stores was first carried on; rosin, tar, and pitch figured in early colonial times among the most important articles of export. In consequence, the forests of the Longleaf Pine have been, with but slight exceptions, invaded by turpentine orcharding, and at the present time by far the greater part of the timber standing has been tapped for its resin. The forests of the Longleaf Pine in this State cover the largest area in the basin of Cape Fear River, with Wilmington the main port of export for their products. The export from this port had increased from 21,000,000 feet of lumber in 1880, to nearly 40,000,000 annually, on the average, for the years 1887 to 1891.

The forests of the Longleaf Pine on the banks of the Neuse River, in Johnston County and in Wayne County, are almost exhausted; less than 40 per cent of the timber sawn at Goldsboro and Dover is Longleaf Pine timber from that section, and is invariably bled. A considerable number of the trees from the old turpentine orchards, with the excoriated surface of the trunk ("chip") over 25 feet in length and bled again after a lapse of years, show that they have been worked for their resin for twenty to twenty-four years in succession, and after a longer or shorter period of rest have been subjected to the same treatment continually for the same number of years. Such old martyrs of the turpentine orchard are unfit for lumber, but, impregnated as they are with resin, are used for piling and for posts of great durability.

East of the Neuse River, from the upper part of Johnston County, in an almost southern direction to Newbern, no Longleaf Pine has been observed. Single trees of the Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) have been found scattered among the growth of deciduous trees which cover the ridges between the Trent and Neuse rivers, and isolated tracts of a few acres of the Longleaf species are met with in the low flats of the same section, which were in 1894 almost exclusively occupied by the Loblolly Pine.

As reported for the Tenth Census, the amount of Longleaf Pine standing in North Carolina at the beginning of the census year was estimated to be 5,229,000,000 feet, board measure. No reliable information could be obtained as to the amount of timber cut since 1880, consequently no data are at hand from which to compute the amount now standing. The cut for the year 1880 is given in the census report at 108,400,000 feet, board measure. In 1890, eighteen mills were enumerated as engaged in sawing exclusively Longleaf Pine timber, almost all situated in the basin of Cape Fear River, with a daily aggregate capacity of 475,000 feet, board measure. Such capacity would point to an annual cut of at least 65,000,000 feet, board measure.

Statement of shipments of lumber to foreign and domestic ports from Wilmington, N. C.

South Carolina.-The forests of Longleaf Pine in this State follow more closely the coast line, with an extension inland averaging 100 miles. The lower parts of the pine belt, or the Savannah region, low and flat, rising but slowly above the brackish marshes and alluvial lands bordering the sea. Traversed by eight large rivers with wide estuaries and bordered by extensive swamps of Cypress, Magnolia, Red and White Bay, Laurel Oak, etc., its area has been estimated to be 7,000 square miles, 4,500 square miles of which are occupied by swamp lands, including the grassy marshes on the coast. In the low, perfectly level pine barrens, with a soil of fine, compacted, almost impervious sand, covered with the Saw Palmetto, the Pond Pine, and a stunted growth of the Cuban and Loblolly Pine, the Longleaf Pine is rarely seen, and always of dwarfed growth. In the flat woods bordering the alluvial swamps, heavily timbered with Loblolly and Cuban Pine, the Longleaf Pine makes its appearance more frequently, and finally prevails almost exclusively on the broad, dry, sandy ridges, associated with the Barren or Turkey Oak (Quercus catesbæi), stunted Spanish Oak, and Upland Willow Oak (Quercus cinerea), trees of smaller size forming the undergrowth. The timber growth on these ridges is rather open and of good quality. As has been observed near Ridgeland, in the counties of Beaufort and Hampton, the forests have to a large extent given way to the plow, and along the railroads they have been destroyed by turpentine orcharding. Upon 1 acre, representing fairly the original timber growth of the forests on these ridges, 48 trees of a diameter of from 12 to 24 inches at breast high, with a height of from 50 to 110 feet, were found. Of these, 4 yielded sticks of clear timber averaging 45 feet in length with mean diameter of 18 inches, equal to 2,000 feet, board measure, of first-class lumber. These trees varied in age from 136 to 145 years; 8 trees yielded sticks of timber free from limbs 40 feet in length with mean diameter of 17 inches, equal to 3,200 feet, board measure, age on the average 140 years; 12 trees yielded 35 feet length of clear timber with mean diameter of 16 inches, equal to 3,600 feat of merchantable lumber, age from 130 to 136 years; 8 trees averaged 12 inches mean diameter, length of timber 30 feet, equal to 950 feet, board measure, age from 110 to 118 years; 4 trees averaged 10 inches mean diameter, length of clear timber 24 feet, wood sappy throughout, yielding 200 feet of lumber, age from 80 to 85 years.

