Georgia forestry, Vol. 2, no. 6 (June 1949)

~
~bGeorgi~E t~orestry
NOV 21 19sr
UNIVERSITY OF r

Page ~e

Geo~gia fo~est~y

STOP FOREST DESTRUCTION
(From The F.artow Herald)
We would like to commend the Eartow County Farm fureau in a most hearty manner for its decision to support one hundred per cent the efforts of our fire protection unit to prevent woods fires. The wanton destruction which has resulted in the County during the past few weeks has been nothing less than criminal.
In some cases, many acres of young trees have been completely destroyed. These young trees, carefully flanted and nurtured for severa years, will be a complete loss. There is no sense to it and we hope that Solicitor General Warren Akin and all other agencies will cooperate in the future to permanently stop these needless woods fires.
Destruction of our forests, with the resultant economic loss that goes with it, is just as bad as any other type of arson. It is waste of our natural resources and is reflected in soil erosion, waste of future timber resources, and great loss to propertf holders. An uncontrolled fire wi 1 spread quickly into other areas, destroying every thing in its path.
Protection of forests against fire is one of the finest types of insurance for our economic future. Georgia's timber has become one of the state's greatest sources of income.

Georgia Forestry

Yo. Z JUNE 1949

lo. 8

A monthly bulletin published by the
Georgia Forestry Commission, 435 State Capitol, Atlanta, Ga., as a public service to farmers, other landowners, and timber industries.
inte~ed as second-class Matte~ AP~l 15, !9~, at the Post Office, Atlanta, Ga., unde~ the act of Jugust ZIJ, 1912.

FIRE PROTECTICN FOR THIS O)Ul'ITY
(From the Sandersville Progress)
More counties are joining Georgia's forest fire control program and we hope Washington county is not far behind in adopting this plan of protection to our forest lands.
As Jesse Newsom pointed out in his story last week, the state is now payin~ tWQ-thirds of the cost of organ1zed protection, which means the employment of a fire patrol and also other precautionary methads. In addition to bearing the cost of two-thirds of the rrotection system, the state wi 1 bear the full cost for the building of two towers.
lbe state is anxious to install the fire equipment, towers and conr munication system before fall when the fire season be~ins. We hope Washington county w1ll see fit to adopt this protection. It is a service the landowners and tax payers believe is justified. It will pay dividends to our county in protected and more valuable lands. The program is economically sound and .can be administered efficiently which are essentials necessary for a well balanced program.
THE TREE PLANTER
Whoever planted rows of trees Beside the roads and lanes, God rest his soul in Heavenly peace And bless him for his pains; For he who fave of time and toil, Who gave o heart and hand To nurse the tender shoots that were To shade of ways of.man, Was quite as great as those who built Of stone and minted goldNo need to cast his name in bronze, His deeds need not be told.
By -Stanley Foss Bartlett
American Forests.

June, 191J9

Page Two

Training Session Set

For NeW" Rangers

All rangers Who will head newlyestablished county fire protection units under the expanded fire protection program will begin a fourweek period of training July 11. The air base at Waycross will be the site of the school . Approximately 30 newly-employed rangers will attend.
The training will be designed to teach all phases of the operation of a county fire protection unit, with the objecti~ of preparing the prospective ranger to set up and

efficiently administer the county fire protection organization.
Major emphasis will be placed on fire suppression and fire pre\ention. The rangers will learn fire suppression methods and the operating and maintenance of trucks, tractors, plows, power pumps and handtools through actual use of the equipment. When pract.icable, films and other training aids will be used.
Instructors and speakers will i~

..JOE BEAVER"

(Continued on Page 9)

"One acre of good pasture will fe:e:d as much stock as I0 to 50 ac:re:s of farm woodland! Why wear yourself out in the: woods?"

Page Three

Geo~gia fo~e s try

Ti:rnber Bequeath Helps County Get Hospital

A fabulous tract of timber in Murray County is helping provide a modern hospital for citizens of
that section.

J. Frank Hall, a Murray County farmer, died in March last year and in his will Mr.Hall stipulated that the timber on 150 acres of woodland would be sold to help build a hospital at Chatsworth. Administrators of his estate called for bids and sold the timber for $100,000.
To date the 150 acres have produced more than 20,000 feet per acre. The average acre of Georgia forest land has a net. volume of sa~ timber of only 1,606 board feet.
'Frank and that timber grew up together,' recalls P. H. Bond, administrator for the estate.

