The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1925-01-06
.REFORESTING WORN
OUT GEORGIA LAND
TIMBER NOW BEING CUT TEN
TIMES AS FAST AS 1T is BE-
ING GROWN. SOME FACTS.

Professor DuPree, OF the extension
forestry department OF the State Col
lege OF Agriculture, in recent issue
OF the Agricultural Bulletin has val
liable and timely article on The For
est Needs OF Georgia" Prof. DuPree
says:
According to the National Hard
wood Association we are using our
timber about ten times as last as 1t IS
growing. | am told that there are
3lO.732 farm units in Georgia which
on the average consumes OF, 4o4,UUO
feet per year.
The cut in Georgia, according to
1920 report, was 761, 100000 feet. |
estimate that the state OF Georgia cas-
ilv consumes for all purposes at least
a billion feet per year, leaving us a
shortage OF 28,200,000 feet. In Geor-
gia we must educate the citizen to
realize the meaning and value OF for
estry to him personally. ! we could
teach the forestry slogan Use but not
abuse to every man, woman and
child in Georgia the problem would
be simple, but this is a hard task and
will take time. If we delay longer in
putting the better forestry program
before the people to make them see
their destructive methods OF logging
and lack OF conservation all the vir-
gin timber will be gone and we will
have to grow another crop
We copy from the Forestry Ed
ton OF the bulletin the following
about timber
practical lumber men tell us that
they can buy land today at prices
around FIVE dollars per acre, pay taxes
on this land on their valuation Tor
thirty-hve years, pay interest on the
investment, pay for cost OF reforesta-
ton, pay for fire protection and 9TH
er expenses incidental to growing the
timber and come out at the end OF the
period with a handsome profit even II
present prices apply,
There is no problem in growing
trees. Anybody can grow them. They
grow winter and summer, drought or
flood, night and day. They just need
little bit of help from man. 1t is
absolutely no problem. All you have
to do is to get them started. Nature
does the work and by helping nature
you can grow four times as much
timber to the acre in so years as ma
ture alone will grow in $50 years.
"A reliable estimate shows that
over 2H million acres OF farm land i'll
Georgia went out OF cultivation during
the years Of 1922 and 1923. Timber
will grow on the lands too poor for
farm crops. This is true especially OF
the pines, and kind of timber has
been increasing more rapidly in value
than pine.
THE average valuation put on lands |
in Georgia in 1900 was $500 per acre.
The value put on lands in 1921 was
$500 per acre. That is these lands had
almost trebled in value during twenty
years. 1t is possible and entirely prob
able that agricultural lands will reach |
higher values in the future.
Some land owners burn off their
forest lands every year. This is the
greatest drawback to rapid natural
reforestation in this territory. Many
say that they burn the woods in ora
der to get better grazing for the live
stock. 1t has been clearly demon
strated that this is a very bad prac-
tice. If it were true that the burning
stimulated the growth of grass it
would be of doubtful value on account
OF the great damage done to the tim
Der, especially the small trees.
Georgia has an area of about 49,
100000 acres. OF this less than H.
100000 acres are now being cultivated.
Large acreages are even being aban
doned because there are not enough
people to cultivate the land or because
we have learned that we can produce
crops more probably by intensive
culture OF fewer acres.
Census figures for 1921 show that