G2 TIMUKK I'INES OK THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. 



While a jiuliciotis tapi)iii^ is not only justified, but demaiuled, by an economic system of 

 exploitation, the prevailinj; inetho<l8 of orcharding are unnecessarily destructive. 



Tim tappin;,' of sajjpliiiK timber not yet ripe Cor the saw, and the destructive (ires started in 

 connection with this industry, annihiiatin}; all youu}; };ro\vtli, prevent any renewal of the forest, 

 while tlie working of large bodies of timber years before milling; facilities are available leads often 

 to 2(1 i)er cent and more of loss in botli quality and (puuitity of the merchantable iiroduct. 



The greatest injury to which the pine forests are subject in consequence of turj)entina 

 orcharding arises from the tires which are started every spring for the purpose of getting rid of 

 the combustible matter raked from around the tapi)ed trees in order to ])rotect them from accidental 

 conflagrations while they are worked. These forest fires, si)reading far beyond their intended 

 limits, destroy entirely the youngest i)rogeny of the pines, stunt the growth of the more advanced 

 trees, and cause the ruin of a large number of older ones in the abandoned turpentine orchards. 

 Burning deeply into the gashes and other exposed surfaces of the ta7)i)ed tiees, these fires hasten 

 their prostration by the gales. Moreover, the fire causes cracks in tlie surfaces laid bare by the 

 ax and the puller occasions greater exposure to atmospheric action, thus inducing more or less 

 rajiid deeay. A test, made by sawing through twenty-two logs taken at random from a tur|)eiitine 

 orchard alter it had been abandofied for a period of sixteen to eighteen years, showed that about 

 one-half of the timber was i)artially decayed and shaky. 



Hesides the production of naval stores as a cause of forest fires, there is another scarcely less 

 potent. This is the prai-tiee iirevailiiig among the settlers of burning the woods upon the approach 

 of every spring in order to hasten the growth of grass for their famished stock. Fires are al.so 

 frequently startcil through the carelessness of loggers and hunters, in the i)re|)aration of the ground 

 for tillage, and by s|)arks from locomotives. These fires, occurring at least once during every 

 year, cause the total destruction of the young growth of the Longleaf Pine. The danger to this 

 s]>ecies is much greater than to any other Southern wood, because of the greater length of tinu- it 

 re(|uires to reach a size at which it can otter some resistance to fire. In the open forests of Longleaf 

 Pine the fires are not so destru(rtive to the larger timber as in the dense forests of coniferous 

 trees farther north, trees of larger size being, with some exceptions, but slightly, if at all, directly 

 damaged. 



Another serious damage, however, resulting from the frequent recurrence of fires is the 

 destruction of all vegetable matter in the soil. Deprived of the nuilching needed for the retention 

 of moisture, the naturally porous and dry soil, now rendered absolutely arid and barren, is no longer 

 capable of supporting any larger ti-ee growth or other useful vegetation. 



LIVE STOCK. 



Of no less danger to the existence of the forests of Longleaf Pine is the injury caused by live 

 stock. This agency, slow in its action, is sure to lead to their destruction unless restrii'ted to some 

 extent. Besides the damage due to the trampling down and nuUilation of the young growth by 

 herds of cattle roannng through the woods, the smaller domestic animals — goats and sheejt — eat 

 the tuffs of tlie tender fidiage of the seedlings, while hogs are seen digging uj) and chewing the 

 spongy and feiuler roots of the young i)lants. As a further agency in the way of the renewal of 

 this species, the destruction of the mature cones might be mentioned, caused ])rincipally by the 

 s<iuirrels, which peel ofl' the scales clean to the core iu search of the sweet, nutritious seed. 



Full-grown trees are fre(|uently uprooted by the hurricanes which from time to time i>a,ss 

 tiirough tlie pine belt. Those having the taiuoot shortened by impenetrable layers of indurated 

 clay interposed in the subsoil at varying depths are invariably the first victims of the high winds. 

 In trees grown in .such places the taj)root is found with a tumid and round base as smooth as if 

 polished. 



