﻿8 
  WOBKING 
  PLAN 
  FOR 
  FOREST 
  LANDS 
  NEAR 
  PINE 
  BLUFF, 
  ARK. 
  

  

  East, 
  while 
  the 
  lower 
  grades 
  find 
  a 
  ready 
  market 
  in 
  the 
  Southwest. 
  

   There 
  is 
  every 
  reason 
  to 
  believe 
  that 
  this 
  demand 
  will 
  steadily 
  increase. 
  

  

  The 
  average 
  taxes 
  amount 
  to 
  about 
  118 
  per 
  $1,000 
  of 
  valuation, 
  or 
  

   1.8 
  per 
  cent. 
  As 
  yet 
  no 
  assessment 
  value 
  has 
  been 
  placed 
  on 
  cut-over 
  

   lands, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  expected 
  that 
  these 
  will 
  be 
  assessed 
  at 
  $1 
  per 
  acre. 
  

   This 
  is 
  much 
  too 
  high 
  and 
  plainly 
  unfair, 
  since 
  they 
  are 
  hard 
  to 
  sell 
  

   at 
  50 
  cents 
  per 
  acre. 
  Taxes 
  on 
  cut-over 
  lands 
  play 
  a 
  very 
  important 
  

   part 
  in 
  conservative 
  lumbering, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  hoped 
  that 
  every 
  effort 
  

   will 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  secure 
  just 
  and 
  fair 
  taxation. 
  

  

  An 
  excellent 
  system 
  of 
  transportation 
  is 
  already- 
  in 
  operation. 
  It 
  

   consists 
  of 
  a 
  main 
  line 
  of 
  railroad 
  with 
  radiating 
  branch 
  lines. 
  The 
  

   main 
  line, 
  of 
  which 
  12 
  miles 
  are 
  already 
  completed, 
  runs 
  from 
  the 
  

   mill 
  at 
  Pine 
  Bluff 
  through 
  the 
  center 
  of 
  operations 
  in 
  the 
  woods, 
  and 
  

   is 
  intended 
  to 
  serve 
  eventualby 
  as 
  a 
  freight 
  and 
  passenger 
  line 
  con- 
  

   necting 
  Pine 
  Bluff 
  with 
  Sheridan 
  and 
  Benton. 
  The 
  " 
  spurs,'' 
  or 
  

   branch 
  lines, 
  are 
  merely 
  temporary, 
  and 
  are 
  built 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  way 
  that 
  

   after 
  serving 
  their 
  purpose 
  by 
  transporting 
  to 
  the 
  main 
  line 
  the 
  tim- 
  

   ber 
  from 
  the 
  area 
  which 
  they 
  tap, 
  the 
  ties 
  and 
  rails 
  may 
  be 
  taken 
  up 
  

   and 
  laid 
  again 
  through 
  that 
  next 
  to 
  be 
  logged. 
  

  

  In 
  this 
  way 
  the 
  logs 
  are 
  transported 
  by 
  rail 
  direct 
  to 
  the 
  mill. 
  This 
  

   system 
  has 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  best 
  one 
  under 
  the 
  local 
  conditions. 
  

  

  LUMBERING. 
  

  

  The 
  lumbering 
  done 
  upon 
  the 
  tract 
  previous 
  to 
  its 
  purchase 
  by 
  the 
  

   Sawyer 
  & 
  Austin 
  Lumber 
  Company 
  was 
  insignificant. 
  Only 
  over 
  

   veiy 
  small 
  areas 
  in 
  the 
  hardwood 
  bottom 
  lands 
  Cow 
  Oak 
  and 
  "White 
  

   Oak 
  had 
  been 
  cut 
  for 
  staves, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  pine 
  lands 
  little 
  patches 
  here 
  

   and 
  there 
  were 
  thinned 
  out 
  long 
  ago 
  for 
  the 
  small 
  mills. 
  In 
  the 
  

   spring 
  of 
  1900 
  the 
  company 
  began 
  lumbering 
  about 
  10 
  miles 
  from 
  

   Pine 
  Bluff, 
  and 
  cuttings 
  have 
  since 
  continued 
  steadily. 
  It 
  is 
  now 
  

   intended 
  to 
  cany 
  on 
  the 
  lumbering 
  both 
  winter 
  and 
  summer 
  until 
  the 
  

   whole 
  tract 
  of 
  100,000 
  acres 
  has 
  been 
  cut 
  over. 
  

  

  Following 
  the 
  recommendations 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Griffith, 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  

   Forestry, 
  who 
  made 
  the 
  preliminary 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  tract, 
  pine 
  is 
  

   now 
  being 
  cut 
  to 
  a 
  diameter 
  limit 
  of 
  18 
  inches 
  on 
  the 
  stump. 
  The 
  

   trees 
  are 
  cut 
  at 
  about 
  18 
  inches 
  from 
  the 
  ground, 
  and 
  the 
  last 
  log-cut 
  

   is 
  made 
  well 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  crown, 
  generally 
  at 
  a 
  diameter 
  of 
  about 
  14 
  

   inches. 
  As 
  the 
  hardwood 
  trees 
  growing 
  in 
  mixture 
  with 
  the 
  pine 
  are 
  

   of 
  inferior 
  quality, 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  very 
  rarely 
  that 
  one 
  is 
  felled. 
  Lumber- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  the 
  hardwoods 
  on 
  the 
  bottom 
  lands 
  has 
  not 
  as 
  yet 
  been 
  begun. 
  

  

  The 
  logs 
  are 
  either 
  snaked 
  or 
  hauled 
  to 
  the 
  railroad 
  by 
  horses, 
  or 
  

   skidded 
  to 
  the 
  tracks 
  and 
  loaded 
  upon 
  cars 
  by 
  a 
  steam 
  skidder, 
  the 
  

   latter 
  method 
  having 
  so 
  far 
  proved 
  cheaper 
  and 
  fairly 
  satisfactory. 
  

   (See 
  PI. 
  IX, 
  fig. 
  2.) 
  The 
  company's 
  mill 
  at 
  Pine 
  Bluff 
  is 
  expected 
  to 
  

   saw 
  annually 
  from 
  40,000,000 
  to 
  50,000,000 
  feet 
  of 
  lumber. 
  

  

  