Volume 1 ATLANTA, GA., AUGUST, 1931 .~umber 8 BIENNIAL REPORT EX-GOVERNOR DORSEY OUTSTANDING SCHOOLS FOREST SERVICE PIONEER IN FORESTRY IN FORESTRY WORK Some Interesting Facts About Progress Made in Forestry in Past Two Years - Department Without a Deficit During its Entire Existence. First Governor to Advance Forestry Department in Georgia in Message to Legislature-Has Seen Hopes Materialize. . Vocational Agricultural Schools Make Splendid Showing i n Second Year's Work in Forestry-Project Proves Popular with Students and Teachers. The Third Biennial Report of the State Ex-Governor Hugh M. Dorsey was the Several vo cational schools in the state Forester was issued in July, reporting first governor of Georgia to have a vision did exceptional work in forestry last year. activities of the years 1929-30. of forestry development in Georgia and The following is taken from a report by Some of the interesting facts brought advocate the development of a forestry the Educational Department of the Geor- out in the report are the following: department in his message to the General gia Forest Service to the State Forester Georgia has the greatest forest acreage Assembly. He has seen his ideas material- and the Vocational Department. The in the Union, 23,750,000 acres. ize. It is, therefore, quite fitting that he schools are given in their alphabetical Georgia forest products exceed $100000,000 annually. (Cont'd page 2, col. 2) order. Georgia Industrial College, Barnesville- Organized forestry in Georgia is now In spite of the fact that almost none of directed by a board of which the Governor the boys attending the school were resi- is chairman with three other ex-officio dent at the school, four boys had some members and five interested citizens. demonstration plots upon which they did Board members serve without salary, re- work, and 64,000 acres of land were in- ceiving only traveling expenses at an cluded in the fire survey, all fires occurring average cost of less than $300 a year. on the area surrounding the school being An average of seven of the nine board reported. members have attended meetings for ,five A log cabin was built on the school for- years. est by the forestry club and used as a club All funds-State and F ederal-are spent house. In front of the cabin, a lookout under a budget. No deficit has ever occur- tower was constructed in the top of a red. tall pine. Three hundred and fifty lantern Activitie& are conducted by the Georgia slid e~ were shown. Forest Service consisting of a state for- <;:hambloee High School-Twenty out of ester, director of education and utilization twenty-seven forestry students had home at the Atlanta office; assistant state forest- projects on which they applied lessons of ers at Macon and Gainesville; district for- forestry learned in school. Several pounds esters at Rome, Columbu s, Albany, Way- of seed of the different species of pine cross and Savannah, and an assistant were collected. The boys seemed to have director of education of Atlanta. given a good deal of time to the study of None .of the eight officers pay a cent forestry as shown by the examination of rent, room being given free by Chambers of Commerce for branch offices. Fire protection, education and reforest- papers presented. This school ranked first in grades of papers submitted in selecting boys for the summer camp. ation are the chief activities of the For- Commerce High School-Work done by est Service. the forestry students induced farmers to Under a plan originating in Georgia, set out 37,000 seedlings during the spring. co nsisting of Timber Protective Organiza- Seed from five species of trees were col- tions, composed of timber owners, 1,302,- JUDGE HUGH M. DORSEY, lected by the students, approximately 500 (Cont'd on page 2, Col. 1) First Governor to Advocate Forestry in Georgia. (Co nt'd on page 2, col. 2) 2 GEORGIA FOREST LOOKOUT GEORGIA FOREST LOOKOUT Ex-Governor Dorsey-Cont'd 5,000 were grown in the school seedbed. The students made their own forest work- Published Monthly By should have a place in the gallery of for- ing tools such as calipers and Biltmore GEORGIA FOREST SERVICE estry pioneers in Georgia which this pub- stick in the school workshop. A good for- State Capitol Atlanta, Ga. lication is undertaking to set up. estry exhibit was made at the county fair. C. A. Whittle, Editor It is hardly necessary to tell who Ex- Some outstanding work among farmers of Staff of the Georgia Forest Service Governor Dorsey is. It was he who launch- that section was carried on. ed during his admiriistration the rural con- B. M. Lufburrow, State Forester......Atlanta C. A. Whittle, Director of Education and Utilization .................................... Atlanta Everett B. Stone, Jr., Assistant State solidation high schools, over one hundred of which now have school forests and are studying the practices of forestry. In fact In addition to the outstanding work done by the schools mentioned, they carried on routine jobs such as measurements Forester ................................ Gainesville his administration achieved so much for of trees to make growth :;;tudies, the burn- H. M. Sebring, Asst. State Forester, .................................................. Macon C. Bernard Beale, District Forester, .............................................. Waycross education that prominent leaders in education have named him the "Educational Governor." ing and thinning of sample plots, reports of fires occurring in their immediate sections. W. D. Young, District Forester............Rome Governor Dorsey gave impetus to public A summary of the report from the en- Jack Thurmond, District Forester, ............................................ Savannah Charles N. Elliott, Assistant Director of health work in Georgia and to the care of feeble minded children. The Board of tire group of white engaged in forestry schools in Georgia work is briefly as Education .................................... Atlanta Public Welfare to aid feeble minded and follows: H. D. Story, Jr., District Forester, ................................................ Albany W. G. Wallace, Dis~rict Forester, ............................................ Columbus Mrs. Nellie Nix Edwards, Secretary to the backward children was advocated by him and established under his administration; better marketing facilities for farmers, the "Blue Sky" law for the protection of 98 schools engaged in forestry work. 2,500 boys taking forestry. 249 boys with home projects of one or State Forester ..............................Atlanta investors; improvement of water ways; more acres on which they applied forestry Mrs. R. S. Thompson, Secretary to Director of Education and Utilization, Atlanta mobilization of World War are state resources for the among his many contri- principles learned at school. butions to the State. 3,814 hours were given to forestry by Biennial Report-Cont'd the 98 schools. 526 acres are now under intensive fire protection. This plan is approved by the Outstanding Schools-Cont'd 51 schools collected tree seed. 42 schools established seed beds and U. S. Forest Service which allots fund1l, square feet of seed bed being planted. grew 19,650 seedlings. paying a part of the cost. The school planted 4,600 seedlings. A 56,802 seedlings were planted by stu- For the two-year period 1929-30 the scholarship fund to send a boy to college dents. sum of $139,275 was spent in forestry work in Georgia. Of this amount, organized timber owners spent $46,016.66, the each year has been set up. Some of the money for this purpose is derived from a large tract of timber manag~d by fonstJy 75 schools put firebreaks forests and sample plots. around their State $26,937.90 and the federal govern classes. 60 schools made thinnings in their for- ment $39,334.57. ests. For every $1.00 contributed by the HollYwood High School-This school 73 schools burned off their fir2 plots, state treasury, $5.12 was spent by private built a log cabin on the forest plot. A tagged all trees on both plots with metal and federal agencies. number of farmers became interested in numbers and made diameter measure:nents Georgia has 100 school forests at as the school project resulting in some good of all tagged trees to study growth rec- many rural consolidated schools teaching work being done in that section. ords on burned and unburned areas. vocational agriculture where the Georgia Nashville High School- Thirty nine 55 schools sold products from their for- Forest Service demonstrates reforestation students out of 51 had home projects dur- est area. and care of forests. Georgia is the first ing the entire year. All of the 51 students 50 schools held adult classes in forestry state to introduce forestry in rural voca- had home projects some time during the with the landowners of the school com- tional schools. school year. The students planted 6,000 munities. One hundred farm boys from these seedlings. The teacher prepared joe schools will attend a forestry camp at analysis sheets dealing with each subject 2,619,313 acres of forest land were Young 15. The Harris College Georgia Forest July 27 to August Service supports a of forestry and copies of this plan were sent to a number of teachers in surrounding schools. A number of adult night covered by the fire survey made by vocational boys, and reports made on the approximate number of acres burned off and state tree nursery where tree seedlings for reforestation are sold at cost. Two state forest-parks are maintained, one at Indian Springs and the other at Neel Gap. classes in forestry were held and much interest was shown. The school collected 3 species of tree seed. Moultrie High School-This school gave 385 hours to forestry. The boys surveyed the number of fires occurring on this area. 1,602 fires were reported to have burned an area amounting to 175,006 acres. This is estimated to be 6.68 per cent of the total area under observation. Besides the regular routine jobs men- According to the United States Forest Service, forest