Georgia forest lookout [Apr. 1931]

Volume 1

ATLAN TA, GA., APRIL, 193 1

Number 4

FORESTRY ASSOCIATION

GEORGIA'S LOST TREE

CHICOPEE COMPANY PLANTS

PROGRAM ANNOUNCED

OF ALTAHAMA SWAMPS

PINES

* * * * * * * * * Noted Speakers to be Heard at Al- Bartram Discovered Tree One Hun- The Chicopee Manufacturing Company,

bany, May 20 and 21, on Practical

dred

and Fifty Years Ago

and

n ear Gainesville, r ecently planted 20,000 loblolly pine seedlings on aban don ed farm

Subjects - Field Demonstrations Progency Now Scattered Over land within their holdings.

Will Feature Afternoon of Second World, But Original Has Never This planting operation is conducted un-

Day-Tentative Program Given.

Been Found Again.

der plans prepared by the Georgia Forest

The tenth annual session of the Georgia

Se1vice for the management of their three

Forestry Association will be held at Al- William Bartram r e c or d s in his thousand acres of forest land which they

bany, May 20 and 21. A program of out- " Travels", the discover y and n aming of have under organized fire protection.

standing interest has about been perfected. the F ranklinia ( Gordonia alatamaha) a s All open lands which will not restock

Eminent authorit ies will deal with practi- f ollows : " . . . I employed myself in re- within a reasonable t ime are being planted,

cal subj ects and point the way to the de- visiting the sever al districts of Georgia .. the idea being to convert the entire area

velopment of great potential f orest r e- wher e I noted the most curious subjects: to forest as rapidly as possible.

sources of Georgia.

coll ecting them t og ether and shipping them This is. the third year in which planting

The public is invited t o atten d all ses-

(Continued on page 2, co lu mn 2 )

oper ations have been conduct ed and is a

sions of the association m eeting and the

r egular par t of their fo r estr y program.

field demonst rations wher e imp ortant

Seedlings were purchased from the

phases of fir e control and f orest m anagement will be given.
Senator William Harris will attend and Govern or Franklin Roosevelt ha s been invited.
The officers of t he Geor gia Forestry Association ar e: Presiden t T . G. Woolfo rd , Atlanta ; First Vice-President Mrs. M. E. Judd, Dalton ; Second Vice-President S. H. Morgan, Guyton; Third Vice-President Dr. W. M. Folks, W aycross; Treasur er Joseph A. McCord, Atla n ta ; Secretar y Bonn ell Stone, Blairsville; Chairman of t h e Executive Committee C. B. Harman, Atlanta. Other m embers of t h e E xecutive Commit t ee are H. L. Kayton, Savanna h; A. K. Sessom s, Cogdell; Mrs. Nora L. Smith, Ashburn ; Col. R. E. Ben edict , Br unswick ; J am es B. Nevin , Atlanta ; Miss E mily Woo dwar d,

St at e Nursery at Athens, Georgia.
* * ::: Grand Jury of Chatham
County on Fire Measures
At a r ecent meeting of the gr and jury
of Chatham county in present m ents made to Ju dge P eter Meldrim, special attention
was given t o r eport of the f or est fire preventi on comm ittee. Recommendation s
were made that a truck be equipped by the
count y f or fo r est fire fight ing, t h at a for-
est fire look out tower b e er ected a n d man-
ned to detect and report fires and that
trusty convicts under a guard be rushed
by t he t ru ck to suppress the fires bef or e
they m ake headway. - -- - - -
Value of School Forests
Commenting on the work of the Lump-

Vienna; Gordon E. Reynolds, Albany; B. C. Milner, East Point; Judge Ogden Persons, Forsyth; W. T. Anderson, Macon.

kin High School Forest, which is one. of more than a hundred similar school forests in Georgia, the Columbus Enquirer-

The local committee at Albany in charge

Sun says editorially: "The education of

of convention arrangements is composed of

the children of the country so that they

W. H. Burt, J. P. Champion, J. B. Davis,

will appreciate the value of forests and

Percy Price, J. W. Reynolds.

will take part in the planting and care of

The tentative program is as follows:
Pro~ram Morning Session 10:00 o'clock (Central T.)
(Continued on page 2, column 1)

T. G. Woolford, President of Geor g ia F orestry Association. A public spirited business man who has taken time to render valuable service to the cause of forestry in Georgia

them is our greatest hope. The work at the Lumpkin school and others in the state is prophetic of forest culture on a large scale in Georgia".

