Virginia landowners and forest industries planted 58,173,940 tree seedlings,

Virginia landowners and forest industries planted 58,173,940 tree seedlings, a record, during the 1970 tree-planting season. This was some 3V4 million more than were planted last year, and is 2'/j million more than were planted in 1967, the previous high. The 1970 figure brings the total for Virginia’s 54-year reforestation history up to more than 727 million seedlings. This information was compiled by Virginia Forests, Inc., in cooperation with the Virginia Division of Forestry. In Rappahannock a total of 53,250 seedlings were planted. Of the 58.2 million seedlings planted, 54.1 million were loblolly pine. White pine accounted for 3 million of the total, followed by Virginia pine with 529 thousand. Shortleaf, red, Scotch, pitch, and slash pines, combined with red cedar, Norway spruce, and Canadian hemlock plantings made up another 175 thousand. Black locust, planted mostly by mining companies, and yellow poplar were the principal hardwood species (152 M). Plantings of Autumn Olive accounted for 39,000; sycamore, 39,148; black walnut, 29,151; and green ash, 28,475. A combination of sweetgum, red oak, and various other hardwoods made up the remaining 18,300. During the past year, farmers and other individual landowners planted 22,813,861 tree seedlings on their lands — roughly 39 percent of the total. Of that number, 10,137,848 were provided free or on a matching basis by forest industry, of which the pulp and paper companies gave ten million. Industrail plantings on company lands added up to 33,868,514 seedlings (58 percent of the total), with pulp and paper companies accounting for 27,766,614, lumber and other wood-using industries being credited with 5,336,900, and non-forest industries making up the remaining 765,000.

State, federal, and municipal or county agencies were responsible for planting 1,491,565 of the total — 474,500 in state forests, 229,010 by other state agencies, and 605,622 on federal lands. City and county governments planted 134,150 trees. Schools, civic clubs, and public organizations also planted 48,283.

Using an average of 750 seedlings per acre, the 58.2 million planted this year represents the reforestation of approximately 77,500 acres of idle agricultural or cutover woodland. This acreage is boosted to a total of 80,596 with the inclusion of 3,096 acres which were reforested by direct seeding; that is, distribution of tree seeds over the land by hand, mechanical means, or by helicopter.

The Virginia Division of Forestry was responsible for growing and distributing 39,582,266 seedlings. However, some 1,932,714 of these are not included in the total because of out-of-state planting or loss because of improper handling (freezing) by the purchasers. All Division of Forestry trees are grown at the state nurseries in New Kent and Augusta counties. The Continental Can Company