 9.1 
12 10.5 10.2 10.0 
13 11.3 11.0 10.7 
14 12.1 11.8 11.6 
15 12.9 12.6 12.4 
16 13. 7 13.4 13.2 
17 14.6 14.2 14.0 
18 15.4 15.0 14.8 
19 16.2 15.8 15.6 
20 17.0 16.6 16.4 
21 17.8 17.5 17.2 
22 18.6 18.3 18.0 
2'3 19.4 19.1 18.8 
24 20.3 19.9 19.6 
25 21.1 20.7 20.4 
26 21.9 21.6 21.3 
27 22.7 22 .4 22.1 
28 23.5 23.2 22.9 
29 24.3 24.0 23.7 
30 25 .1 25.8 24.5 

T ABLE X III .-T APER T A BLE FOR BLACK O AK, AvA, ILLIN OIS 

F ee t above the Stump 

14 
I 

16 
I 

20 
I 

24 
I 

28 
I 30 I 32 

Dia meters inside Bark (inches) 

6.4 6.0 5.5 . . . . . . . . . ... 
7.2 6.9 6.3 

, . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . 
8.0 7.7 7 .1 6.5 .. . . . . . . . '.' 
8.8 8.5 7.9 7.3 6.7 . . . . . ... 
9.6 9.3 8.7 8. 1 7.5 . . . . . . . . 

10.4 10.1 9.5 8.9 8.3 8.1 . . . . 
11.2 11.0 10.3 9.7 9.1 8.9 8.6 
12.0 11. 7 11.1 10.5 10.0 9.7 9.4 
12 .8 12.5 12. 0 11.4 10.8 10.5 10. 2 
13.6 13 .3 12.8 12.2 11.6 11.3 11.0 
14.4 14.2 13.6 13.0 12.4 12 .1 11.8 
15.2 15.0 14.4 13.8 13 .2 13 .0 12.6 
16.1 15.8 15.2 14.6 14.0 13.8 13.4 
16.9 16.6 16.0 15.4 14.8 14.6 14.2 
17. 7 17 .4 16.8 16.2 15.6 15.4 15 .0 
18.5 18.2 17.6 17.0 16.4 16.2 15.8 
19.3 19.0 18.4 17.9 17.2 17.0 16.6 
20.1 19.8 19.2 18.7 18.0 17.8 17.4 
20.9 20.7 20.1 19.5 18.9 18.6 18.3 
21.7 21.5 20.9 20.3 19.7 19.4 19.1 
22.5 22.3 21. 7 21.1 20.5 20.2 20.0 
23.3 23.1 22.5 21.9 21.3 21.0 20.8 
24.2 24.0 23 .4 22 .8 22 .2 21.9 21.6 

I 
36 I 

. . . . 

. . ' . 

. ... 

. . . . 

. . . . 

. ... 

. . . . 

. ' .. 
9.6 

10.4 
11. 2 
12. 0 
12.8 
13.7 
14.5 
15.3 
16.1 
17.0 
17.8 
18.6 
19.4 
20.2 
21.l 

40 
I 

.... 

. ... 

. . . . 

.... 

. . . . 

. . . . 

. . . . 

. . . . 

... . 

.... 

.... 
11.4 
12. 2 
13 .1 
13.9 
14. 7 
15 .5 
16.3 
17 .1 
18.0 
18.8 
19.6 
20.5 

42 

. ... 

.... 

. . .. 

. ... 

. ... 

.. . . 

.. .. 

.. .. 

. ''. 
I o• 0 

. . ' . 

. ... 

.. . . 
12 .8 
13.6 
14.5 
15.3 
16.1 
16.9 
17.7 
18.6 
19.4 
20.2 

w 

°' 00 

I 



-369-

TABLE XI\. 

BLACK OAK GROWTH-TABLE, SHOWING TOTAL HEIGHT, AGE ON STUMP, AND 

VOL ME IN CUBIC FEET AJ\D BOARD FEET BASED ON 
D. B. H ., AVA, ILLINOIS 

I Age on Total Total Volume in No. of D.B.H. l\Ierchant-
inches stump, height, volume, able board feet, trees 

