72 



The Forests of Maryland. 



of less thau this ; pine stands of 5,000 feet upward occupy 5,243 acres, 

 less than this, 13,609 acres ; while mixed stands of pine and hardwood 

 are all below 5,000 feet, and occur on 79,790 acres of land. 



Uses of the Forest. 



The past ten years have brought a new forest industry to Charles 

 County in the sale of scrub pine for pulpwood. Previous to this, the 

 stands of pine were justly considered to be of small value, but now 

 Charles is the one county in the State to have the amount and value of 

 some other forest product exceed that of lumber. In 1914, 30 sawmills 

 and the many more individual timber operators produced a total cut 

 of 5,838,080 cubic feet, with a value of $484,866. Of this, $318,000 

 represented the pulpwood cut. with lumber next, then railroad ties, 

 for which there exists a considerable demand, piling, mine props, 

 poles, cordwood, shingles, veneer woods, charcoal, posts and lath. 

 Small portable mills are chiefly responsible for the lumber cut, many 

 operating as such in the winter, and being used in summer for thresh- 

 ing. The timber industry locally is closely confined to the producers, 

 with no manufacturing worthy of comment. There are 30 miles of 

 railway lines in Charles County, but aside from the stands of timber 

 eloselj' adjoining these lines it is difficult to make very long hauls at a 

 profit. Traffic over the ordinary country road in winter is apt to be 

 difficult, but of late several State highways have been completed 

 which make parts of the county not on a railroad much more accessi- 

 ble. In addition, the Patuxent is navigable far above Benedict, in 

 Charles County, while on the Potomac there are several steamboat 

 lines which touch at local landings. 



The future of forestry in the county is uncertain. The large bodies 

 of arable land which reverted to forest as a result of economic condi- 

 tions following the Civil "War are still in forest. There is, however, 

 the strong feeling that much of this land will in time be again cleared 

 for agricultural crops. Such unstable conditions seriously interfere 

 with systematic forest jiianagement ; most of the owners are inclined 

 to cut all merchantable material regardless of the future, and in con- 

 sequence there is a very large percentage of severely culled forests of 

 low production. 



A decided change in policy is needed to secure the best results. It 

 should be the object of the woodland owner to handle his property 

 for successful timber crops by leaving after each cutting a sufficient 

 amount of young growing stock to insure another cut in fifteen or 

 twenty years, except in the ease of pine stands, where clear cutting 

 is usually best. 



