150 LOBLOLLY OR NOKTH CAROLINA PINE. 



On the dry sandhills or Piedmont uplands loblolly pine reproduces 

 thoroughly only when its seed come in direct contact with mineral soil. 

 Stands on very sandy soil are frequently destitute of undergrowth, and 

 the leaf litter is extremely thin. (Plate III.) When 50 years old the 

 cover in such stands will often be so open that if the mineral soil is 

 exposed, dense mats of seedlings appear during wet periods. In the 

 Piedmont, where the undergrowth is heavy it may be necessary to cut 

 the small broadleaf trees which have appeared. (Plate VIII, A.) In 

 open stands the undergrowth is desirable for lessening the evaporation 

 of soil moisture both by sun and wind. When logging is carried on 

 during wet weather, particularly during the winter, enough mineral 

 soil may be brought to the surface to make a suitable mineral seed- 

 bed. On small tracts, a proper seedbed may be prepared by raking 

 up the leaf litter and using it for farm purposes, such as compost, 

 stable absorbent or mulch. This is frequently done, and while it is 

 not intended for securing restocking, the latter follows as a natural 

 consequence. On such sites, where a suitable mineral seedbed is 

 found, reproduction of loblolly pine begins to take place by the time 

 the stands are forty or fifty years old, although most of the seedlings die 

 after a few years, since the shade of the old trees is still too dense. On 

 the other hand, where the leaf litter is deep and has not been disturbed, 

 young growth comes in sloAvly. This is well shown by stands at Grimes- 

 land, Pitt County, ]!^orth Carolina, examined in the spring of 1909. 

 Loblolly pine had partially replaced longleaf pine on sandy-loam upland 

 (Xorfolk loam). The tract, which was near a dwelling, had l^een pro- 

 tected from fire, and hogs had been excluded from it for more than 

 twenty years. The leaf litter had accumulated to a depth of from six 

 to eight inches. Although there were large openings, and the surround- 

 ing loblolly pines bore seed abundantly, the stocking was not complete 

 on account of the dryness of the thick leaf litter. On the other hand 

 near-by open lands, on which the deep humus and litter had been de- 

 stroyed by fire and hogs, were well stocked. It may be desirable in the 

 case of farm forests to cut clean, cultivate the soil a few years until the 

 humus is partially exhausted, and then restock. In such a case if 

 there are no near-by seed trees it will be necessary to plant. 



While the destruction of litter on this ty^De is desirable for securing 

 restocking, it is not necessary as a protective measure for old timber. 

 The ground cover rarely becomes sufficiently dense for a spring fire to 

 endanger the stand. It is undesirable to destroy the humus on the clay 

 soils of the Piedmont region for the reason that the water table is 30 to 

 4.5 feet from the surface during dry periods. During the autumn the 

 amount of available soil moisture in the fine-grained clay soils is small 

 on account of their high hygroscopicity. The humus covering, there- 

 fore, acts as a protection against evaporation of soil moisture and should 

 never be destroyed except when necessary to obtain natural reproduction. 



