118 



TIMBER PINES OF THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. 



deciduous trees peculiar to these latitudes— tlie Magnolia, Sweet and Ked Bay, Black Gum, and 

 Titi, associated with the Cuban Pine. The timber of the Loblolly Pine produced in these swamps 

 is of good quality, but with the sapwood from 4 to 5 inches on a radius of from 8 to 12 inches. It 

 has been noticed that among the original tree-covering Loblolly Pines above 2 feet in diameter 

 were frequently found aflected with dry or red rot. 



On the dry rolling pine uplands of tliese States to the foot of the mountain ranges, rising to an 

 elevation of 800 to 1,000 feet above sea level, as well as of the Gulf States east of the Mississippi, 

 this pine is found more or less dispersed among the hard-wood timber, but is considered of no value 

 except for fuel; the trees branch a short distance above the ground and the timber is too knotty to 

 be fit for lumber. 



Five trees from the damp, llati)ine barrens bordering upon the swamps, felled for test logs in 

 Hampton County, S. C, showed the following dimensions: 



In peninsular Florida the Loblolly Pine is more rarely found,,its place in the old fields being 

 taken either by Cuban Pine or Longleaf Pine. 



In the eastern Gulf States throughout the coast pine belt the Loblolly Pine is scattered along 

 the swamps bordering the water courses. Until of late years it has been cut only on special orders 

 for low-priced stuff intended for temporary purposes. As an instance, the fact may be cited that 

 the millions of feet of square sawn timber and of lumber required for the buildings of the New 

 Orleans World's Exposition were mostly Loblolly Pine, sawn at Pearlington, Miss. Since the 

 introduction of the dry-kiln it is extensively used for flooring and inside finish. In the fresh, deep 

 soil of light loam of the coast plain and the valleys in the upper part of the pine belt— the region 

 of mixed growth— this tree is found in great perfection. In these districts it furnishes clear sticks 

 of from 50 to 60 feet and over in length. A considerable proportion of the long and heavy sticks of 

 hewn timber reaching the Mobile market for export as " pitch pine " coining from the upper 

 division of the coast pine belt in Alabama are Loblolly Pine. The timber of the Loblolly Pine from 

 the table-lands of north Alabama is of excellent quality, with but a small proportion of sapwood 

 from 2 to 3 inches on a radius of from 10 to 12 inches, heavy, of a fine close grain, and hence of 

 greater durability and strength. The lumber from that region finds a ready market, being used 

 for all the purposes of the house carpenter, and is indiscriminately sold with the product of the 

 Shortleaf Pine. 



On the table-lands of the Warrior coal field the Loblolly Pine is better developed than in any 

 other part of this or the adjoining State of Mississippi. If not found in compact forests of any 

 considerable expanse, it forms bodies of heavy timber covering the flat and badly drained tracts, 

 from a few to many acres in extent, associated with the hard wood growth peculiar to a moist soil. 

 It might be said that about one-half of the pine timber growth of these highlands consists of the 

 Loblolly Pine. 



The following measurements have been taken of trees felled in Cullman County, Ala., from 

 heavily timbered land several acres in extent: 



Measnrements of four trees. 



