LOBLOLLY OR NORTH CAROLINA PINE. 9 



doubt, however, that eventually the larger portion of all of the land now 

 in loblolly pine will be cleared and placed in cultivation. 



In the Coastal Plain Eegion the average annual temperature is 

 about 61 F., with a normal range of 36 F. The winters are com- 

 paratively mild, the temperature seldom falling below 15 F. The 

 average temperature during the five growing months is 74 F. The 

 average annual rainfall is about fifty-five inches, the seasonal distribu- 

 tion being heavier in the spring and summer than in the autumn and 

 winter. The region of heaviest precipitation and greatest humidity lies 

 eastward of a north and south line through New Bern and Wilmington. 

 The rainfall, while heavy, is irregular and concentrated, and the snow- 

 fall scant, although sleet is frequent. The atmospheric humidity is 

 high, especially during the summer. 



PIEDMONT PLATEAU REGION. 



The eastern portion of the Piedmont plateau region, which is the 

 portion in which loblolly pine occurs most frequently, is more rugged 

 and its topography rougher than that of the coastal plain. Its eleva- 

 tion varies from 350 to 600 feet above sea level. In general its surface 

 is rolling though along the streams and in some other places there are 

 bold hills. 



On the uplands the predominating soils may be described as loams and 

 clays, sandy and gravelly in some places, but generally with much stiffer 

 red or yellow subsoil, formed by the decay in situ of slates, gneisses, 

 (hornblende-bearing) schists, pegmatites, and other crystalline rocks; 

 while over some limited areas sandy soils occur derived from sandstone 

 and granite. Along the numerous small streams are narrow, alluvial 

 deposits, moist, dark-colored loams, containing a variable proportion of 

 organic matter. Along the larger streams these fluvial deposits are often 

 clayey or silty. All soils occupied by the loblolly pine in the Piedmont 

 plateau region, except where too rough or steep are suitable for farming. 



The average annual temperature for the region is somewhat less than 

 that of the coastal plain, being about 59 F.; the annual rainfall is only 

 about fifty inches, and the humidity is lower. The water table is from 

 30 to 50 feet below the surface of the hill summits, while the surface 

 drainage is far superior to that of the coastal plain, swamps being 

 limited to the borders of the streams. The average temperature during 

 the five growing months is 73 F. 



COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION. 



The commercial distribution of the loblolly pine in North Carolina is 

 from Granville, Person, Orange, Chatham, and Union counties, some- 

 what east of the center of the State, eastward and southeastward to the 

 coast, where it occurs over a total area of not less than 30,000 square 

 miles. As a commercial tree it is largely absent, however, from Cum- 

 berland, Moore, Richmond, and Hoke counties in eastern North Caro- 