planting by all agencies in the United States amounted last year to 138,970 acres, a gain of 24 per cent over 1929. their own forest tract, thinning it to the extent of removing 75 cords of wood of undesirable trees. Gallberry bushes were removed so as to have more success with the 1500 seedlings planted in the forest. One large sign and three small signs were tioned above, several schools did exceptional additional work such as improving their school grounds, assisting in roadside demonstration signs and planting trees along the highways and on school grounds. At a recent meeting of hardwood in- erected on the forest. C. A. Whittle and C. N. Elliott, director terests held in Memphis, Tennessee, strong Union High School, Leslie-This school and assistant director of education ad- resolutions were passed advocating more has several demonstration areas in which Jressed the teachers attending summer money for research concerning the proper- to study the growth of longleaf and slash :chool at Piedmont College, Demorest, on ties and possibilities of utilizing southern pine in that immediate section. The stu- June 30, and the summer school at Spell- hardwoods. dents planted 5,500 seedlings of which man University in Atlanta on July 2. GEORGIA FOREST LOOKOUT 3 ........ FORESTRY CAMP OPENS AT YOUNG HARRIS SIXTH DISTRICT Jack Thurmond, District Forester unless they can get to unburned wood11. "All of us desire to make the best pre- visions possible for all our animals. We 1.---------------- Vocational Forestry Camp for Three: Savannah would not burn up their food if we knew it, and about the only way to know is to Weeks-July 27-August 15-Now in Progress-Interesting Program try it out. Ours is a stock and timber Treutlen County T. P. 0. Growing growing section. Stock raising and timber The Treutlen T. P. 0. is gradually grow- growing go hand in hand, and with these Prepared. ing in acreage and membership as more enterprises we can compete with the rest timber men in the county realize the ad- of the country fairly well, for it takes more The Forestry camp opened at Young vantages and profits to be derived by effort and a greater outlay of capital to Harris College July 27, for a three weeks growing timber as a crop under intensive keep abreast of economic conditions in session. Students and teachers arrived fire protection and managemnt. any other business. The thing we need from the four corners of the state, and In 1930 this organization numbered most is united effort; we have men in on Saturday and Sunday (July 25 and 26) three members with a total acreage of every community that can trust each registered for the camp work. The staff 12,800. Today we have six members rep- other and work together; these should or- of the Georgia Forest Service are instruc- resenting 27,860 acres or 24 percent of ganize on one thing and stop struggling tors in the work. The opening exercises the timbered land in Treutlen county, and along single handed. A community work- were held at 9 o'clock A. M., July 27th, during the last fire season we only had ing together usually get what they go in the Young Harris College Chapel. Mr. 80 acres burned over. after while one individual would not even M. B. Lufburrow, State Forester, made a The actual fire protection work has make an impression. To grow timber re- short talk to the boys and members of the been carried on with marked success as quires rough woods and the only way to Georgia Forest Service were introduced. the fire reports show, but in addition to succeed economically is to come together Mr. M. D. Mobley, assistant state super~ this the 227 miles of fire-break that has in an organization so t}mt we can obtain visor of vocational education, who is in been constructed, and all other work has State and Federal aid, for we need all the general charge of the camp, also made a made the outsiders stop and think serious- assistance we can secure. short talk to the boys. ly about this business of burning the "The Georgia Forest Service through Classes in forestry are being held in both woods, and we are unable to estimate the actual experience knows what it takes class rooms and in the woods. The field educational value of our organization and to get efficient fire protection, and for trips were made after the students became the work it has done. But we do know that reason this aid can be obtained only more familiar with the subjects taught in that our people in Treutlen county are through organized effort, so if you want the class room. awake to the possibilities of growing good fire protection in Liberty county come in- The students are enjoying summer camp crops of timber for a profit, and we are to our organization and receive the aid w. in the highlands of Georgia and seem only sure that our own Treutlen county is far that you are entitled to." By 1. Staf- to regret that three weeks is the limit this up the line in fire protection work and the ford, Sec.