FOREST RESOURCES OF TEXAS. 



THE SPECIES OF TREES, THE KINDS OF FORESTS 

 WHERE LOCATED, UPON WHAT DEPENDENT FOR DIS- 

 TRIBUTION, AND HOW-THEY SHOULD BE MANAGED. 



OF all the states in the Union, Texas 

 has the largest wooded area ; nor 

 does this include the chaparral growth 

 extending throughout the Rio Grande 

 country, but only the vast timber sec- 

 tion of east Texas and the central and 

 far western woodlands. These are esti- 

 mated at 64,000 square miles. Much 

 of this territory has been cut over, espe- 

 cially in the shortleaf and longleaf pine 

 sections; but conservative estimates still 

 place the merchantable forest area of 

 Texas at 27,000 square miles. There 

 is now annually cut about 125,000 acres 

 of timber land, yielding about a billion 

 board feet. The lumber industry is 

 exceeded in value only by the cotton 

 and cattle industries. In its forests 

 Texas has 61 species and varieties of 

 trees of commercial importance. 



The most valuable forests commer- 

 cially are those in the eastern part of 

 the state. This is because that is the 

 region of abundant moisture. These 

 include the swamp and bayou forests 

 near the Louisiana boundary; on the 

 more elevated lands a little farther west 

 a range of hardwoods, and then the 

 three great pine types of the state. 

 Next to these on the west are the post- 

 oak lands, extensive but of low com- 

 mercial value, while to the south and 

 southeast is a coast-plain belt of heavy 

 live oak, which is rapidly spreading 

 over the prairie. Directly west again 

 come the "cross-timbers," with the 

 post oak of the Carboniferous area, while 

 to the southwest are the 15,000 square 

 miles of Edwards Plateau timber; then, 

 after a big jump across country, in the 

 extreme western and high section of 

 the state, are found the piiion pine, red 

 fir, and other Rocky Mountain species. 

 These are the great east and west tim- 

 ber subdivisions; but running down the 

 river courses to the Gulf are the allu- 

 vial bottom hardwoods, and then from 

 the extreme southern point of the state 

 and from the Gulf coast in Brazoria 



county, with a broad sweep to the north 

 and northwest up to the top of the 

 Pan Handle, is the pervasive chaparral 

 growth. This last is persistently in the 

 area of small rainfall, a product of the 

 arid regions. 



In the swamp and bayou forests there 

 is at present little lumbering. There 

 has been extensive cutting from the 

 hardwood forests for railroad construc- 

 tion supplies, but the vast body of this 

 timber in east Texas remains untouched, 

 and offers a splendid field for the hard- 

 wood manufacturer. Of the total annual 

 output of the state the longleaf pine 

 forests now furnish about 750,000,000 

 board feet. Half of these forests have 

 been cut over, and it is estimated that if 

 a billion board feet are cut annually 

 their timber supply will be exhausted in 

 fifteen years. Under present conditions 

 renewal is impossible, because of the 

 manner in which lumbering is conducted 

 and the prevalence of forest fires. There 

 must be education of the people as to the 

 terribly destructive effects of fires, pen- 

 alties enacted to limit their occurrence, 

 and conservative lumbering methods in- 

 augurated at once, if Texas is to retain 

 any longleaf pine forests of commercial 

 value. Already its shortleaf pine forests 

 are pretty thoroughly exhausted. The 

 loblolly pine is very abundant and com- 

 mercially valuable, and is found in close 

 mixture with hardwoods in east Texas. 

 The forests of the post oak and live oak 

 lands and the Edwards Plateau furnish 

 trees which are of little commercial im- 

 portance, but they are most valuable 

 for fuel and small construction timber. 

 Especially is this true of the cedar 

 brakes, which extend 200 miles north- 

 westward from Austin and furnish not 

 only the best of fuel, but posts, cross- 

 ties, and sills. The chaparral growth 

 is of no value commercially. 



Texas has a serious task ahead in the 

 management of its forests. The interests 

 of the state as a whole demand protect- 