years feet cu. ft. (AYa table*) measured 
' --

6 45 35 
7 51 39 
8 56 43 7.00 -LOO 20 1 
9 62 46 7 .50 6 .00 39 1 

10 67 50 11 . 50 8 .00 51 1 
11 i3 53 15 .00 11 .00 64 1 
12 I 76 57 19 .50 14.50 83 1 
13 ' 79 60 25 .00 18 .50 103 1 
14 I 83 64 30 .00 22.50 129 6 
15 86 67 35 .50 26 .00 154 6 
16 89 70 42 . 50 30 .00 178 7 
17 93 72 49 .50 35 .50 215 7 
18 96 74 57 .50 41.00 263 3 
19 99 76 65 .00 47.50 298 8 
20 102 78 72 .50 54 .00 344 6 
21 106 80 80 .00 61 .00 394 4 
22 109 81 87 .50 68 .00 455 4 
23 112 82 95 .00 75 .00 506 2 
24 114 83 103 .00 82.50 560 2 
25 117 84 110 .00 90 .00 621 1 
26 119 84 117 .50 97 . 50 695 1 
27 121 84 125 .00 107 .00 770 1 
28 123 84 137 .50 117 .00 845 1 
29 125 84 157 .50 127 .00 920 2 
30 127 85 178 .00 140 .00 1,000 1 

-
I I 

Tot. 68 

'The results in column 6 were obtai ned from averages of trees scaled bv the ;\laine rule. 



370 

TABLE XV 

\ \'HITE OAK G RO\\"TH-TARLE, HOWJNG TOTAL HEIGHT, AGE O ' STUMP, 
AND VOJ. ME I Bl A. D BOARD FEET BASED ON D. B. H. 

A \'A, ILLINOI S 

I 
\'olume in cubic feet 

Age on I Number of Total Board feet* D .B.H. tump height (Arn table) tree 
inches yea rs Total Merchant- mea ured 

able 

6 60 34 7.5 4 .. 2 
7 63 39 8 . 5 5.5 5 4 
8 66 44 _- 9 .5 6 .5 9 4 
9 70 48 1 l. 0 7 .5 18 7 

10 74 52 12 .5 8 .5 28 6 
11 80 54 .5 14 .5 10 .5 41 10 
12 86 57 .5 16 .5 12 .5 Si 8 
13 94 59 .5 20 .5 15 77 1 
14 103 62 25 .0 18 97 1 
15 111 64 32 .0 23 120 1 
16 120 66 39 .0 27 .5 147 2 
17 130 68 46 .5 33 172 4 
18 140 69 .5 54 .0 38 222 3 
19 150 71 61.0 43 245 0 
20 160 72 .5 68 .5 49 285 2 
21 170 73 .5 76 .5 55 323 4 
22 180 I 74 .5 82 .5 61 . 5 366 2 
23 191 75 .5 90 .5 68 413 2 
24 201 76 .5 99 .0 75 464 1 
25 211 77 .5 107 .0 82 520 3 
26 222 78 116 .0 89 582 1 

I 
-

Tot. 68 
I 

*The results in column 6 were obtained from average of trees scaled by the Maine rule. 



Age 
year 

----
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
70 
80 
90 

100 
110 
120 
130 

Age 
years 

---

IO 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
70 
80 
90 

100 
110 
120 
130 
140 
150 
160 
170 
180 
190 
200 
210 
220 

371 

T BLE XVI 

TAPE R T .\BLE FOR BLACK OAK (A.LL-AGF.D . TA:-:D) 

READ FROM GRAPH V 

Diameter Diameter Diameter 
at 8 ft. Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter on stump breast- above at 16 ft . at 24 ft. at 32 ft . a t 40 ft . inside high out- stump in - above above above above bark, side bark, 

in he in he side bark, stump stump stump stump 
inches 

----

. 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
2 0 l 5 1.0 0 0 0 0 

.3 3 2 2 .-! 1. 3 .2 0 0 
5 0 5. 1 4 .0 3 0 1. 9 . 7 0 
6 .6 6 . 5 7 4 .6 2 . 6 2 5 0 
8 .4 8 6 7 5 6. 2 5 . 1 4 3 2.0 

10 . 2 10 5 9 2 .0 6 6 .0 4.4 
13 .0 13 . 2 11 . 4 10 .2 9 .0 8 . 1 6 .8 
16 . 2 16 2 13 .9 12 . 7 11 . 6 10 .4 9 . 2 
19 . 2 19 .2 16 2 15 . 1 14 I 12 .8 11 .8 
22 .0 22 1 

I 
18 .8 17 . 7 16 .4 15 4 14 .2 

24 . S 24 .9 21. 2 19 .8 18 6 17 .4 16 .3 
26 . 2 26 .6 22 . 8 21 . 6 20 .4 19 .3 18 . 2 

TABLE XVII 

TAPE R TABLE FOR \iVRITE OAK (ALL-AGED • TA 1'O) 

