G4 TIMUEK I'INES OF TUE SOUTUEKN UNITED STATES. 



NATURAL REPRODUCTION. 



Certain peculiaritii's inhcreiii to this sjjecies t'oriii a series of obstacles in the way of its 

 spontaneous reproduction. These are. lirst, the rare occurrence of seasons of abundant crops of 

 seed, and, second, its slow -zrowth durin}; the earliest part of its develoi)nient, renderinji tlie 

 youufj ort'spring of this pine liable to be sui)presse(l by <;onii)etin{i- sjjccies of (iui<'ker growth. To 

 these <-auses is to be further added its dependence upon the intluence of direct sunliglit, which is 

 required for its germination as well as during the subscMjueut stages of its growth to maturity, 

 and the sensitiveness of the seeds and seedlings to moisture; i)la(-ed in a wet, undrained soil, tlie 

 gerniimiting power of the first is <lcstroyed and the latttT will perish on exposure to tlie same 

 conditions. A study of the young growth of the Longleaf Pine over the ditferent regions of its 

 habitat leads unavoidably to the conclusion that the chances for tlie rei)roducti(in of its forests 

 left to the ordinary course of nature, are (juite limited, even if the adverse conditions arising 

 from human agencies are left out of consideration. On the lowlands of the Atlantic Coast toward 

 its northern limit tliis ))ine is almost invariably replaced by the Tjoblolly Pine, while fartlier south 

 and in the coastal plain of the Gulf States east of the Mississippi IMver, after its removal, it is 

 replaced partly by the Loblolly Pine and largely by the Cuban Pine. On the wide expanse of 

 ui)lands rising above the coastal jdain with their broad ridges of a soil of sandy loam, the young 

 trees of the Longleaf I'inc are met with in every stage of growth. Attaining, liowever, during tlie 

 first five or six years scarcely a greater height than the surrounding herbage, the seedlings are 

 irredeemibly ruined by the \arions destructive agencies to which they are exposed. On land liable 

 to iei)eated conllagiatioiis, a scrubby grow th, t'hielly of barren oak and otlier upland oaks already 

 mentioned, takes po.ssessiou and excludes by its shade the ])iiie. If upon the rolling pine lauds or 

 dry jiiiie barrens the removal of most of the original tree covering is follo\v(ul by a succession ol' 

 barren years, the ground will surely be invaded by the hard wood trees mentioned, which will letaiii 

 possession. Under the shade of these trees the Longleaf Pine can never again find a home. In the 

 Stronger .soil of the up])er division of the maritime piue belt, the region of mixed growth, where the 

 seedlings of the Longleaf Pine si)ring up siiuMltaueously with the hard wood trees and the .seedlings 

 of the Shortleaf Pine, these latter will eventually gain the supremacy and su])press those of the 

 Longleaf Piue; conseciueutly the latter is seldom observed in mixed forests of .second growth. Tn 

 the Hat woods, i)articularly in the pine flats of southwestern Louisiana and Texas, with a soil 

 water-.soaked during the winter and spring, the offsjuing of the Longleaf Pine is still more rarely 

 met with for the reasons stated. From these facts it is evident that, owing to natural causes, 

 combined with the unrestricted sway of the influences leading to its destruction by human agency, 

 the offspring of tin- Longleaf Pine is rarely seen to occupy the i)lace of the parent tree, even in the 

 region most favorable to its natural renewal, and that final extinction of the Ibrests of the Lougleaf 

 Piue is inevitable unless proper forest management is applied. 



FOREST mana<;ement. 



The time for the acquisition of timber lands or of the right of working them for their products 

 at i)rices far below what could be (considered as an ade(|uate return for their instrinsic value has 

 well-nigh i)assed away. The opportunities which existed during the last twenty-five years for 

 acquiring Longleaf Pine lands, which were oi)en to purchase by the hundreds of thousands of acres 

 have now in a great measure ceased to exist. The greater i)art of this kind of jjroperty has passed 

 into the possession of capitalists, and the rest will soon be similaily controlled. Lnder this new 

 order of tliiugs tlie price of these timber lands is gradually approaching figures more in i)io]>ortion 

 to their true value. The deiiredations committed unblushingly on the pulilic lands, and on the 

 lands of railroad corporations and private owners, aric lendered less easy every year under a mutinil 

 protection of interest. Keckless waste and devastation, heedless of the interests in the future, 

 are giving way to a more economical management of the timber resources in the logging camj) and 

 in the mill. No measures have been attempted to maintain these resources by sparing the younger 

 timber ill its best stage of growth from tlie ax. or to provide in any other way for the protection 

 and i)reservatiou of the younger growth. 



