The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-08-11

Those persons who have been accustomed to re-
gard the pine forests of the South as of compare
lively small commercial Importance, will be
surprised to learn that the annual value of the
hewn timber, of the sawed plank, boards, scant-
ling rosin, pitch and turpentine, is estimated to
be not less in the aggregate, than from twelve to
fifteen millions of dollars while it is impossible to
compute the yearly loss by waste in girdling trees
that are the growth of centuries for the purpose of
opening up new plantations, or extending the
area of those already worked. The wanton de-
struction of this valuable timber, which has been
going on for some years past, has elected strong
protest from writer in the Savannah Republican,
who calls attention to the fact that the exports of
yellow pine are annually diminishing, and ex-
presses the opinion that unless more care is taken
in future to preserve the growing timber and pro-
ect the owners of it against the encroachments of
pratical squatters, the pine forests of the South
will be rapidly swept away. As an introduction
TO the comments which are made upon this subject,
and to the statistical tables which are presented as
sustaining his views the writer thus defines what
ne terms the Grounds of the Pine Belt p II.
''Upon map of the United States, let line he drawn
from the Chesapeake Bay through Raleigh and Fayette
vile, in North Caroua-Cheraw and Columbia in Sontb
Carolina, point five miles above Augusta two miles
below Mlledgeville through Macon-he old agency on
Flint River to Coumbus-thence across the southern
part of Alabama, 1.-THE points Ct which not familiar
and we have its northern and west boundary and
stretching from this to the the and the
gulf on the SOUTH level gently undulating plains
lies the Pine Belt of the South'
We find one important omission in the above
description of the limits of the pine region of the
South. Lying West of the Mississippi and prin-
cipally between the Ouachita and Red rivers, in
the State of Arkansas, there is immense area of
Pine forest upon which the axe of the woodman
mas scarcely as yet made any perceplible impress
son. Apart from this, however, and looking on
~ to the Pine Belt east of the Mississippi, the
statements contained in the article referred to are
wen calculated to impress upon the people of the
"uii States the necessity of securing from future
waste, species OF timber which Governor TRoUP,
OF Georgia, predicted would become, at no distant
day, OF more value, acre for acre. than the product
OF the best cotton lands. The remark is very ner
tinently made that Climber is not like cotton and
''rice, annual growth. 1t requires centuries to
'smature, and when the forest is once culled over
s'the crop is forever gathered" 1t is said IN taka
from three to four hundred years for pine tree TO
attain size sufficient for mast or spar of shin
of large size, and that even after lapse of four
centuries trees of the requisite height and dimensions
for such purposes, are only to be found in soils
and situations peculiarly favorable to their growth
Under these circumstances it becomes matter of
interest TO know what portions of the pine belt
have already been culled of its choicest timber
within the State of Georgia alone. gsI
Commencing the Savannah, all the forest bordering
on that river been culIed for distance Of rs
miles from the river II has been cuiled for distance OF