type in Newton, Jasper, Angelina, and Tyler 

 Counties, are virtually denuded of trees, as a result 

 of the skidder logging of past decades. Large 

 areas of second-growth stands contain a heavy pro- 

 portion of hardwood species that may never 

 produce the high-grade lumber now required by 

 the hardwood-lumber industry. While the average 

 timber stand, all types and conditions combined, 

 contains 2,900 board feet per acre, there are many 

 scattered areas throughout the unit in which the 

 density of stocking varies from far above to far 

 below the average. Over extensive areas of second 

 growth, for instance, in the "Big Thicket" of 

 Hardin and Liberty Counties, the stands are too 

 dense and would be greatly improved by the 

 removal of surplus trees. Because they are so 

 largely second growth, the stands are generally 

 deficient in large trees that produce high-grade 

 lumber, and this situation has a strong tendency 

 to become more marked and widespread as the 

 saw-mills depend more and more on second 

 growth and as pulp mills begin to compete for 

 small timber. 



To remedy these conditions, the first essential is 

 effective protection from fire over the entire forest 

 area. If fires are prevented, the number of trees 

 per acre will increase, mortality will be materially 

 reduced, and the loss in volume and quality on 

 standing trees will be greatly decreased. Fire 

 protection on the cut-over longleaf pinelands will 

 result in the natural restocking of a part of the 

 area, thus reducing the area that must be artifi- 

 cially restocked through planting. 



Another essential step is the removal of cull trees, 

 trees of inferior species, and surplus stems (in over- 

 crowded stands). In order to preserve or improve 

 the present balance between hardwood and pine 

 in several of the widely prevalent forest types, some 

 means must be found for removing and utilizing, if 

 possible, the hardwood as well as the pine. If this 

 is not done, great areas now predominantly pine 

 may become predominantly hardwood in the 

 course of a few decades. Broadly speaking, the 



introduction of measures to correct the present 

 deficiencies in the stands will depend very largely 

 upon the opportunity to market low-grade all- 

 size material, both pine and hardwood. With the 

 promise of a growing demand for this class of mate- 

 rial, more intensive handling of the stands seems 

 to be justified. 



It is not expected that the improvement in forest 

 practices outlined here will be instituted through- 

 out the area immediately. There are, however, a 

 considerable number of individual timber owners 

 with a large aggregate acreage who can profitably 

 put their timberlands under full fire protection 

 and engage in sustained-yield operations based 

 upon selective cutting and integrated utilization. 

 Also the several National and State forests within 

 the unit should demonstrate to private owners the 

 best methods of handling their forest property. 

 Public ownership and management seem the logi- 

 cal solution in the larger blocks of denuded long- 

 leaf pineland, where at least 150,000 acres probably 

 will have to be planted if they are to be restored 

 to productivity within a reasonable time. Much 

 study and experimentation in silviculture, in utili- 

 zation, and in marketing are required to solve the 

 many problems of forest management, and these 

 researches should be started at once and vigorously 

 carried forward as a distinct project of the United 

 States Forest Service, 2 in a number of small experi- 

 mental forests suitably located in the several major 

 forest types. . 



The growing awareness of the people of Texas 

 that the forest resource must play an important 

 part in the future development of the State augurs 

 well. Timber owners in southeastern Texas should 

 likewise appreciate that realizable profits are ahead 

 for those who manage their properties with con- 

 scious intent to grow consecutive crops of timber 

 on the same land, since this section ranks among 

 the best in the South in opportunities for prac- 

 ticing sustained-yield forestry for profit. 



2 The logical place for such a project would be the South- 

 ern Forest Experiment Station. 



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