A.R. Shirley resigned as director of the Georgia Forestry Cdmmission June 1 and has joined the American Turpentine Farmers Association with headquarters at Valdosta.
Guyton DeLoach, assistant director in charge of fire control, was named acting director . The Commission is expected to pnpoint the pe~ manent director at an early date.

The trees were Mr. Hall's most precious possession, and he told w.J. Jackson, ranger for the Murray County Protection Unit, shortly before he died that there has never been a fire in those woods.

'Mr. Hall was an enthusiastic supporter of our protection unit,' Ranger Jackson says. 'He knew the value of preventing fire in the woods.'

The hosP.ital is costing approxi-

mately $175,000. The financial

foundation for the project was laid

by the late V.C. Pickering. The

mhaovdeer6n41

fire-proof rooms.

structure

will

THK COYKR PHO!O
f he new hospi tal at Chatsworth., described in the accompanying article, is pictured on the cover this month. Dedico- tion exe~cises are being Planned at an e.-ly date.

Mr.DeLoach joined the Comnnssion in 1941.He served first as a county ranger and later filled the position of assistant district forester and district forester ..
In his letter of resignation to the CbmuUssion, Mr. Shirley said:
'Since the Commission was created by an Act of the Legislature,signed into law by Gov. Herman Talmadge on February 23, 1949, my association with each of you and the fine spirit of cooperation, interest and understanding of the forestry problems and needs cannot be surpassed. This very fine spirit of cooperation and enthusiasm which you have shown in developing and perpetuating' the forest resources of Georgia has been a great inspiration and assistance to me and all members of the Georgia Forestry Cbmmission.
'The expansion program that has been made possible through the increase in appropriation to the Geo~ gia Forestry Commission by the



(Continued on Page 9)

~ gJant Pine stu~p on the 150 acres of Murray County woodlands that brought

1 ,000. P. H. Bond, one of the adainistrators of the estate of the late J ?

Hall, is Pictured with the stu:...p.



June, 19119

Page Four

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Page Five

Georgia forestry

North Georgia Firebreaks

Firebreaks can be established even in the steeper hill regions of the Piedmont section of Georgi a without inviting soil erosion complications. That is the belief of Mose Gordon, a prominent Commerce lumberman, who has 300 miles of wide, non-eroded firebreaks to support his ideas.
Mr. Gordon's timber is in a 10,000-acre tract, located in the northeast section of Hall County. Cutting of 40 million feet of timber, at the rate of about three million feet a year, is expected to begin next month. Mr. Gordon also wanted a good system of firebreaks because he has planted a quarter of a million pine seedlings within the past three years.

The firebreaks are 12 feet wide and serve also as roads for moving fire control equipment which Mr. Gordon maintains. The fire breaks will be used as logging roads, too, he points out.
Actual construction of the breaks took place in the spring of 1948. Since then they have been checked closely and no evidence of erosion has been noticed.
The breaks were constructed with a crawler-type tractor with bulldozer blade. The dozer was followed with a road scraper, smoothing out the loosened earth.
In cases where slopes of more than five per cent were en~ountereq

HILLSIDE firebreaks are examined, right photo, by Hose Gordon, left, sive spr,ing rains had prevented scraping the lane they are observing of Piedmont section jirebreajs was handled by Jack Scott, Romer L. Wil

.I -~.

June,
a 'stairstep' method of construction was used . This called for piling up dirt every 10 or 12 feet to break the flow of water. If it developes that 'stairsteps' are not adequate to prevent erosion, plans have been made to plant the slopes with Fescue and Ladino clovdr.

191J9

Mr. Gordon has his own fire-
fighting unit consisting of a truck with a 120-gallon tank, power pump, back pumps, rakes and flaps. Even a 30-foot tower, constructed by the CCC, is used.

Oscar Battle, district forester for the Georgia Forestry CommJssio~ points out Mr.Gordon has firebreaks on both sides of all permanent roads running through the timb cr. Breaks also were cut around a 11 fields.

Plans for maintaining the breaks

call for scraping with a short

wheel base motor pat ro 1.

;;,-

ct forester Battlr. Excesstruction of the 300 miles
Clifford Wheeler.

