132 



TIMBER TREES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



entirely cut out or so much thinned that it is of little commercial 

 value north of the Neuse river. The loblolly pine has for the 

 most part taken its place, except on very dry and sterile soils. 



MAP OF 



NORTH CAROLINA 



LEGEND 



Areas containing merchantable milling tim- 

 ber of LONG-LEAF PINE 



(Pinus palustris, Mill.) 



Areas from which the milling timber of 

 LONG-LEAF PINE has been largely 

 removed. 



The long-leaf pine bears seed very abundantly only at long and 

 irregular intervals. A fair production of seed occurs about once 

 in 5 years, while in the intermediate years the yield is small and 

 localized. After a seed year the young plants are very abun- 

 dant throughout the woods, but are killed in large numbers either 

 by forest fires, by the dense shade, or by swine rooting them up 

 to devour the sweet tender roots. Young trees are very sensitive 

 to fire. After the first four or five years trees in the open grow 

 very rapidly until about 15 years old, particularly in height, after 

 which time the growth is slow. When the long-leaf pine is cut 

 or burned, and prevented from reproducing itself on account of 

 fires and swine, the loblolly pine often follows on damp soils, and 

 scrub oak or fork-leaved black-jack oak on high dry sandy lands.^ 



The timber loss by fire on long-leaf pine lands in 1893 amounted 

 to not less than $100,000. At rare intervals extensive tracts are 

 destroyed by bark beetles. Scattered trees are injured in locali- 

 ties where the dead tops have been left in the woods after lum- 

 bering. Beetles attack trees which have been injured by turpen- 

 tine operations, which often so weaken them that many are thrown 

 by the wind. In 1893 the losses, principally through this cause, 

 amounted to between ten and fifteen million feet, board measure. 



The leaves are 10 to 15 inches long, in threes from long sheaths, 



