A GREAT FOREST 



. By JOHN COLLINS, M.D., Colson, Ky. 



THE Ozark Xational Forest, recent- 

 ly established, is doubtless one of 

 the greatest bodies of hardwood 

 timber on this continent. 



Most of the entire ( )zark region i- or 

 h;is been one vast i~re-t. while much of 

 it, including P.o-t >n Mountain, a large 

 area of hills and mountain is -till 

 clothed in its virgin growths. The oaks 

 predominate, but we have almost every 

 kind of wood growth found in this lati- 

 tude. \Yhite oak is by far the most 

 abundant. 



The writer located on a ifm-acre 

 home-trad on I lost on Mountain, in 

 io/y>. having {migrated from the moun- 

 tain of eastern Kentucky, a great tim- 

 ber country. A large -cope of country 

 near this homestead, in north Pope and 

 south Newton counties, contains much 

 more unappropriated lands than has 

 been entered. This i- true of a great part 

 entered. This is true of a great part 

 of the whole forest, so that capital i- 

 now invited for investment and devel- 

 opment of this great timber wealth, 

 there having been before this too little 

 of deeded land-, the timber on which 

 could be bought to justify the building 

 of railroads to move it. It i- the pol- 

 icy of the (iovcmmem to put the mer- 

 chantable timber on the market, then to 

 care for the younger growth-, and to 

 produce succeeding crops, in anticipa- 

 tion of a wood famine that is inevitable 

 in the near future if not forestalled. 



The President's Proclamation, setting 

 forth this Forest, is dated March ^. 

 1908, previous to which these lands 

 were subject to home-lead entry. The 

 absence of railroa '-. together with tin- 

 fact that the latent possibilities of the 

 country a- an agricultural, and espe- 

 cially a- a fruit country, were unknown, 

 have prevented settlement. The peach 

 and the apple in fact all friuts indige- 

 nous here do remarkably fine. In 

 size, beauty, flavor, and certainty of 

 yield it is doubtful if any section in the 

 I'nited State- could rival this. 



The wealth in white oak al< me. which 

 abounds in excess of all other kinds in 

 most part-, i- remarkable seemingly 

 almo-t inexhaustible millions of fine 

 trees now awaiting the ax and -aw. ap- 

 parenth unknown and ignored by the 

 lumbermen of the country. 



\Ye want capital to come to u- ; lum- 

 bermen to investigate thi- rich field ; 

 railroads not only to carry away this 

 wealth of timber, but also the magnifi- 

 cent crop- i,f fruits and vegetables so 

 easil) produced here for while fruits 

 excel, -till vegetables, including all the 

 common garden truck, potatoes, beans, 

 melons, etc.. do remarkably well. The 

 writer has nothing to sell, but has a de- 

 sire, common to all settlers, for this 

 needed development. Range for cattle 

 and sheep, and most for hogs are 

 abundant. 



