44 



TIMUKR PINES OF THE SOUTHERN UMTEU STATES 



In ISOO seven sawmills were rcporlcd, witli a daily cai)acity, in tlio a}^f;rct,M((', of ahont 120.000 

 feet, board measure. It can satVly !«■ assumed tliat tlieir annual output would not ex<-ffd l."),(i(Hl,(l(H) 

 feet, board measure. The products of these mills (ind tlitir market chietiy at New Orleans. In 

 former years a eonsidcrable (|uaiitity of naval stores was produced in St. Tammany Parish, while 

 at present only a few turpentine orchards are worked in the upper districts. 



TMK UEC.ION or I.OXOLEAK I'INK WEST OF Till: MISSISSIPPI. 



The importance of the pine forests in the western dull' rcjiion can not be overestimated, 

 considerinji the development of the immense timbciless area beyond their western limit. The 

 rapidly iucreasinjj |)opulation of the Westei'u plains dejiends chietiy upon them for the su])ply of 

 the material needed to build uj) the homes of civilization. 



The forests of the Lonjfleaf Pine west of the Mississii)pi River, as in regions so far cfuisidered, 

 are geographically limited to the sands and gravels of the latest Tertiary formation. They 

 make their first ai)i)earance in Louisiana above the great alluvial ])laiu iu the uplands bordering 

 the valley of the Ouachita and follow its <;ourse for •")<• miles, then extend west, skirting Lake 

 Catahoula and the alluvial lauds of the lied IJiver. These pine forests to the north of this river 

 cover an area estimated at 1,025,000 acres, extending northward for a distance averaging 55 

 miles. Toward their northern limit tin; forests ])ass gradually into a mixcil growth of deciduous 

 trees and Shortleaf IMne. In the center of this region the i)in(! ridges alternate with tracts of 

 White Oak and Hickory. Tending toward the Red River, the pure forest of Loiigleaf I'inc which 

 covers the undulating uiilands is unbroken and has up to the present been but slightly invaded 

 by the ax. On the low hills of this noi-thern division of the pine belt of iiortliwester;i Louisiana 

 the forests are somewhat o[)eii, and are composed of trees of the tirst order as regards their 

 dimensions, the well drained, warm, and deep soil of sandy loam being highly favorable to their 

 development. This fact is clearly shown in the following statement of the ages and dimensions of 

 six trees felled for test logs : 



Meaaurcmenia of six trees. 



Upon 1 acre of the same plat, with the timber standing rather above the average, .'58 trees 

 were found. Of these there were 14 of 21 inches (Hameter at breast high, estimated length of 

 timber, 45 feet; (i of 10 inches diamet(?r at breast high, estimated length of timber, 40 feet; of 

 17 inches diameter at breast high, estimated huigth of timber, •■>5 fei^t; of J3 inches diameter at 

 breast high, estimated length of timber, 30 feet. 



In the ojjinion of experts, the average yield of 1 acre of these pine lands at a fair estimate is 

 not less than (i,0(»il feet, board measure. 



According to the statements of Mr. Sues, at Levins Station, 5f»,0U0,(t00 feet, board measure, 

 were .slii])pcd, in 1802, from the mills of this .section. 



South of the Red River bottom the forests of Longleaf Pine continue unbroken to the Sabine 

 River and south to the treeless savannas of the coast iu Calcasieu Parish, their eastern boundary 

 parallel with the eastern boundary of that parish. Roughly estimated, these forests cover an 

 area of about 2,0(iS,OOl) acres. From the marshy lowlands of the coast to the upper tributaries 

 of the Calcasieu River, up to Hickory and Beckwith creeks, the country is poorly drained, almost 

 perfectly level, with a highly retentive and somewhat impervious clay subsoil. In consequence, 

 these piue Hats are, for the greater part of the year, more or less covered with water. These 

 low. wet pine forests were stripped some years ago of all their merchantable timber, and only a 

 comparatively small number of trees of less than 12 iuches in diameter were left standing, On 