2

GEORGIA FOREST LOOKOUT

GEORGIA FOREST SERVICE 9. Permanent Foundations for Forest In- of about ten or twelve years ago, at this

dustries. (To be selected).

place, when I attended my father (John

Published Monthly By GEORGIA FOREST SERVICE

State Capitol

Atlanta, Ga.

C. A. Whittle, Editor

10. The Forest Tax Situation-Mr. J. A. Bartram) on a botanical excursion; but, it

Davis, Albany, and mel, Savannah, Ga.

Mr.

George

Rom-

being then

late

in autumn, we

could form

11. Reaching the Man Who Owns the For- no opinion to what class or tribe it belong-

est-Mr. Austin Carey, U. S. Forest ed. We never saw it grow in any other

Staff of the Georgia Foerst Service

Service, Starke, Fla.

place, nor have I ever seen it growing

B. M. Lufburrow, State Forester......Atlanta C. A. Whittle, Director of Education and
Utilization ------------------------------------ Atlanta ENerett B. Stone, Jr., Assistant State
Forester -------------------------------- Gainesville H. M. _S__ _e_b__r__i_n__g_ _,___A___s_s__t_.__ _S___t_a__t_e_ ___F__o_ _r__e_s__t_e_ _r,Macon
C. Bernard Beale, District Forester, ----------------------------------------------Waycross
W. D. Young, District Forester____________Rome Jack Thurmond, District Forester,

12. Forestry Education in the SchoolsMr. Paul Chapman, Athens, Ga.
13. Training Foresters for Georgia-Mr. G. D. Marckworth, Athens, Ga.
Business Meeting. Open Discussion.
Afternoon Session________________________ 2 :00 o'clock
Forestry Meeting of the Public Schools. Field Demonstrations. Assistant State Forester H. M. Sebring,
Macon, Ga.

wild, in all my travels, from Pennsylvania to Point Coupe, on the banks of the Mississippi, which must be allowed a very singular and unaccountable circumstance; at this place there are two or three acres of ground where it grows plentifully."
Cuttings from this plant discovered by William Bartram were taken to his father who then lived in Philadelphia where it

* * * ---------------------------------------- Savannah

was planted in the city park and today is

Charles N. Elliott, Assistant Director of Education ------------------------------------ Atlanta
H. D. Story, Jr., District Forester, ----------- ____ ________ __ ____ ____ ____ __ ___ _____ _ Albany

T.

G. WOOLFORD LEADER IN FORESTRY DEVELOPMENT

to be seen there in the Arnold Arboretum of that city. As Bartram mentioned, some of the cuttings also went to England where

W. G. Wallace, District Forester,

T. G. Woolford, Atlanta, President of they were placed in cultivation.

. ------------------------------------------ Columbus the Georgia Forestry Association, business Botanists following William Bartram de-

Mrs. Nellie Nix Edwards, Secretary to the State Forester -~----------------------------Atlanta
Miss Clifford Sims, Secretary to the Direc-

leader given

and time,

public spirited citizen, has money and rare executive

termined the Franklinia to be a true Gordonia, as Bartram at first thought it to be.

tor of Education and Utilization, Atlanta ability to the promotion of the interests of Today this plant bears the scientific name

forestry in Georgia. His sound judgments, of Gordonia alatamaha with its discover-

Forestry Assn.-Cont'd

ability to see through a proposition and to er's scientific name, Franklinia, as its comclarify and simplify conclusions has won mon name.

