50 



on lands within the Pearl River drainage basin. Logging and 

 turpentine operations are being carried on by several large com- 

 panies. Upon going in a northwesterly direction from Slidell 

 to Covington on April 28, slash pine was observed in abundance 

 over low ground. Particularly was this true of reproduction 

 ranging in age from 3 to 20 years old and in height from about 4 

 to 50 feet. Older ages, however, were observed. 



Slash pine in this region, as generally throughout its range, is 



Fig. I. Heavy stands of young Pinus caribaea on typical flat, sandy land near 

 Slidell, La. The spread of slash is particularly rapid about towns where fire pro- 

 tection is afforded. (Tree marked x is a Pinus taeda.) 



extensively replacing the original longleaf pine on the moister, 

 flatland soils.* The factors which account for this chiefly are 

 the production of an abundance of seed, which is readily trans- 

 ported by wind and practically immune from destruction by 

 hogs, a high degree of tolerance, and a very rapid and vigorous 

 growth. While the young seedling is very susceptible to ground 

 fires, the rapid upward growth in from 2 to 3 years carries the 



* This fact has been noted previously by various writers: Dr. Charles Mohr in 

 Forest Service Bulletin 13, "The Timber Pines of the South," page 88; Dr. C. A. 

 Sargent quoted by Dr. Engelmann in "Revision of the Genus Pinus," Transactions 

 of the St. Louis Academy of Science, Vol. IV, 1880, and Manual of the Trees of 

 North America, p. 19, by Sargent. 



