The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1916-07-27
FORESTS OF FLORIDA
Larger Area than in Any Other
State in the Union
TROPICAL SPECIES ABOUND
Interesting Conclusions as to the
Probable Duration and
PROJECTS

Roland NJ Harper, formerly
connected with the State Geo
logical Survey, has published two
studies of the arboreal resources
of Florida and Georgia, respec-
lively, which are doubly inter
esting by reason of a sort of cen
sus Of the forests of those states
and for the conclusions he draws
from observation. The census is
in the form of percentages which
the different species of tree bear
to the main standard of timber
of the state, as gathered from var
ious sources, supplemented by the
authors field work in nearly ev-
cry county in Florida. The conclu-
sions he draws from observations
differ radically from those of
some other writers on the subject
as relates to the existence of the
forests.
Florida, he says, has probably
"a larger area of forest at the pre-
sent time than any other state in
the Union, about 27,000,000 acres,
Of which 17659,000 were owned
and controlled by lumbermen on
January IL, 1911, according to the
latest authoritative report. From
this the author figures out q total
stand of timber in this state at
that date of 10S,000,000, 900 feet.
This state has also considerably
more species of trees than any
other state in the Union, con-
servative estimate being 200.
Nearly half, however, are tropical
species, confined to a limited area
of South Florida
As to the probable duration of
Florida forests his conclusions
are interesting. Fires, in his o.
pinion, are not so destructive to
Florida forests as they are to
those of the Northwest or North.
The recuperative powers Of our
climate, the greater length of our
growing season, make fire losses
less severe in their ultimate
effects The increase in the area
under cultivation he finds the
most threatening factor in the
problem of the perpetuity Of our
forests, but complete exhaustion
of our timber by this means is
probably several centuries off, in
Mr.. Harper's S opinion. Long-leaf
pine is being.cut faster than it
grows, but he doubts even wheth-
er this species is being exhausted
so rapidly as was formerly sup
posed The future prospects Of
our forests are thus summed up
in the conclusion of this paper:
In fact, wherever the lumber,
turpentine and phosphate men
have done their worst and depart
ed to new fields the pines begin to
grow again unless the farmer
comes Immediately after, for there
are hardly enough people in Flor
ida yet to keep the forests down.
Even when the population is
much denSer than it is now the
rate of cutting may not be increas-
ed, for we now have substitutes
for wood in almost every industry
in which it is used, and the use of
these substitutes is constantly in
creasing, so much that the manu-
facturers Of long-leaf pine and cy-
press lumber in the last few years
have tried to stem the tide by ad-
vertising their products in news
papers and magazines. Long be-
fore our forests are replaced by
cultivated fields we will probably
learn to dispense with wood al
most entirely, as the Eskimos, Thi-
betans, Turks, Spaniards, Mexi-
cans and other people living
where trees are scarce do now,
and the remaining forests will be
valued chiefly for their beauty
and their influence on climate,
stream flow, etc.
Even our fires, the author OBJ
serves, "sweep over any one spot
about once in two years and tend
to keep down underbrush but do
no harm to mature and sound
pines" f" A new crop is continually
springing up from the seed and
the young pine grows so fast that
many of them are soon beyond
the reach of harm. We are giving
our understanding of the authors s
in this, not quoting his
words.
The author insists, in the 9th