UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
=N, BULLETIN No. 272 Mee 
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a HENRY S. GRAVES, Forester 
Contribution from the Forest Service 
Washington, D. C. Vv September 27, 1915 
THE SOUTHERN CYPRESS.! 
By WILBUR Re Mattoon, Forest Examiner. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. Page 
IM POLLAN CORE see eee eet oe as sence acm iaie 1 | Life history of the tree—Continued. 
Geographical and commercial range........- 2 Growth eee Sees is Fee eM Stes C 39 
Present supply and annual cut........_..... Sil Cy PRESS Stal See eee eee eer 46 
ETOMELELIES OmUNenOOd ee eras = yar eee 6 Rube stands tae ce oa se sess se ees 46 
Wises sees ee Se ee es ee ee RUE 10 IMixedistands esses eee k ae my or ene 46 
ROypress lumberin py 255s ieee Se 11 RYO UCR ie es an ge SO ee I ele 48 
Mari cebSrara dip niCeSm tape es hyie aly see pagan IV/-s eH OKEStamana ge mre nibs s/o. ise Rallies evar ais 50 
SHTUUOE OR YD) NG ela Se INN Era oh ee ote 0 18 Utilization of cypress lands .-......-.--- 50 
ile has tory Ob One tree. 202) a ec ee 19 Aim and method of management. .-.-.-... 54 
iBolamicalbtormst: psa ss) 4\a sneer ee 19 Profitableness of management..........- 54 
WCCurrenee te a2. eka Ne eee ae 20 Treatment of virgin stands.........--..- 60 
INDO. SIZC Onm Wablcn LEA Vesa ene). is ay 23,24 Cul-Ovier CyPress areas(— 2 7so2osee ance e ou: 62 
TQHOLONBASHYASU STOO Se Ee a AS See OE a 24 Careolyoune stands: 2522 4ae- hee eee 62 
UC PEOGUCHOM ne seca y ee ee 29 Planting and sowing cypress....------.- 64 
Chimateramdssoilye. i As  e e  sek SAS ECA DCM CiKees ei. Seiya even erline Ne eee Nie 70 
Aa (BBE ia Ne el a a lel y Wi epee gure ela eet 36 Volume and taper tables................ 70-74 
IMPORTANCE. 
In the amount of lumber produced in 1913 cypress ranked sixth 
of the conifers or softwoods. On account of the durability of the 
heartwood and its moderate softness, which makes it easily worked, : 
cypress is a wood of high intrinsic value. Cypress trees not un- 
commonly reach an age of over a thousand years, a height of from 
120 to 130 feet, and a diameter above the basal swell of from 8 to 
10 feet. Cypress is very persistent in growth, and is one of the few 
conifers which successfully sprouts from the stump. 
Cypress is restricted in its natural occurrence to deep, rich swamp 
lands. The problem of bringing it under forest management is there- 
fore intimately related to that of reclaiming swamp land on an ex- 
tensive scale by drainage. Though preeminently a tree of the swamp, 
when planted it thrives in as wide a range of climate and soil as 
1 Southern cypress (Tazodium distichum Rich.), of the southeastern United States is known among 
botanists as “bald” cypress because in contrast to most conifers, which are evergreen, it sheds its leaves 
annually. 
96612°—Bull. 272—15——1 