Page Six
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Page Seven

Georgia forestry

James M. Salter, former ranger for the Emanuel County Protection Unit, has taken over the editorship of the Swainsboro Forest-Blade. His resignation from the Forestry Commission became effective on June 1.
A native of Milledgeville and Baldwin County, Mr. Salter is a graduate of the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Military College. During the war he served with the Navy in both the Atlantic and Paci fie.
The Cobb County Fire Protection Unit soon will have a new home, Ranger N. A. Medford announces.
Construction is now underway on the new 60x26 oak frame building which will house. the busy tv.o- truck unit and its five-man staff. The floor will be concrete, making repair and washing of the trucks easy to handle. Concrete aprons will lead from the building to the road.
Aportion of i:he material is being donated by different lumber and cern en t dealers in Cobb County in the interest of the forestry pr~ gram which has saved hundreds of acres of timber in the county since its origin.

Miles S. Koger, ranger for the Deeatur County Protection Unit, at Bainbridge, has been praised by the Ward-Stilson Company of Andetson, Indiana, for his action in curbing a fire at the firm's plant located at Bainbridge.
The company estimated that the value of the property saved exceeded $100 , 000.
The letter of appreciation, written by W. T< Stilson, president of the hnn, follows:
Dear Mr. Koger: For a long time now I have been
wanting to have a chance to thank you for the fine job of fire fighting that you did at our plant out at the Air Pase. From what every body tells me, it was your action which really resulted in keeping the thing under control,and getting the fire put out with such a small amount of damage.
When I saw the place soon after the fire, I couldn't see how you ever got it stopped without it taking the whole place.
I want you to know that your very efficient and prompt action is
1
greatly appreciated by this company, and I personallY want to thank you for saving the plant as you did.

Pibb County Protection Unit works under a ~eculiar handicap when investigat1ng fires in the old Camp Wheeler area. Ranger W. B. Redding, explains that there is always the danger'of unexploded ammunition of former target areas there.
Carelessness has again taken its toll in valuable Chattooga County timberland. Ranger George Pisoop reports that two recent fires were started by hunters leaving a burnj ng tree in the woods and by a landGYoller who started burning off a sage field before plowing a line all the way around the field.

Page Eight

PENTINE being loaded in a freight car at the plant of the Standard Processing Pany in Swainsboro is being examined by Manager Arthur fraps, Left, and seLL Harrison, superintendent of the packaging plant.

FORESTRY DIRECTORY IS. PUBLISHED
A 'must' for all foresters and conservationists is the new 1949 Forestr~ Directory, published by the Amer1can Tree Association.
More than just a directory, ~his book describes the forestry and cofr

servation work of the federal government, state governments, national forestry associations, national organizations with forest conservation programs, state forestry and conservation organizations, and forestry schools and demonstration forests.
Copies may be obtained from the American Tree Association, 1214 16th Street,N.W.,Washington 6,D. C.

Page Nine

G~orgia forestry

TRAINING PROGRAM
(Continued from Page 2) elude the Director,Georgia Forestry Corrmi ssion, the Assistant Directors, Information and Education Chief, district foresters, and experienced county rangers. Dick Davis, assistant educational forester, will be in charge of the operation of the training session.
Forestry boards, composed of local landowners, are being appoin~ ed for each county by the Georgia Forestry Commission. The various boards are interviewing ranger applicants this month.
The half-way mark in the 1949 forest fire protection goal was passed early this month.
Agreements have now been signed with 24 counties since January 1. These contracts will result in organized fire protection being established on approximately three and one-half million acres of forest land.
The latest counties to join the expansion program are Macon, Crisp, Schley, Lamar, Jasper, Telfair, Whitfield, Troup, and Jones.
TURPENTINE PLANT EXPANDS FACILITIES
The Vidalia Gum Turpentine Company, Inc., Vidalia, has stepped up its volume to a million dollar per year business with the recent installation of new and ultra modern equipment, announces Company Sec retary FartowSnooks.
The plant, which recently reopened after a four-month shut-down ~eriod while the installation was being made, is designed to manufacture a superior grade of rosin and has a capacity of 20 uarrels of gum per bour.
The plant, which e!J1lloys 25 persons on almost a year-round basis, is now outfitted with Olustee type stills made of stainless steel.
Officials of the firm are Hugh Peterson, president; C. M. Jordan, Jr. ,vice-president, and Mr. Snooks, secretary and general manager.

