The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-10
LoNGLHAF PINE.
Growing Scarcity of This Useful
 Article.

Dixie of Atlanta.
 Probably no American wood of any con- sequence has been so long m oo'ash.hs as ths its rightfu place in the economies or the country and perhaps of the world, as has yellow pine of the Southern states. Ore hundred years ago 1t was naroiy known outside the narrow strip or terri tory occupied by the settlers along the South Atlantic and gulfs.
 To be sure, the early explorers or those shores had carried home to Spam, For tugal. Holland France and Englano Spe- cimens of one or more species of yellow pine to exhibit with other products or tne country to show its great resources put with the coEiferous forests of Norway' Sweden and Russia so near at nsnd. .1t,,tnh ni, tie was thought of the American pltcn pine" as Is was dubbed. Even the pot anists were not sure of the species, ana not one at the beginning of the present century knew how many species existed of what is now known in tho lumber trade as yellow pine. Just when It be- came commercially recognized in Europe is not definitely known. but 1t IS known | that soon after the spanish settieipent was made at St. Augustine shipment | of roughly hewn live oak and pitch pine | logs and some oak pipe-stave bolts was l made from the Florida coast to the port of Cadiz in Spain. Other shipments 10 Spanish ports followed in a small and 1 desultory way until after Spain sold her mainland possessions to the United States The French also carried on | small trade Tn American Wooos' lCluuihs pitch pine" and the English settlers on | the sapeake bay or along the coast | of North Carolina shipped some hewn pine logs but the shipments were few ana 1 irregular.
 | In this country yellow pine was hardly | known north of Mason and Dixon's line before the war between the States. Bal | tmore used it to some extent. and It could be found in Philadelphia, New forK City, and Boston In the form of special | ties mostly for construction purposes but If 1t was used In the North for finishing lumber it was in rare instances and for | the oddity of 1t, and not because It's real | value or beauty was recognized.
 First Used by Car Builders.
 The entering wedge of yellow pine into the North was the recognition given It by the car builders In lSsO. when II really began to compete with oak and Norway pine for car sills in the shops along the | border line between North and South. St. l Louis early developed quite trade In the wood for general construction purposes and commence to push 1t for finishing lumber, not only locally but in all con | tieuous territory. The railroads then opened up the pine belts of Southern Ar | kansas, and along Tn 1851 and 1882 Ar kansas yellow pine flooring, wainscotlng, ceiling, base and stair plank began to reach the market in Chicago in carload lots.
 This was the beginning on which is based the great business since developed
 
 meantime the manufacturers along the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts have push ed their lumber in all the markets of the Atlantic seaboard and in every foreign land where an opening could possibly be made. The results while not all they might have been. are such as to give cause for considerable self qualification on the part of the yellow pine manufac- turers.
 Yellow pine has not only encroached upon the domain of white pine but 1t has busted many of the hardwoods in wagon and agricultural implement building. In these industries 1t has taken the place to an ever widening extent of oak, maple, ash and hickory. Twenty or twenty-hve years ago the idea of using yellow pine for harvester tongue fin the North would have been laughed at: today the amount used for that purpose reaches into mil lions of feet. It has invaded and Is a staple commodity in every State and ter ritory east of the Rocky Mountains; met and conquered the native pines of New Mexico and Arizona; 1t is sold in large quantities in all the great white pine man. ufacturing centers even as far north as South Dakota and has met on an equal footing the boasted woods of the Pacific coast on the soil of Southern Califor- mia.
 Lumbermen All Looking South.
 This Is why the long leaf yellow pine belt has become the mecca of Northern Iurnbermen, Their eyes are all turned this way from the New England States, Michigan, and the great Middle West. l Wherever there Is a chance to buy or lease a tract of timber land in the South at a reasonable price they do not let 1t l slip few years ago the lack of trans portaton facilities in any region was suf- hlient cause for the manufacturer 10 pa ss 1t by; or at least it was an unusual thing for a railroad 10 be built into the noun tain fastress for the purpose of develop lng the timber resources. Now all is diff ferent. Manufacturers from every section of the North are pouring in and buying timber lands and developing them. re- gardless of their location.
 One particular transaction in Houston. Tex, recently reveals the true situation better than anything that could be writ ten. The Kirby Lumber Company. operat- ing more lumber ills than sny other in- terest in the South made contract GOV ering a pe'lod Of fifteen years with the Houston oil Company. Under this con- tract the Kirhy Lumber Company agrees to buy the standing tlmhe-- from the Hona- tnn oil Company upon the stumpage ba- sis This year the Kirby Lumber Com pany pays the Houston Oil Company S.o
 per NJ feet; next year it will pay S3,5o per