20 



THE LUMBER TRADE JOURNAL 



[New Orleans, La., May 1, 1912. 



484,130,000 feet for longleaf pine to 500 feet for 

 cherry, and in average cost per 1,000 feet, delivered 

 at the factory, from $131.24 for mahogany to $10 for 

 basswood and sycamore. It is reasonably certain that 

 several additional species are in use though not sepa- 

 rately reported. Among the oaks, doubtless yellow oak 

 (Quercus velutina) and water oak (Quercus nigra) 

 are in use, for they are plentiful and of good form 

 in some parts of the state. One birch is listed, but 

 probably three at least are in use, the sweet birch 

 (Betula lenta), yellow birch (Betula lutea) and 

 river 'birch (Betula nigra). Several species of hick- 

 ory are generally grouped as one; two cypresses bo- 



tanically distinct are considered one at the saw- 

 mill; two or three elms grouped under a common 

 name; hackberry and sugar berry are not distin- 

 guished apart, and doubtless other woods are 

 grouped and given a common name, or else they 

 may 'be lost sight of entirely in the lumber yard. It 

 is not customary for lumbermen and manufacturers 

 to distinguish as carefully between species as botan- 

 ists do, nor, for practical purposes is it necessary to 

 do so. However, each wood possesses an individu- 

 ality of its own, and has certain qualities and char- 

 acters which differ from those of all other woods, 

 and it may be expected that as woods become more 



valuable, and their fitness for specific purposes shall 

 be more carefully studied, the custom of using them 

 indiscriminately and without regard to their names, 

 will gradually pass away. Perhaps not much change 

 should be expected in the grouping and names of old 

 familiar species; but a large number of less plentiful 

 and less known woods are coming into use to meet 

 special requirements or to take the place of woods 

 which are becoming scarce. It will soon become 

 necessary to apply names to these in order that the 

 trade may intelligently handle them. Alabama has 

 at least twice as many useful woods as are shown 

 in Table 1 which follows: 



TABLE 1. 

 SUMMARY OF KINDS OF WOOD USED IN ALABAMA. 



Total cost 



Grown in Ala- Grown out of 



Totals 



*Less than 1/100 of 1 per cent. 



726,816,900 



100.00 



$12.24 



$8,893,735 



94.99 



5.01 



Longleaf Pine. In quantity this is by far the 

 most important wood used by manufacturers in Ala- 

 bama. It has needles longer than those of other 

 pines associated with It; its sap is thinner in pro- 

 portion to the heart wood than is that of any other 

 pine; and in strength and stiffness it ranks among 

 the best and above most other timbers of the state. 

 It is one of the slowest growing pine of the South, 

 and for that reason it is not likely to figure as much 

 in future supply as some of its associates which 

 grow faster, thereby producing a new forest in a 

 shorter time. The original stands of this species are 

 of fine form for lumber, they shade the ground so 

 effectively that they suppress the seedlings of most 

 other trees, and thus they have held their place for 

 long periods of time in nearly pure forests. But 

 when the old stand is removed by lumbermen, or 

 is thrown by storm, and the sunlight enters, the 

 longleaf seedlings are unable to maintain their place 

 under the pressure of competition from more vigor- 

 ous species (loblolly and Cuban pines in particular) 

 and the former longleaf forest is gradually replaced 

 by other kinds of trees. The encroachment of farms 

 upon the longleaf forest, however, is doing as much 

 as any other cause, or all other causes combined, to 

 end the supremacy of the longleaf pine. The land 

 where this tree is at its best is not the most fertile 

 in the region, but it has been found well suited for 

 root crops, and in many instances for orchards, and 

 as the lumberman takes the pine off, the fanner and 

 the fruit grower enter into possession. For this 

 reason, and for the reason already stated, that the 

 young longleaf pine is often unable to compete in 

 the struggle with other species for possession, it 

 may be expected that the cutting of this species will 

 practically come to an end when the primeval for- 

 ests have been removed. It has been and still is a 

 most valuaible resource, but its importance may be 

 expected to decline in the future. 