SHIRLEY RESIGNS
(Continued from Page 3)
recent Legislature, at the suggestion of Governor Herman Talmadge, is making possible a program of great importance to the timberland owners of this state. It is a real challenge to the Georgia Forestry Commission to put in a program that will be of lasting benefits to our people.
'The reason for my resignation is not due to the lack of any cooperation or assistance from the Board or the Governor, but due to the fact that I have been offered a position in another field of forestry \YOrk that I believe will mean' more to my personal well-being from every aspect. Through this nP.w commitment I will cont1nue to work for the forestry interest and wellbeing of a large section of our state as well as a number of other southern states.
'My hope for the Georgia Forestry Commission is that it will continue to grow and expand in service and usefulness to the citizens of this state, and for the betterment of all by providing more products, employing more workers, expanding and encouraging forest markets.
'I appreciate the opportunity I have had for the past approximately t'IYO and one-half years as Director of the Georgia Department of Forestry and later the Georgia Forestry Commission to help in encouraging and promoting better forest conservation in Georgia. '

NEW FIRMS

A new plant ?Atich is now making

oak flooring at ~art a will soon be

producing fountains,

stor and

ebafrisx. tusr.e

s, soda Raymond

Caruse, managf!r of the company,

hopes soon to bring a number of

skilled woodvorkers to Sparta to

work in the plant

The C. and H. Veneer Com~any recently opened in Hawkinsv1lle with Coy Coleman as manag<r. The firm will sell principally to manufacturers of boxes and crates.

June, 191J9

Page Ten

P~UUpectJ. R~ flood

55 Mi/Ji.o.n g~

Prospects for a 55 million tree seedling crop from Georgia's three nurseries remain good, reports L.C. Hart, Jr., assistant directo' of the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Mr. Hart,who is in charge of the

nurser storm

y f

progra ell at

mtn1

e

said Dav

i

a sb

severe oro Nu

hail rsery

but the seedling crop escaped with

only slight damage. He described

the slasn, longleaf, loblolly and

black locust outlook as very good.

The red cedar crop is considered fair at this time. The only seed obtainable for this species was of poor quality and weather conditions delayed planting.

Again the Arizona cypress crop has been a complete failure. This species, desirable for Christmas trees, is not native to Georgia and even though the Commission has gone to considerable effort and expense in the past three years, the nurseries have been unable to produce it in quantity.

The Commission again plans to deliver seedlings by state truck when such method of delivery is requested by persons ordering trees. The usual rate of 25 cents a thousand will be charged for this delivery service. Species of trees to be available, and nursery prices per thousand, follo~
Slash, $2. 50; Loblolly, $2. 50.i. Longleaf, $2.50; 4ed Cedar, $5.0v and Black Locust, $2.00:

ENGINEERED HOMES

The April issue of The Southern Lumber Journal salutes the J. N. ~ray Companf. Valdosta, Ga., for 1ts record 1n building IndustryEngineered Homes.
The l N. Bray Company, one of
Georgia s oldest lumber firms, has built and sold 19 of these 'IE' houses, a performance probabky un-
equalled by any other Southern Lum-
ber firm, reports the Journal.

SLASH PLANTATION THINNED IN DECATUR
One of the first slash pine plantations established in Decatur County was thinned this spring after 11 years of growth.
A yield of approximately 16 cords per acre was reported by George Cochran, manager of the Southlands Plants dion, where the thinning was conducted. He pointed out approximately 30 per cent of the trees were cut and said he believed another 30 per cent should be removed within the next five or six years.
The yield from the second thinning should be about 25 per cent greater, Mr. Cochran estimated. The eight-acre slash plantation was established in February, 1938.
Decatur County planted one and one-half million seedlings this past season and the goal for next season is two million. Practically all of the seedlings were planted with machines made available by Mr. Cochran and the International Paper Company.
RAILROAD REPORTS FOREST FREIGHT
Forest products handled by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1948 totaled 6,352,160 tons, according to the Company's annual report, released last month. This figure represents 16.87 per cent of total freight carried by the Seaboard during 1948.
In comparison with other commodities handled by the Company, forest products rank third in total tonnage, ahead of agricultural products and livestock.