FORESTRY. 441 



FORESTRY. 



The bald cypress, F. Roth (U. 8. Dept. Agr., Division of Forestry 

 Circ. 19 , pp. 24, Jig. 1). — The author presents in a condensed form the 

 results of tests and investigations made on the physical and mechanical 

 properties of the bald cypress, Taxodium distich urn, one of the important 

 timber trees of the Southern States. 



The bald cypress, a name given this tree on account of the fact that 

 it loses its foliage in winter, includes white, yellow, black, and red 

 cypress, names which have been used for advertising or other purposes, 

 and which have caused much confusion as to actual differences in the 

 timber. 



Notes are given on the range and manner of occurrence, character of 

 growth, and age of trees. More than 90 per cent of the cypress occurs 

 on elevations of less than 100 ft. above sea level, and large bodies of 

 merchantable cypress are not known to occur at elevations above 500 

 ft. The present supply of cypress is estimated at 27,000,000,000 ft., 

 board measure, distributed among the States of Louisiana, Florida, 

 Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and 

 Mississippi. The estimated annual cut is about 500,000,000 ft. the 

 greater part of which is taken within 120 miles of New Orleans. 



The method of cutting generally pursued is to girdle the trees the 

 season prior to felling them. This appears to be of doubtful value, 

 since it adds but little to the floating capacity of the logs and endangers 

 the timber. If girdling is done in the spring or summer, or even in 

 early fall, insects at once begin their work. Generally their attack is 

 confined to the inner bark and surface of the wood, but in some cases 

 a large borer of the Ambrosia beetle group bores straight into the 

 wood and produces a sharply marked black stain. 



Notes are given on the character of the wood and its physical and 

 mechanical properties. 



There is a disease of the cypress known as "pegginess, ,? said to be 

 due to a fungus. This disease usually begins at the broken stub of a 

 limb and works downward. A cross section of an infected log looks as 

 though a number of small pegs | to 1 in. in diameter had been 

 driven into the wood and then withdrawn, the holes being filled with 

 powdery decayed wood. Young trees are generally free from this 

 trouble, and in no case was it seen in trees except where part of the 

 crown had been broken off. The total loss tine to this cause is proba- 

 bly not less than 30 per cent of the entire cypress supply. No region 

 or locality seems to be entirely free from this defect, although places 

 exist here and there that are especially infested. It is usually impos- 

 sible to tell diseased from sound trees prior to felling them, but the 

 common belief that the disease spreads after the timber is converted 

 into lumber is not founded on fact. 



In conclusion the author states that "the supply of cypress is con- 

 siderable and the output capable of considerable increase, but once 

 gone the present forests will be unable to replace the supply, and it is 

 doubtful whether cypress can be considered as a timber of the future." 



