FOREST EESOURCES OF EASTERN TEXAS. 37 



overflow lands occupy a comparatively large area and furnish excellent 

 grazing since there is no general stock law. 



Sawmill operations date i>ack about 20 to 25 years. Two large mills 

 and three small mills are located in the county. In addition, two large 

 mills in Jasper County tram their raw material from. Newton County. 

 The annual output of lumber is at least 125,000,000 feet. At the present 

 rate the larger mills will cut out in 10 to 15 years. Waste in the small mills 

 is used for fuel both by the mill operators and nearby land owners. 



Turpentining is not a large industry in Newton County; only 7,500 

 acres are now cropped. Operations are on the decrease and will hardly 

 last longer than five or six years. The cup and gutter system is used, tim- 

 ber is cut immediately following the cropping and crop areas are burned 

 over annually. 



The tie industry is stronger at this time than at any other previous 

 period. Approximately 50,000 pine, 22,000 red oak and 3,000 white and 

 post oak ties are cut annually. Even at this rate the cutting may con- 

 tinue indefinitely as more timber becomes easily accessible. About 2,500 

 cords of fuelwood are produced and sold in the county each year. One 

 stave operator cuts approximately 60,000 white and post oak staves yearly. 

 The industry cannot last longer than three or four years 



In general enough pine seed trees are left standing on the cut-over 

 areas to furnish ample seed for restocking the land, but as long as fires 

 run unrestricted through the woodlands reproduction of pine is impossible. 

 There is a sentiment against burning the woodlands and a strong belief 

 that burning injures the grazing, but no definite steps are taken locally to 

 prevent such burning. About 75 per cent of the longleaf pine reproduc- 

 tion of the past few years has recently been destroyed. Such conditions 

 will be repeated until promiscuous burning is stopped. 



ORANGE COUNTY. 



The northern half of Orange County is within the loblolly pine region. 

 The land surface is low and level and, for the most part, insufficiently 

 drained. Soils vary from light loams to the black prairie soils typical 

 of the Coastal Prairie. All public roads are graded and several main roads 

 have been gravel surfaced. More than 100 miles of mainline railroad 

 traverse the county. 



The land area may be divided as follow? : 



Approximate total area 250,880 acres. 



Virgin timber lands 32,000 acres. 



Second growth lands 36,000 acres. 



Culled and cut-over lands 83,000 acres. 



All other lands 99,880 acres. 



Virgin timber stands are located in the northern portion and consist 

 chiefly of pine of which there is estimated to be a stand of approximately 

 200,000,000 feet. The timber is held in large tracts, about 20 per cent 

 by non-resident owners. 



Second growth lauds, where protected from fire, are slowly being re- 

 forested. Although loblolly pine is normally a fast growing species, re- 

 peated burnings retard the growth, often killing the trees outright, and as 