Presiding________T, G. Woolford, Atlanta, Ga.
Invocation-Rev. Reese Griffin. Welcome-Mayor J. S. Billingslea.

for him the admiration of associates in the Georgia Forestry Association. His valua-

As Bartram suggested in his "Travels", the occurrence of this species is "singular

Response-President T. G. Woolford, Ga. ble services to forestry merits the grati- and unaccountable". It has never been

Forestry Association.

tude of the whole state.

found native anywhere else in the world

1. What Forestry Means to Georgia-Mr.
W. T. Anderson, Macon, Ga. 2. Progress and Plans in State Forestry-

Mr. Woolford is President of the Retail Credit Company, member of a number of

except on these few acres in the Altamaha swamps. It is a tree that has been hidden

Mr. B. M. Lufburrow, State Forester, civic organizations, chairman of the At- in the semi-tropical vegetation of southern

Atlanta, Ga.

lantic-Gulf canal commission of the st~e Georgia for over a hundred and fifty years.

3. Research Aids to G"'nrscia Forest OwnersPine Belt-Mr. E . .L. .Demon, Dir., U.

in which capacity he has been very active and influential in presenting every claim

Many have success.

sought

for

the

tree

without

S. Forest Experiment Station, New favorable to the construction of this pro- One wonders how such a plant came in-

Orleans, La.

posed waterway, leaving nothing undone to existence and why it was confined to

Hardwood Belt-Dr. C. R. Hursh, Forest Ecologist, Appalachian Forest
Station, Asheville, N. C.

to accomplish the desired ends. Mr. Woolford is a native of Maryland,

a

only face

two or of the

three small acres on the wide earth. One also wonders if

4. A Railroad's Experience in Fire Pro- Georgian for many years, an acquisition of the tree wages a losing fight for its place

tection-Mr. Roland Turner, Atlanta, which the state may well be proud, for few in the plant world as the common chestnut

Ga. Business Meeting.
Open Discussion.

indeed are rendering Georgia as valuable of the mountains (Castanea dentata) is

service as he.

now doing, or if it had just begun to live

1:00 P. M. Luncheon mittee meetings.

Conference-Com-

The cause of forestry is fortunate in and had conquered and spread its canopies enlisting his services. It is, therefore, with over only a small domain of a few acres

a feeling of pride that the Georgia Forest when Bartram discovered it.

Afternc;>on Session-2 :30 (C. T.)

Lookout presents his likeness in its gal-

Charles Newton Elliott.

Presiding-Mr. H. L. Kayton, Savannah, lery of forestry notables of the state in

Ga.

this issue.

5. Law Enforcement in Fire Protection-

Naval Stores Loans
Senator Walter F. George succeeded in

* * * Judge Ogden Persons, Forsyth, Ga.

getting his bill entitling naval stores to re-

6.

Tiny Living Cells Today Build MultiProduct Pines-Dr. Eloise Gerry, U.
S. Forest Products Laboratory, Madi-

to

Lost Tree-Cont'd
England. I had the opportunity

of

ob-

ceive federal loans from the Farm Relief Board passed through the short session of

son, Wis.

serving the new flowering shrub, resem- Congress. It got through as a rider on

7. Timber and Railroads-S. R. Young, bling the Gordonia. On first observing the oleomargarine bill. The bill was ap-

8.

Asst. Chief Engineer, A. & W. P. Rail-
road, Atlanta. New Sources of Wealth for the South-
Dr. Charles Herty, Industrial Chemist,

the fructification and habit of this tree, I was inclined to believe it a species of Gordonia; but afterwards, upon stricter ex-

proved by
What

President Hoover.
Fire Did to Pine

Growth

New York, N. Y.

amination, and comparing its flowers and A report from the Ty Ty school which

Open Discussion.

fruit with those of the Gordonia lasianthus, has a school forest, in the Moultrie Obser-

I presently found striking characteristics ver, tells of measurements made on burned

B anqueL-----------------------------------------7 :30 P. M. abundantly sufficient to separate it from and unburned sample plots. On the burned

Toastmaster-Mr. G. E. Reynolds, Albany, that genus, and to establish it the head of area the growth in height of young trees

Ga. Addresses.

a new tribe, which we have honoured with was 15 1-2 inches, whereas on the un-

Morning

Second Day
Session ____________________________10

o'clock

the name Franklin.

of the illustrious Dr. Benjamin Franklinia Alatamaha . . . This

burned This is

area the growth one of the lessons

was 40 inches. taught by the

Presiding-Mr. I. F. Eldredge, Fargo, Ga. very curious tree was first taken notice vocational schools' demonstration forests.

