New Orleans, La., March 15, 1912.] 



THE LUMBER TRADE JOURNAL 



Total 

 cost 



f . o. to. factory. 



$4,050 



2,715 



960 



1,350 



450 



1,290 



700 



660 



75 



Grown in 

 Mississippi, 

 feet B. M. 

 225,000 

 64,000 

 32,000 



Grown out 



of Miss., 



feetB. M. 



25,000 



20,000 



17,500 



3,000 



Total 438,500 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



100.00 



$27.94 



$12,250 



386,500 



30,000 

 22,000 



52,000 



Table 10 presents statistics of manufactures which 

 are not of sufficient importance in Mississippi to be 

 classed as separate industries. The chief lines cov- 

 ered by statistics in this table are pumps, patterns, 



saddles, harness, laundry appliances, paving blocks, 

 mill machinery woodenware, novelties, tooats and 

 ships, coffins, caskets and excelsior. The cheapest 

 wood reported in the state is in this table, shortleaf 

 pine for excelsior and the most expensive is white 

 pine bought 'by pattern makers. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Table 10. 

 MISCELLANEOUS. 



KINDS OF WOOD 



Quantity used 



annually. 



feetB. M. Percent. 



White ash 2,000,000 33.08 



Red gum 1,105,000 18.27 



Cypress 600,000 9.92 



Longleaf pine 510,000 8.43 



Cottonwood 510,000 8.43 



Shortleaf pine 500,000 8.27 



Tupelo 450,000 7.44 



Yellow poplar 350,000 5.79 



White pine 10,000 .17 



Black gum 7,000 .12 



Red oak 5,000 .08 



Average 



cost 



per 1,000 ft. 

 $20.00 

 19.87 

 12.00 

 11.17 

 10.20 

 6.50 

 15.11 

 24.57 

 80.00 

 15.00 

 12.00 



Total 6,047,000 100.00 



SUMMARY BY INDUSTRIES. 



Wood-using industries in Mississippi, as present- 

 ed in this report, are arranged in eight tables, with 

 a miscellaneous group shown in a separate table. 



$16.48 



Total 

 cost 



. o. 'b. factory. 



$40,000 



21,960 



7,200 



5,695 



5,200 



3,250 



6,800 



8,600 



800 



105 



60 



$99,670 



4,737,000 1,310,000 



Table 11, which follows, shows these industries, the 

 total quantity of wood demanded by each, the aver- 

 age cost per thousand feet, and the total cost. The 

 per cent of the 'wood grown in and out of the state 

 is shown also. 



SUMMARY OF WOODS USED BY INDUSTRIES IN MISSISSIPPI. 



Table 11. 

 SUMMARY OF WOODS USED BY INDUSTRIES IN MISSISSIPPI. 



INDUSTRY. 



Quantity used 



annually, 

 feet B. M. Per cent. 



Planing-mill products. .539,016,437 87.18 



Boxes and crates 39,295,093 6.36 



Furniture 10,278,000 1.66 



Vemcle & vehicle parts. 10,277,000 1.66 



Sash, doors, blinds and 8,082,000 1.31 

 general millwork.... 



Miscellaneous 6,047,000 .98 



Handles 4,036,000 .65 



Agricultural implements 800,000 .13 



Fixtures 438,500 .07 



Total 618,270,030 



100.00 



$12.22 



$7,554,531 



Grown in 

 Mississippi, 

 feet B. M. 

 99.89 

 97.16 

 100.00 

 94.40 

 94.93 



78.34 

 100.00 

 100.00 



88.14 



99.35 



Grown out 



of Miss., 



feet B. M. 



.11 



2.84 



5.60 

 5.07 



21.66 



11.86 



.65 



FUTURE SUPPLY OF TIMBER. 



It was formerly not customary in this country for 

 people to trouble themselves to look ahead to see 

 where the future supply of timber was to come from. 

 The evidence of this is seen in the fact that large 

 regions which were once heavily timbered now have 

 little. The tree cutter and tree planter were stran- 

 gers to each other. A slight tendency toward a 

 change in policy is noticeable in many parts of the 

 United States. It has been learned that it not only 

 is possible to grow timber for commercial! purposes, 

 but if done with judgment and patience, it may be 

 carried out with profit. 



The 'people of Mississippi are now passing over a 

 road on their industrial journey which some other 

 states traveled some years ago. They are harvest- 

 ing the crop of trees which nature planted and 

 brought to maturity unaided by man. Nature will 

 not do it again, for conditions have changed. Grow- 

 ers of farm crops will not give up their rich land 

 and wait two hundred years for nature to bring on 

 another cutting of trees, but another way to procure 

 needed timber must be found, and it is now time to 

 begin seriously to think it over. Thinking alone 

 will not suffice, but experiments and experience must 

 be made use of. 



Mississippi's future woods must grow on land 

 which can be spared from agriculture; that is, on 



thin, rugged, and wet land. When the present for- 

 ests are cut off, which will be accomplished in the 

 not distant future, the second and succeeding timber 

 harvests 'will come from wood-lots which will 'belong 

 with the farms -and plantations; from thin lands 

 where annual crops will not pay; from wet and 

 partly submerged ground where trees will flourish, 

 but corn, cane, rice and cotton will not. Drainage 

 will doubtless reclaim large areas of swamp in Mis- 

 sissippi, but much 'will never be drained for many 

 years, and that land's proper function -will be to 

 grow trees. 'Some of the soil of the uplands, owing 

 to its great depth and its friable nature, gullies bad- 

 ly. Protecting cover and belts of trees will be plant- 

 ed to check erosion, and the timber so planted will 

 serve the double purpose of protecting the ground 

 and producing posts, fuel, and saw timber. 



