The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-01-26
TIMBER AREA
Of OKLAHOMA
REFORESTED
LAND IN EAS ST PART
GROWS TREES WITH
OUT CULTIVATION
- 10 Il DaIIy -.

Special 10 the Daily Leader
MuskOgeae. kla. Jan 25 Ten
ilorthefn expert timber appraisers 10
( ihe service Of the government apprais-
ing the timber land of thu Choctaw y
iuation. are amazed ar the condition
which they find existing in the ln-
dian country. and which upset the es-
.tabiished tnories Of the forestry bur
loau % the United States government
relative 70 reforestation- These gov
ernmeRt timber experts find thar rhe
iareas from which timber has been cut
In Oklahoma is ref0resting naturally,
land the neR growth Of timber is ia the
most flouFishing condition Iu the
'Tapidiy disappearing pine forests Of
1.-THE north, and on the mountain
ranges Of the northwest. il Is we'll
established that the only means OF
1 lreioresting a narea from which the
\ timber has been cut or burned Is By
replantng a tedious aid expensive
method
/ For seven years ever since the first
allofments were made to the Indians,
there las been more or less timber
cutting in the Choctaw nation Some
Of the timber cut was on allotments.
and the timber was sold by the allot-
tees to the umbermen In other in
stances the timber was illegally cut,
hut large areas we're denuded.
Tract is Quite Large.
The timber appraisers now al work
appraislng nearly 1000, 900 acres OF
standing timber find that these cut
over areas are now grown up In small
pine trees. much thicker than the
original l,mber AS soon as the big
timber Wa cut out and the sunshine
was let iu. millions OF pine trees
came up from the seed. ana are now
growing into thriving young timber.
A timber appraiser described one OF
these places as being covered with
] pine trees inst right for Christmas
trees and standing as thick as the
/ hair on a dogs hack. The new trees
are so thick II is almost impossible
for q man 10 make bis way through
them Gradually the sprOuting seed
lings and the smaller trees are killed
out by fires, which run through the
]
gets larger In certain places where
there was originally only hardwood
and the timber was cut off. seed from
me pine trees seem 70 have been car
ried great distances. and this hard
wood land Is now covered with a
new growth OF pine.
Example in Arkansas.
Just across the Oklahoma state line
In Arkansas some OF the pine timber
was cut ten or twelve years ago On
this land the reforestration is shown
IN it's greatest development There
the trees are ) and 6 inches In dia-
meter and so thick a man can scarce
iy walk through them.
The soil and climate of the noun
tans OF the Choctaw nation seem 10
be peculiarly adapted TO the refoF-
estration and growth OF pine timber.
The growth of younk trees Is much
more rapid than in northern climates.
This is due partially to the longer
growking season and less freezing
o thein the winter
Big lubmer interests figure that
twenty years are required for a cut
over area OF pine to grow again into
t mber of commercial value. On this
basis they acquire great areas OF
timber and each year cut one-twen-
tieth OF it, sufficient TO keep their
mills running. When they have cut
the entire tract they are reay to be
gin cutting the second time where
they started originally. But this sec
! "a of fu
TOO small to be Of value at the first
cutting and not nearly SO thick on
the ground The cold seasons are
SO long that the natural reforestra-
ton does not occur. In Oklahoma and
Arkansas this is different With
the ground stripped clean Of timber
a new and much thicker grUwth
springs up Under the favorable SOL
and climatic conditions the timber ex-
perts believe this second crop of new
timber viii reach commercial size az
the end of twenty years.
Land to 6e Sold.
The timber land OF the Choctaw
nation which is now being appraised
Is to be sold by the government, as
soon as the appraisement is com
nleted for the benefit Of the Indians.
It Is believed that the discovery of the
Timber perts Of natural reforestra-
tion and the remarkably quick growth
os the timber viii add an untold in.
crease in the value of the pine land
about 10 be sold
The timber appraisers are finding
an unexpected quantity OF wild game
in the sections which they are cover
ing This part OF the state IS prac-
i.cally nninhabted The appraisers
must cover and appraise each forty
acre tract They have regularly es-
tablished camps and complete camp
ing outfits N~arly every day deer are
seen around these camps and every
Gay the appraisers find large droves
o fwild turkeys Chief Rayburn. who
is in charge Of all the field parties,
refused 10 allow gun OF any kind car
ried by any of the men, and the re-
suit is no game is being shot The
region is so inaccessible that the wild
game shows little fear Of men
I