FOREST MANAGEMENT. 65 



What has been said of the geographical distribution of this tree and its demands upon climate, 

 soil, aud exiwjsiire, demonstrates that east of the Mississippi River it can be successfully urowii all 

 over the maritime plain of the Southern States (Austroriparian zone) and in the interior of Ala- 

 bama, through a large region of the Carolinian aud the extreme southern extension of the Appa- 

 lachian zone to an elevation above the sea falling little short of 1,0()(» feet. And the sandy soils 

 of this region, largely too poor for agricultural use, are par excellence Longleaf pinelands. In the 

 renewal of the forests of Longleaf Pine, ui)on areas denuded, the fact must be borne in mind that 

 to produce timber which is under present conditions considered of fiiir merchantable quality a 

 period of not less than one hundred and fifty years is required, and that to produce timber of the 

 strength, clearness, and durability for which it is held in such high esteem the slow growth under 

 the severe aud hardening conditions involved in the struggle for light in the crowded forests is 

 necessary. Hence, economic reasous would point to the maintenance and conservative manage- 

 ment of the existing forests of Longleaf Pine and their renewal by natural reproduction, and 

 perhaps best the method of selection which under the present conditions appears the most practi- 

 cable, involving chiefly methods of protection. 



By this method all or most of the mature trees, corresponding in their proportions to the most 

 desirable quality of timber, are cut and the rest left to grow till they reach similar dimensions, to 

 be in their turn replaced by the second growth, which in the openings from time to time springs 

 up. In fact, this method was followed in the earlier days of the timber industry in the several 

 regions of the Longleaf Pine, where the forests were being culled for the best sizes at intervals 

 of from fifteen to thirty years. But owing to the exhaustion of the mature pine from forests 

 within distance of railroad lines and water courses, which necessitates great outlays of capital 

 for constructing tramroads or waterways, the original practice of selection has been abandoned, 

 no tree being spared at present that will make a stick of timber, however small, as long as 

 it finds a sale in the market. Care should of course be taken to leave always enough seed 

 trees evenly distributed, and the chief care is to be directed to the protection of the seedlings 

 aud other young growth from the destructive agencies mentioned— fire, cattle, and the encroach- 

 ment of invading species. A forest under such management would necessarily present a great 

 diversity in the growth of the trees, aud the length of time between one cutting and the next 

 would be equally variable. It must be remarked that the demand of this species for the unhin- 

 dered access of direct suuliglit during the time of germination and successive stages of growth 

 might prove a serious obstacle to the continued success of this method of selection ; and the "group 

 method," as described in the report of the chief of the Division of Forestry for 1894, might be sub- 

 stituted with advantage. Where it is desired to reestablish the growth of Longleaf Pine upon 

 denuded areas, the ground must be cleared of every obstacle in the way of free access of the rays 

 of the sun before the sowing. Owing to the ease with which the seeds germinate and the seed- 

 lings take root in the ground, but slight prei)aration of the same would be required, and there 

 would be no difQculty in procuring a good stand. If transplanting is to be resorted to, the seed- 

 lings should be taken up during the fall or winter succeeding the first season of their growth, 

 before the further development of the rapidly growing taproot, the precaution always being taken 

 to prevent any injury to the rootlets and their drying out before their transfer to the ground. 

 Since the trees clear themselves easily of branches, the stand in the plantation in the earlier 

 stages does not need to be as dense as with other species. In order to secure improvement and 

 permanency of favorable soil conditions, the litter from the shedding of the leaves aud gradual 

 decay of herbage should be left uu disturbed on the ground. 



There can be hardly auy doubt that the introduction of other shady species would greatly 

 assist in improving soil conditions and producing more rapid development of the pine. Care 

 would have to be taken to bring in these species later, say between fifteen and twenty years, when 

 the pine has begun to make its rapid height growth and can escape the shade of its neighbors. 



For the present, however, the economic conditions are hardly yet ripe for any artificial 

 reforestation, but the great importance of this valuable forest resource to the industrial and 

 commercial development and prosiierity of the people living within its limits should be apparent 

 enough to keei> them at least from preventing its natural reproduction. The growth of the young 

 timber after the first few years is rapid enough, as may be seen from the table on page 57, aud 

 17433— No. 13 5 



