Live Stock Breeders' Association. 123 



rugged where the valleys are deeper and narrower and the whole 

 country cut up with innumerable deep ravines, although the gen- 

 eral elevations are not so high as in the central region. To the 

 outside of this belt of rough country, is the border of the Ozarks 

 which is less rugged and slopes down to the prairies and the Mis- 

 sissippi bottoms. 



The Ozark region comprises most of the absolute forest land 

 of the State which should be largely devoted to the growth of tim- 

 ber. Although the heaviest timber is in the Mississippi bottoms, 

 in the extreme southeastern portion of the State, it is only a ques- 

 tion of a few years until it is removed and the soil reclaimed for 

 agricultural purposes. The remainder of the State is mostly prairie 

 with trees occurring only in groves along the streams. Hence it 

 is the Ozark region which is naturally fitted to be the source of 

 Missouri's future timber supply. 



THE MISSISSIPPI BOTTOMS. 



In the Mississippi bottoms are dense stands of excellent tim- 

 ber. The cypress, which is one of the oldest and most important 

 trees known, has been largely cut out and there is small chance of 

 her regeneration. Red gum and tupelo are still in abundance but 

 enormous waste has resulted because proper methods only recently 

 have been devised for the handling of these timbers. There is also 

 the rapid-growing cottonwood of large dimensions, giant oaks and 

 numerous trees whose rank and importance may not be questioned. 

 The alluvial soil is deep and rich and if drained, will prove valu- 

 able for cotton and other agricultural crops. And yet a large 

 per cent of this land can be profitably devoted to the growing of 

 timber. The red gum and cottonwood, the willow and catalpa, 

 each on its favorite site, finds conditions suited to most prolific 

 growth. So rapidly do these trees develop that successive cuts of 

 merchantable timber may be obtained at intervals of 20 to 30 

 years perpetually. An improved method of cutting the timber in 

 strips has been devised which permits clean cutting of alternate 

 strips and assures natural reproduction. For large companies the 

 plan will prove eminently successful. 



THE OZARKS. 



In the Ozarks most of the commercial forest has been cut 

 over. At one time shortleaf pine was the most important tree in 

 the mountains, but its originally limited distribution has been fur- 



