Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1857-10-02
The yellow Pine Forest Of ~. g.

The rapid disappearance of the pine eorost ,nao.,
axe OF the planter and tmbergeters of the Son4h oe
States known as the yeoc pine among hnJor
beginning to attract the attention of the nubli
This belt of forest runs east and south Of I;no
from the Chesapeake bay through Raleigh in N Sown
Carolina Cheraw and Columbia in South C'roEt
Augusta, Mocon, and Columbus, 10 Georgia Nina
gomery IN Alabama. This line may be said to bn to
base OF the Blue Ridge ~ Tue
From this base line stretching to the seaboard
level gently undulating country but occasionH liver
terspersed with oak and hickory lies this preat
belt o''"' pine
Its width, that tongue jutting into Florida -.
be estimated from 20 to so miles, but on that n;y
touching the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, width Of f
30 to 40 miles, the pines scattering and of stit1
growth and almost worthless for commerce save for m
pentine so that it may be safely estimated that tb
portion of the pine belt adapted for the cutting of @
Der cannot exceed average of more than IS miles ~
width, and OF this, probably near onehaf of the forest
since the first settlement of the country has hnpp d
ened an the soil put in cultivation '"0-
1t is well known that the stronger and better the soil
the larger, longer, and straghter are the pines and
thousand OF acres of these pine forests are annually d
ened by the planters for the purpose of putting fresh
land into cultivation while the timbergetters are cur
and cutting for commerce that which is within con-
venient distance for water carriage Nor will the n
ter desist from this wholesale destruction of these f
until the value OF the trees shall be so enhanced nc ~
make it an object for him to hold them for their va
as lumber.
Thus will the forest continue rapidly to disappear IN
til it will be found perhaps too late that there i .
scarcity of this valuable timber and which if n,or m
placed, will require centuries.
| For more than quarter of century the Tinted
States Government has been guarding and PROTECTING
the live oaks that grow within limited distance Of tb
seabOard andSet it is wellestabshed fact that tbe
live oaks of much rapid growth than the VOL
low pine.
1t has been estimated by the tmber-getters that =
large pine sufficient for the spars beams of frstcass
ship requires from two to three hundred years to grow
The pine forest of Virginia North and South Caro-
lina which is within convenient hauling distance 70
water carriage, is already nearly exhausted
In Georgia that which is the principal rivers la,
been culed for miles on either side of the streams
and timber is now being hauled from ten to ffee,
miles to the Savannah river for shipment
The French Government at the present time is hay.
ing its orders for timber filled by trees cut in Georgia
upon the rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico and
here the rafting Of timber for miles across the open bay
to the points where the shipping come to receive it
renders it exceedingly troublesome and expensive and
often attended with the entire loss of the RATS
With knowledge of these facts, and doubtless start
led by the rapid destruction of these pine forests our
Government has acted wisely in withdrawing from sale
NOW for the first time) her pine lands which lie upon
the Suwannee river in Florida, with the view of hodmo
them for their lumber for the future use of her navy and
it may now be seenand perhaps too late that this wise
precaution should have been taken years ago. bv with
drawing those pine lands in Florida which are Situated
upon the waters that flow into the Atlantic.