42 TIMUEK I'INES OF TIIIC SOUTHEKN UNITED STATES. 



The extinction (if Longleaf Pine in the forests of noiili Alabama, as tar as crononiic valne is 

 ••onccrned, iip|)ears to be certai n. The dense lunlersrowth oF decidnous trees sujjpresses completely 

 the second growtii of the Lonjileaf Pine in the closed forest as well as in the opcnin;;s. On tiic 

 mountain slopes a yoiinji pine is rarely seen, no tree bein^ left to serve for the future dissemination 

 of the species, and the few secdiinfjs sporadically spriuginn up aic invariably destroyed by the 

 firinir of the herbajre one year after another. 



The output of the mills at Gadsden and the mills in Talladega County along the Birmingham 

 and Atlantic Railroad combined api)ears scarcely to exceed ")(),(»;)(). (lOO feet, board measure, on the 

 average jier year. A line forest of Longleaf Pine is found in Walker (Jounty, stri<-tly conlined 

 within an isolated |)atch of silicious pebbles and saiuls, said to cover about 0(),()(Ml acres. Distant 

 about 10 miles from the nearest railroad this forest has been but slightly iuvaded, and that to serve 

 a small local demand. 



Siimmanj Klatemcnt nf xliipmentu nf lumber <iiid square limber from chief cenlcrit of iirodiiiliou in Alnbnmti durinij Ihe i/iar 



1S9.7. 



Fcr-t,B.M. 



Mobile exports to lbrei;;ii ports, coastwise, and sliipiiionta liy rail ' 1 13, SOU, 0(M1 



Estiiiiiitcd cut in Alabama anil sawn in western I'lorida S."), 00(1, 000 



Transportoil by rail, mostly to northern market.s^ il.'), JOO, 000 



Central pine belt ■' 51, OOii, 000 



Coosa basin* 50,000,000 



Total 125, 000, 000 



Misni.istippi. — What has been said of the forests of the maritime pine belt in Alabama ai)i)lies in 

 general to the same region in Mississipi)i. The coastal plain above the extensive gras.sy marshes 

 lining the seashore and the wide estuaries of the streams covers a larger area, being from 10 to 20 

 miles in width and eml)i-acing, at a rough estimate, about 7l'S,0()(» acres of the H>, 110 sipiare miles 

 within the limits of the pine belt. The broad, scarcely percejitible swells, with a soil of sandy 

 loam and loamy sand, were originally well timbered, the widely spreading depressions with soil of 

 fine, compacted sand, poorly drained, bearing a sparse and inferior timber growth. The tind)er 

 produced on these tiat woods, or •• pine meadows," as they are ajjtly called in the adjoining section 

 of Alabama, being of slow growth, is hard and of fine grain, frequently with the filjers of the younger 

 wood contorted and of varied tints of color. This so-called (uuled pine is snscei)til)le of high finish 

 and is much appreciated for fine cabinet work. There is comparatively little valuable tind)cr left 

 in this coastal plain. The remainder serves largely for the making of charcoal and cord wood for 

 the Xew Orleans market. 



The rolling pine lands, rising suddenly above the plain, almost exclusively covered by the Long- 

 leaf Pine, cover (roughly estimated) about 7,712,000 acres. The western limits of these forests are 

 ditticult to define, numerous outlying tracts being found to extend into or even be.yond the region 

 of the loamy hills. The region of mixed growth, characterizing the ujiper division of the maritime 

 pine belt in Alabama, enters the State in the shape of a triangle, with the base along the Alabama 

 State line from P>ucatunna to Lauderdale and its apex near Brandon, in Bankin County. The 

 generous soil of the arable lands in this legion is mostly nnd(rr cultivation. The forests of Ivongleaf 

 Pine covering the stec]) hills, rather remote from the high roads of commerce, have been as yet but 

 little ex]>loited. About 1L',000.0()(I feet, board measure, of lumber are shipped annually by the 

 way of the Jlobile and Ohio Railroad, mostly to Mobile, from this region of mixed growth. 



Fiom the inlbrmatiiMi that conlil be obtaine<l, it appears that the cut of I.ongleaf Pine timber 

 in this State on the average for the past three years reached between 422,000,0(10 and 12."),000,UO0 

 feet. The chief center of the lumbering industry is located above the Pascagoula River, at Scran- 

 ton and Mossjioiiit. where it has made great progress during the past thirteen or fourteen years. 

 In 1880, G0,000,O(it) feet, board measure, were sliii)ped to foreign and domestic ports, which in the 



■Annnal statement of commerre of .Mobile. Mobile Hegister, September 1, 1892. Compiled from retnrns made 

 to the Mobile Hoard of Trade. 



-Production of mills south of Montgomery, etc. 



'Production of mills on Louisville and Xashvillc K'ailroad, nnitli (if Montgomery to Calcra. by Cojonrl Wads- 

 wortb. 



- Prodactiou of miUa on Southern Hallway, north of Selma to Stauton, by M. lluusou. 



