The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-03
FACTS
AMOUNT or TIMBER AVAILABLE
 F0N PRODUCTION.
seiemttAe Emvestigatien Has Found sCups system Ceufa Replace
 Uanaagtng sBoxs Meth9A
 of Tapping Trees.

a~@ss0-42~x
 Washington. Jan. 3.--(speeiai. )--The United States government has for the past i've months been making invssti- cations of the timber supply as It is related to the naval stores industry of tho Southern States. A special appro- priation was made by the last Con- Rress to carly on this work. For some time those interested inYthe turpentine industry have felt the need of accurate data regarding the supply of timber still available for the production of turpentine.
 The degree of injury sustained by the longleaf pine during the process of bleeding for rosin has always been subject of contention between the luIn- bermen, on the one hand. and the tur- pentine operators on the other. and special effort was made to ascertain reliable facts bearing upon this phase of the investigation. Statistics of pro. duction are also in process of compi- lation.
 The present methods Of obtaining rosin from the tree and especially the extent of use and the pgacticability of the new cup system of collecting gum have come under careful study.t Tn or- der that the best possible results might be obtained all parts Of the naval stores producing region were visited; the best informed operators were in- terviewed and observations were made in regions of varying conditions. The data collected in the turpentine inves- tigation are now being brought togeth- CT. in report which will later be published. Some of the points brought out are aa follows:
 The new cup system of gathering the gum. whereby the injurious hole or "box" cut in the tree to catch the gum has been replaced by a cup hung on the tree, have generally proved both practical and profitable. and are every where gaining in favor
 As compared with the old and ex- ceedingiy Injurious 'bon" system these new methods unquestionabiy lessen the Injury done to the timber and length eh the average life of the tree after bleeding. This increase in efficieney Is due to the fact that the cup systems render the tree less susceptible to damage by subsequent fires.
 The United States Forest Service men who made the investigation found the field of the turpentine operator Is moving westward. AS the available timber In the older sections of the Eastern States becomes exhausted the operator moves farther west in search of new fields.
 Finally, the available supply of tur- pentine timber in the United States is likely to be exhausted within the next fifteen years to the extent that the tur- pentine industry as related to the production from living trees will be seriously eurtailed, while a large fall- Ing off of production will probably oc- cur within ten years. This condition will be surprise to many who have held that large areas of fine pine tim Der in the States of Mississippi, Louis lana and Texas will come under pro- duction and thus tend to offset the fall ing off in the East. {
 It has been found, however, that the conditions differ in these States as the are held in bodies of con- siderable extent by large companies | who will not allow their timber to be | oled. Their experience in turpenfining | leads them to the view that the dam age done to the timber more than ofr- | vets the additional revenue and has ,aused them to become antagonistic to my advance looking toward the tap- ,ing of their timber. For this reason he naval stores industry Will probably lever become the factor in these States hat 1t has on the Atlantic coast.