10 Prolonging the Cut of Southern Pine 



SECURING A SECOND CUT OF PINE 



The desire of the company to secure some return from growth 

 has taken the form of instructions not to cut trees smaller than 

 fourteen inches on the stump, equal to about twelve inches breast 

 high. The carrying out of this rule is left entirely to the sawyers, 

 under the rather hurried and indifferent inspection of the team 

 boss. The method is an almost complete failure, for the following 

 reasons : 



(1) There is lack of proper inspection of the saw crews, who 

 do practically as they please about taking or leaving trees. 



(2) A diameter limit is wrong in application as it removes 

 young, thrifty, rapidly growing trees if over fourteen inches and 

 leaves standing tall, slender, poor-crowned old trees of very slow 

 growth which ought to be cut. 



(3) Trees are not selected for wind resistance and many trees 

 so left will blow over because of weak roots. 



(4) In stands of overmature timber often there are virtually 

 no trees below fourteen inches in diameter that are suitable to 

 leave. 



(5) At present, trees left are not adequately protected from 

 destruction by fires which consume the tops and debris after log- 

 ging. They are apt to be a total loss from this cause. 



(6) While leaving this nucleus for a second cut, no effort is 

 made to protect smaller timber, which is often smashed in felling, 

 slashed down for skids to support temporary spurs in wet weather, 

 and burned by slash fires. 



The sawyers are under instructions not to fell trees onto groups 

 of small timber, but inspection is necessary to secure proper com- 

 pliance with this or other rules. 



CONDITION OF THE CUT-OVER LANDS 



The condition of the cut-over land is at present very unsatis- 

 factory. Only in widely scattered, occasional patches is enough 

 young timber found to pay for a second operation. Elsewhere 

 there has been practically no timber left standing and severe 

 fires have burned the slash, destroying the immature pole timber. 

 In places a dense crop of seedlings has sprung up, but over 

 the greater portion of the cut-over lands fires and the lack of 

 seed trees have prevented a new growth of pine, and only grass, 

 worthless oaks and scrub sweet gum are coming in. 



