THE LURE OF THE PINEY WOODS 169 



the coasts to Louisiana and South Carolina. 

 Whether our stock came originally from the tropics 

 or developed from the long-leaved Georgia pine I 

 cannot say. 



As soon as the pine forests were established in 

 our region, seeds of palmettos and of many species 

 of shrubs and herbaceous plants found their 

 way in and germinated, until the ground was 

 densely covered with undergrowth. As old trees 

 died conditions became perfect for a conflagration. 

 During a dry time some dead tree was struck by 

 lightning and set afire. In dead pines the sap- 

 wood becomes very light and corky and burns 

 slowly like punk, retaining fire a long time. The 

 bark burns more readily and with the decaying 

 sapwood easily falls off. The heartwood under- 

 neath is a mass of pitch, ready to flame up in an 

 instant and once started it burns for a long time 

 with intense heat. On the ground under the tree 

 there is usually a lot of highly inflammable dead 

 bark and rubbish and the palmettos everywhere 

 about burn like oil. Once started an all-con- 

 suming relentless fire is certain to rage through 

 the forest, progressing by leaps and bounds if 

 there is a strong wind. 



