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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
July, 1909 
Forest Conservation at Biltmore 
By Day Allen Willey 
River, is Biltmore estate in North Carolina. 
zi Here Mr. George W. Vanderbilt located 
about twenty years ago, and in addition to 
constructing a large chateau, modeled after 
those in the Loire Valley, he beautified the 
surroundings with an Italian garden and other features of 
landscape architecture. So much has been heard about this 
country seat that the importance of the woodland culture on 
the estate is comparatively little known. This, however, is 
very extensive, covering a large area of Mr. Vanderbilt’s 
lands which comprise about two hundred square miles, or 
one hundred and twenty-eight thousand acres, of the moun- 
tain country of western North Carolina. Such has been 
the progress of forestry here that the estate presents a most 
valuable and interesting object lesson in the preservation of 
the woodland, the care of the tree, the foresting of barren 
ground and systematic and economical lumbering. Conse- 
quently the fire which has recently destroyed a portion of the 
forests can be called a calamity, as it burned over no less 
than twelve thousand acres of woodland, including a large 
territory which had demonstrated the success of planting 
hitherto worthless land with valuable trees, such as the 
poplar. 
The forest in the neighborhood of Biltmore is on a broad 
plateau, having an elevation of two thousand three hundred 
feet, and is similar in composition to the forests of the upper 
portion of the Piedmont Plateau region, which abuts upon the 
Allegheny Mountains in the Southern States. The forest is 
characterized by scattering tall pines—short-leaf pine and 
pitch pine—and abundant hardwoods, in which white oak, 
yellow oak, Spanish oak and post oak are the prevailing 
species. Among the minor species, chestnut, black gum, 
pignut and mockernut hickories, are numerous in the ravines, 
while along the streams are river birch, red maple, sycamore, 
shingle oak and black walnut. 
In the mountainous portions of the estate, between the ele- 
vations of two thousand three hundred and five thousand 
feet, the forest is also made up of hardwoods, but different 
species predominate. The most common trees are: chest- 
nut, scarlet oak, white oak, tulip, chestnut oak,and red oak. 
The minor species, in order of their relative abundance, 
are: hickory, black gum, basswood, sourwood, black locust, 
butternut, ash, buckeye and hard maple. Short-leaf pine 
occurs frequently on the dry ridges, and along the streams 
there is considerable hemlock. White pine is occasional be- 
side the streams and in swamps. Between the altitudes of 
five thousand and six thousand feet the forest is usually com- 
posed of balsam and spruce. On the higher mountains of 
the estate the hardwood forest is dwarfed and stunted, and 
some of the mountain tops are entirely treeless. On the 
Biltmcre plateau and at the lower elevations in the moun- 
tains the abandoned field forest is usually composed of pine, 
while at the higher elevations in the mountains, it is chiefly 
a tulip forest. Within the boundaries of the Biltmore estate 
one may find forest conditions similar to those of the South- 
ern States, exclusive of the coastal pine belt, of the Middle 
Atlantic States and of the northern New England States. 
Consequently Biltmore presents opportunities for study- 
ing and experimenting with a forest growth of a great 
variety, since so many different kinds of trees are contained 
within its limits. 
It is an interesting fact that Gifford Pinchot, the present 
head of the National Forest Service, began his first impor- 
tant work at Biltmore and originated the system which has 
since been carried out. He was succeeded by Dr. Carlos 
Schenck, a forest expert of international reputation, who, 
aided by Dr. Claude Howe, has developed the work on 
broad lines, so that to-day Biltmore is undoubtedly the best 
illustration of forest conservation which can be found in 
America, although it is entirely independent of national 
control. The men employed in the various activities are 
almost entirely mountain whites of the South, but have been 
trained so that they may be considered experts in the various 
occupations. Many of them have homes in the forests, and 
practically devote all of their time to the work. This not 
only includes the clearing of the underbrush, the planting 
and cultivation of seed beds, but nursery work of every kind, 
such as transplanting seedling trees and packing them for 
transportation, as a branch of the industry is a nursery from 
which the annual output averages two million young trees of 
species suitable for ornamental purposes and forest growth. 
Such has been the success in nursery work here that the prod- 
ucts have been shipped to many portions of the United 
States; and the tree nurseries alone cover one hundred acres. 
Only about fifteen thousand acres of Biltmore consist of 
open or clear land, the balance being more or less wooded, 
while the variety of the trees available for lumber is so great 
that the forests form a most important source of revenue in 
this respect. The Pisgah forest, as it is called from being 
located upon the foothills of this mountain, contains sixty- 
eight thousand acres alone, but forms only a small section of 
the area suitable for lumbering. Therefore, the lumber indus- 
try is one of the most important and extensive at Biltmore, 
while the methods of work have been noted for the economy 
in time and labor saving, so that the expense of felling and 
getting out trees and converting them into commercial tim- 
