112 TIMBER PINES OF THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. 



uses by tlie house carptMiter, while the iiifcMior {irades are hufi'dy consumed for seeoiidary 

 purposes. Of late years the value of the luiubt-r even of lower grades has been uiuch enhanced 

 by the i)rocess of kiln-drying, now uuiversally introduced into the mills. After the removal of 

 the water from the sajiwood by exposure to a current of liciitcd air, tlic lumljcr loses its proneness 

 to yet discolored or to ''blue'' by the rai)i(l dc\elopuient of the niyctelium of a fungus and greatly 

 gaius iu its capability of a good finish, as well as in durability, and is thus rondered suitable for 

 many pur|)oses for which, without such treatment, it would be rejected. 



Tlie c(Uisuniiition of L()l)Iolly I'ine hiiiiher is constantly on the increase in the markets of the 

 North, as the lumber of tlu' White Pine becomes scarce and more expensive. The sappy t imber of 

 .second gr,)wtli is every year coming moie iu demand, especially in foreign markets, wlu-re this 

 cheap timber is rendered durable by creosoting. In the highest state of iierfection, which is only 

 attained iu the regions most favorable to its development, no other i)iue was deemed of higher 

 value or was moi'e eagerly soiiglit after for masts and other heavy spars of ships. IJefore tiie 

 use of iron in na\al constru(;tion for these purposes, tlie Loblolly Pine timlier of largest size was 

 eagerly contracted for iu all the Southern ports by every one of the maritime i)owers of Europe. 

 In conseipience, the trees which could furnish timber of the dimensions and <iualities reijuired for 

 such i)urposesha\e beconu^ exceedingly scarce, andean be said to lia\e almost entiielydisai)peare(l. 



The Rev. M. A.Curtis, in his account of the Loblolly I'ine,' quotes the following statement on 

 the habitat and the dimensions of this tree, from the pen of ilr. E. liullin, of Virginia, which, 

 illustrating a feature of the life of the Southern forest forever past, I can not refrain from intro- 

 ducing here: 



This (Slash Pine) trpn grows only on low, moist lands, and is the liettiT for tinilier and yrows larger iu jiroportion 

 to till) richness ottho land. .Vinong other gigantic forest trees on the rich and wet Koaiioke swani[is, mostly ot oak, 

 poidar. gnm, etc., tlie few ]iiiies which yet remain tower al)o\e all others; I have visited several standing trees and 

 stiiiiips of others which have been cut <lowii and which measured 5 feet in diameter, anil were supposed to have been 

 froDi 1.50 to 170 feet high. 



In evidence of the dinu'iisions of the trees, the writer gives tlie sizes of tlu; squared sticks cut 

 in Bertie County, made into a raft, and shipiied in 18.j(! by way of tlu^ Dismal Swamp Canal to New 

 York. These sticks varied from 50 to SO feet in length by a mean diameter of from 26 to 31 inches, 

 containing from ;U7 to 537 cubic feet each. Remarking further: 



All of these sticks are nearly all heartwood; thence it follows vhat the jiroportion of lieartwood unist have 

 been very large, the timber must have been resinous or it would not lie good, and it must be durable or it would not 

 serve for masts and other long spars for ships exposed to the alternations of wetting and drying, and for which only 

 the best materials are jiermitted to be used. 



The inferior growth of the Loblolly Pine furnishes vast sujiplies of cordwood. Immense 

 quantities are shijijied from the coast of Virginia and North Carolina to the large cities on the 

 Atlantic seaboard. It is chielly used where a brisk flame with a ipiick heat is required, viz, in 

 bakeries, Irickkilns, and the kilns of potteries. In its fuel value, the wood of this tree ranks with 

 the better class of resinous trees. Large (|uantities of the wood are also used for the burning of 

 charcoal. 



RKSINOU.S PKODUCTS. 



Regarding the production of resinous products from this pine there lias existed a. wide 

 divergence of statements. A. E. Jlichaux stiites that this tree affords turpentine in abundance, 

 but of a less fluidity than that of the Longleaf Pine, aiul suggests that as it contains more stipwood 

 a deeper incision woidd yield a larger product. Rev. M. A. Curtis follows ;\li(haux in this statenu'iit, 

 and the writer, relying upon the information from operators in south Alabama, was also led into 

 the error of suiiposing this tree to yield an abundance of resin for distilling, similar to the free- 

 flowing resin of the Cuban Pine, and jmblished a stiitemcnt to the etleet that this tree was tajqied 

 wherever found. A trial box made at tlui request of the writer seemed to coiilirm the o|)inioii as 

 to the character of there.siu. It appears now, however, that the free boxed (not inspected by the 

 writer) could not have been a Loblolly, for lately a number of true Loblolly Pines, tapped accident- 

 ally iu a turpentine orchard, were found in Washington County, Ala., and showed that the resin 



' M. A. Curtis: Trees and Shrubs of North Carolina, Raleigh, 18G0, p. 23. 



