10 



PREFACE. 



average lumberman has but one purpose in the prosecution of his 

 work : the removal of the valuable timber. It rarely happens that 

 the owner, himself, seriously considers the future welfare of 

 his forests; and, indeed, the opinion seems to be prevalent in the 

 public mind that when the valuable timber has been once removed 

 from a forest the forest itself no longer has a value, and may as 

 well be cleared away so that the soil can be cultivated; or, if it is 

 allowed to remain, it is usually made to serve as a range for cattle, 

 and is thought to answer this purpose best when burned through 

 by the forest fires every autumn or spring. 



The policy of the average citizen appears to be based upon the 

 theory that our natural resources are inexhaustible, and that we 

 should get all out of them we can to-day and let the future take 

 care of itself. And so thoroughly grounded ara these notions in 

 our public and private policy that it is exceedingly difficult to 

 secure the adoption of any plan which runs counter to them. But 

 fortunately, in the matter of our forests, their preservation for use 

 by a future generation need not prohibit the utilization of the 

 valuable timber now standing by the present generation. It only 

 demands that while we cut and make use of this timber we protect 

 the young growth, and look to the restocking of our waste lands 

 with valuable trees, and thus make the forest valuable for future 

 generations also. 



The examinations of the forests in Eastern North Carolina were 

 begun by the present writer several years ago. More extended 

 investigations have been carried on by Mr. W. W. Ashe at intervals 

 during the past two years. The larger part of the information 

 embodied in the present report was collected by him during a series 

 of extended trips made through the eastern counties during the 

 autumn of 1893 and the following winter. As shown in the body 

 of this Report, the approximate supply of pine timber now stand- 

 ing in Eastern North Carolina is about 8,200,000,000 feet, and this 

 is being cut at the rate of about 450,000,000 feet per annum. These 

 figures point in unmistakable terms to the fact that, unless mean- 

 while we encourage the growth of new trees, two decades more 

 will find the valuable pine forests of this region largely a thing of 

 the past. And it is unfortunately true that the cutting of this tim- 

 ber is often followed by the destruction of the forest. ■ 



