1548 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



forest growth over considerable areas formerly occupied 

 by longlcaf pine. The region extends from southern 

 South Carolina over the lower third of Georgia, through 

 extreme southern Alabama and Mississippi, southeast 

 Louisiana, and extensively over Florida. .\lthough 

 chiefly poorly drained, sandy flatlanils, the region ex- 

 tends into the rolling hills of southern Georgia for a 



A TllKKEVtAR Ul.U SLASH I'l.NL SAl'Ll.NG 



This made a height growth this year of about 32 inches. T-ongleaf pine 

 at this age would be from 2 to 4 inches in height. Unlike longleaf, slash 

 pine docs not have a heavy tap-root and is easily and successfully trans- 

 plantt-d. 



distance of 125 miles from salt water. Localities of high, 

 relatively dry hill land, especially a portion of Florida 

 about Tallahassee and the Florida National Forest, form 

 well marked exceptions in the general spread of slash 

 pine. Because of the uneven distribution of seed trees 

 and the occurrence of annual fires, the stand of young 

 slash pine is b\' no means regular or continuous. 



Recent growth studies of slash and longleaf pine, al- 

 though inadecpiate in number, point clearly to a marked 

 difference and superiority in favor of slash pine. For 

 example, slash shoots up rapidly in height during the first 

 25 years as compared with longleaf ; at 30 to 35 years on 

 poor situations, its upward growth appears to average 

 about the same as that of longleaf on favorable situa- 



tions. Longleaf, however, seems to be more persistent in 

 height growth and somewhere at about 50 to 60 years of 

 age bids fair to outstrip its rival. The average height 

 growth up to middle life is shown by the studies thus 

 far completed to exceed noticeablv that of loblolly pine 

 in the coastal region of the Middle .Atlantic States. 



The structure of the wood, shown in cross section here- 

 with, is such as to give it very high commercial value. 

 Even when young and fast growing, the tree produces a 

 ])roportionately wide band of summer wood, very dense 

 and resinous, and sharply demarcated from the spring 

 wood of the same season's growth. The disk here 

 shown — the breast high section of a 17-year old tree, 1 0.7 

 inches in diameter, is composed of 63 per cent of summer 

 wood, a striking amount for a tree of such rapid growth. 



A l.onSlAX.V KA.MH.V 



.-\ slash pine mother and her children. The 15-year old stand might now 

 hv tapped for turpentine, but to let the trees grow for a few years 

 will be good economy for the owni'r. 



l'"ast-growing loblolly, in comparison, has much narrower 

 summer wood, grading very gradually into the wider 

 band of spring wood. 



Young stands should be operated under methods which 

 conserve their productive capacity for crude turpentine, 

 such for example as those used by the French. In this 

 iiiaiincr thcv can be ijrotitably worked from the time they 



