18 



mostly well drained soils. In regard to moisture conditions of the soil, the diflVMeiii si)ecies 

 adjust themselves diflerently. The long-leaf pine is found (only excei)tioually otherwise) on the 

 best-drained, deep, sandy, siliceous alluvium, while the Cuban pine is confined to the moister 

 flats or pine meadows of the coast, and will grow closely down to the saiuly swamps; not objecting 

 to clayey admixtures in the soil, but shunning the dry sandy pine hills. The short-leaf pine pre- 

 fers a well-drained, light, sandy or gravelly chiy soil, or warm light loam, while the loblolly, often 

 struggling with the short-leaf for the possession of the soil, can adapt itself to wetter situations. 



From the southern confines of Virginia the long-leaf pine covers the later deposits of sands, 

 light loanis, and gravel which follow the Atlantic coast to the everglades of Florida, and west on the 

 gulf shore to the valley of the Trinity Kiver (Texas), in a belt from (iO to loO nules wide. In nortli 

 ern Alabama and the adjoining part of Georgia the forests of this pine reach a short distance 

 beyond the 34'' north latitude on isolated and more or less restricted areas iu similar soil. In its 

 distribution tlnougli the Atlantic States and the eastern Gulf region, three distinct divisions can 

 be recognized in this coast pine belt: First, the coast jdain, from 10 to 30 miles from seashore, rising 

 above the marshes and alluvial swam])S, forms a belt 5 to 30 miles iu width. In the grassy Hat- 

 woods this ]>ine is found scattered and of rather stunted growth, while on the higher level, where 

 it once prevailed in greater perfection, it has been largely replaced by the loblolly and tlie <'uban 

 pines. 



The second division embraces the rolling ]iine lands or pine barrens proper, the elevation o, 

 which is rarely over 250 feet above tidewater. These undulating lands often s])read out into 

 extensive table lands, and are, almost without any interruption, covered with a pure gvnwlhul 

 mature long-leaf i)ine of the greatest perfection. 



The third division, forming the upper ])artof1he maritime inne belt, is a region of mixed 

 growth, where on the steep rocky or gravelly ridges the longlcMf pine is frcijuently associated with 

 the short leaf and loblolly ]iine and haidwood trees. In tliis division, generally on a richei' s<iil, 

 the long leaf jiine attains a gi-eater size with a larger number of full-si/.cd trees to the acre. Tiie 

 h>ng leiif tind:>er of this division generally shows a larger i)roiiortion of sapwood and a slightly 

 coarser grain than that of the other divisions, and has therefore been considered somewhat infci ior 

 in quality. It is found more generally wind shaken. 



In Virginia the lung leaf i)iiu' is, for all ])ractical puiposcs, extinct. In North Carolina, in the 

 division of nuxed growth aiul in the plain between the Albenuirle and Pandico Sound, the long Icat 

 ])ine has likewise been almost entirely removed and is replaced by the loblolly. The fon-sts ol 

 longlcaf pine begin with Bouge Inlet, stretching for a distance of from 95 to 150 miles inland, 

 reaching down to the State line and cover, roughly estimated, about (i, 500, 0(10 acres. These for- 

 ests hav(> l)een to a great extent despoiled of their timber wealth by the tapi)ing of the trees for 

 turpentine. 



From the statement of the Tenth Census Iicport the timber supply of long leaf i>ine in South 

 Carolina is but slightly exceeded by tliat of North Carolina. The pine belt in this State is about 

 150 miles wide. It is mainly occupied by the long-leaf pine, but on the hill lauds is intermixed 

 with the short leaf pine. The forests on the elevated table-land in the southwestern part of the 

 State, almost untouched, are spoken of as being of the finest quality. It is interesting to note 

 that there has been during the past ten years a steady increase in the development of the lumber 

 resources of the State. Iir Georgia, the great pine State of the southern Atlantic, the forests ot 

 long-leaf pine cover, almost exclusively, the vast interior plain of over 17,000 square miles in 

 extent. The timber from this extensive lumbering region (in the markets favorably known as 

 "Georgia pine") is mostly rafted down tlie Savannah River and the Altamaha lliver to Savannah, 

 Darien, and Brunswick. During the past twelve years shipments aggregating about 300,000,000 

 square feet of lumber ami square timber have been made annually from these ports, with but 

 slight tluctuations in the amount of the annual outputs. In eastern Florida the pine belt can be 

 traced to St. Augustine. Farther south, the long-leaf pine is replaced by the Cuban pine. On 

 the Gulf side more important areas of the long leaf growth are found extending until the savannas 

 and everglades are reached, where again the Cub.m pine replaces it, but the timber seems to be 

 of an inferior quality and the pine forests are frequently interrupted by swamps with hardwood 

 trees. Since 1880 the kuubering industry iu eastern Florida has been on the decliue. 



