6 WORKING PLAN, FOREST LANDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 
which is too distant or too difficult of access to be lumbered at a profit, 
while trees formerly considered unmerchantable are now accepted 
eagerly as substitutes for the Longleaf Pine. While the effect of 
these conditions will probably be to postpone for a short time the 
complete exhaustion of the pine, and while the exploitation of the | 
o, will extend the 
>? 
hardwoods in the swamps, at present just beginnin 
period of lumbering operations, the end of the supply of first-growth 
timber in the coast region is plainly in sight. 
Forestry can accomplish two things in this region: By conservative 
lumbering of the remaining forests it can avoid the utter destruction 
which has marked the lumbering of the Longleaf Pine; by protection 
from fire it can restore the productive power of the denudet Longleaf 
Pine lands. 
THE TRACT. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRACT. 
The lands of the Okeetee Gun Club are situated in Beaufort and 
Hampton counties, S. C., about 30 miles northeast of Savannah. 
They comprise an area of approximately 60,000 acres. The tract, a 
map of which is shown at Plate XIII, is broken by interior holdings 
of about 4,660 acres. Consolidation of the club land, exceedingly 
desirable for the preservation and proper management of the wood- 
lands, is the policy of the club to a limited extent only. The tract 
was purchased for the purposes of a gun club and for the preservation 
of quail. A certain number of fields in bird food is necessary, and 
the surest and cheapest way of securing them is by arrangement with 
residents living on their own little places. 
The lands are crossed by the Southern Railroad and the Charleston 
and Savannah division of the Atlantic Coast Line system. These 
lines connect at Hardeeville. | 
The topography is monotonous. Low, flat sand plains, bordered 
by broad swamps along the streams and brooks, are characteristic 
features. From an altitude of about 30 feet at the highest point the 
land slopes almost imperceptibly west and south. Drainage is into 
the Savannah River, and, through the Great Swamp, directly into the 
salt marshes of the Atlantic coast. Many portions of the tract are 
subject to frequent overflow. 
The soil is sand of varying depth over clay hardpan. 
PAST OWNERSHIP AND TREATMENT. 
The character of the present forest has been greatly influenced by 
the past treatment of the many private holdings into which the tract | 
was cut before its purchase by the Okeetee Gun Club. Most impor- | 
tant among the determining influences to which its character is due 
are agriculture, lumbering, turpentine gathering, and fire. 




