Research in Forest 

 Regeneration 



Along with the need for 

 protection of southern 

 forests from fire, the problem 

 of restocking cutover and 

 burned pine lands was 

 likewise of critical impor- 

 tance for forest recovery. 

 But natural regeneration 

 was hindered by the lack of 

 seed sources in many areas, 

 by competition from hard- 

 woods, and in the case of 

 longleaf pine by free- 

 roaming hogs that de- 

 stroyed most seedlings. In 

 producing seedlings for 

 plantations, foresters faced 

 many questions of seed 

 source, nursery practice, 

 and ways of controlling 

 diseases such as brownspot 

 in longleaf pine and fusiform 

 rust in slash and loblolly 

 pines. 



Early studies on regenera- 

 tion of southern pines, 

 conducted by Phil Wakeley 

 and L.J. Pessin and cowork- 

 ers, were aimed at establish- 

 ing guides for selection of 

 nursery stock to be planted 

 in the field. Development of 

 productive tree nurseries, 

 tests of planting methods, 

 spacing studies, and deter- 

 mination of causes of 

 seedling mortality rounded 



out these early investiga- 

 tions. 



These initial reforestation 

 studies conducted by 

 researchers were overshad- 

 owed, according to Wakeley 

 (1964 unpubl.), by the 

 practical observations and 

 practices of F.O. Bateman, 

 chief ranger of the Great 

 Southern Lumber Company 

 at Bogalusa, LA, who 

 developed and directed a 

 company program of tree 

 planting and natural regen- 

 eration that proved to be 

 one of the most comprehen- 

 sive and successful refor- 

 estation programs of all 

 time. Also in Louisiana, 

 Henry Hardtner, president 

 of the Urania Lumber Com- 

 pany, pioneered practical 

 natural reforestation by the 

 simple yet effective steps of 

 protecting forests from 

 wildfire and by fencing 

 company lands against the 

 omnipresent razorback 

 hog, a scourge that out- 

 ranked fire in its ability to 

 destroy seedlings of longleaf 

 pine. Among other compa- 

 nies starting regeneration 

 programs in the earlier 

 years of this century were 

 the Crossett Lumber Com- 

 pany in Arkansas and the 



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