The Washington times., 1902-09-10
Texas Company to Follow
Bureaus Working Plan.
1,25o,ooo ACRES OF TIMBER
Government Experts Invited o'Aid in
Conserving Vast Interests of the
Kirby Compary-Fire Protection for
Longleaf Forest Problem.

| has ever been attempted before in thi.
country by private corporation will
be practiced in southeast Texas wher
the Kirby Lumber Company puts into
use the working plan for It's lands to bt
prepared by the Bureau of Forestry.
The numbering operations of the Kir-
by Company are probably the largest in
the world. They extend over tract oi
one and quarter million acres OF
pine lands, which contain about so per
cent of all the longleaf pine of Texas
vast single body of virgin forest reach
terrupted except for the clearings
around the villages and farms which ii
incloses.
This great forest is estimated to have
contained, uncut-and the estimate is
low-six and one-quarter billion mer-
chantable feet of lumber, board meas.
ure. The cuttings already made amount
to only small percentage of what the
great forest originally contained.
Big interests at Stake.
The company operates seventeen mills
which now make an annual cut of ESQ.,
O0O, 900 feet, board measure, and sup
ports population of $4,000 people
Since the forest is mature and is help
ed rather than harmed by the culling
of the larger trees, the annual cut is tt
be increased to 400,00O,O 900 feet. In ad-
dition to the trees used for lumber,
which are cut down to as low diameter
as twelve inches, 100000 ties are being
cut out OF the forest from trees be-
tween nine and twelve inches in di-
ameter to fill a contract with the Santa
Fe Railroad.
1t is just because its operations are on
such huge. scale that the Kirby COM
pany has decided 1t must protect itself
by adopting some system of forestry.
Large as its holdings are, unless they
are properly managed and protected they
must sooner or later be exhausted
Even If the obligations to the $1,000
people dependent for a living on the
numbering operations should be ignored,
the investment made in mills and equip
ment is too great to imperil by exhaust
ing the timber supply.
Lumber Demand Good.
Forestry receives little announcement
when the profits of numbering are small,
the markets poor, and the operations
conducted with difficulty; but on the
Kirby tract these conditions are re-
versed. The company is making a high
profit on its timber. the demand for lum-
Der is excellent and numbering opera
tions are made exceedingly easy by the
lay of the land and the condition of the
forest. The lands are in Jasper, Sabine.
Hardin, Newton, st. Augustine, Angeline,
and Tyler counties, and were bought
with an eve to simplifying and
lumber operations. The
labor supply is steady, and railroad
runs through the forest from north to
south.
Last winter Overton w. Price. as
sistant chief, and Thomas H. Sherrard,
ield assistant, of the Bureau of For
estry, made a preliminary examination
If the lands at the company's request
md returned report stating the lines
,long which forestry might be prac-
iced with profit in the Kirby company's
crest. The company accepted the re-
bort. and asked that complete work |
ng plan be made.
The task of preparing this working |
'lan will begin November Is. and will |
,e in charge of Mr. Sherrard, who is an |
Xpert on Southern pines. Thirty men, |
established in three camps. will make |
he measurements end gather the fig
res on which the plan will be based
Fire Protection Problem.
Several problems must be worked
ut, whose solution will be of value
;herever numbering is practiced in the
ongleaf pine belt. The most important
f these is the fire problem. The first
ecessty in planning for further crops
n numbered lands is to protect those
lnds from fires, which kill the repro
uction. Light fires repeatedly burn
ver the forest floor in the longleaf for
ST, and while they do no damage to
he large trees, all the young growth
killed. The fire problem. briefly
iated is whether it is best to attempt
D protect all the forest or to limit the
rejection TO cui-over areas. Since the
1ngleaf pine in five years attains a
ize large enough to protect itself from
ny but the severest fires, 1t is prob
BILE that the system of fire protection
ill apply only 10 lands cut over within
ne last five years.
The cutting of trees for railroad ties
rings up for settlement matter of
lterest not only to the Kirby Company,
ut to every tie company in the country.
T. the Kirby lands trees between nine b,
nd twelve inches in diameter are used ,
,r ties, and trees above twenve inches
re cut into saw timber. The question
as been raised by the bureau whether
would be better to allow all the trees
welve inches and under to grow into
ne more valuable saw timber. and get {
lie ties out of the tops of the larger
ees great deal of measuring and :
ilculating will have to be done to set ,
e this point. :
Marine Band Concert. (
The Marine Band under Leader San :
I