Shortleaf Pine. Men engaged in the lumber busi- 

 ness often group two or three pines under the name 

 Shortleaf. Loblolly and Cuban pine are liable to be 



so classed, though botanically they are quite dis- 

 tinct species from the Shortleaf (Pinus eehinata). 

 In Table 1 Shortleaf stands next to longleaf in quan- 

 tity and that is doubtless its proper rank in Ala- 

 bama; but there is little doubt that much loblolly 

 and Cuban pine have been reported as Shortleaf. The 

 needles of Shortleaf pine are usually three to five 

 inches long; those of loblolly six to nine inches; 

 the Cuban eight to twelve inches, while those of 

 longleaf pine are sometimes as much as eighteen 

 inches in length, though usually considerably short- 

 er. Shortleaf pine has thick sapwood, except in 

 large and old trees. It grows rapidly during its first 

 forty to sixty years, and more slowly afterwards. 

 It reproduces vigorously, and quickly takes posses- 

 sion of openings in the forest. The wood is weaker 

 and softer than longleaf, tout for some purposes 

 notably for doors, frames and interior finish it is 

 preferred to longleaf by many, while for floors, 

 beams and long, heavy timbers, longleaf usually 

 gives better service. The Shortleaf pine is found in 

 practically all parts of Alabama, but is not equally 

 distributed over the state, being scarcer in some 

 localities than in others. 



Loblolly Pine. This pine shows a disposition to 

 take complete possession of ground when it finds 

 conditions favorable, such as abandoned farms, or 

 tracts from which other forest trees have been re- 

 moved. This is the tree which, within the past cen- 

 tury, and particularly in the past fifty years, has 

 occupied so much abandoned farm land in Vir- 

 ginia, North Carolina, and further south and west. 

 It grows rapidly, and young trees, up to a foot or 

 more in diameter, are largely sapwood. It is a large 

 contributor to the lumber supply of the South, and 

 the fact that less than 3,000,000 feet are credited to 

 it in Alabama, as shown in Table 1, is pretty strong 

 evidence that it has gone to market under some 

 other name, most probably as Shortleaf. 



Spruce Pine. In "Timber Pines of the Southern 

 United States," by Charles Mohr, published in 1897. 

 an apology for including this tree was thought nec- 



essary; for it was considered of little or no commer- 

 cial value at that time, and it was given place among 

 the timber pines "in order to dispel for the future 

 its confusion with some of these trees." The opinion 

 concerning spruce pine held at that time has been 

 much modified since; and though the species is not 

 abundant, the lumber is considered excellent. Of 

 all the southern pines, the wood of this tree has 

 been pronounced Che nearest approach to white pine. 

 The tree grows rapidly; is nearly all sapwood until 

 the trunk reaches maturity; and It thrives in the 

 shade better than any of the pines with which it is 

 associated. The wood is in demand for doors, sash 

 and frames; it is white and clean, and holds its 

 Shape well. The tree's leaves are among the short- 

 est of the pines. Charles Mohr, whose unfavorable 

 opinion has been referred to, predicted that when 

 forestry methods came into practice in the South, 

 the spruce pine would be found worthy of attention. 



White Pine. This tree does not grow in commer- 

 cial quantities in Alabama, and what is used comes 

 from the Lake states or from the fountains of east- 

 ern Tennessee, Kentucky, or western North Caro- 

 lina. A western wood (Pinus ponderosa) is making 

 its appearance in some southern shops and factories 

 under the name of white pine or California white 

 pine. It belongs to the yellow pine group. It was 

 not separately reported in Alabama. 



Cuban Pine. This valuable tree belongs to the 

 southern yellow pine group and is much used, 

 though it generally goes to market under some other 

 name sometimes as longleaf. occasionally as short- 

 leaf, but more frequently as loblolly. The standing 

 tree resembles longleaf, but the appearance of the 

 wood its thick sap and small heart resembles lob- 

 lolly. In strength it is little or not at all inferior 

 to longleaf. The tree reproduces vigorously, spread- 

 ing upon open land; it grows rapidly and comes to 

 merchantable size much sooner than longleaf; and 

 it promises to become one of the most important 

 timber trees of the state. Judging from its geo- 

 graphical location in this country, the Cuban pine 



