?•_' TIMBEK I'INES OK THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. 



IroiM the dipijings under liis system are taken into acconut. On the liist jjoint lie says tbat I'ully 

 one-eighth of the eriide turpentine brought to the still from the boxes consists of chips, sand, and 

 othci' foreign matter, eontaniinations from wliich the proilnct of tlie (•ni>s is entirely free. On tlu; 

 seeond point he refers to the liigh grades of rosin resulting from the flistiliation of the crude 

 turpentine from the cups, which almost eutirely classes with the highest and higher grades. 



EFFECTS OF THE PKODUCTION Ol NAVAl. STOKES UPON THE TIMIIKK, THK LIFK (IF THE TREE, ANli THE CONDITIONS 



OF THE FUKEST. 



In the ])reseiit maiiagenient of tlie tnriientinc orchards in the Soutliern i>ine forests a great 

 deal of crude turpentine is wastetl, mncli of the valuabh' sjjirits of turpentine is lost by vojatili/.ation 

 in passing over the long chip face on its way to the box, and much of the resin is lowered in its 

 grade and value by oxidation consequent to exposure and by admixture of foreign substances — 

 bark, coal, dust, etc. 



Concerning the ettect of the tapping of the trees upon the timber, there exists no reason on 

 l)hysiological or anatoniical grounds for eon.sidering it injurious, and the opinion held by many, 

 that the qualities of timber are inijiaired by bleeding, tiiids no su|)port when it is considered that 

 the hcartwood remains unaftected. The resinous contents of the heartwood being solidified and 

 the formation of the resin taking place only in the newly formed wood, the heartwood can not 

 ])arti<'ipate in tlie flow of the resin, the discharge being necessarily conlined to the sapwood. 

 This fact has been fully substantiated by the work of the Division of I'^orestry. by which it has not 

 only been shown that the strength of the heaitwood, the most important if not the only part of the 

 tree u.sed for lumber, has in no wise been diminished, but also that the durability of the timber, as 

 far as it depends ui)on its resinous contents, can not be impaired by bleeding. It is only in that ])art 

 of the butt log around the chip that the quality of the timber becomes somewhat imi)aired — the 

 wood becoming highly charged with resin is rendered more brittle and harder to work, with a ten- 

 dency to gum uj) the tools. Indirectly, however, a considerable proportion of the boxed timber 

 becomes damaged if not utilized shortly after having been bled. It is often left standing for a 

 number of years, expo.sed to various destructive agencies, such as insects and fire, followed by 

 parasitic fungoid growth. Large (•aprieorn beetles bore their way thi-ough the callus suiroiinding 

 the chip and through and beyond the sapwood. Through the innumerable fissun^s which are 

 caused by fires, air and water charged with the spores of parasitic fungi find entrance to the body 

 of the tree, causing disease and decay. The damag<' from these causes increases every year, so that 

 from them alone the timber from a turpentine orchard aliahdoned for a dozen years was found 

 damaged to the extent of fully 20 per cent. Although the loss of its resin by bleeding results 

 jihysiologically in no direct injury to the tree, the wound inflicted by tapjiing, like any other wound, 

 interferes with its healthy growth and,i)articularly in the case of trees of smaller size, causes their 

 early decay. While the exuded resin covering the excoriated surface of the tree acts as an etlicient 

 antiseptic, affording a firm protection against the access of the spores of fungi, it endangers the 

 life of the tree, if exposed to fire, by its greater inflanimability, the heat produced by its flame 

 being capable of killing the trees outright. Under the crude and inconsiderate manner of cutting 

 the boxes, all of the trees of smaller size and many of the larger trees are blown down, and a 

 considerable number of those remaining with their excoriated surfaces out of proportion to the 

 recuperative power of the trees are doomed to perish sooner or later in consequence of such 

 treatment. 



These injuries inflicted U]>on the individual trees, in connection with the fires started with the 

 oi)ening of the season one year after another, cause such damage to the forests as to effect finally 

 their total destruction. Fire being allowed to sweep over large areas, its force increased in the 

 turpentine orchards by the exposed resinous surfaces of the trees, and by trees blown down and 

 the di'bris covering the ground, an immense amount of timber is destroyed. Trees wliich have not 

 been killed outright by the fire, or have altogether escaped the danger, are doomed to speedy 

 destruction by bark beetles and pine borers, which find a breeding place in the living trees 

 prostrated by the winds during the summer, the broods of wliich rapidly infest the standing trees, 

 which invariably succiiml) to the pest the same season. In coiiseiinence, the forests invaded by 

 turpentine orcharding ineseiit, in five or six years after they have been abandoned, a picture of 

 ruin and desolation iiainfiil to behold, and in view of the destruction of the .seedlings and tiie 

 younger growth all hope of the restoration of these magnificent forests is excluded. 



