38 



TIMBER PINES 01' THE SOITTIIEKN UMTr.D STATES. 



During tlifsc fourteen years the iirice of 8(iii;ii<- limlier and liiinbcr taken in tlic aggregate 

 averaged about $12.50 per 1,000 feet, board measure. On tlii.s basis tlic value ol' tlio mill products 

 for these jiarts of the forests of Longleaf Pine amounted to *.'>. I. ").">. (iTO a year. 



For the jiast forty years, during wliieli the lands of the peninsnla i)ait and in middle Florida 

 have ])assed mostly into possession of small projirietors, no naval stores have been prodiieed 

 in this section. In western I'lorida, however, in i)ioxiiuity to the Louisville and Nashville and 

 I'ensacola railroads, lai-ge areas have been subjected to the tapping of the trees, and the forests 

 close to these railroads having been exliaiisted, the jiroducts of the tni]>entiiie stills are hauled 

 for a distance often exceeding 10 miles and find their market mostly at Mobile. 



Alabama. — Owing to the diversity in geological conditions and in topograidiieal leatures 

 jirevailiiig in this State, the distribution of the Longleaf IMin; inesents within its borders 

 lieculiarities not found el.sewhere. It ajijiears in three .separate regions — the maritime pine belt, 

 the central pine belt, and the pine forests of the Coosa Basin and other outlying forests in north 

 Alabama. 



The coast pine belt extends from the Gulf shore inland lor a distance of from 90 to 100 miles, 

 and has been estimated to cover about 13,750 square miles, or 8,800,000 acres, outside of the swamjjs 

 and Hatwoods of the coast plain. Tlu^ latter, perfectly level or rising in gentle swells above the 

 tidewater marshes, is almost cdmiiletely stripi)ed of its original timber growth. After its removal 

 the Longleaf Pine has largely been replaced by Cuban Pine. 



The rolling i)iiie ujilands rise to a height of from 200 to 350 feet above the lowlands of the 

 coast. In the lower i)art of this pine belt, where the sandy and gravelly dcjiosits of the latest 

 tertiary strata jirevail, the Longleaf Pine forms pure forests, with the exception of the narrow 

 strips of hardwood timber bordering the water courses. This lower division covers about 4,2.50,000 

 acres. In the extent and <iiiality of their timber resources these Longleaf Pine forests can be 

 considered e(|ual to tlio.se found in the adjoining ])arts of P^lorida and in IMissi.ssippi, and 

 unsurpassed by tho.se of tlie most favored sections of the Atlantic ])ine forest. 



The following measurements of trees felled near Wallace, Escambia Couiitj', in collecting 

 the material for the United States timber tests, will servo to represent fairly tlie (|iiality of the 

 merchantable timber in conformity with the standard in vogue at the mills in 1880, and the relation 

 of age to growth: 



MeaanremtnU of five trees. 



At a lumber camp near Lumberton, in Washington County, timber trees were measured 

 .showing on the average a mean diameter of 17 inches, the clear sticks averaging 40 feet in 

 length. 



Upon 1 acre, .selected at random in the untouched forests north of Spiingliill, Mobile ('ounty, 

 very open and free from smaller trees or undergrowth, 10 trees were counted above 10 inches in 

 diameter at breast high, namely, 2 trees 2:5 inches in diameter at breast liigli, estimated length of 

 timber, 4(1 feet; 2 trees 20 inches in diameter at breast high, estimated length of timber, 40 feet; 

 12 trees 10 to 18 inches in diameter at breast high, estimated length of timber, .35 feet; which in 

 the aggregate would yield about .5.0(10 feet, board measure. 



Ujion another acre plat of the same quarter section 04 trees above 12 inches in diameter at 

 breast high were found; of these 2 trees measured 20 inches in diameter at breast high, estimated 

 length of timber, 40 feet; 20 trees measured 17 inches in diameter at breast high, estimated length 

 of timber, 30 feet; 30 trees measui-ed 13 inches in diameter at breast high, estimated length of 

 timber, 24 feet. 