READ FROM GR.\PH \'I 

Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter Diameter on stump breast- 8 ft. 16 ft. 24 ft. 32 ft. 40 ft. inside high out- above above above above above bark, 1side bark, 
inch inches stump tump stump stump stump 

' 
.2 0 () () 0 0 0 
.8 0 0 0 0 () 0 

1. 7 1 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 
3 .0 2. 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 
4 . 3. 2 . 7 1.6 0 0 0 
6 .8 6 . 2 4 .6 3 .6 2.3 .4 0 
8 .8 9 .0 7.3 5 .9 4 . 7 2. 7 1. 2 

11 .6 10 . 1 9 .0 7 .5 6 .3 4 .4 3 .0 
13 .0 12 .6 10 . 2 8 .8 7.5 5 .9 4 . 2 
14 . 1 13 .8 11 3 9 .8 8 .4 7 .0 5 . 2 
15 .3 14 .9 12 . 2 10 .8 9 .4 8 .0 6 .2 
16 .3 16 .0 13 . 1 11. 7 10 .2 8 .8 7. 1 
17 .3 17 .0 14 .0 12 .6 11. 1 9 .6 7 .9 
18 . 2 18 .0 14 .9 13 .4 11 . 9 10 .4 8 .6 
19 . 2 18 .9 15.7 14 .2 12 . 7 11. 2 9 .4 
20 . 2 19 .9 16 .6 15 .0 13 .5 12 .0 10 . 2 
21. 1 21.0 17 .4 15 .8 .14 .3 12 .8 11.0 
22 .0 21. 9 18 .3 16 .6 15 . 1 13 .6 11. 8 
22 .8 22 .9 19 . 1 17 A 15 8 14 3 12 . 7 
23 .8 23.8 19 .9 18 . 2 16 .5 I 5 . l 13 .S 
24 . 7 24 . 7 20 .7 19 1 17 .3 15 14 .3 
25 .S 

I 
25.S 21.5 19 .9 18 . 1 16 .4 15 .0 

' --

Volume 
m 

c ubic 
feet 

. 112 

.88 
1. 70 
3 . 72 
7 . 71 

12 . 75 
21 . 31 
33 .51 
48.3 
67 . 2 
83 9 
98 .56 

- -

Volume 
tn 

cubic 
feet 

---

.96 
2.61 
7.32 

11 . 79 
15 .96 
20 .32 
24 . 16 
31.3 
32 .7 
37 .65 
42 . 03 
47 . 24 
52 .52 
58 .26 
63 .80 
68 .90 
73 .35 
82 .58 

- -



qo 

g., 

7., 

60 

J 
40 

?JO 

2 olij!llffiJC 

/0 

0 2 .,,, 
j 8 /0 

GRAPH I 

/2 l"f /o /tr~ ~20 22 2.,, 2t, 2e 

O/cV77eTer Breasr H✓ -9h 
T otal Heii;hts , based on D.B.11., for White and Black Oak. 

l:i 

.30 

c,., 
'.J 
N 

I 



-3
7

.3
-

--



/IJ(), 

900 

eoo 

,VD 

booq· 

..500 

+oo· 

3tJO 

;!00 

/DO 

• '•twti l!:tl, 
0 a ~ 

t:t. 

~ 8 

GRAPH III 

" 

lo la I~ /6 18 20 22 24 2~ &EB 30 

0/a,n ~ r4'r .Br,a..s -t- H /e;h (I nehe.s) 
Volum,s In Board Feet, based on D.B.H., for White and Black Oak (Maine Rule) . 

! i 

w 
'-I 
.i,.. 



/80 

1•0 

/.,,,0 

/20 

l~O 

60 

60 

Jf(J 

30 

20 

/I} 1 

() 

GRAPH IV 

1 
± 

+;." 1-H-:-i ·' 

12 /6 NJ ID -"E:I:-~ 26 28 3c 

O/a-'77er-er Breg.sr H/5h 
Merchantable Volumes in Cubic Feet, based on D.B.H., for White and Black Oak. 

w ...... 
Vt 



- 376-

G RA PH V 

26 

2 

20 

/8 

lb 

I 

12 

I 

- l 
(J 

t, 
j +. 

~ 
~ -t 
Jt:llH 

e: ri. ·:7- b z I i~ • "'-
1-i·t--'"i , ,J -~ , ::. r l 

I , 

.,. 