The total yield of merchantable lumber of this acre would be 9,950 feet, board measure, representing the average of the better quality of these timber lands. As in the adjoining States, the forests along the railroad lines for a wide distance have been subjected to turpentine orcharding, and but a small percentage of the timber standing has escaped the ax of the "box" cutter. The receipts of naval stores at Charleston during the ten years from 1880 to 1890 averaged annually 57,570 casks (50 gallons to a cask) of spirits of turpentine and 225,920 barrels of rosin, with the largest receipts in 1880 of 60,000 casks of spirits of turpentine and 259,940 barrels of rosin, and the smallest of 40,253 casks of spirits in 1888, and 149,348 barrels of rosin in 1889.

Tabular statement of the shipments of naval stores at Charleston, S. C., from the beginning of 1880 to the close of the year 1894. [From the annual statements of the commerce of Charleston, S. C., published in the Charleston Courier.*]

The rolling pine hills bordering upon the flat woods, or swamps, reach elevations of 130 to 250 feet above the sea, with a width of from 20 to 40 miles, and, as on the pine ridges of the low pine barrens mentioned before, the upland oaks form the sparse undergrowth in the forests of Longleaf Pine. Nearly one-third of the area (estimated at about 4,500 square miles) has been opened to cultivation. These rolling pine lands rise on their northern borders abruptly to a range of steep hills over 600 feet above sea level, covered with a rather scanty growth of Longleaf 7092-No. 13- -3

Pine among the Shortleaf Pine and fine upland oaks, the latter largely prevailing. On the south and west these hills merge into an elevated plateau with a loose soil of coarse white sand. Here the Longleaf Pine is found in its full perfection and furnishes timber of excellent quality.1 About 12 per cent of these pine-clad table-lands are under cultivation, and about 22 per cent of the hills, with their generous red soil, are covered with a mixed growth of pine and oak; both of these divisions cover an area of not less than 4,000 square miles.2

The Longleaf Pine timber standing in South Carolina in the census year 1880 was estimated at 5,316,000,000 feet, board measure, with an annual cut of 124,000,000 feet.

In 1890 forty mills sawing exclusively Longleaf Pine timber have been reported with an aggregate daily capacity of about 510,000 feet, taken at the lowest figure. This would indicate for that year a cut of 68,000,000 feet, board measure, which may also be considered the average annual cut for the last fifteen years.

The exports of lumber from Charleston, the chief port, have since the year 1880 steadily increased, the excess in 1890 over the amount in 1880 reaching over 400 per cent, as is exhibited in the following statement:

Statement of lumber exported from Charleston, S. C., to foreign and domestic ports from the beginning of 1880 to the close

Georgia. The great pine State of the South, which has given to the Longleaf Pine the name of Georgia Pine, by which this lumber is known the world over, embraces the largest of the Atlantic pine forests. At a rough estimate, these cover over 19,000 square miles, including the narrow strip of live-oak lands bordering the seashore. The flat woods and savannas of the coast plain are from 10 to 15 miles wide. They are almost entirely stripped of their growth of Longleaf Pine. The upland pine forests, the pine barrens proper, or wire-grass region, embrace over 17,000 square miles. This region forms a vast plain, nearly level except on the north, covered exclusively with Longleaf Pine. About 20 per cent of these lands have been cleared for cultivation.

Formerly the principal sites of the lumber industry were Darien, Brunswick, and Savannah. The logs were rafted hundreds of miles down the Savannah, the Ogeechee, the Altamaha and its large tributaries, the Oconee and Ocmulgee. A limited quantity is carried down the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers to Apalachicola. The railroads, however, supply the mills now to the largest extent.

The forests of these pine uplands are in quality, and originally in quantity, of their timber resources equal to any found east of the Mississippi River. The soil is a loose sand, underlaid by a more or less sandy buff-colored or reddish loam. The almost level or gently undulating plain becomes slightly broken along the water courses, and the forests of Longleaf Pine are interrupted by wide, swampy bottoms which inclose the streams and are heavily timbered with the Loblolly Pine, Cuban Pine, Laurel Oak, Water Oak, Magnolia, White and Red Bay, and Cypress. On the better class of the pine-timber lands the amount of marketable timber found varies between 3,000 and 10,000 feet to the acre. The trees yielding lumber and square-sawn timber of the highest

1 Kirk Hammond, Census Report, Vol. VI, Cotton production of South Carolina.

2 Hammond, 1 c.

3 Report of Tenth Census, Vol. IX.

4 Lumber Trade Directory, Northwestern Lumberman, Chicago, July, 1890.

5 From the so-called wire-grass Aristida stricta, the most characteristic plant of the dry, sandy, pine barrens from western Alabama to the Atlantic coast.

grade were found to make sticks of from 40 to 45 feet long, perfectly clear of limb knots, and 18 to 22 inches mean diameter, giving from 450 to 750 feet of lumber, with the sapwood from 13 to 2 inches wide.

