180 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



April 



price loblolly is sure to replace them 

 to a great extent ; this study of its 

 uses is therefore very timely. 



One of the chief purposes for which 

 loblolly is now used in the Gulf States is 

 for railroad ties. The wood is not 

 durable and the tie in its natural state 

 is short-lived, but by preservative 

 treatment it can be made to resist de- 

 cay for a number of years. The dis- 

 covery that treated loblolly pine is an 

 excellent substitute for longleaf for 

 railroad ties is greatly to the benefit 

 of the railroads since it enables them 

 to use a less expensive tie. It also 

 benefits the country at large by cutting 

 off one of the heavy demands made 

 upon the longleaf forests and thereby 

 setting free a corresponding amount 

 of that material for the general mar- 

 ket. 



In making loblolly pine ties there 

 are many wastes and the drain upon 

 the existing forests is greater than 

 it need be. The recent study was 

 therefore made for the purpose of 

 showing the rate of growth of the 

 trees, and how ties could be produced 

 more economically. 



Loblolly pine is found in commercial 

 quantities in ten counties of east 

 Texas, where it covers an area of near- 

 ly 2,880,000 acres, and is hewn into 

 cross-ties on a larger scale than in any 

 other State. The magnitude of this 

 industry results from an abundant sup- 

 ply of loblolly pine of sizes suited for 

 pole ties. It is estimated that from 

 75 to 80 per cent, of the present lob- 

 lolly stand in Texas is timber of tie 

 size, the remainder being large enough 

 for lumber. The preponderance of 

 comparatively young and small timber 

 is due principally to severe storms in 

 1865 and 1873 which overthrew the 

 old pine on many thousands of acres 

 and established new stands of young 

 trees. 



Loblolly is adapted to a wider range 

 of soils than any other pine in east 

 Texas. This, with its frequent and 

 prolific seeding, its rapid rate of 

 growth, and its immunity from hogs 

 which eat the roots of the young long- 



leaf pine, enable loblolly pine to re- 

 produce readily on denuded land. In 

 many situations it competes success- 

 fully with longleaf pine and comes up 

 under hardwoods if the stand is not 

 too dense, and rapidly outgrows them. 

 The conditions in east Texas are most 

 favorable to this species ; it is sure to 

 increase in commercial importance and 

 may become the principal source of 

 timber supply of the region. 



Three counties in east Texas- 

 Orange, Jasper, and Newton furnish 

 annually from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 

 hewn loblolly pine ties. The trees cut 

 for ties vary in size from n to 17 

 inches in diameter, measured breast- 

 high. The hewers prefer diameters 

 of 12, 13, and 14 inches as the smaller 

 the tree, above tie specifications, the 

 less the labor in squaring it. The 

 largest number taken are 13 inches in 

 diameter. This practice is very waste- 

 ful, for the average tree n inches in 

 diameter is about 35 years old and is 

 growing rapidly. The average yearly 

 increase in value between n and 13 

 inches is over 7 per cent., and from 

 13 to 14 inches 5.5 per cent. After 

 the latter size is reached growths falls 

 off so fast that for the next inch of 

 growth the increase averages only 2.5 

 per cent., and at 16 inches the value 

 for hewn ties ceases to increase. 



These facts point out the rule which 

 the owner should follow in selling 

 trees for ties. Those u, 12, and 13 

 inches in diameter are -growing so 

 rapidly both in size and value that to 

 cut them consumes the capital that is 

 bringing him the best rate of interest. 

 The tie maker should be confined to 

 14, 15, and i6-inch diameters. Trees 

 above 16 inches should be preserved 

 until they can be profitably felled for 

 lumber. 



The adoption of this rule will be 

 best for the owner and for the produc- 

 tive future of the forest as well. It 

 will however necessitate a complete 

 change in the method of getting out 

 ties as they will have to be sawed in- 

 stead of hewed. But this too would 

 be a gain for both owner and forest, 



