The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-18
THE TWIN CITIES

soil constitutes her one great mex
| haustible natural resource
There are many other valuable en-
dowments and peculiar local advan-
tages aggregating proportions of mag
| nltude, that In themselves make the
| country attractive, for they can but in
| fluenee in due process OF time, a large
industrial development and give rise to
a strong and comprehensive commercial
life. These natural resources mean
community greatness as well as indi-
vidual prosperity, and should be so
priced and so wrought out. No item
of advantage or power or resource is
ahiai enough TO be despised and
| neglected; they should all be conserved
ana utilized in the most effective way
Inc conservation, or most economic
utilization of natural resources and the
advantages is the slogan of our pro-
gresslve citizenship today, and the
principle applies to Tuscaloosa county
without any diminution of force
most emphatically applies when one
bflngs To mind the wonderful variety of
| resources found within her borders and
begins To compute the vastness of pos
sipie deVeiopment. In a contemplation
OF this kind, covering the field of mate
rial advantages and natural gifts, 1t is
no dlincult matter to place the soil
asset IN class by itself as the one
great natural resource, far surprising
IN potential wealth all other natural
sources of wealth combined. The soil
is not thing whose producing capa-
city is limited by any extent of time
Year by year, age by age, century by
century, 1t gives substantial money
equivalent to him who undertakes It's
accomplishments Other natural re-
sources may give of themselves to man.
kind to exhaustion, but soil, the basis
and source OF all life, the greatest last
Ing benefactor of mankind, Will con-
tlnue to give of itself uncomplaining
generosity food and clothes for all the
generations that are to come
Lumber Interests Large
In addition to the output of nearly a
score OF sawlnills in this district, the
lumber industry in Tuscaloosa county is
growing in Importance through the es-
tablishment Of number of plants for
the conversion of The rough lumber into
the finished product.
In the pas. year or two. a big We
neering plant, a cooperage plant
porch column plant anu others of
similar nature have been built in ad-
dition TO those already established.
Vast timber lands, affording va
riety ideally suited for Inanufactu tur-
ing and commercial purposes, sur
round Tuscaloosa. and wood working
industries can operate as cheapiy here
as anywhere in the South.
The city of Tuscaloosa has long been
noted for its beautiful trees as has the
county FOR its great forests. OF the
oaks there are white, black, park
Spanish, red water overcup, blackjack,
| swamp chestnut, willow and scarlet
| oaks.
OF the hickories, we have shell bark,
mockernnt water, bitternut, pignut and
| bitternut OF the other varieties we
have white ash, maple, linden, sweet
| gum, sycamore. honeylocust, holly
black gum, dogwood. chestnut. walnut
beech, blackberry, chinaberry. red cedar,
cypress and magnolia.
The pines occupy a large portion of
| the upper half of the oounty-long-
leaf, shortleaf, spruce and oldfield
! pines
Between the North river and War
| rior river "A tract of longleaf pine ex-
! tends to the banks of yellow creek,
near oregonia. This upland area is at
once distinguished by the frequency of
the shortleaf pine. among the hard
wood trees, mostly upland oaks and
! hickories.
West of this upland is the long val
ley of the Sipsey river. heavily tim
bered with large oaks, gums and hick-
cries. This valley is from one to three
miles in width and extends nearly
through the county from north to south
some very large poplars are found on
its borders.
In the southern and southeastern
| part of the county there is n great
| deal of fine white oak In the bottoms of
Big Sandy, as well as in the Warrior
bottoms.