206 PRACTICAL ARBORICULTURE 
ADDRESS BEFORE THE MONTGOMERY (ALA.) COMMERCIAL 
AND INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION, MAY 9, 1905. 
To the Commercial and Industrial Association: 
GENTLEMEN :—TIn response to your Secretary’s invitation, I have the pleasure 
of meeting with you this evening. 
In common with several Southern States which formerly possessed large 
areas of yellow pine forests, Alabama now faces a condition of rapid forest denud- 
ation, with no prospect of a continuance of the pine growth, while a very con- 
siderable portion of your territory is unsuited for agricultural purposes or for 
grazing. 
With the removal of the forests and the loss of income from the sale of its 
products, the loss to the labor which has been engaged in its removal, the gradual 
cessation of the manufacturing industries, as well as the transportation to other 
localities, there will soon be a diminution of the revenues of your State and locality. 
How to avoid the consequences attending such rapid destruction of your forest 
wealth must concern every patriotic citizen of Alabama and the entire South. 
it is not my intention to reflect upon any class of citizens or industry, but methods 
may be fairly criticised and improvements suggested. 
The lands of a locality are of value for what they will produce. This may be 
some kinds of minerals, certain agricultural crops, or grasses suited for grazing, 
or possibly for the production of timber. Whatever may be their greatest benefit 
for man’s use should be the purpose to which they are devoted. 
The rich lands of many Northern States, once covered with forests, could 
not have become what they now are, nor could States, cities, homes, manufactures 
and business have been created without first sacrificing the forests. But they are 
now gone, and all these regions are demanding lumber which you are expected 
to supply. 
Alabama possesses much land which is not suited for agriculture: the blue 
grass of Kentucky pastures will not thrive, and the lands are not of value for 
grazing upon a large scale. There is a limit to the area which may be profitably 
devoted to fruit, and that must be in close proximity to the lines of transportation. 
The vine, except in a few locations, does not offer encouragement for extensive 
wine production. Truck farming, while profitable and as yet only in its inciptency, 
will not offer a solution for the use to which your thirty-three million acres may be 
devoted. 