-Treas., Patrolman. year. benefits to be derived from such work and Whatley's Fire Break Costs we are all proud of the showing of the Treutlen county T. P. 0. Briar Creek Gets New Members The Briar Creek T. P. 0., when fi1st Raising timber as a business proposition Longleaf Seed Crop Good organized, went under the name of Pfeiffer is considered profitable by W. F. Whatley, Longleaf seed crop this year will be T. P. 0. in Screven county has two new Turpentine operator of McRae. He now, unusually good as the cones are now al- members for thE! next fiscal year. The~' has approximately 5000 acres of land un- most full grown. It takes from two to are Mr. H. G. Connor and Mr. M. H. der fire protection, and the land that has three years for longleaf pine to produce Rouse. The acreage of the new members had three years protection shows an ex- a seed crop and about every five years brings the total up to 13,000 acres. cellent stand of slash and longleaf pines. we have an extra large crop produced, so Hr. Whatley uses the solid plowed type of anyone wishing to obtain longleaf seed ~e break, 6 to 8 feet wide, constructed 1 should begin now to make arrangements FOURTH DISTRICT With two-mule team and turning plow. New for gathering the cones, and if any infor- f!.re breaks cost him $6.75 per mile, while mation is needed as to the methods of replowed ones are much cheaper. gathering, extraction, cleaning and storage W. G. Wallace, District Forester Columbus, Ga. H. M. Sebring. --- see your nearest representative Georgia Forest Service. of the Taylor County Citizens Interested tn "Railway Engineers Association spon- Forestry aors statement that creosoted wooden tres- Rough Woods Furnish Good Grazing Citizens of Taylor county are waging tles are more economical than concrete ex- in Liberty County an active campaign to eliminate as much as cept when the cost of the concrete struc- "We have just passed through one of the possible forest fires that annually costs ture is less than one and one-half times the dryest spells ever known in this section, the county large sums of money both in eost of the wooden structure. The cost of and since the weather became so dry I actual and potential values. Mr. W. A. a concrete bridge is usually more than have noticed that the cattle were grazing Lundy, county agent of Taylor, has taken twice the cost of creosoted bridge of cor- in the unburned woods. Whenever I go an active leadership in this educational responding strength, durability and prac- out in the woods I invariably find the cat- movement. Among oth!lr active citizens of tical serviceability." tle grazing on the rough and are looking the county are Mr. J. S. Green, manager -Wood Preserving News. fine this year. I am thoroughly convinced of the Butler Naval Stores Company; Mr. that unburned woods furnish more and F. C. Clements; Mr. W. A. Payne; and Mr. State Foresters Harry Lee Baker of Flor- better grazing for all kinds of weather T. J. Fountain, one of the master farmers ida and B. M. Lufburrow of Georgia made and for all stock. Taking the year as a of Georgia. a trip through Georgia and Florida and whole, in the early spring burned woods The Georgia Forest Service is looking arranged for the tour of the State For- furnish a little picnic for the cattle but forward to cooperating with the land- esters who are to meet this fall in Georgia this is over in from three to four weeks owners of Taylor county during the near and Florida. and they suffer the balance of the year future in organizing a Timber Protective 4 GEORGIA FOREST LOOKOUT Organization whereby the landowners will Southern Pine Damaged By Fires receive financial as well as field assistance Mature trees in virgin pine forests of from the Georgia Forest Service. the South, as well as young growth, are TREE..A.. MONTH Northernmost Naval ~tores Operation injured and often killed by fires, accord- ing to E. L. Demmon of the Southern "Persimmon'' The Butler Naval ex.cellent record .at Sitsto. redisstCilo~.athioans mplaad~te 1 1 Forest at New Experim Orleans, enLta.,Sbtaytiothn~ maintained Forest Serv- c~ 'Possum Apple") this season. Their entire resm supply IS icc of the United States Department .of from longleaf pine. Their rosin has aver- Agriculture. by aged about 80 percent water-white grade In the spring of 1927 fires in southern C. N. Elliott during this season, and this high average Georgia which followed a 2-month dry can be .credited to Mr. N. R. White, their period were very destructive to both Perhaps the most-loved as well as the distiller, who has had long experience in young and old timber, recent check-ups best known forest tree in our state is the naval stores industry. Taylor is the north- show. In ponds that had entirely dried persimmon. It occurs so commonly in old ernmost county of western Georgia to out, practically every slash pine and cy- fields and woodlands that few realize how produce naval stores commercially. press was killed. On the higher ground , very interesting it is. Like all familiar nearby, longleaf pine also suffered severe: objects, we