The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1906-03-17
FOR EsT,s, on II

Richly endowed, like her sister states,
with q wealth Of forest resources. Floriss
'da invites lurnbermeli. The chief SOUTH
4ern pines iongleaf, shortleaf, and lob
.lolly- together with cypress, which form,
the basis Of numbering industry in the
east, extend into the state. and, with
some changes in the composition Of the
forest there, offer abundant supplies Of
Well-tfied tiil1befs. Cuban pine. which
has a scattered growth along the coast
plain Of the south iii general, is album
|dant along its western coast in pure.
stands or in mixture with longleaf pine
and cypress. AT the southern end of,
the state cypress sWarnps abound On
the coast islands along the southern
shores, mahogany in good quantity
awaits the Az Finally, the naval stores,
Industry, which draws principally upon
the longleaf and shortleaf pines, finds
in Florida a plentiful source of supplies:
Cuban pine seems destined for more
important commercial use than it has
hitherto enjoyed Its wood is scarcely
or not at all inferior; to thatHof long
leaf pine, with. which, in some loca1i-
| ties, it is cut indiscrinlinately Fr pre-:
servative treatment its relatively greater
porosity may make it even more valuable.
for specific services than is longleaf In
the past tile Cuban pine lands in Flori4
da have been cut only moderately AS
the dWindling timber sources feel the
stronger pressure of demand, this tree
| is certain to- receive its full share of
utilization. The superior grade of resin
which it produces further adds to its
commercial value. EF
Already there are. signs Of increased
attention to the Florida pines. This is.
shown by the calls which have recently
been made on the national forest service
| for information and assistance, ais well
as By the effort which was made, though
vainly, a couple Of years ago, to secure
| the passage Of aslbill providing for. Coz
operation between the national govern
nlent and the state of Florida, Several
Iprivate owners have applied to the gov-
Eernment for working plans under which
ito manage pine numbering conservative
| ". and one application is for a tract Of
| I 10000 acres. F st 3 Il. n
This tract lies on the west coast and
consists of verytlow lands with a stand
lcypress. IT is subject to constant food
ling during the rainy season, and the wa-
| ter retafds the growth OF timber serious
Elytr This has b.ought out the question
whether much of the land may not, be
drained without too great expense a
economical drainage can be carried ott
| Iona sufficiently large scale, it Isl exs
lpected that the rate Of growth and the
Equality Of pine timber on tiious sands OF
acres may be very greatly improved
| Timber is the only available crop on
Issuch land, for it is too sandy for agriA
Icultnre, SO that whatever will insure
IproftabIe tii1lherd crops awlt lend III the
Ionly4commercial value which ii is at all
llikely to- have. Detailed study on the
ground will be necessary to determine
lust what advantages drainage will ser
ctf.e, .5a .g 2
Florida forests are unfortunately ex-
Iposed to- great danger from FIRE If
this they are like the southern forests
lin general. but the practice of burning
THE ground over to improve grazing is
I6rnhy established, and wherever this is
1.-The case the forest lis especially threat
Iened. Much difficulty will doubtless be
linet with in the effort to change the
lcustonl. Some of the oldest settlers
Throughout thesouth. however, arenow
Ibeginning to recognize that burning
does not improve grazing In the long
run, because it kills out the more VAL
Iuable grasses. They admit that the
lforage crop on the open. forest stands Of
| the region has;beeri steadily deteriorat-
ling during the past forty years as a re-
suit of these injurious fires.