FOUKST U'Ksm RCES 01 KASTKKX TJ-:XAS. 15 



While truck fanning has been the general trend of agricultural opera- 

 tions in the past i lu-re is now a decided tendency toward diversification. 

 A small acreage of new land is being cleared annually. The tendency to 

 abandon old lands has ceased. In clearing new land much timber is 

 still burned, due to the lack of local markets. Farms average 20 to '<M)0 

 acres in size. Only a small portion of the county area may be considered 

 waste land. Erosion is probably the principal factor in causing lands 

 lo revert to this class, but conditions are rapidly improving, partly because 

 thoe lands are being reclothed with forest growth. Approximately 90 

 per cent of the county is under hog law. 



Lumbering operations date back about 10 years. Sixteen mills, two 

 of large size and the remainder small and irregular in their cut, produce 

 not more than 60,000,000 feet annually. Three years ago not less than 

 80 small mills were operating in Cherokee County, but the business 

 depression of 1914 closed all the mills down. Those now cutting have 

 resumed since that time. The larger mills will probably complete their 

 cut within the next six or eight years, but the smaller ones may continue 

 indefinitely because of the irregularity in their operations. There are 

 no portable mills reported as operating in the county. 



Xot more than 25,000 hewn oak ties are cut annually. Since pine is 

 not being used for ties the industry cannot enlarge until the railroads 

 furnish a market for pine ties. Fuelwood and fence post production are 

 governed solely by the local demand. The stave cut is negligible. One 

 planing mill is supplied by the small sawmills and four box and crate 

 >ries are operating in the county. 



Grass and woodland fires are usually caused by carelessness in clearing 

 new land. Although the tram roads use wood for fuel, few fires from this 

 cause are reported. Only a small portion of the county burns over an- 

 nually and in consequence hardwoods and shortleaf pine are reproducing 

 rapidly on many woodland areas. 



FRAXKLIX COUXTY. 



About 'JO per cent of the area of Franklin County, the extreme eastern 

 portion, lies in the shortleaf region, the remainder being within the 

 hardwood belt. The land surface is generally rolling to level and drains 

 to the east through the Sulphur, White Oak and Big Cypress "Rivers. 

 Soils vary from light loams to heavy, black waxy. Streams in the county 

 overflow at fre<|iient intervals. There has been considerable improvement 

 in public- road conditions during the past five years, Xot more than 15 

 miles of mainline and no logging railroads are iocated in the county. 



The land area may be divided as follows: 



Approximate total area 20S.OOO acres. 



Virgin limber lands Negligible. 



'iid growth lands \egligiblc-. 



Culled and cut-over lands <;.~).nun acres. 



All other lands 143.000 acres. 



It might he said that practically all of the virgin timber has been cut 

 out in Franklin County. The closeness of cutting has prohibited repro- 

 duction. Second growth areas are conspicuously absent. 



