FOREST Ri-:<ori!CES OF EA>TI:KX TEXAS, 25 



way. At least eight mill sites have already been abandoned and at the 

 'resent nite of production milling operations will finish in about five years. 



Tie operator.- produce about 30,000 hewn ties annually of which 98 

 per cent is oak. Waste characterizes the industry and at this rate the 

 available timber will soon be cut out. Not less than 20,000 white oak 

 staves are cut each year, but the industry cannot continue longer than 

 five years. It is estimated that 75,000 cords of fuelwood are consumed in 

 the county annually. The output of fuelwood as well as fence posts 

 is purely local. One shingle mill cuts very irregularly. 



(iiass and woodland fires are a serious problem in Houston County. 

 Probably two-thirds of the timbered area burns over annually, the fires 

 being started largely to improve the grazing. As a consequence pine re- 

 produces only sparingly and mixed hardwood growth thrives. The future 

 scarcity or abundance of pine timber in Houston County depends upon 

 the control of the fire situation. 



JASPER COUNTY. 



Jasper County, with the exception of a comparatively small acreage 

 of loblolly pine in the southeastern corner, lies entirely within the long- 

 leaf pine region. The land surface is broken in the north, but becomes 

 more level in the southern half. Drainage is chiefly to the west into 

 the Xeches River. Streams are subject to frequent overflow. Soils for 

 the most part are sandy although an east and west belt of black land, not 

 more than 10 per cent of the area, extends across the county. Public roads 

 show but little improvement. One hundred and eight miles of ma'inline 

 and 80 miles of logging railroad traverse the county. 



The land area may be divided as follows : 



Approximate total area 625,280 acres. 



Virgin timber lands 200,000 acres. 



Second growth lands 22,000 acres. 



Culled and cut-over lands 278,000 acres. 



All other lands 125,280 acres. 



Virgin timber stands, 95 per cent of which are longleaf pine, the re- 

 mainder being mixed hardwoods and cypress, are mainly in the northern 

 portion of the county. Timber is mostly held by three non-resident con- 

 cerns and the logging done by contract, a diameter limit of from eight to 

 ten inches usually being specified. The timber is being removed at the 

 rate of 1,000,000 feet daily. 



Second growth stands are mainly from old fields and are located in 

 the southern portion of the county. Approximately 75 per cent of these 

 lands support seedling stnnd* of longleaf pine; about 25 per cent consist 

 of loblolly pine growing on old fields. Fires are not frequent in the type 

 and this condition has been the controlling factor in the reforestation 

 of these lands. The future value of this type of timber is fast becoming 

 recognized. 



Lands cut over by early operators still support fair stands of timber. 

 Those logged within the past eight years have been practically stripped. 

 Reforestation on such lands is slow if not entirely lacking because of an 

 insufficient number of seed-bearing trees and the fires which burn over 

 these lands almost annuallv. 



