St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1892-03-26


4 NlsrAKEx IDEA AD0rf fnE Re-
PRODUCTION or TEE Loxc.LEAE
willow PlxE.
It has been repeatedly claimed
that the yellow pine forest Win not
reproduced itself, and hence that
The cutting Of the yellow forests
oi the South means their gradual
destruction. But . Savannah busi-
ness man, in an interview h TIE
News Of that city gives . diherent
account. In discussing this mat-
ter he said:
"There are only two things need
ed" said he, ''to secure the repro.
duction Of yellow pine-get rid Of
the hogs, the piney.wood rooters,
rs they are called, and keep the
fires out OF the forests. These are
the two enemies tO the reproduc.
ton Of the long-leaf pine. At
present the forests are filled with
the piney.woods rooters, who root
up every young pine to get at it,
root and the bulb at its root. which
has q sweet, juicy favor. The
hogs will not root up the young
slort-leaf pine, because the bulb
1t its root is bitter and unpalatable.
Consequently when the long-leaf
pine " destroyed 1t h succeeded
By the greatly inferior sh0rt-leaf
pine. This is the cole reason Of
what hes been regarded - one Of
the inscrutablc 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 in the woods every spring
to burn of the underground. The
operators do this to prevent: ares
breaking out in the underground
during the dry season while the
dripping is going on and destroying
their crops. aud the farmers burn
on the underground to allow = fresh
growth Of grass for the benefit al
their cattle. These fires kill The
young shoots that have escaped the
hogs and dwarf the growing trees.
As in all things sublunary, the more
worthless short-leaf pine withstands
both hogs and fires, and covers
the land where It IL not wanted.
The idea that the l0ng-leaf Will not
reproduce itself IL . mistake. No
tree Is better equipped. Every
fall-grown tree scatters hundreds Of
{ Thousands of the little mast, the
seed Of the pine, to the winds every
year. 1 have seen several instances
Of reproduction where circumstan-
ces were favorsble. While In South
Carolina some time since I saw
large fleld Of young pines growing
up. Upon inquiry I found that II
was . stocklaw country, and no
cattle were allowed to run ct large.
The land was not burned on TOT
grass, and . hog vas seldom seen.
The owner said the land had moi
heen hurnt of In two or three years.
The field was full Of young pines
from . few inches in height to sew.
eral feet, growing up alongside Of
the older pines wilch had only been
partly cut away. In Gladstone
county, Fla, We own several thou
sand acres OF land, which, . few
years ago, was covered with long.
leaf pine. A cyclone totally de-
stroyed the growth. That section
Is 60 thinly settled that there ate
fen hoqs and cattle, and Consequent
" no inducement to burn on the
underground. The land has been
allowed to lie unm0lested since the
cyclone, and now It i covered with
. splendid growth Of young pines
that in . few years win be very val-
liable.
II the stock Law Is enforced In the
yellow pine section and the hogs
and cattle kept out Of the woods,
and the custom or firing the woods
In the spring is given up o. forbid
den by Law. the thousands Of acres
Of yellow pine which are being laid
waste every year would soon be
more valuable than when virgin
pines were cut from them, - the
timber will then be in greater de-
mand.
The piney-woods rooter h the
chief enemy Of the long-leaf pine.
He prefers the bulb Of the young
pine as an especial delicacy and
never allows one to escape him In
his neighborhood. The rooter Is .
blot on our civilization anyway,
said the lumberman. He h . long,
lean and hungry combination Of
gristle and bone, and resembles more
. rusty saw drawn to . point 1t each
end and placed upon four legs than
else I know Of. He is
never worth anything except whea
crossed upon . 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 the methods Of turning
them loose In the woods to eek .
existence, the better Il
win be for the farmers and the
as large. I am convinced
that the only hope q the yellow
pine Il to do away With the rootefs
and to keep the fres out o( the
woods.
The New York Sun highly con-
mends the following remedy Tor The
lagged-out woman, whe dashes o4
I'm Hle vn0rminw v3fhnant nnv hneak.