Timber planters will select species which will suit 

 place and purpose 'best. Pine will not be relegated 

 in swamps nor willow to uplands. Slow-growing 

 species will not be favored in situations where trees 

 of quick growth will flourish, for time is an import- 

 ant factor in forestry. Seven or eight pines are na- 

 tive in Mississippi, but if a man means to plant he 

 will select the one or two which will grow fastest. 

 The slow growth of longleaf pine would seem to be 

 a pretty effective 'bar against much of a future for 

 it: and shortleaf has only a little more hope. Lob- 

 lolly and Cuban, neither of which occupies first place 



in the state now as a source of supply, promise to 

 strike up to the front, because a tree of either of 

 these species can produce a saw-log while longleaf 

 is growing a cross-tie. The spruce pine which is 

 seldom mentioned now because it is scarce and its 

 range is local, may have a surprise in store when 

 tree planting comes into practice. The excellent 

 quality of its soft, wliite wood, and its rapid growth, 

 hold great promise for this tree. It has never been 

 able to get much foothold under natural conditions. 

 Neither did catalpa and osage orange which by 

 man's help have now spread over a considerable part 

 of the United States. 



Nature was profuse in planting species of oak in 

 Mississippi, .but when men shall begin to do the 

 planting it may be depended upon that some of the 

 small, slowly-growing kinds will be relegated to the 

 ravines and sterile ridges where natural methods 

 will hold longest. The tendency in forestry Js to 

 reduce rather than increase the number of woods 

 found under natural conditions. There are nearly 

 five hundred tree species in the United States. If 

 timber were grown from plantings and coppice 

 (sprouts) in this country as in some European 

 countries, probably not more than one species in ten 

 would survive. The oaks in Mississippi may toe ex- 

 pected to follow that rule, when the time of tree 

 culture arrives. The .best and most rapid growers 

 will toe chosen, the others will be rejected. It does 

 not, however, necessarily follow that the trees which 

 grow most rapidly will toe the most profitable, for 

 the fast grower may have wood of poor qualities, and 

 in that case it will pay to wait longer for a better 

 tree. White oak, post oak, Texan oak and willow 

 oak will be strong candidates for favor. The first 

 two, though not very rapid growers, have wood of 

 sterling qualities, and with good grain and figure; 

 and the planter can afford to wait a good while for 

 them to reach marketable size, for the price will be 

 high. The Texan oak accommodates itself to most 

 soils, as it is one of the most vigorous trees of Mis- 

 sissippi. The willow oak may be a little off if beauty 

 of grain is considered, but it lays on wood at such 

 a rate that it 'has all the other oaks of the region 

 beaten, except the water oak which appears to do 

 about as well. 



There are many kinds of trees which grow rapidly 

 in wet ground, such .as cottonwood, Carolina poplar 

 and black willow; and others grow more slowly, like 

 red gum, tupelo and cypress. So much swamp land 

 is found in Mississippi that tree culture on such 

 land may toe expected to assume large proportions 

 in future years. Enormous cuttings of cottonwood 

 and willow may be made at intervals of thirty to 

 fifty years, while cypress, tupelo and red gum will 

 take longer to reach desirable size; tout many tracts 

 will doubtless toe kept growing such species long 

 after forests planted and cared for in nature's way 

 cease to toe looked upon as a profitable resource in 

 that region. 



Tree planters will always find profit in such spe- 

 cies as yellow poplar and black walnut, hickory and 

 persimmon, which possess qualities fitting them for 

 special uses. The growing of fence posts, cross-ties, 

 and telephone poles 'will be one of the first practical 

 purposes to which forestry will be devoted in the re- 

 gion. The demand is ever present, the trees soon 

 grow to proper size. Locust, catalpa, red cedar and 

 osage orange will answer for posts and poles, and 

 are long-lasting woods, but they are rather small 

 for tie material, unless permitted to stand a long 

 time; and some more suitable species may be ex- 

 pected to meet the demand for ties. 



ADDITIONAL STATISTICS. 



Many sawmills in Mississippi plane timber prima- 

 rily to reduce freight. Sometimes heavy timbers 

 are so dressed. The weight removed in the process 

 of planing may amount to 500 or more pounds per 

 1,000 feet, and the item is worth saving. The lum- 

 ber or the timbers so dressed go into the general 

 market, and much of it becomes the raw material 

 for further manufacturers. Other is used in rough 

 construction. This study did not regard lumber 

 dressed in that way as a manufactured product en- 

 titled to a place in this report; but figures showing 

 the annual quantity of such material turned out in 

 Mississippi are presented as a matter of informa- 

 tion. Table 15 which follows shows the kinds of 

 wood planed and the quantity of each, with the total 

 cost and the part grown in and out of the state. It 

 is. of course, understood that it is in addition to the 

 totals given in preceding tables. 



