FOREST CONDITIONS OF MISSISSIPPI. 37 



which can be handled profitably now, and hold the gums 

 and other inferior trees for future operations. One com- 

 pany owns 150,000 acres in Washington and Sharkey 

 Counties, and another owns 50,000 acres in Tallahatchie 

 and Quitman Counties. Several other companies own from 

 5,000 to 20,000 acres apiece. There are no longer any 

 tracts as large as 2,000 or 3,000 acres on the market. 



The value of timber land depends upon its accessibility, 

 the quality and amount of the timber, and the value of the 

 land for agriculture after the timber has been cut. The 

 best timber land can seldom be bought for less than $20 an 

 acre, while much of it can not be bought for less than $50. 

 Land covered with an ordinary stand and situated eight or 

 ten miles from a railroad is worth about $20 per acre. 

 The value of timber land has increased enormously in the 

 past few decades. In Yazoo County there are several 

 tracts ranging in area from 3,000 to 20,000 acres which were 

 purchased shortly after the completion of the Mississippi 

 River levees for an average of ten cents per acre. Most of 

 this land is now worth at least $20 per acre. A company 

 recently refused an offer of $25 per acre for the 16,000 acres 

 of land which it purchased two years ago for $18 per acre. 



Small mills which pick up scattered small tracts of 

 stumpage are often able to purchase at very low prices. In 

 Sunflower County a millman is cutting choice cypress and 

 oak logs for which he paid Sio per thousand board feet, 

 delivered at the mill. For poorer logs of these species he 

 pays only S5 per thousand feet. The owners of this stump- 

 age are receiving little more than half its value. 



Cottonwood stumpage above 28 inches in diameter, 

 breast high, sells for from $5 to S7 per thousand feet in 

 accessible localities. Twenty years ago timber of the same 

 quality could be purchased for twenty-five cents per 

 thousand. It was used then only to float heavy logs of 

 the valuable hardwood species. 



Although the tax rate in the delta is higher than in other 

 regions, the assessments on timber, land are not excessive. 

 In addition to the regular State and county levy of from 

 Si. 30 to $1.80 on a $100 valuation and the general levy of 



