46 



TlMHElt PINES OF Tllli SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. 



Angelina counties, ami include an area of about 2,8!)(),0(>() acres. In ainomii iiiid ((Uality of the 

 timber these forests are unsurpassed and are only ecjualed by the forest of the adjoininj; region 

 in liOiiislaiia. Toward their southern l)or(lers the country, liivC the i)ine Hats of southwestern 

 Louisiana, is perfectly level and jtooily drained, with the soil water soaked for a greater jiart of 

 the year. These Hats have been almost coini)letely stripped of their niercliantal)le limber. North 

 of Nona the surface rises gradually above the water level in broad, low swells, and, l)eiiig underlaid 

 by strata of stiff loams, is more or less deficient in drainage. The intervening wide Hats are 

 frequently covered with a dense growth of largo shrubs and small-sized trees, consisting of 

 various species of hawthorn (Cratwgiis eriixr/alU, C. riiidin, C. innUin, C. bcrbcridifoUa), the 

 Deciduous Holly [Ilex thridua), Dahoon Holly {Jlc.v carol in tana), Privet {Adelia acuminata), plane 

 trees, and magnolias. These im])enetiabli' thickets are common, and often eoxer many sciuare 

 miles, like the so-called Big Thicket in the lower part of Hardin County, said to be from 10 to 15 

 miles wide, either way. The growth of Longleaf Pino which covers the gentle, wide swells, is 

 dense, of line proportions, and of remarkably rapid development. The aver;ige age of live trees 

 foiled northwest of Nona, l."» to 25 inches in diameter, is but little over one hundred and titty 

 years, as the following measurements show : 



Measurements of fire trees. 



In this region, owing to the direct communication of several railroad lines with the grenf 

 centers of trade in the Noi'th and with the trecdess plains of the far West, the manul'ai-tnre ol 

 lumber has made a wonderful progress during the past twelve years. In 1880 the cut of Longleaf 

 Pine in this State has been estimated at r)6,4.")(),O0O feet. From information received from parties 

 engaged in the Imnbcr business, the cut during thc^ year 1892 can safely be estimated at -140, (»(»(», 000 

 feet. The centers of lumber production are Orange and Beaumont, but a great amount is cut at 

 the mills along the several lines of railway jjassing through this region. 



Output of Longleaf Pine lumber in Texas during the i/car 1S02. 



Feet, B. M. 



Orange (inclusive of 40,000,000 of feet derived from Calcasieu) 4,'), 000, 000 



Beaumont 7.5, 000, 000 



Sabine Valley, Texas and Nortliern Kailroad 157,000,00(1 



Missouri, Kansa.s and Texas Kailrciad ICi, Olill. IIIIO 



HonstiiD, Kansas and Texas Railroad 20. 000, 000 



Total 440, 000, 000 



Kor the renewal of the forests of Longleaf Pine in this region there is as little hojic under their 

 present management as in the adjoining region in Louisiana. In this cold, wet soil the seeds lind 

 but a poor (ihance for germination, and the surviving i)l!intlets soon succumb to the same cau.se. 

 In the i)ine llats seedlings are rarely observed among the tall broom sedge grasses {Aiidropofiini) 

 which, under the inflnence of light and a damp soil, thrive lu.vuriantly in the flat woods denuded 

 of their timber growth, imparting to them the aspect of waving meadows or savannas. 



PRODUCTS. 



VALITF, AND U.SE.S OK THE WOOD. 



The wood of the Longleaf Pine is hardly snrpiissed by any of (Uir timber trees of economic 

 impiu'tance, and is practically unsurpassed by any member of its own order in the (pialititis which 

 are retjuired for purposes of constru('tion, thus taking the first place among its congeners. 



