Bulletin 11 July, 1930 Georgia Commercial Forestry Conference AUSPICES Georgia F orestrg Association Savannah Chamber of Commerce WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE Chamber of Commerce of the United States SAVANNAH, MAY 26, 27, 28,1930 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA INTRODUCTION The Georgia Commercial Forestry Conference, held at the Hotel DeSoto, Savannah, May 26, 27 and 28 under the auspices of the Georgia Forestry Association and the Savannah Chamber of Commerce, with the assistance of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, is considered to be the most important meeting held in Georgia to discuss the problems of developing the forest resources of the state. Eminent authorities on various phases of forestry and forest products made such notable contributions to the conference that it is considered very important that the addresses be given wide circulation in bulletin form. The Georgia Forestry Association which held its annual sessions before and after the conference program is the organization through which the conference was initiated. President T. G. Woolford of the association was chairman of the General Committee created to direct the forestry conference and is due much credit for the success attained, and Bonnell H. Stone, secretary of the association, also rendereJ able assistance. The Chamber of Commerce of the United States, through Mr. W. DuBose Brookings and Mr. Alfred A. Doppel, rendered valuable service, not only in inspiring the conference but in assisting to develop the program. H. L. Kayton, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Savannah, and the president and secretary of the Savannah Chamber of Commerce and the Convention Bureau, very materially contributed to the success of the conference and added to the reputation of Savannah as a city where conventions are treated with great hospitality and consideration. One of the features of the conference was the exhibits designed to portray the work being done in forestry in the state and to show old and new uses to which forests are being put. The exhibits were collected by the Georgia Forest Service and consisted of a number of panels displaying its work also a number of appropriate exhibits of the United States Forest Service and exhibits of the American Forestry Association, Carson Naval Stores Company, the Rayon Inst itute of America, the Hercules Powder Company, Masonite Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and the Caterpillar Tractor Company which also exhibited moving pictures. The opening session of the conference, Tuesday, May 27, was presided over by T. G. Woolford, Atlanta, who said that the conference was being held to consider the problems of development of the state's g reat natural and potential forest resoQ.rces. The afternoon session of Tuesday was presided over by HonP. A. Stovall of Savannah. Hon. W. T. Anderson, editor of the Macon FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 3 Telegraph, presided Wednesday morning, and Hon. George Reynolds, Albany, Wednesday afternoon. The presiding officers added much to the interest of the meeting by their wise comments and suggestions. The banquet tendered by the Savannah Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday evening with Colonel E. George Butler, president of the Savannah Chamber of Commerce, as toastmaster, and General Lytle Brown, chief engineer of the United States Army, and Mr. W. M. Wiley, director of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States as chief speakers, was a brilliant contribution to the program of the conference. Appropriate resolutions were passed at the close of the conference which will be found summarized in the latter part of this bulletin. The Georgia Forestry Association and the Georgia Forest Service are cooperating in having this bulletin printed for distribution. Conference addresses were prepared in manuscript form in most cases, the chief exceptions being some short, informal remarks of representatives of various chambers of commerce. No preparations were made to report these talks and it is, therefore, regretted that they are not available for this publication. GEORGIA FOREST SERVICE. 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA SOME NOTABLE STATEMENTS AT GEORGIA COMMERCIAL FORESTRY CONFERENCE "Expell'liments have demonstrated that these all-sapwood pines (longleaf and slash up to about 25 years of age) prior to scarification for oleoresin production contain but little physiological resin. The actual crop of oleoresin is a pathological product. The question of resin removal therefore no longer ex;ists and the field is open for manufacture of all grades of paper by any process."-CHARLES H. HERTY, Chemist, New York City. "All factors considered, no other equal area in the world can compare with the South as a potential source of an everlasting supply of wood pulp."-RICHARD WOODS EDMONDS, Manufacturer's Record, Baltimore, Md. "The business of lumbering, turpentining and other forest uses represent large outlays in wages among local people. Unlike many other lines, the proceeds of the fores.ts stay with us."-GEORGE REYNOLDS, Albany, Ga. "Does the South want to build itself up to a. great forest-producing region? It is easy for it to do so. The public must become forestry minded. The public must assist in fire prevention. The public must insist that timber land owners organize in timber protective units and that the s.tate and the government provide adequate fire protection funds. If these things are done the economic prosperity of the South in the future is assured."