FORESTRY ON THE PENINSULA OF 

 EASTERN VIRGINIA. 



EING especially interested in the treatment of sandy 

 lands, and the protection and culture of forests of 

 the Smooth-bark or Shortleaf Pine, I was led to visit 

 the two counties of Virginia, Northampton and Ac- 

 comae, the southernmost portion of the peninsula 

 formed by the confluence of Chesapeake Bay and the Ocean. Ac- 

 cording to Dr. Mohr, the Smooth-bark or Shortleaf Pine (Pinus 

 echinatd] is for many reasons the forest tree of the future for a large 

 portion of the Southern Atlantic States. 



The large Coastal Plain, beginning with Southern New Jersey, 

 would soon be capable of producing almost limitless quantities of 

 this valuable timber were it properly protected from reckless devas- 

 tation. With Cypress and White Cedar in the swamps ( the latter 

 equaling, if not excelling the White Pine in quality of its wood ) 

 and Shortleaf Pine on the uplands, this region is capable of yielding 

 a perpetual supply of timber suited to almost all kinds of construc- 

 tion. The Shortleaf Pine is well fitted for coarse stuff for houses 

 and ships, and boards for floors and ceilings, and is excellent for 

 pilings and timbers for wharves, and poles for telegraph and tele- 

 phone lines, while the Cypress * and cedar serve for shingles and 

 finishing boards, and other purposes for which the pine is not suit- 

 able. 



I was told that in the two counties mentioned above the for- 

 ests were being properly cared for and even propagated without the 

 aid of foresters or forest laws. My surprise was of course great when 

 I found the region even more than was anticipated, and that at least 

 in one part of the Eastern States the forests are free from fire, and 

 the sentiment of its people wholesome in reference to their natural 

 resources. This little spot in Virginia demonstrates that if the 

 people are of the right mind the protection of pine forests is not 

 only possible, but simple, easy and inexpensive. 



The region reminded me of the Medoc, and the fields of 

 young pines resemble the blocks of the Maritime Pine along the 

 shores of Gascony. Almost every farm has its pine forest. These, 

 of course, are of all sizes and ages, varying from fields as thick 



* The region of the Pokomoke River, as far as the writer has been able to observe, 

 is the northernmost limiUof the<natural growth of the Cypress. 



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