FOREST CONDITIONS IN LOUISIANA. 



PURPOSE OF THE BULLETIN. 



Among the States, Louisiana is peculiarly rich in forest resources. 

 In the production of lumber she ranks second, and in quantity of 

 standing timber is surpassed only by the Pacific Coast States and 

 Idaho. Yet, should the present rate of cutting be maintained, the 

 virgin stands of cypress, pine, and hardwoods must entirely disap- 

 pear within 30 years. Without doubt, much of the land cleared of 

 timber would be put to agriculture, but the forest is being removed 

 much faster than agricultural development is taking place, and even 

 in the end there will still remain many thousands of acres better 

 suited to the growing of timber than to the production of crops. 

 Cut-over lands, especially the pineries, offer an exceptional oppor- 

 tunity of solving the question of a future timber supply. The 

 immense potential value to the State of young forest growth is 

 coming to be realized. With efficient protection of this young 

 growth, and better utilization of the present commercial stands, the 

 forests of Louisiana, even in the face of a much greater agricultural 

 development than now, should remain an important source of wealth. 



The purpose of this bulletin is to describe the present forest con- 

 ditions in Louisiana, discuss the problems which must be met in con- 

 nection with them, and tell of the progress already made in the estab- 

 lishment of a sound forest policy for the State. 



PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE STATE. 



More than 23,000 square miles, or about one-half of Louisiana, is 

 alluvial land formed by the Mississippi and Red Rivers, the chief 

 drainage channels of the State, which have carried down from their 

 upper courses -and deposited over this vast region a soil exceedingly 

 fertile. In the southwestern part of the State is a great prairie 

 region, the result of the almost complete erosion of the bluffs which 

 once bordered the alluvial lands on the west side of the Mississippi. 

 Bluff deposits still exist, particularly on the east side, though they 

 have eroded nearly to the general level of the surrounding country. 

 In the central portion of the State is the pine region, a rolling and 

 generally well-drained area, where the rock formations are covered 



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