92 A STUDY OF FOREST CONDITIONS 



There are only two types of forest in Pike County, the 

 longleaf uplands and the bottomlands. The former covers 

 extensive areas, probably 80 per cent of the county, of 

 which at least one-third is still well forested. The bottom- 

 lands have been extensively cleared for cultivation, and there 

 is little merchantable hardwood now found there. 



The eastern half of the county still contains large areas 

 of excellent pine. All this timber, however, is in the hands 

 of a few lumber companies which are rapidly exploiting 

 it. Three lines of logging railroad penetrate the timber 

 from the Illinois Central Railroad, and another is reaching 

 up from the mills at Bogalusa, Louisiana. Small mills 

 are lumbering isolated areas, or removing the tiinber left 

 on areas that were lightly culled some years ago. Many 

 of these ciilled stands contain 2,000 to 3,000 board feet 

 per acre. Virgin stands in the eastern townships yield 

 from 10,000 to 30,000 feet per acre on small areas. Farmers 

 are getting an average of $20 an acre for pine lands. Some 

 acres have sold for $50. Stumpage is about $2 per thou- 

 sand, or from $5 to $20 per acre. Approximately 420,000 

 board feet of longleaf pine are cut daily for export use 

 from mills located along the line of the Illinois Central. 

 Some of this timber, however, comes from other counties. 



In the past two or three years great damage has been 

 done to the standing longleaf pine of this county by wind- 

 storms, especially in moist sags within the plateau regions. 

 Probably 100,000,000 feet of fine timber have been destroyed. 



Much of this pine land is valuable for agriculture, but 

 it may not be cultivated, because not needed, for many 

 years to come. So far, cultivation has been carried on 

 chiefly within from sjx to ten miles of the railroad. 



Turpentining is practiced more extensively in Pike 

 County than in any of the other counties west of the Pearl 

 River. Tylertown is the center for the orchards of the 

 Fernwood Lumber Company, and considerable turpen- 

 tining is also done in the northern townships. Railroad 

 ties are cut from old field pine and also from standing dead 

 trees or heart pine. They are sold at 25 cents each at 



