FOREST OPPORTUNITY ON PINE LANDS IN THE SOUTH 



983 



Germany in 1917, the locust treenail came into larger 

 use than ever in the past. 



In building the war vessels constituting the first Ameri- 

 can navy, much locust was used for stanchions, braces 

 and posts, the wood being so extraordinarily strong that 

 small pieces were sufficient. In the War of 1812 Ameri- 

 can ships won victories in rapid succession over British 



vessels of equal or larger sizes, and an English naval 

 writer gave it as his opinion that the superiority of the 

 American gunnery was due to the locust wood in the 

 ships. Small stanchions and braces took up less of the 

 precious space and gave the gunners more elbow room 

 in serving their guns, and it may have had something to 

 do with the markmanship that won victories. 



FOREST OPPORTUNITY ON PINE LANDS IN THE SOUTH 



BY F. W. BESLEY 



STATE FORESTER OF MARYLAND 



THE South is the land of opportunity. A favorable 

 climate, abundant rainfall, suitable soils, and a long 

 growing season make it admirably adapted for 

 growing crops. About fifty per cent of the land area is 

 in forest, which points to the growing of timber as one 

 of the most important crops of the South. Yet, with all 

 these natural advantages, there is a vast area of idle 

 land, and this area is increasing rather than diminishing. 

 In these days, when increased crop production is de- 

 manded, it is of the greatest importance to devote all lands 

 to their most productive use. 



The three important uses of the land of the South are 

 for agriculture, for forestry and for grazing, and the 

 sooner a classification of land is made on this basis, the 

 better it will be for all concerned. The area in farm 

 crops is certain to increase and much cut-over land, now 

 classed as forest but in an unproductive state, will come 

 under the plow. There is, however, only a small percent- 

 age of this forest land that will be needed for many years 

 to come, and the great bulk of it will probably remain 

 in forest indefinitely. 



The present uncertainty of future use injects an ele- 

 ment of chance and speculation into the problem that 

 seriously interferes with a permanent solution. In the 

 mean time, awaiting a permanent classification of the 

 land, it would be possible to grow another crop of timber 

 on most of it to the great advantage of the country, and 

 certainly without detriment to the land. 



It is unfortunately true that no great amount of in- 

 terest in growing timber can be secured in a section 

 where there remains any considerable amount of the 

 original forest. The statement was made by the Secre- 

 tary of the Southern Pine Association at a meeting of 

 foresters in Jacksonville in January, 1919, that the large 

 Southern pine operators at the present rate of cutting 

 expected to be "cut out" in ten years. This may be 

 reasonably assumed as practically ending the simply of 

 virgin growth pine timber. After that the timber sup- 

 ply of the South will be dependent to a very large meas- 

 ure at least upon the second growth. 



While the rapid disappearance of the original pine 

 forests of the South, which have been the chief source 

 of wealth, is somewhat appalling, it is not altogether an 

 unmitigated evil. The business of exploitation by those 

 who see no future value in the lands will eventually 

 he succeeded on a large part of the pine area by the 



business of timber growing on a basis of sustained yield. 



There is no other part of the country that is better 

 adapted for timber growing than the South. The most 

 favorable conditions exist. Cheap lands, the best native 

 species, rapid growth, combined with excellent transpor- 

 tation facilities and the possibility of developing import- 

 ant local wood-using industries, render conditions almost 

 ideal. 



The day of cheap timber is rapidly disappearing, just 

 as rapidly as the disappearance of the original growth. 

 The price of timber will be measured by the cost of grow- 

 ing it plus a reasonable profit. We are now passing 

 through the transition stage from unrestricted timber ex- 

 ploitation, with a disregard for the future, to timber 

 growing on a permanent basis, with a certainty of ade- 

 quate returns on the investment. 



There will be much changing in the ownership of 

 land, and it will take many years to effect the readjust- 

 ment, but it is certain to come, and with it a feeling of 

 security of investment and enterprise that has never 

 existed before. 



The forests of the South have been the chief source of 

 timber supply for more than two-thirds of the population 

 of the United States for many years. The exhaustion 

 of the original forests is not only going to remove a chief 

 source of wealth to the South, but is going to have a far- 

 reaching effect in the country at large. 



A large part of the pine lands were acquired, and are 

 still held, by lumber companies, whose chief concern has 

 been, and still is, to cut and sell the timber and after- 

 wards sell the land. After the timber is cut off, the land 

 has little, if any, sale value,. and consequently most of it 

 is still held by the lumber company owners. 



Under private ownership, the cut-over lands have been 

 practically non-productive, partly because the owners 

 could see no profit in a second crop, and partly because of 

 the impossibility of protecting these lands against fires, so 

 that reproduction could be secured. Little can be hoped 

 for through private ownership under present conditions, 

 and it is not likely that much can be expected from private 

 initiative for many years to come. 



It is manifestly the duty of the State to lead the way 

 and to place timber growing in the South upon a perma- 

 nent basis. Every State in the South should have a 

 Forestry Department, organized for administrative and 

 scientific work. Several of the States have already taken 



