46 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF THE 



Counties controls 300,000 acres of timber land, of which 

 40,000 acres are stump lands. In common with other large 

 timber land owners, this company has had under considera- 

 tion various plans for handling cut-over lands. They desire 

 to sell all that is suitable for agriculture, but thus far have 

 been able to dispose of only a very small portion of the 

 stump land. It is the usual type of longleaf pine uplands. 

 The soil contains little plant food, but it is usually capable 

 of being built up by careful scientific methods of farming. 

 Eventually, the greater part of it will probably be used for 

 farms, but in the meantime these lands ought not to remain 

 unproductive. If the lands were protected from fire for a 

 period of ten years, it is safe to say that fully fifty per cent 

 of them would be completely stocked with healthy young 

 tree growth. 



With the advent of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad a 

 great many mills sprang into existence along its route be- 

 tween Hattiesburg and Gulfport. Within a few years all 

 of the merchantable timber within sight of the right of 

 way was cut and most of the small mills had disappeared. 

 A small number have located a few miles from the railroad, 

 but most of the available timber has been cut and only the 

 great tracts belonging to the large companies remain. 



In the counties bordering the Gulf, a considerable part 

 of the timber land along the large water courses and near the 

 coast has been exploited for a great many years. Most of 

 the choice pine, cypress, and hardwood lumber has been 

 exported. Far from the railroads and streams vast bodies 

 of virgin timber land still remain in these counties, but large 

 lumber companies are rapidly extending their operations 

 into these timber lands. 



Near the Gulf Coast occasional small areas of cut-over 

 lands and old fields are covered with dense stands of young 

 Cuban and loblolly pines and 500 small poles per acre is not 

 uncommon on such lands. A very large number of poles 

 with an average length of 16 feet and a top diameter of 4 

 inches are annually used for piling for bath houses and 

 small piers in front of the numerous homes on the Gulf 

 Coast. These poles are worth from twenty to twenty-five 



