58 SOUTHEASTERN PINE TYPE 



lolly all being sold under the general caption of " southern pine." 

 However, since there is a marked difference in durabihty great 

 care must be taken to get longleaf and shortleaf where the 

 lumber must be placed in contact with the ground or used for 

 wharfing or pihng. It has been necessary to devise a system 

 of grading which will segregate the more durable species. This 

 was accompUshed by separating the lumber according to the 

 number of annual rings per inch that appeared on the end of the 

 board or the cross section of the log. The explanation of this 

 apparently arbitrary system of grading is that the less durable 

 species Hke loblolly pine are much faster growing than the more 

 durable longleaf or shortleaf. Therefore, a board, a plank, or ? 

 pile with relatively few rings per inch can be thrown out imme- 

 diately where durabihty is a factor. 



The prices received at the mill for high grade frames or bridge 

 timbers are not high absolutely, $30 to $40 per M, but relatively a 

 fair value because there is less sawing required than with one-inch 

 boards and no planing. Even flooring or inside finish seldom 

 brings more than $75 per M f.o.b. the mill and it never makes up 

 more than 20 per cent of the scale of the logs sawn up. The tops 

 and mill waste can occasionally be marketed locally for $4.00 to 

 $6 per cord. Hence an average value of $50 per M at the mill 

 is very good indeed. 



From this sale value milling and logging costs must be deducted 

 to determine the stumpage value of any particular piece of 

 timber. For running thru the saw mill exclusive of planing, 

 kihi drying and selling $3 to $3.50 per M is a good average figure 

 for large permanent mills equipped to saw high grade lumber. 

 Smaller mills will do it for as low as $2 per M but their average 

 product is usually less well manufactured. 



Logging costs vary little thruout the pine belt. The topog- 

 raphy is uniform, labor varies Httle and methods are standardized. 

 The logs are brought from the woods to the railroad with big 

 wheels and then shipped into the mill. Occasionally a portable 

 mill is set up in the timber or a stream is employed for driving 

 but the rule is the large mill fed by its logging railroad. The 