GEORGIA FOREST LOOKOUT

3

GORDON D. MARCKWORTH INCREASED TREE PLANTING

NEW HEAD GEORGIA

Most of the tree planting in Georgia oc-

FORESTRY SCHOOL
Professor Gordon D. Marckworth

has

curs in late winter and early spring. This year more trees were planted than for any

been elected head of the Forestry D1v1S10n previous period.

of the Georgia State College of Agricul- From such records as are available, it

ture at Athens to succeed Professor T. D. is estimated that 4,000,000 trees were

SIXTH DISTRICT Jack Thurmond, Distr~.::t Forester
Savannah
Stafford's Experience With Fire Breaks

Burleigh now located at the Appalachian planted in Georgia this year. Nearly two In September, 1930, the Liberty County

Forest Experiment Station at Asheville. million seedlings grown at the state tree Timber Protective Organization was formed

Professor Marckworth obtained his de- nursery were sold. Several large timber and included 17,145 acres of cut-over and

gree of Bachelor of Science in Forestry owners conduct their own tree nurseries burned land. The job of building fire-

from the Ohio State University in 1916 and have made extensive plantings. A breaks and patrolling for fires was under-

and his Master's Degree in Forestry from number of vocational schools have opera- taken by Mr. W. I. Stafford, a native of

Yale in 1917. Since that time, he has ted tree seed beds and planted the seed- Liberty county, and a believer in rough

held the position of Assistant state forest- lings they grew. Commercial tree nurs- woods. He has worked faithfully, and

er of Virginia, saw service in the World eries in other states have shipped into some of his experiences and views on

War and then he was sent from the A. E. F . Georgia a large number of seedlings. In fire-break construction are given in the

to attend the University of Edinburgh in addition, quite a number of timber owners following statement:

Scotland where he studied British forest- have transplanted seedlings from the woods "I have been plowing and burning out

ry methods and conditions.

or borders of fields to open places.

fire-breaks since the first of last November.

He was elected assistant state forester of Texas in the spring of 1920 and in the

More slash pine than any other species has been planted, followed in their order

We have used the method prescribed by the Georgia Forest Service. I have given this work my best thought and considera-

summer of 1921 resigned this position to by loblolly and longleaf pines. Hardwood tion, and have not been able to devise or

organize and take charge of the forest plantings have been small, among leaders invent a better or more economical fire-

protection work in Tennessee. After two years in this position, Professor Marek-

are black locust, gum and walnut.

ash,

yellow

poplar,

red

break than the method prescribed by them. We use a double disc plow drawn by a 15-30 International tractor. The woods

worth resigned to spend a year in com-

were rough and full of lightwood stumps.

mercial work and then resumed his activities in forestry as assistant state forester in charge of protection in Maryland. From the Maryland Forest Service, Pro-

FIRST DISTRICT W. B. Young, District Forester
Rome

Had the misfortune of breaking the plow several times. However, the plow did real good work, and so the burning out was not so hazardous.
"We tried to make our break 50 to 60

fessor Marckworth resigned to take the

feet wide, burning out between furrows.

position of Associate Professor of Forestry in the Louisiana State University, and two

Reinhardt

College to Scale

Plant

on

Large

Found we had less trouble with fires catching out behind us when we had the dirt thrown from the break. -When thrown to

years later was made head of the forestry Reinhardt College, at Waleska, Georgia, the break, fire gets under the turf, burn-

department of that institution, which position he held until coming to the Division of Forestry of the College of Agriculture at

plans extensive forest planting for next year. Under the supervision of Mr. L. T. Hagood, vocational teacher, four 4 by 12

ing rotten wood and dry grass, sometimes catching out after the crew has been gone for several minutes. We find that fire-break construction must be done well, burned

Athens.

feet beds have been constructed and will out clean, and be well connected. Woods

Professor Marckworth is a Senior Member of the Society of AmeJ:<ican Foresters and during the past year has been chair-

be planted to ' loblolly pine, black locust, white ash and yellow poplar. Mr. Hagood plans to carry out the forestry project on a

fires can be controlled, but it requires well organized effort on the part of all members and the larger the membership the better."

