REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF FISHERIES, GAME AND FORESTS. 397 



not "abandoned" in the strictest sense, but allowed to "revert" in the course of time 

 to forest. In our South this process of reversion is often very simple, especially when 

 the adjoining woods are of pines. The winds sow the seeds, the pigs root them into 

 the soil, and soon there appears a rich, thrifty young growth of pines. The process 

 is often slower. First come grass and briers and a host of similar pioneer herbaceous 

 and shrubby plants. Soon scattered red cedar, holly and cherry appear as forerun- 

 ners, the seeds having been dropped by passing birds. Persimmon, sassafras, hardy 

 oaks, and here and there a pine, appear. The edges gradually close in on the old 

 field ; the solitary forerunners become surrounded and hard pressed by their progeny ; 

 the open spaces are gradually filled in by whatever may chance to fall by the many 

 natural means of seed dissemination. In New England abandoned farms are often 

 quickly clothed with a dense growth of white pine. In less favored regions birches, 

 poplars and cherry first appear; and, later, balsam, maple, spruce and pine find a 

 foothold. 



In the case of constant burning on the sand lands of our South the condition is 

 reversed. One by one the weaker species perish until nothing is left but a few hardj 

 forms which in time also succumb, leaving the sand white, bare and unproductive. 

 By " sand land," sandy loams are not meant. These must be rated among our choicest 

 fruit and vegetable soils. I refer to pure, coarse, sandy soils, such as exist in immense 

 areas throughout the coastal plain of the eastern portion of this country. The value 

 of these lands for agricultural purposes depends mainly upon their location. Their 

 productivity is also dependent upon moisture and temperature conditions. There are 

 few soils too dry and sandy for the production of sweet potatoes and melons. At the 

 same time the demand for these materials is so limited that only a comparatively 

 small proportion of this sort of land will ever be needed for their production. The 

 fact that when divested of timber these lands can be bought for twenty-five cents 

 to one dollar per acre is evidence enough of their value for agricultural purposes, in 

 spite of the ease with which they may be cleared. 



The statement is common that forests should be relegated to the waste lands of the 

 earth. The term " waste land " is often indefinite and misleading. A land which will 

 produce forest is far from waste land. In districts where a forest crop pays as well as 

 an agricultural crop it is of course proper to produce forests, even if the land 

 will yield heavy crops of wheat and corn. Very often soils which are unfit for agri- 

 cultural crops are the very best soils for the production of forests, and vice versa. Our 

 western prairie land is a fine agricultural soil, but poor for forests. A soft, coarse 

 sandy soil is poor for agricultural crops but good for forests, provided there is suf- 

 ficient moisture. Every piece of land should produce those things for which it is best 

 adapted, and few will deny that sand land is more fit for forests than for any other crop. 



