FOREST CONDITIONS OF MISSISSIPPI. 39 



Piney Woods Type. — This type occupies fully 75 per 

 cent of the longleaf pine region. The stream bottoms, the 

 belt of hills bordering the lowest bluff section in southwest 

 Mississippi, and the narrow transitional belt of mixed pine 

 and hardwoods along the northern border of the region 

 constitute the other types. In this type longleaf pine 

 grows in practically pure stands. While requ ring plenty 

 of sunlight it thrives on soil containing very little plant 

 food. It occupies the ridges and low tablelands, but never 

 the swampy areas. At the borders of its range in moist 

 localities it grows very slowly and never reaches the dimen- 

 sions attained on the dry upland situations. Isolated black 

 gum and dogwood trees are usually found in the piney 

 woods, and low, brushy post and blackjack oaks are almost 

 invariably present. The oaks are most noticeable in open- 

 ings, and where large clearings have been rnade by logging 

 operations or hurricanes, they soon claim the ground in 

 thick stands. 



The mature forest of longleaf pine is park-like in appear- 

 ance. The trees are tall and cylindrical and free from 

 branches to an average height of 40 or 50 feet. There is 

 practically no reproduction and the forest floor is usually 

 bare of shrubby growth. Grass, however, covers the sur- 

 face, often forming a close sod. 



The average stand of longleaf pine varies with localities 

 and according to the damage from turpentining, fires, and 

 windstorm. While the finest trees and the largest stands 

 on small areas are found in parts of the hilly interior sec- 

 tion, the heaviest stands over extensive areas occur near the 

 Gulf coast. As a result of turpentining and the subsequent 

 burning of the land a large amount of timber has been 

 destroyed. The pitchy boxes burned deeply, and many 

 trees were so weakened at the stumps that they were easily 

 blown down. The turpentined timber also suffered greatly 

 from the attack of bark beetles. On a tract of several 

 thousand acreas near the Gulf where all the timber has been 

 boxed, the average stand per acre is 6,000 board feet, while 

 on another extensive tract in the same section where turpen- 

 tining has not been practiced, the average stand contains 

 between 9,000 and 10,000 board feet per acre. 



