124 TIMISEK riNES OF THE SOUTIIEUN UNITED STATES. 



old lU'lds and otlicr clcarint^s, and the tenacity witli whicli it retains from one fieiiciaf ion to anotlicr 

 tlieyioiuid oiue taken possession of, (dearly point to the important part tiiis tree is to take when the 

 rutliless stripping of timlicr lauds practiced at present gives place to tbe inaiiageniunt of tlic forests 

 under a system of fosterinj; care, tending to their future maintenance and to the dis|)osal of their 

 resources on the principle of true economy with an eye to the future welfare of the country. 

 No timber tree will be found better adapted for forest planting in the southern i)art of the 

 Atlantic forest division. It is only in the narrow belt of flat woods along the shores of Florida, 

 (Jeorgia, and the eastern Gulf region that it is likely to lind its sujx'rior in the (Jui)an I'ine ( I'iniis 

 hi'tcrophyllu). 



Besides the advantages of adaptability to varied soil and climate, it excels in raiiidity of 

 growth (luring the earliest stages, and the copious production of s(?e(ls, which, almost without fail, 

 are plentifully distributed every year over the vicinity of the parent trees. As an evidence of the 

 facility with which the rejiroduction of a compact forest by this pine is effected, it is only necessary 

 to point out the s|)ontane()us groves near the settlements, representing, as they do, every stage of 

 development. 



lu the coast region the second growth, if not interfered with under proper soil conditions, 

 yields in fifty to sixty years timber of dimensions rendering it fit to be sawn into lumber well 

 adapted for various uses, as already mentioned. 



CONCLUSION. 



In this attempt at a sketch of the life history of this tree, the object was constantly kept in 

 view of placing its value among the products of the Southern forests in the proper light. From 

 the consideration of the structure of the wood and its pliysical properties it clearly a|)pears that 

 although inferior to the wood of the Longleaf and Cuban pines, the timber of this species fully 

 e(iuals that of Shortleaf Tine, and that the i)reseiit ])ractice of treating them as equivalent seems 

 therefore justitied. 



As an abundant and cheap source of timber of inferior grades, and especially when the 

 rapidity of its growth is considered, the Loblolly i'ine is of no less economic im])ortance than the 

 other timber trees of the same section. At lueseut held in low esteem in the great lumbering 

 districts of the lower South, where the supplies of the superior timber of the Longleaf I'ine still 

 abound and receive the preference, the value of the timber of the Loblolly Pine is (juickly recog- 

 nized in other districts which, but a short while ago boasting of similar lesources, are now stripped 

 of them. Its physiological peculiarities make it an im])ortant factor in the future forestry of this 

 section. Its propagation is successful over a vast expanse in the southern section of the Atlantic 

 forest region, aiul by its productive cai)acities, mode of development, and behavior toward com- 

 peting species in the struggle for existence, the Loblolly Pine possesses great ail vantages for its 

 natural and artificial renewal, adapting it particularly for the restoration of the forests on the 

 lowlands of the maritime region. 



