Treesearch

This is a report on the findings of the first comprehensive survey of the timber resources of Delaware. It describes, as of 1957, the area and condition of the forest land, the volume of standing timber, the annual growth and mortality of the forest growing stock, and the extent of timber cutting. The survey made by the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, is a part of a nationwide survey of timber resources.

Trees, like other plants, contain many natural chemicals of the sort that we call hormones. Research is gradually revealing that, in the behavior of a tree, these chemicals may be almost as important as the basic influences of heredity and environment.

The exact value of thinning in managing hardwoods is not yet known. Further study of the many factors that affect thinning results is needed. These factors include methods and intensities of thinning, ages at which thinnings are started or repeated, effects of species composition in mixed stands, and influence of site index on response to thinning.

In the Coastal Plain from Virginia to Pennsylvania, snowstorms heavy enough to damage trees are unusual. Weather Bureau records for the general area show that heavy snowfall - 8 to 25 inches in a single storm - occurs at an average frequency of about once in 7 years.

The "green" in green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) refers to the leaves. They are nearly as bright green on the lower surface as on the upper. The specific Latin name 'pennsylvanica' was given to the species because it occurs in the United States and because in 1785 Pennsylvania and the American colonies were often considered as synonymous in the minds of European botanists.

Odd relationships abound among the wonders of Nature. Just as men keep cows, some ants herd aphids. The bee pays Nature for its food by pollinating the flower. One symbiotic relationship that concerns foresters is the coupling of tree roots with certain fungi to form compound structures, part tree root and part fungus mycelium, which we call mycorrhizae.

Red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) is not only the most important of the spruces; it is also one of the most important of all the conifers in northeastern North America. It is a tree of many uses. The paper industry relies heavily on it for pulpwood; in the variety of its other uses it rivals white pine.

White ash (Fraxinus americana L.) derives its common name from the white under-surface of the leaf; the white effect is created by microscopic papillae with a high light-reflecting capacity. The specific name americana was given to the species because of its range in America.

Pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) grows over a wide geographical range - from central Maine to New York and extreme southeastern Ontario, south to Virginia and southern Ohio, and in the mountains to eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, and western South Carolina. Because it grows mostly on the poorer soils, its distribution is spotty.

Atlantic white-cedar ((Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) B.S.P.) has been a highly prized species since Colonial times because of the durability and high quality of its wood. The wood has been used for many purposes: boat boards, shingles and lath, framing, house and boat finish, pails and tanks, cabin logs, posts, and poles. Good white-cedar has always commanded good prices. The highest valuations in the Northeast apparently date to about a century ago, when good stands are reported to have sold for $400 to $1,000 per acre. Prices around 1830 in New Jersey ranged from $100 t o $300 - about the...