Table 5 shows the number of tracts, the acreage of lands, the price per acre, and the total price by purchase units and by States approved for purchase during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1927.

TABLE 5.-Land approved for purchase, fiscal year 1927 by purchase units and States, average price per acre, and total price

Table 6 shows the gross area of the purchase units and the per cent of land which has been acquired in each unit, or which is being acquired of the purchasable land. By purchasable land is meant the net area after eliminating from the gross area of the unit the area of agricultural land, the area of the land held for water-power purposes, and the area of land held by private owners for permanent timber production. Table 6 shows that still slightly less than one-half of the purchasable area has been or is being acquired within the purchase unit in the Eastern States.

The largest proportion of land has been acquired on the Alabama, 68 per cent, and the Natural Bridge 62 per cent. The lowest proportion has been acquired on the Nantahala, upon which only 16 per cent of the area suitable for national forest purposes has been authorized for purchase. The Ouachita, Ozark, Superior, and Tawas are public domain national forests. Only a small proportion of the areas of these units has been acquired through purchase, although on both the Ouachita and Ozark consolidation is largely effected. Considering the Superior and Tawas alone in District No. 2, 44 per cent has been acquired, and considering the Eastern States, District No. 7, 48 per cent has been acquired.

TABLE 6.-Gross area of purchase units and per cent of land acquired in each unit

White Mountain purchase unit. During the past year nine tracts, one being located in Maine and the others in New Hampshire and having a combined area of 10,010 acres, were approved for purchase on the White Mountain unit at a price of $8.53 per acre. They carry comparatively heavy stands of young growth suitable for pulp and some merchantable saw timber, a portion of the timber being valuable spruce. All of these tracts are so situated as to effect desirable consolidation. The total area which has been approved for purchase on this unit now amounts to 470,689 acres, which, if 83,000 acres of private lands now being managed for permanent yield is not acquired, is 50 per cent of the purchasable area. Negotiations are now in progress for several large tracts in Grafton County, N. H., in the towns of Livermore and Waterville and on the watershed of the Wild Ammonoosuc River, which will result in consolidation at a number of places in case the negotiations terminate successfully and the lands are acquired. The acquisition of these lands would also bring under Government control an additional area of forested lands located on high slopes of several mountains, much of it so situated as to have high value for protection forest. Future purchase work looks forward to acquiring additional lands in the southwestern portion of the unit, especially on the headwaters of Pemigewasset, Sawyer, and Swift Rivers. Lands on these streams are at present in process of being cut over, and can not be acquired until cutting operations have been completed and the owners desire to sell. Allegheny purchase unit.-During the past year the purchase of additional lands to the aggregate amount of 35,503 acres, at $7.78 an acre, in 26 different tracts was authorized on this unit. The most outstanding purchase was a tract of 13,859 acres, being acquired at $12.25 an acre. It not only carries a considerable amount of merchantable timber and valuable young growth but is so situated that it contributes very largely to the consolidation of lands already approved for purchase on the unit. There is also being acquired a tract of 9,600 acres, and two tracts of between 1,000 and 2,000 acres each. The other tracts are smaller. The total area thus approved

for purchase or already acquired on this unit is now 280,722 acre, which is 44 per cent of the purchasable lands, in case private lands now being managed by their owners for permanent yield are excluded. Other lands which are not considered desirable for purchase are farming lands and lands held for water-power purposes. The higher price at which lands are now being acquired on this unit is due to the fact that the lands which were first acquired were those which had been most closely cut over and which consequently were of lowest value. The great industrial developments within and immediately adjacent to the Allegheny unit and in particular the large number of woodworking and wood-using industries, has resulted in a very high value for nearly all classes of forest products, and assures a ready market for all timber which can be produced. Paper and pulp mills create a demand for small-sized timber suitable for these uses. Chestnut wood and tanbarks find a market at the tanneries and extract plants, and saw timber of all kinds is in demand. The result of this is that stands of young timber, even before they are of merchantable size, are held in high esteem and have an actual sale value within this region. The forests on this unit formerly consisted largely of white pine mixed with hardwoods. The second growth is largely beech, birch, and maple over the northern portion of the unit, where northern forest types predominate, and chestnut and oak in the southern portion, which is typified by Appalachian forest types. While the presence of gas and oil deposits and even coal over a portion of the unit have necessitated the acquisition of a considerable portion of the land subject to the rights of the owners to mine and remove these minerals, the highly industrialized situation is largely a direct result of the presence of these minerals, and this is the important factor in creating the market for timber products and determining the high value of timber.