The following measurements of trees from a small tract of forest untouched by the ax serve as a fair average sample of its timber growth:

Along the numerous railroad lines and the navigable streams and their tributaries admitting of the driving of logs, the forests have been completely stripped of their merchantable timber, and the denuded areas to a considerable extent are at present under cultivation. The magnificent forests on the Altahama River and between its tributaries, the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers, and also on the Ogeechee River, have been practically exhausted and are utterly devastated by the tapping of the trees for turpentine. In fact, more than two-thirds of all the timber sawn at present has been bled. The timber from the turpentine orchards, abandoned for years past, is being rapidly removed to the mills, and the vast areas occupied by them will, within a short time, be almost completely denuded of the Longleaf Pine, its place being taken by scrubby oaks, dwarf hickories, and Persimmon. The timber is transferred to the mills mostly by steam-equipped tramroads, and the products of the turpentine distilleries in the remoter districts are hauled to the highways of commerce by ox teams for distances of 12 miles and over.

Considering the removal for their timber of trees far below medium size and during the best period of their growth, the destruction of still younger trees by turpentine orcharding, and ot the young seedlings by fire, the prospect for the future of the lumber industry and the renewal of the forests of Longleaf Pine in this region are gloomy. Many of the intelligent men practically interested in the timber lands of this State aver that the exhaustion of the forests of the Longleaf Pine is a question of but a short space of time, to be accomplished before another generation has passed.

The amount of timber standing at the end of the census year 1880 had been computed at 16,778,000,000 feet, board measure, and the cut at 272,743,000 feet.

From the publication quoted, it appears that in the year 1890 there were 88 sawmills in operation in the great pine belt of Georgia, sawing exclusively Longleaf Pine timber. On the basis of lowest figures cited, the daily cut at these establishments during that year would not fall short of 1,667,000 feet, indicating an annual cut of over 400,000,000 feet.

No statistical returns of the lumber trade previous to 1884 could be obtained at Savannah, Darien, or Brunswick. The export from the first of these ports averaged about 73,000,000 feet, board measure, a year, showing but slight fluctuation during the period beginning with 1884 to the close of 1889, when in the subsequent two years the annual average increased to 118,000,000 feet, board measure. The exports from Darien and Brunswick, averaging 82,000,000 and 85,000,000 feet, respectively, for a similar period of time, show also but small differences from one year to another. About 30,000,000 to 33,000,000 feet are rafted down the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers, to be sawn at Apalachicola. With the spread of the sawmills along the railroad lines in the upper part of the pine region, the shipments of lumber by rail to distant Northern markets increased steadily, until in 1892 it was found that the production of Longleaf Pine lumber shipped by rail to Northern markets exceeded 60,000,000 feet.

Tabular statement of exports of lumber from Savannah, Darien, Brunswick, and St. Marys to foreign and domestic ports and shipments by railroad to inland markets from 1883-84 to 1893-94.

This makes a grand total for the ten years ended 1894 of 2,836,000,000 feet, board measure, with an aggregate value, at present export rates ($11 per 1,000 feet), of at least $31,196,000. In the production of naval stores Georgia takes the lead. By the statements of the census of 1870, only 3,208 casks of spirits of turpentine and 13,840 barrels of rosin, valued at $95,970, were produced during that year in the State. In the course of the following ten years this industry progressed steadily and rapidly. In 1888 exports from Savannah, at present the greatest market in the world for these products, had increased to 168,000 casks of spirits of turpentine and 654,000 barrels of rosin, of a total value of $3,880,000.

Statement of exports of naval stores from Savannah during the years 1880-1894.

The highest prices for these stores in Savannah were obtained in 1880, with $19.50 per cask of 50 gallons for spirits of turpentine and $2.25 per barrel of rosin of 280 pounds gross; and the lowest in 1887-88, with the price of spirits of turpentine at $14.25 per cask and $1.40 per barrel of rosin. On close scrutiny of the prices ruling at Wilmington, for the eleven years after 1880 the price of a cask of spirits of turpentine averaged $18 and of a barrel of rosin $1.90, lowest grades of the latter excluded.

Florida. That part of the State between the Suwanee River and the Atlantic Coast, as far south as St. Augustine, can be considered as part of the Atlantic pine region, and covers an area of about 4,700 square miles. In the basin of the St. Johns River a large part of the land has been devoted to the cultivation of the citrus fruits. The principal sites of the manufacture of lumber in this section of the State are Ellaville, in Madison County, on the Suwanee River, and Jacksonville. The supplies once existing along the Cedar Keys and Fernandina Railroad are at present well nigh exhausted. South of St. Augustine the Longleaf Pine is less common and in general inferior in size. The timber on the extensive flat woods to the Everglades, covered with the Saw Palmetto, is stunted and the forests are very open, and in the more fertile soils Longleaf Pine is largely replaced by Cuban Pine. In the central section of the peninsula, with its numerous lakes, the Longleaf Pine is often associated with the Sand Pine (Pinus clausa), and hard woods. prevail on the upland hummock lands.

THE MARITIME PINE BELT OF THE EASTERN GULF REGION.

From the banks of the Suwanee River to the uplands bordering the alluvial lands of the Mississippi this pine belt, varying from 90 to 125 miles in width, covers an area roughly estimated