30 



ida it is third largest, its total falling a little short of 

 one-tenth that of longleaf, and its average price per thou- 

 sand being practically the same. It grows rapidly, re- 

 produces vigorously, and is one of the softest and whit- 

 est of the yellow pines. It is known by so many names 

 that the name alone is not a certain means of identifi- 

 cation. It holds its ground better than longleaf pine, 

 and is more promising as a source of supply. The soft- 

 ness of its wood places it in a line of uses somewhat dif- 

 ferent from those of longleaf. It is popular for doors 

 and for window frames. It attains merchantable size in 

 less time than longleaf. 



Cypress. — Fourth for quantity in the list of Florida 

 woods is cypress. It is very little below loblolly pine, 

 but the average cost is considerably higher. Cypress is 

 one of the substantial, all-round woods of the South, and 

 one of the" largest species. The small trees are symmetri- 

 cal and graceful, but the old ones are not attractive with 

 their thin, ragged foliage, and dying tops. They are 

 among the longest-lived trees of the South, and an age 

 of two or three centuries is not unusual. At least a hun- 

 dred years are required under ordinary circumstances to 

 produce a trunk large enough for sawlogs. It is a swamp 

 species. Trees live standing in water much of the year. 

 Some of the best cypress timber in Florida grows along 

 the margin and about the mouths of large rivers, where 

 the land is frequently flooded. Some of the cypress for- 

 ests near the mouths of the Chattahoochee, Apalachicola 

 and Suwannee rivers are dense and dismal in the ex- 

 treme. When these forests disappear under the operation 

 of lumbermen, there will not be much young cypress com- 

 ing on to take their place, for it is not a tree that repro- 

 duces vigorously. It is not of much commercial im- 

 portance south of the center of the State. 



Shortleaf Pine. — The Shortleaf pine is supposed to be 

 the opposite of the longleaf species, so far as needles are 

 concerned; for its leaves are shortest of the four leading 



