110 TIMUER PINE^? OK THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. 



FOREST MANAGEMENT. 



From the place this species is taking among the second growth it can be safely predicted that 

 it is destined to be the timber tree of the future, as far as the Southern States of the Atlantic 

 forest region north of the Longleaf Pine belt are concerned. It is upon this tree that in this 

 section succeeding generations will have to depend for their supplies of pine timber of superior 

 quality, and in which the nearest substitute is to be found for the supplies furnished at present 

 by the Ijongleaf Pine. That the resources of the latter under the increasing strain to which it 

 is subjected will be completely exhausted before its restoration can be effected is too evident to 

 admit of any doubt. 



Among the timber trees of the coniferous order found in the Atlantic forests, there is, then, 

 scarcely a species presenting stronger claims to the attention of the forester than the Shortleaf 

 Pine. As far as its demands npon climate and soil are concerned, it is capable of successfully 

 establishing itself over the immense territory reaching from 30^ to 38° north latitude and from 

 the Atlantic Slope to the treeless plains of the West, embracing within these limits areas of wide 

 extent, with all the conditions required for the best development of this species, and in great 

 measure adapted to nothing better than the growth of timber. Of not less importance than its 

 value as a timber tree are its facilities for natural renewal, resulting from the abundant crops of 

 seed produced almost without failure every year and its aggressive behavior toward competing 

 species in the successful struggle for the possession of the soil. 



From a closer observation of the young forests of spontaneous growth at different stages, it is 

 a])parent that in the establishment and rearing of a forest of Shortleaf Pine, where mother trees 

 exist, nature reijuires comparatively little assistance from the hands of the forester, and that the 

 efforts of the latter will be chiefly confined to measures of protection against destruction by 

 fire and against the injuries caused by inroads of live stock during the earlier stages of growth. 

 That by thinning out, practiced after the first to the middle or end of the third decade, the forest 

 growth would be benefited, there can be but little doubt. To what extent, by such interference, 

 the production of merchantable timber can be promoted and in (luantity and quality improved at 

 the least cost remains a matter of future experiment. In the total absence of facts, based on 

 experiment, no suggestion can be offered on these points other than such as can be deduced from 

 the natural requirements of this species, as already discussed. 



In conclusion, it can be safely asserted that the Shortleaf Pine is destined to take a prominent 

 place in the forest management of the future throughout the regions favorable to its growth, not 

 only on account of its economic value in the natural forest, but also in holding out better pros- 

 pects to the forest planter for the production of timber of higher quality in the shortest time 

 than any tree of the same order in the Southern Atlantic forest region. That the methods of a 

 rational forest management will have to be resorted to at no distant time can with certainty be 

 predicted, although the timber wealth existing at present in the vast territory of its growth may 

 appear enormous. 



Of great importance in the reforestation of large areas, this tree is of no less significance to 

 the farmer who is aware of the advantages resulting from the restoration of the tree-covering on 

 his denuded uplands, either originally unfit for profitable tillage or thrown out of cultivation after 

 their exhaustion. By the facility of its natural renewal the Shortleaf Pine affords within a short 

 time a firm protection to the light soil, preventing it from being carried away by wind and rain, 

 providing a shelter for the crops and for insectivorous birds, a lasting income of increasing sup- 

 plies of timber and fuel on lands that yield no other profit whatever, and to the lands abandoned 

 after their exhaustion a chance for their recuperation while resting under the cover of its shade. 



