THE CONIFEROUS FORESTS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. I97 



and the rapid rate at which it is being cut the supply will 

 probably not be exhausted for many years. 



The Long-Leaf Pine {Finns palustn's), also known as yellow 

 or Georgia pine, extends through the coastal plain from extreme 

 southern Virginia to the vicinity of the Caloosahatchee River in 

 Florida and the Trinity River in Texas, and also inland to the 

 mountains of Georgia and Alabama, nearly 2000 feet above sea- 

 level. (It almost meets the white pine in Georgia.) In the 

 greater part of its range it is the most abundant tree, and there 

 are or have been many places where it is the only tree in sight. 

 It probably was originally, and may be even yet, the most 

 abundant tree in eastern North America. The long-leaf pine 

 forests, or southern pine-barrens, differ from most others in their 

 open park-like character. Even in a virgin forest of this kind 

 one can usually see about a quarter of a mile in every direction ; 

 and the ground is carpeted with wire-grass or other coarse 

 grasses, or with low shrubs. 



This species grows best in poor soils, rather dry and sandy 

 and devoid of humus, but never in the very poorest, such as sand 

 dunes. The region covered by it has a warm-temperate climate, 

 with very little snow, and more rain in summer than in winter, 

 except in northern Georgia and Alabama. 



After reaching the age of four or five years the long-leaf pine 

 seems to withstand fire better than any other tree known, with 

 the possible exception of one or two of its near relatives to 

 be discussed below ; and what is more, it probably could not 

 perpetuate itself very long without the aid of fire. All forests of 

 it bear the marks of frequent ground-fires, which in some places 

 come nearly every year. At the present time, of course, most of 

 the fires are of human origin, but those due to lightning in 

 prehistoric times could spread over much larger areas than they 

 do now, on account of the absence of clearings, roads, and other 

 artificial barriers, so that the frequency of fire at any one spot 

 may not be much greater now than it was originally. A fire 

 every year during the lifetime of the tree would be likely to 

 prevent its reproduction, but in any area that escapes burning 

 for a few years once in fifty years or so, there is opportunity for a 

 new crop of trees. 



If fire were withheld too long, the oaks and other hardwoods 

 which grow in the long-leaf pine regions would take possession 

 of the ground, and gradually crowd the pine out, for its seedlings 



VOL. XXXII. PART II. O 



