FOREST FIRES AND FORESTRY IN THE 

 SOUTHERN STATES 



BY HERMAN H. CHAPMAN 



HE future timber supply of the tions. It is not too late to solve this 

 Eastern States must come from problem in a small way, for small areas, 

 one of two sources, either from by brush piling, planting and forest re- 

 the Pacific Coast by rail or water, or serves, but in these Northern States the 

 from home-grown timber. Pine or soft- big opportunity to secure natural re- 

 woods will continue to occupy the rela- production over wide areas is forever 

 tively important place they now hold, in lost. 



the demand for lumber. It cannot be ex- This is not so in the South. Here 

 pected that the far West can ever sup- we have an area originally pine land, 

 ply lumber to the East even by the much greater in extent than that oc- 

 Panama Canal in sufficient quantities cupied by northern pines. The soil 

 to wholly keep pace with the demand varies from fertile clay loam through 

 or at prices as low as the present rates silt to grades of fine or coarse sand, 

 on Southern yellow pine lumber. The sometimes underlaid by hard clay, else-- 

 problem of providing large future crops where apparently very deep and holding 

 of pine in the East is an urgent one, little moisture. 



and it is already certain that before Over this great area the logging and 



such crops could grow to commercial manufacture of southern yellow pine is 



size, practically all of the present stand almost at its height, although already 



of pine, both North and South, will be the States on the eastern seaboard have 



exhausted. The situation in the north- been practically cut over for virgin pine, 

 ern States is well known the cut in The future of these pine lands of the 



the eastern portion is now largely South is the most urgent problem of 



spruce and hardwoods, while in the eastern forestry today. Shall they be 



Lake States, hemlock and hardwoods opened up for settlements or retained 



are being cut that were worthless as to grow more pine timber ? These lands 



long as pine remained. In Minnesota are practically all in private hands, and 



a fifteen to twenty years cut of pine largely belong to firms whose business 



remains for some mills but the total it is to run one or more large modern 



output is rapidly shrinking. saw mills, and to earn if possible a 



The alarming fact here is that fair rate of interest on the millions of 



throughout the northern pine region capital invested in mills, equipment, 



forest or brush fires have practically lands and timber. Once cut over, these 



eliminated the prospects for a second lands are seldom regarded as having 



crop, and completely destroyed all any possible value as sources of another 



young pine timber. Efforts at reforest- cut of lumber. Hence they must be 



ation so far have not assumed propor- sold as farm lands. There are and will 



tions that promise a future supply of be for a long period millions of acres 



commercial proportions in fact, plant- of lands of this character in every 



ing must in most cases be resorted to Southern State lands which have been 



and there are not funds available to until recently regarded by the natives 



plant the millions of acres of devastated as of little agricultural value. The old 



lands in need of restocking. settlers farm the better classes of soil 



This disastrous condition arises from lying along the bottoms of the smaller 



two causes the susceptibility of north- streams not overflowed. In many dis- 



ern pines, especially white pine, to de- tricts more land has been abandoned 



struction by fire, and the enormous fire after being farmed for varying periods 



hazard resulting from logging opera- than is now under cultivation. 



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