FOREST CONSERVATION IN SOUTHERN PINE REGION. dD 
acres had been burnt over. This reduction was granted by the county com- 
missioners. The county therefore lost several dollars in taxes every year 
from that one fire, besides the much more serious loss sustained by the farmer. 
In North Carolina the destruction of mature timber is only a small part of 
the fire damage, because the usual surface fires, unless occurring late in the 
spring, do not kill the larger trees. For this reason the value of the reproduc- 
tion and young growth destroyed necessarily assumes large proportions. 
And further concerning the total loss: 
The very serious annual loss from forest fires can perhaps best be brought 
out by a comparison. The average loss from fires in North Carolina for the past 
five years has been about $650,000 a year. This is equivalent to a tax levy of 
36 cents on the $100 on all the land in the State, or a tax of 13 cents on the 
$100 on all property, real and personal, now listed for taxation. How quickly 
would this fire tax be done away with if it Game in the form of a regular tax 
levy! Yet the fire tax is paid year after year by the people of North Carolina 
without a murmur. One or two per cent of the amount lost, if properly spent 
by the State, would reduce the fire damage one-half the first year, and not only 
save much valuable property belonging to our citizens, but insure the future 
well-being of the State. 
With the North Carolina figures as a basis, the average yearly 
damage from forest fires in all of the States of the southern pine 
region may be estimated as 3,500,000 acres burned over, with a money 
loss of $6,500,000. If to this were added the losses from soil deteri- 
oration and floods, the damage would be far greater. 
Damage to the forests in this region is confined principally to the 
young growth. This is especially noticeable on the cut-over long- 
leaf pine lands, which are burned over every spring and fall and 
so kept in a practically barren and waste condition. Except on the 
bottom lands, damage of this character prevails in all the forests and 
is generally severe. 
Some of the cut-over lands will undoubtedly be devoted to agri- 
culture, but in the meantime fire and erosion are robbing them of 
valuable chemical and physical elements. Should they be kept in 
trees aS a means of retaining their fertility until demanded for culti- 
vation, their value will certainly be higher than if they are allowed 
to deteriorate through neglect. This is especially true of the less 
valuable agricultural areas. 
In many places the disposal of cut-over pine lands for farming 
purposes will go on very slowly. A merchantable crop of longleaf 
pine trees for pulpwood can be grown naturally in 30 years if pro- 
tected from fire. Commercial shortleaf and loblolly pines can 
be grown in even a shorter time. Consequently, a real opportunity 
is presented of utilizing the cut-over areas profitably while awaiting 
the time for their agricultural development. 
Besides the cut-over lands suitable for agriculture, there are large 
areas valuable chiefly for the production of timber. Land should, 
