The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-09-14
Lumber Company in East Texas
Would Husband Its Great
Resources of Timber.
LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE.
Although 1t Controls 1,250,000
Acres of Pine Lands, 1t Fore
sees Day When 1t Will
All Be Gone.
SPECIAL.

REPUBLIC SPECIAL :
Washington. Sept. 1S.-Forestry on 8 scale
more vast than has ever been attempted
before in this country by a private corpora
ton will be practiced in Southeast Texas
when the Kirby Lumber Company puts into
use the working plan for its lands to be
prepared by the Bureau of Forestry.
The numbering operations OF the Kirby
Company are probably the largest In the
world. They extend over a tract OF 10000
acres of pima lands. which contain about 80
per cent Of all the long-leaf pine Of Texas
a vast single body of virgin forest reaching
out over seven counties and Uninterrupted
except for the clearings around the villages
and farms which il incloses.
This great forest is estimated to have con-
tanned, uncut-and the estimate is low
6.25aoO.co merchantable feet of lumber,
board measure. TIL cuttings already made
amount to only a small percentage of what
the great forest originally contained.
me company operates seventeen mills,
which now make an annual cut of 2.0o0,Oo
teet' poard measure, and support a popuia-
ton OF 1000 persons. Since the forest Is
mature and IS helped rather than harmed by
the cutting OF the larger trees: the nnual
cut Is to be increased to 90. 1000 900 feet.
In addition to the trees used for lumber.
which are cut down TO as low a diameter
OF the forest from trees between 8 and Il
inches in diameter to ell a contract win
the Santa Fe Railroad
| PROBLEM FOR THE. COMPANY.
1t is just because its operations are on
such a huge scale that the Kirby company
mas decided II must protect Itself by adcpt-
ing some system of forestry. Large as its
holdings are. unless they are properly man
aged and protected they must sooner or
later be exhausted. Even II the obligations
70 the lb.vo people dependent for a living
on the numbering operations. should be
ignored. the investment made in mills and
equipment is too great TO imperiI by ex-
nausting the timber supply. I
forestry receives little announcement
When the profits of numbering are small,
the markets poor and the operations con-
Quoted with difficulty; but on the Kirby
company is making a high profit on its
uimoer, the demand for lumber Is excellent
and numbering operations are made ex-
ceedingly easy by the lay OF the land, and
me condition OF the forest The lands are
In Jasper, Sabine. Hardin. Newton ST,
Augustine. Angelina and Tyler counties and
were bought. with an eye to Simplifying and
cheapenlng lumber operations. The labor
Suppiy IS STEADY. and a railroad runs
through the forest from north to south
Chief, and Thomas II. Sherrard, field ASSIST
ant OF the Bureau of FORESTRY, mada a
preliminary examination OF the lands at
lne request and returned n re-
port stating the lines along which forestry
might be practiced with profit in the Kirby
company's forest. The COMPANY accented
the report and asked that a Complete x,nrk.
ing plan be made.
The task OF preparing his working plan
VIII begin November Is. and will be IN
on Southern pines. Thirty men. established
In three camps. will make the measurements
and gather the figures on which the plan
will be based