man of the Gulf States Section of this larger scale than is called for in the regu- Burning Firebreaks on contract by the

Society. He was also a member of State Forestry Board in Louisiana.

the

lar school forest, eventually planting all the abandoned and poor land of the school

mile is popular in Liberty County Timber Protective Organization.
Work on firebreaks on this T. P. 0. was

property to forest trees.

done on a day basis, $5.00 per day being

~~~

allowed on the tractor and plow. Mr. Stafford let contracts to local men for the

burning out the strips which were from 30
Johnson Lines Up Tenants to Fight to 50 feet wide, at $1.50 per mile. This

Fire

is a very cheap rate for if undertaken on a per-day basis they usually cost $3.00 or

Mr. Bill Johnson, one of the patrolmen more for burning per mile.

of the Ellijay Timber Protective Organiza-

~~~

tion, says that good protection has resulted

Overstreet Transplants Pines

by requiring all renters who farm any

open land in the T. P. 0 . area to sign a Mr. M. V. Overstreet, a farmer, turpen-

written contract with the distinct under- tine man, cattleman, and timberman of

standing that timber lands must be kept Manasas, Georgia, Tattnall county, has

free from fire, and at any time the tenant planted 125 acres in slash pine during the

is subject to call to fight fire should one .last two years. He used slash seedlings

break out on the protected area.

from two to three years old, lifting dirt

and all on the roots and transferring them

on trucks to the field where the planting

According to the Bureau of Census of- was to be done. These seedlings were

the United States, yellow pine continues growing wild in the woods where fire had

as the leading commercial wood of the been kept off for a number of years. He

country. The consumption of leading com- made his planting holes with a shovel or

mercia} woods is as follows: yellow pine, spade and cut the tap root back to about

11,203,238,000 board feet; Douglas fir, six inches long. Planting the seedlings in

8,688,.700,000; western yellow pine, 3,- this manner and packing the ground down

288,237,000; oak, 2,542,700,000; hemlock, firmly around them over 95 percent of

2,075,194,000; white pine, 1,325,450,000; them lived. Trees were spaced 8 by 12

Gordon E. Marckworth, Head Forestry School, Georgia.

red gum, 1,110,735,000.

feet.

4

GEORGIA FOREST LOOKOUT

Schools Plant Pines

to running two drug stores, Mr. Knight

GEORGIA APPALACHIAN

In the school forests

of

vocational

also operates a turpentine place 5,000 acres under fire protection.

having He has

schools of District 6, many slash pine seed- had fire breaks ploughed all through his

TRAIL
Down the backbone of eastern North

lings were planted this year. One of the property and reports a splendid growth America from Mt. Katahdin in the state of

best plantings was on the school forest of the Soperton High School where 4 acres were planted. They intend to do some reforesting each year until they have planted 20 acres as they have that much space to

of slash pine coming on. Besides protecting his own property, Mr.
Knight has worked untiringly to convince others of the need for fire protection.

Maine to Mt. Oglethorpe in Georgia runs ' the Appalachian Trail. It crosses the Catskills, dips into the famous Shenandoah Valley, runs the crest of the Unakas and mighty "Smokies" and enters Georgia fol-

devote to planting. The school forest area Dixon Works to Organize T. P. 0. lowing the crest of the Blue Ridge along

was given by Mr. James Fowler, the "Georgia Timber Farmer".

In Pierce County.
Through the generous effort

of

L.

