28 Wood-using industries of Arkansas. 



years ago, and the Forest boundaries follow the legal subdivisions. 

 About 70 per cent of the Forest has been covered by the United States 

 Geological Survey. The Forest Service is making additional topo- 

 graphic maps for its own use and for the convenience of prospective 

 purchasers. Fifty-foot contours will be shown, together with streams, 

 roads, and estimates of timber. 



The Ozark Forest contains 963,500 acres, all but 33,710 of which 

 are woodland. However, only about half of the land included within 

 the Forest boundaries belongs to the Government, the other half 

 having been alienated by homesteads, mining claims, timber and 

 stone claims, and railroad grants. The timber belonging to the 

 Government is so situated as to be available for large and small 

 lumbering units. 



The topography of the Forest is characterized by numerous irregular, 

 low, but well-defined ridges which radiate from the central mass in a 

 generally north and south direction like spider legs. There are 

 numerous high peaks, bluffs, limestone precipices, benches, and 

 cliffs. The valleys are usually narrow, except at their outlets, and 

 the larger ones have been cleared for farms to quite an extent. The 

 ridges are sufficiently wide and flat in places to attract the farmer, 

 and along these also are the best roads. Altitudes vary from 500 to 

 2,100 feet above sea level. 



About 60 per cent of the timber in the Forest is at present accessible 

 to railroads. With the building of a line now projected from St. 

 Louis to Fort Smith, however, all will be accessible. Public high- 

 ways over which material may be hauled to the railroads now exist, 

 though some would need repairs. Work of that kind is done by the 

 counties. 



Five railroads are now within reach of the Forest : The White River 

 branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, on the east, 

 connecting Carthage, Mo., and Newport, Ark.; the Missouri & North 

 Arkansas, following the Little Red River through the central part of 

 the Forest, joining Joplin, Mo., and Helena, Ark.; the St. Louis, Iron 

 Mountain & Southern, on the south, running between Fort Smith and 

 Little Rock; the Frisco, on the extreme west; and the St. Paul branch 

 of the Frisco, joining Pettigrew and Fayetteville. 



The somewhat broken topography of the region makes the construc- 

 tion of tramroads rather expensive. One tramway has been built 

 into the Forest region a short distance from Leslie. 



The freight rates per hundredweight on lumber from Leslie, which 

 is a central shipping point for the Forest, are approximately as follows : 



To Kansas City, Mo . $0. 14 



To St. Louis, Mo 14 



To Memphis, Tenn 12 



To Chicago, 111 24 



To Little Rock, Ark 11 



