LOBLOLLY PINE ADAPTED TO FORESTRY 



THAT fanners and other land 

 owners in Delaware, Maryland, 

 and Virginia can put their worn- 

 out or poorly drained land to 

 profitable use by growing loblolly pine, 

 is the statement made by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriciilture in a recent bulletin. 

 For several generations, says the de- 

 partment, it will probably be better to 

 grow timber on such areas, at little 

 outlay, than to incur the heavy expense 

 of making them fit for crops. At the 

 same time, intensive agriculture can be 

 practiced on the limited areas best 

 adapted to it. 



Loblolly pine, the department goes 

 on to say, is easily the leading tree for 

 commercial timber growing on the 

 coastal plain of these three states, be- 

 cause of the ease with which it repro- 

 duces itself and forms pure, well-stocked 

 stands, its rapid growth and the wide 

 range of sites on which it will grow, the 

 many uses to which its wood is adapted, 

 the comparative cheapness of logging 

 and milling the timber, and the good 

 prices which its lumber brings. 



The best stands of loblolly ought to 

 yield a money return of anywhere be- 

 tween 4.5 and 10 per cent, on a 20-year 

 rotation. On a 40-year rotation the 

 best stands should bring in not less than 

 6 per cent, and perhaps 8 or 9. 



The range of uses for loblolly is wide, 

 and it is sold throughout the eastern 

 and central states and exported to 

 Eiu-ope and Central America. In build- 

 ing construction it is used for interior 

 finish, flooring, ceiling, sashes, wains- 

 coting, weather boarding, joists, lath 

 and shingles. It also finds wide use 

 for boxes, slack barrels, cheap fumitiu"e, 

 wooden ware and toys. In addition, it 

 is used in bridge and trestle work and 

 for freight cars. A good deal of lob- 

 loUy pine is cut for cross- ties, which 

 are given a preservative treatment. 

 The wood is very easy to treat with 

 chemical preservatives, and the recent 

 development of wood impregnation 

 processes and plants is rapidly increas- 

 ing its use for many ptuposes. Few 

 pines exceed it in use for fuel, and im- 

 mense quantities of cordwood find a 

 sale in cities as far north as Philadel- 

 phia. A report of the woods in Mary- 

 land in 1909 shows loblolly as exceeding 

 all other woods combined in the manu- 

 factru-e of boxes and crates, and as 

 standing second in cooperage and basket 

 making. 



According to the department, lob- 

 lolly pine can be grown successfully in 

 Kent and Sussex counties, Delaware; 

 throughout eastern and southern Mary- 

 land; and in eastern Virginia. 



STATE NEWS 



New Jersey. 



New Jersey is not letting up in her fight on 

 the forest fires. Last year the fires were more 

 in number than they were the year before and 

 the damage done was somewhat greater, but 

 the increase is accounted for by the fact that 

 the spring was unusually dry and windy. 



The records seem to prove that the State 

 has a firm grip upon fires started by brush 

 burners since only 7 per cent of the total 

 number were due to that cause — and brush 

 burning in the New Jersey catalogue embraces 

 every form of intentional fire setting except 

 incendiarism. 



The season demonstrated again that the 

 railroad hazard is the most serious. It is 

 therefore, announced that from now on every 



effort will be directed toward the prevention 

 of such fires. The Fire Line Law, under which 

 upwards of 300 miles of fire lines have been 

 constructed by the railroads, having been de- 

 clared unconstitutional, a new act was prepared 

 which probably would stand the test of the 

 courts, but after considering the whole situa- 

 tion it has been decided to introduce for enact- 

 ment a brush disposal law and a fire patrol 

 law. If both become effective the Forest 

 Commission will be in a position to require 

 the removal of all unusual hazards by those 

 who are responsible. The brush disposal 

 law will affect development projects (town lot 

 schemes) in the main, since New Jersey's 

 lumber industry is restricted. The patrol 

 act will require any agency, whether railroad 

 or other, to maintain a patrol when in the 



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