H.

one of the most picturesque sections of the two thousand miles of trail.

~~~

Dixon, Pierce County farmer, almost 2,- Advancing civilization has driven back

Cheaper Than Raking
Mr M. H. Newsome, a member of the Treutlen County Timber Protective Organization, has constructed fire-breaks on

000 acres have been signed up by farmers
in one section of Pierce county. Mr.
Dixon has given a great deal of time to
visiting farmers, explaining the timber protective organization plan, and inducing

the wilderness of eastern North America into that land "way up yonder" on the crest of the Appalachians. Here the trail follows magnificent heights. During the summer it threads through the verdant

all of his timber land which totals 7,000 acres and to date has reported no fires.

them to sign up their lands for fire protection. It is his intention to work in all sec-

aisles of the primeval forest, is gorgeously tinted by the frosts of autumn, and is snow

Mr. Newsome where he has

is a turpentine fire-breaks built

man he is

and able

tions of the county until sufficient acreage is subscribed to form a timber pro-

covered on its northern part sometimes for months of the year. It is trodden by the

to work the trees without raking them. He says the fire-breaks can be constructed

tective

organization.

"big cat", experiences the padded footfall of the fox, and tread of the deer.

cheaper than he can rake the trees. It costs from 30 to 35 cents an acre to rake trees that are to be worked for turpentine. One can get fire protection through organized effort and the average cost will be 4 cents per acre.

Decides Light Burning Won't Do
Riding along the road south of Argyle in Clinch county, the District Forester observed a patch of slash pine saplings severely burned. On inquiry of a farmer ploughing in a field on the opposite side

On November 1, 1930, an organization, known as the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, was formed. A group of men and women from all walks of life but with the common interest in the preservation of Georgia's vanishing wilderness met and pledged themselves to promote public en-

of the road, the farmer explained as fol- joyment of the trail. Visits "to interesting

SEVENTH DISTRICT

lows: "Well, you know I've worked at spots along the trail of the Georgia high-

C. Bernard Beale, District Forester turpentine for ten years and the turpen- lands were planned for 1931.

Waycross

tine men always burned through lightly The club motto is very appropriate: each year to keep down the rough. I came "Ours is a friendship for the trails that

Catches Woods-Burner

out here one evening and started a fire lead to far away places". C. N. Elliott. thinking I'd let it burn back through the

After a long period of woods burning saplings as I was afraid of the rough. But

on the protected lands of the Brunswick I've about made up my min_d not to try to

Peninsula Company in southern Ware burn again. When you get a rough under

county, the vigilant efforts of patrolmen saplings you just can't burn without kill-

have at last been rewarded. Joe Pittman, ing lots of them. No, I don't think I'll

prominent cattleman of the region, was ever try to burn any again".

caught in the act of firing the Peninsula

Company's woods and was given chase by Farmers in Brantley Believe tn Fight-

Will Cox, patrolman. Pittman escaped to

ing Fire

a nearby bay but a warrant for his arrest At a recent fire on Brantley County Tim-

was sworn out and he later surrendered. ber Protective Organization lands, over

Cattlemen in the Okefenokee section 25 farmers responded to help fight the

have been granted small areas for their blaze, it is reported by County Agent L.

"calf burns" with the understanding that V. Cawley. This is indicative of the splen-

they will not set out other fires. Most of did spirit in which Brantley county citi-

the cattlemen have given splendid coop- zens are cooperating with each other in

eration in the reforestation efforts of the keeping down fires. They realize that it

Brunswick Company.

is only by such quick, unified action that

The .patrol force on this property has fires can be controlled and the damage

been recently increased, and an intensive kept at a minimum. Due to their prompt

effort will be directed toward apprehending action only 125 acres were burned over,

woods burners. Warning has been given and this could have been further reduced

that all cases of firing the woods will be had there not been a fault in one of the prosecuted to the fullest extent of the fire breaks where the fire crossed over.

Hitting The Trail

law.

This fire could easily have burned over a "The farmers and other land owners in

thousand acres had the area concerned not the Columbus forestry district are for-

Wayne

T.

P.

0. President Others.

Convinces

been protected by fire breaks and under organized protection.
The fire started through carelessness,

tunate in having headquarters of a branch of the Georgia Forest Service in Columbus
The headquarters should be a help-

No more enhusiastic timberman is to be crossing over from a field where stubble ful agency in improving the forests in this

found than A. E. Knight, druggist at Jesup was being burned off. T}lere have been district and in developing a source of con-

and president of the Wayne County Tim- few incendiary fires on the Brantley T. P. siderable potential wealth."-From an

ber Protective Organization. In addition 0. area this year.

editorial of the Columbus Enquirer-Sun.