448 FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION September 



visited most of the sawmills in the states the north, I took the trouble to verify 



named, so I feel competent to judge of the figures. I measured the stumps 



t present and past conditions. and tops for myself, and found that the 



1 In all this time I have noted many 12,000 feet had been honestly cut from 



t changes in conditions. Only a few of the land. Some stumps had a diameter 



the sawmills in the South were making of 30 inches. A count of the annual 



* money in the manufacture of lumber ten rings on many showed that the growth 



1 years ago. At that time, the North- during the first twelve years was mar- 



1 west Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minne- velous, some of them having grown 8 



1 sota was cutting eight to ten billion to 10 inches in diameter. 



feet of lumber a year; Maine and New This was on an old plantation on 

 Hampshire produced 500,000,000, and a which I had been as a surveyor in 1854, 

 small amount of lumber from the small and the land was then cultivated and 

 sawmills of the South was sold in the planted in cotton. In 1855 the field, 

 North at little or no profit. At the having been cropped in cotton or corn 

 present time the product of the North- for more than 20 years, was "turned 

 ( west has been cut down about three- out" to grow up to timber, according 

 fourths; what is left in Maine and New to the general practice before the in- 

 Hampshire is largely reserved for the auguration of the present system of 

 pulp mills, and the South is the base of fertilizing with phosphates. Where 

 supplies for pine, and nearly 10,000,- this timber stood at the beginning of 

 000,000 is being cut annually in the the present year I had seen the hills of 

 regions of Long and Shortleaf Pine; cotton in 1854; and in February, 1903, 

 and this lumber is bringing good prices, the old cotton rows or hills were still to 

 All of this pine is of good quality, but be traced. By getting the cost of all 

 in many places is but thinly scattered on board the cars and the actual figures 

 over the laud; a fair estimate per acre, of the price paid for the lumber, I found 

 averaging all stands together, would be there was a profit of nearly $100 an 

 5, ooo feet, board measure, or a little less. acre. On that amount the interest, 

 This is on a basis of an average of three taxes, and other expenses during the 

 logs standard i6-foot size to a tree, time the trees were growing would be 

 ten to twenty logs per 1,000 feet, less than $15 per acre. This stand was 

 These are liberal estimates for timber on average sandy land in Berkeley 

 in the states from North Carolina around county, S. C. , west of the Santee River, 

 the coast to Georgia, and I presume I and about 45 miles north of Charleston, 

 may include Alabama. There is more Another farm that was under culti- 

 timber in Louisiana and eastern Texas, vation in 1855 was "turned out' : to 

 but it will not be there long, as they are recuperate and grew up to Shortleaf 

 cutting it off faster than in any other Pine, which was cut off in less than 20 

 i of the Southern States. I fully believe years, and the land again put under 

 that after ten years of such removal of cultivation. Again it was left idle and 

 < the timber as is now being done, there has become one of the handsomest Long- 

 will not be enough left in the states leaf Pine forests I have ever seen. 

 1 along their lines to supply the three great The stand is very thick at least 150 

 : railroads the Atlantic Coast Line, Sea- trees to the acre and the)^ average 50 

 i board Air Line, and Southern now feet in height and 8 inches in diameter. 

 1 running from Virginia to Texas. They stood so even and trim that I was 

 5 Yet all conditions are favorable for reminded of the planted forests I have 

 reforestation, and new growths can be seen in Germany between Berlin and 

 1 depended upon if they have "half a Dresden. One reason for the excellence 

 i chance." The climatic conditions are of this stand was because it was near 

 t unusually favorable, and growth is the owner's home and had been pro- 

 1 rapid. I saw 12,000 feet per acre cut tected from depredations, including the 

 1 from a large tract, and besides seeing it most disastrous one of fire. This was 

 i cut, sawed, run through the dry kiln and in the same county, on the old " King's" 

 planing mill, and put on the cars for road, and the land is a part of the 



