24 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF THE 



large pines a growth of stunted and limby oaks (post, 

 blackjack, red and Spanish) and hickory. These trees 

 scarcely ever reach dimensions suitable for any use except 

 for cross-ties, posts, or fuel, but they are extensively cut 

 for these purposes. The farmers cut and haul oak firewood 

 to the towns, selling it usually at the rate of $i per load. 

 Loads vary in size from one-quarter to one-half of a cord. 



Management. — Located close to the fertile, populous 

 prairie region and to other agricultural sections of northern 

 Mississippi, the timber resources of the Flatwoods will be 

 drawn upon increasingly for pine lumber, cross-ties, posts, 

 and fuel. The Flatwoods are pre-eminently suited to the 

 practice of forestry. 



Loblolly and shortleaf pine are the trees which should 

 be favored by forest management in this region, since they 

 grow very rapidly and can be used for many purposes. 

 Fortunately, they are abundant, and loblolly is especially 

 aggressive in taking possession of cut-over land. In the 

 southern part of the Flatwoods, the pines are steadily seed- 

 ing up the land from which the oaks have been removed. 

 Each year loblolly pine produces an abundance of light, 

 winged seed which is widely distributed by the wind. The 

 seedlings grow rapidly for the first few years, soon becoming 

 high enough to escape death from light surface fires. 



Thickets of pole size trees may be thinned with ad- 

 vantage to the stand. The time is not far distant when 

 returns will be obtained from the product of such thinnings 

 which will pay for the labor and yield, at least a small profit. 

 These pines need a great deal of sunlight for rapid growth, 

 and respond vigorously when the suppressed trees and 

 some of the large-topped ones are removed from thick 

 stands. Under favorable conditions of light and moisture, 

 pines in this region often grow at the rate of an inch in 

 diameter a year for several years. An average annual 

 growth of from 500 to 1,000 board feet per acre may be 

 cotmted on in ftilly-stocked pine stands. With the steadily 

 increasing stumpage values, a growth even of 500 board 

 feet per acre will, within a few years, mean the addition 

 of from $1 to $2 to the value of each acre every year. 