see it, know it is there and do REPORT ON GEORGIA'S damage, particularly those trees which had not give it a second thought. HIGHLAND FORESTS been turpentined. On longleaf areas that had not been burned for two years pre- Not words long ago a small "darky" used the "Possum Apple." For a week I viously, 56 percent of the turpentined trees wondered what such an apple was and Bulletin Gives Results of Cooperative were killed, whereas but 32 percent of the when I saw him again I asked about it. Survey of Forests in Mountains of unturpentined trees succumbed. Fires With a tooth-paste ad smile, he told me Georgia-Water Power and Recre- readily ignite old turpentine faces, and the that he was "talkin' 'bout 'simmons," ation Included. heat is often sufficient to cause the death which I interpreted to be the persimmon. of the trees. This holds true for most A few facts about the welt-known " 'Pas- turpentine areas where fire commonly gets sum Apple" may be interesting: "Forests of Georgia Highlands" is the in after the turpentining operations have subject of a bulletin issued by the Georgia been completed. Forest Service giving the report of a sur- vey made in the mountains of North Fire Results On Forest Growth Rate Georgia. In the annual report of the Appalachian The bulletin was prepared by Charles Forest Experiment Station with headquar- R. Hursh and Leonard I. Barrett, of the ters at Asheville, some of the results of Appalachian Forest Experiment Station, forest fire studies were given as follows: Asheville, North Carolina. The work on "The results of the study on these plots which the bulletin reports was carried on to date definitely show the harmful effects cooperatively by the United States Forest of the annual fires on the reproduction. On Service, the Georgia Forest Service and the annually burned area most of the the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Sta- hardwoods and loblolly pines under one tion, the work being dir.ected by the Ap- inch in diameter at breast height have dis- palachian Forest Experiment Station at 1appeared except for the hardwo~d sprouts Asheville. The funds which made the which have sprung up each year. Also mountain research work possible were ob- many of the small longleaf pines, espe- : tained from the fe~e:~I government large- cially those under 10 feet in height, are' ly through the activities of Senator Har- 1. showing the effects of the annual defolia- . ris. Ition by a great reduction in vigor. No ef- ; Several illustrations showing forest con- fects of the annual fires are noticeable yet ! PERSIMMON Leaf, one-haa natural size. Twig, three-quarters natural size. ditions in the mountains appear, one of in the growth of the larger trees. j 1. Trees belonging to the same family the most interesting of which is a stand "During 1930 two 1/3-acre permanent' as this tree produce some of the valuable of second-growth yellow poplar in Sosebee sample plots were established on the Clem- : ebony of commerce and supply a great Cove in Union county, said to be the finest son College Coastal Experiment Farm near deal of food to some of the oriental conn- yellow poplar stand in the United States. Summerville, S. C. One of these plots was tries. The rate of growth of various species, established on an area which has been 2. The fruit of this tree is classed as their commercial importance and general burned annually for 13 years and the other a berry on account of its pulpy character considerations in managing these forest on a contiguous area which has remained and the way it is formed. areas are discu~sed, also the importance unburned for the same period. Analyses 3. The wood of this tree is exceeding of the forested mountains for watershed of the data from these plots show an aver- ly hard and is used in making golfstick protection are treated. age reduction of approximately 15 per- heads, shuttles, bobbins, billiard cues, mal- cent in diameter growth and 25 percent in! lets and for other purposes for which ex- C. N. Elliott, a~sistant director of edu- height growth of the individual trees, i ceedingly hard wood is required. cation, spent several days during July which may be attributed to the effects of ' 4. The family to which the persimmon visiting boys and girls camps teaching tree the annual fires." belongs, which is the Ebony family, has identification. about 250 species. These are found most- Or. Chas. Herty and Forestry Camp ly in the tropics and sub-tropics. The com- With July 1 the American Forestry As- "I think the camp is a wonderful idea, mon persimmon is the only species of the sociation discontinued its southern educa- and I certainly congratulate the Georgia Ebony family native to Georgia. tiona! project which consisted of a mov- Forest Service on this unique plan for. 5. Opossum8 are exceedingly fond of ing picture campaign among schools on developing interest in forestry among the I' the fruit of the persimmon, hence the forest fire prevention. young people of our state." name "Possum Apple."