The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1899-11-15
A GREAT HARDWOOD COUNTRY

"cotcih NoIlu barOllna Is pf0DaDl
one of the richest hardwood timber sec
tions in tho United States. The aver
age altitude of the plateau section i
about 2,2OO feet, and from its top anC
slopes rise the mountains attaining a.
great a height as G,700 feet. On th,
eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge ant
in the adjacent territory the famous
"short leaf" or "North Carolina Pine
| grows i'll abundance. Intcrspel scd arc
to be found the various varieties of oak
together with the poplar, hickory ant
othe" woods common to this section
Upon the plateau and the adjacent
mountains grow the virgin forests OF
poplar, oak, ash, chestnut, hickory
birch, beech, linden, buckeye, maple
walnut, cherry, white pine, hemlock
and balsam, and among the smaller
timbcrs dogwood, holly and pcrsimmon.
The best and largest growth of tim
Der is TO he found in the north covcs
of the mountains and in the river bot
toms. The tops are not 50 heavily tim
bcrcd as the slopes and neither does
the timber grow 80 prime and large. 1t
is estimated by lumbcrmcn familiar
with The section that the average a.
mount of merchantablc timber per acre
of ordinary timber land is about 5000
feet. This includes such stock as can
be cut and handled by portable mills.
On lands that can be operated by
means OF watCr-courscs The amount of
timber which can be taken of an acre
and handled at profit is much larger.
Good timber lands can be bought all
the way from 81 to So an acre. Stump
age at distance from the railroad can
be bought at $3.50 thousand. The
poplar of this section finds ready sale
in Northern markets. The varieties of
oak include white, chestnut and red
oak and are particularly adapted to the
export trade. The other woods men
toned, while not SO plentiful, consti-
tutc considerable portion of the
hardwood industry. "A very feasible
way of handling the timber is by
portable mills of from fifteen TO thirty
and with capacities of
from six to twelve and fifteen thous-
and feet day. Large boundaries are
operated in this way AT profit.
The opportunities offered investors
to put money into tracts of standing
timber are many, and there are for sale
tracts all the way from one hundred
acres to forty and fifty thousand acres
on which tree has never been cut.
These tracts can be bought at prices
before mentioned and on terms very
reasonable. There is hardly better
investment for idle capital than timber
land in section where there Is no
danger of forest fires destroying The
growing trees.
Mr.. George Vanderbilt few years
ago purchased a tract of eighty thous-
and acres of the finest timber land to
be found anywhere in this section, aud
while he no doubt contemplatcs man
ii large portion Of the tim
Der, he has expert forcstcrs now on the
property and is giving every attention
to the care of the trees and the growing
of new ones, besides having converted
the property into a vast game preserve.
The freight rates compare favorably
with those from other points where
similar timber is to be had. The South
crn Railway makes through rates to
points North or South. New York
and Boston can be reached by rail and
water as well us by all rail. Foreign
shipments are consigned via Norfolk or
Baltimore. Many large tracts have been
purchased within the last few years
and a considerable development in Tie
timber industry IS going on, including
furniture factories, stave factories,
planning mills, and nearly all kinds of
concerns.
The tanbaik obtained in this region
has been a very attractive feature in
several large tanncries into
western North Carolina. a.-SOuthc,m
Field.