On account of the fair rate of growth of trees in this region and the fair yield per acre which can be expected, the Allegheny National Forest can be regarded as having exceptional investmental values and great earning possibilities. There are, however, extensive areas of land which have been acquired, especially in the southern part of the unit in the vicinity of Johnsonburg originally stocked to white pine and hemlock, but cut clean and so badly and frequently burned that practically all seed trees of every kind have been destroyed. These lands have restocked to aspen suckers which do not make trees but form dense sapling thickets, the individual stems seldom becoming large enough to be used even for pulp wood for which there is an excellent market near by. In order to reestablish a stand of valuable trees upon these lands it may be necessary to resort to planting.

Monongahela purchase unit.-Lands on the Monongahela purchase unit, the purchase of which was authorized during the past year, consist of 14 tracts having an aggregate area of 6,233 acres, being acquired at an average price of $3.97 an acre. There has thus been approved for purchase a total of 195,803 acres of lands within this unit, amounting to 39 per cent of the purchasable area. This unit was extended to the east during the year so as to include an additional area of about 84,000 acres in Grant and Pendleton Counties, W. Va., and largely upon the North Fork and Cave Mountains. On account of the fact that a number of lumber companies having large holdings

had not completed their operations and did not desire to sell their land until cutting was finished, only a limited area had been acquired on this unit during the first decade of purchase work. During the past few years, however, a number of companies have completed their operations and offered their lands for sale, and the prospect is that other owners will offer a large additional area within the next few years. The lands which have been acquired are still grouped in several disjoined bodies, the consolidation of which can not be effected until some of these owners which are now operating are in a position to offer their lands. Most of the lands on this unit are potentially of high productive capacity, whenever they are well stocked and are furnished with adequate protection against fire. This unit includes one of the largest areas of the spruce type south of the Adirondacks, and in case this valuable timber can be reestablished in places where it has been destroyed as a result of fires after lumbering it will become a valuable source of supply of material for paper stock.

It is estimated that out of the 43,000 acres of open land upon this unit about 20,000 acres will require planting to secure a reestablishment of a valuable species. Some of this open land is in bracken fern, some in such shrubs as sumach, prickly ash and brambles, and on some the establishment of the worthless fire cherry will make artificial restocking to a valuable species a more costly and prolonged process. In order to provide planting stock not only for the Monongahela National Forest, but for supplying stock to other forests upon which there are areas of open land which should be restocked by planting, a forest nursery has been established at Gladwin, W. Va. The capacity of this nursery during the year 1926 was about 125,000 two-year old trees planted. There is sufficient land available and in condition, however, to expand to an output of about 1,000,000 two-year old plants a year. It is planned to increase the capacity to an output of 500,000 plants in the year 1927. The species which are being grown as the most desirable are white pine, Norway spruce, and red spruce and larch. Stock from this nursery also goes to the Pisgah and Shenandoah National Forests.

Eighteen towns and cities secure their domestic water supply from lands located within the exterior boundary of this unit, and in 10 cases the supply is wholly or in part derived from national forest lands.

Natural Bridge purchase unit.-During the past year purchase was authorized of four small tracts at an average price of $5.95 per acre and having a total area of 311 acres. These lands are for the most part well timbered, and their acquisition will materially promote consolidation of certain portions of the forest. Their inclusion increases the area of lands acquired or being acquired to 161,792 acres, being 62 per cent of the area available for purchase. Embraced in the lands which should not be acquired are 5,500 acres of privatelyowned lands managed for permanent timber production. Future purchase policy on this unit looks forward to securing additional small tracts which will effect consolidation, and to acquiring several large tracts in the middle portion of the unit and along its eastern edge and located on and near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Negotiations are now in progress for one of these larger tracts well situated for securing consolidation and carrying an excellent stand of timber. Some of these lands are still in process of being cut over for timber. S D-70-1-vol 24-13