120 l-90 

D i:t tn t' lt' J G rowth inside Ba rk for Rlack Oak at di fferent He ights. 



;2 

24 

;?2 

20 

16' 

/6 

14 

12,, 

/0 

8 

c 

4'"'" 

2 1..::.ti 

= ~ l'l~»Zf! 

f 

60 100 

GR.\PH VI 

t~.::1tlttll 
. I"t · 

tttt 

120 /,,,,IJ lbO 16'0 200 

c7qe /n ffB ors 

• t+ H 

ITTi l_, 

R20 E-,Q 

Diameter Growth inside Bark for White Oak at different Heights. 

:.,, 
'-I 
'1 





PLATE LXXIV 

Orr oak-hkknry forest, Cle::1 r Creek region , Jonl'Rboro quad rangle. The dense growth of grass in t he openi ngs means th::i t there i• 
too much li ght, a nd it makes fire protect ion difficult. 



PLATE LXXV 

Cut-over land in the Caney Creek region, Jonesboro quadrangle. Union county. The former stand was made up 01 white oak, 
ber:ch, and tulip-tree. Notice the rank growth of weeds which greatly increases the liability to fire. 



PLATE LXXVI 

Narrow valley in Alexander county at the southern end of Jonesboro quadrangle, showing timber on the hills. 



PLATE LXXVII 

Th e valley of Ca ney Creek, Union county , northern ed ge of J onesboro quarlra ngle. 



PLATE LXXVII[ 

Cypress swamp. 

Limestone outcrop, Ava, Jac kson county. 



PLATE LXXIX 

Bald cypress trees showing swollen baaes, a nd three cypress "knees" in the left foreground. 
Photo by courtesy of the U . S . Forest Seruice. 



Shortleaf pine at Wolf Lake, Union county, overlooking the 
Mississippi bottoms. 

Photo by Paul J. Sedgwick. 

PLATE LXXX 

Old house at Wolf Lake, Union county, built of shortleal pine logs. 
Photo by Paul J . Sedgwick. 



PLATE LXXXI 

Skidwa~• at I nd ian Creek , near Murphysboro, Jackson county, where ha rdwood logs a re loaded on tramways. 



PLATE LXXXI I 

Logs going to the mill on a tramway, at Indian Creek, l\lurphysboro. 



PLATE LXXXI II 

Hauling logs by motor-truck from bottomla nds to mi ll at W,are, Union county. 



PLATE LXXXIV 

Tulip-tree. or yellow poplar. log being loaded on a log wagon near Ava, by the " cross-haul'' method. It is a butt log 20 feet in 
length, which will scale 500 board feet by the D oyle-Scribner rule. 



PL.A.TE LXXXV 

Butt log of a large tulip-tree, or yellow poplar. loaded on a log wagr,n. or "dray" ready for ha uling to the mill at Ava. T his log 
was 20 feet long and would scale 500 feet by the Doyle-Scribner rul e. 



PLATE LXXXVI 

A "ti<>-hackers' camp" at Alto Pass, Union county. These men a re usuall y financed by a tie contractor. 



PLATE LXXXVII 

White oak and black oak timber which has been culled for ties. Notice that a fair ~ta nd of timber remains which it would pay to 
protect. Alto Pass, Union county. 



PLATE LXXXVIII 

A small portable mill on the "Dug Hill" road. Union county. operated by S. A. Morse, who is seen sawing 
railroad ties from beech logs. 



PLATE LXXXIX 

Small portable awmill near Alto Pa . Union county. 
Photo by Paul J. Sedgwick . 



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PLATE XCII 

Veneer mill of the Fruit-Growers' Package Company, J onesboro, Union count~•-



PLATE XC III 

Ha rdwood logs at a veneer pla nt ready to be cut up into bolts. Most of these come from bottom la nds. 



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V eneer bolts fro m the c:-nt-off saw re::idi• to gc, to the $team boxe$ for soft enin g before being t nken to the rotan· vcncc- r-machines. 



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T hin boards. or "shooks," drying under sheds. T hese will be made up into egg crates. 



PLATE XCVI 

A bi> ttery of three charcoal kilns . These a re built of br ick, a nd cha rcoal is the only product secured. 



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PLATE XCVIII 

li:rn ion near Alto Pas . Union county. 
PJ;afo by Paul J . • '-ed~u·irk. 



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PLATE C 

A burned-over side-slo pe a t Alto P ass, Union county, on cherty ~oil. Notice the bare a ppeara nce of the ground a nd the fa llen 
tulip-trees, indicating the se,·erity of the fire. 



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