The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-05
FaE YELLOW PINES GROWTH.
A Mistaken Idea About the Reproduc
ton of the Long Leaf Pine.

a Mistaken Idea about the Reproduc-
ton Of the Long Leaf Pine.
A business man on the Bay, who is largely
interested in naval stores, and who owns a
good many thousand acres Of land in the
pine regions of Georgia and Florida, gave
MORNING NEWS reporter a most interest
ing talk yesterday upon the reproduction Of
the long leaf pine.
Such inroads have been made upon the
forests of long leaf pine which formerly COW
cred the greater portion of South Georgia in
recent years by the saw-miu mel and the
naval stores operators that the ultimate ex-
tinction. and that within the knowledge Of
the present generation, of Georgia's long
leaf pine forests is becoming more pressing
every year.
The mill men and the naval stores opera
tors are pushing further and further into
the forests every year. IL is a common
saying that the long leaf pine
does not reproduce itself. The
gentleman referred to says that
the long leaf pine does reproduce itself If
given opportunity to do so. and he backs his
assertion with the results of long observation
and good reasoning. If be is correct and IL
he can persuade others TO his views or laws
are passed to enforce them they may be
worth millions of dollars to the pine
country Of South Georgia.
There are only two things needed" said
he, 'to secure the reproduction of yellow
pine-get rid OF the hogs, the piney
woods rooters, as they are called, and
keep the fires out Of the forest. These are
the two enemies to the reproduction of the
| long leaf pine. AT present the forest are
filed with the piuey woods rooters, who
root up every young pine to get at its root
and the bulb at Its root, which has a sweet
juicy flavor. The hog will not root up the
1 ,k<-.-e - I'LL
| its root is bitter and unpalatable. Conse-
quently when the long leaf pine is destroyed
it is succeeded by the greatly inferior short
| leaf pine. This Is the sole reason of what
has been regarded as one of the inscrutable
| laws Of nature.
"The next worst enemy of the long leaf
| pine to the piney woods rooter is the fires
which the naval stores operators and the
| farmers put out into the woods every spring
to burn off the underground. The operators
do this to prevent fires breaking out in the
underground during the dry season while
the dripping is going on aud destroying
their crops, and the farmers
burn off the underground to allow a fresh
| growth Of grass for the benefit of their cat.
tie. These fires kill the young shoots that
have escaped the hogs and dwarf the grow
ing trees. As in all things sublunary the
| more worthless short leaf pine withstands
| both hogs and fires, and covers the land
where it is not wasted. The idea that the
long leaf pine will not reproduce ITSELF"
the MORNING NEWS informant repeated,
"is a mistake. No tree Is better
equipped. Every full grown tree
scatters hundreds Of thousands Of the little
mast, the seed of the pine, to the winds
every year. have seen several instances
of reproduction where circumstances were
favorable. While In South Carolina some
time since, l saw large field OF young
pines growing up. Upon inquiry l found
that it was q stock law country, and no
cattle were allowed to run at large. The
land was not burned off for grass, and a
hog was seldom seen there.
1.-THE owner said the land had not been
burned OFF in two or three years. The
field was full of young pines from a few
inches In hight to several feet, growing up
alongside Of the older pines which had only
been partly cut away. In Gadsden county,
Florida, we own several thousand acres of
land, which, q few years ago, w0s covered
with long leaf pine. A Cyclone totally de-
stroyed the old growth. That section is so
thinly settled that there are few hogs and
cattle, and consequently no inducements to
burn of the underground. The land has
been allowed to lie unmolested since the
Cyclone, and now it is covered with splen-
did growth of young pines that in a few
years will be very valuable.
IF the stock law Is enforced in the yellow
pine section and the hogs and cattle kept
out of the woods and the custom Of firing
the woods In the spring is given up or for
hidden by law, the thousands Of acres OF
yellow pine which are being laid waste
every year by the mill mon and the turpen-
tine operators will reproduce themselves
and few years from to-day be more valua-
BILE than when the virgin pines were cut
from them, as the timber will then be in
greater demand.
"The piney woods rooter is the chief enemy
of the long leaf pine. He prefers the bulb
OF the young pine as an especial delicacy
aud never allows one to escape him in his
neighborhood. The rooter is blot on our
civilization anyway" said the lumberman.
HE is a long, lean and hungry combination
OF grlstle and bone, and resembles more q
rusty saw drawn to point at each end and
placed upon four legs than anything
else | know of. He is never worth
anything except when crossed upon q
railway locomotive when he Immediately
becomes very valuable. The sooner the
farmers of South Georgia do away with
, their present stock of hogs and cattle and
replace them with improved breeds and
, cease their methods of turning them loose
i'll the woods to seek a precarious existence
the better it will be for the farmers and the
country at large. l am convinced that the
only hope of the yellow pine is to do away
with the rooters and to keep the fires out OF
the woods"
Don't you knowl Why get bottle Of Saliva.