-CHARLES LATHROP PACK, President, American Tree Association, Washington, D. C. "Georgia is capable of producing $150,000,000 annually from * ita forest and potential forest area. **** Under the Georgia forest fire protection system an annual outlay of $1.00 is prevent- ing $2,500 damage."-B. M. LUFBURROW, State Forester, Atlan- ta, Ga. "The region from Savannah west and southwest for about 150 miles has fo~ some years been recognized as one of the most promising regions in the whole United States from the timber production standpoint. Strategic location is evident for one thing. A climate FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 5 and great areas of soil that favor rapid growth, with tree species among the most valuable are other factors."-DR. AUSTIN CARY, United States Forest Service, Washington, D. C. "Imagine a field for conservative inves.tment which definitely can be called better than insurance, safer than bonds, and more profitable than preferred stock. An economic situation now exists in the South that permits these specifications to be filled.*****( know that you can find out for yourself that raising slash pine trees is safe, sound and profitable commercial enterprise."-ALEX K. SESSOMS, Cogdell, Ga. "It seems to me we are now in a period of transition (in the naval stores indus.try) and that what we have learned is merely the opening chapter of the book and there lies before us a field of wonderful possibilities which in time we shall surely attain:'-H. L. KAYTON, President, Carson Naval Stores Company, Savannah, Ga. "The railroads are interested in forestry, not only as a carrier and purchaser of forest products, but because proper conservation, protection and handling of timber resources promise enhanced pros- perity for the people of the state."-A. E. CLIFT, President, Central of Georgia Railway Company, Savannah, Ga. "There is no greater field for true research than right here in our pine belt in Georgia***** We must place ourselves in a position to produce more efficiently and cheaply and through research deYelop our forestry products to a point where our products will have more value through diversification."-A. S. KLOSS, Brunswick, Ga. "The South is in a position to assume leadership in forestry. It is not so much a task as an opportunity."-F. M. OLIVER, Savannah, Ga. "Four years of protection have brought about in the way of increased growth of s.tanding timber, increased naval stores per acre, increased stocking per acre of young growth. I can show you for one thing areas totalling by conservative estimates more than 70,000 6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA acres which five years ago our cruise showed to be only 35 per cent stocked which can now be classified as from 90 to 100 per cent stocked."-CAPTAIN I. F. ELDREDGE, Forest Manager, Superior Pine Products Co., Fargo, Ga. "No better objective could be set for the activities of any chamber of commerce. than that of forest pro.tection in its trade territory." -BONNELL H. STONE, Blairsville, Ga. "The newspapers are interested because in the forests are hiding the hope of the wealth of this sec.tion in future generationsand cheap supply of newsprint for their own increasing use.'''- DAN G. BICKERS, Associate Editor, Savannah News, Savannah, Ga. "The chemist and the chemical engineer are the men who will open up to us the new markets which may be developed from the forest products ***** If bonds for farm-crop lands are commercially sound, why may it not be possible to work out a plan of long-time financing for the development of these timber holdings ?'-GEORGE M. ROMMEL, Industrial Commissioner, Savannah, Ga. "Selective cutting reduces costs, leaves the land in a productive condition, provides a method of making an operation permanent, and, if widely followed, should have a powerful influence in making forest practice more practical and more profitable."-R. D. GARVER, United States Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin. "Agriculture in this section without the aid of forest products has not been self-sustaining ***** The State of Georgia could pass no wiser law than to exempt from taxation lands growing timber, collecting revenue from a certain percentage of price received from the timber when it is harvested."-LEONARD ROUNTREE, Sum'1f'tit, Ga. "Reducing waste to a mtntmum, conservative chipping, elimination of low yielding faces, the number of crops (gum) will be reduced and the average crop yield will be raised. In this way the prob- FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 7 lem of getting higher returns from turpentine woods will be met."- LENTHALL WYMAN, U. S. South.ern Forest Experiment Station, Starke, Fla. "The Georgis Forest Service is motivated with the thought that state forest-parks as play grounds, recreational centers, breathing spots, will be the show windows of forestry."-WILL/S B. POWELL, Indian Springs, Ga. "This remammg land (575,000,000 acres) is far more than we are likely to need to meet our probable requirements (agricultural) during the present century***** In our country there has occurred an ever increasing efficiency in agricultural production*****Agricul- ture is suffering severely from overproduction."--.DR. L. C. GRAY, Burefku of Agricultural Economics, Washington, D. C. "A knowledge of the con&tituents of resin is needed.**** *The possibilities in this field are tremendous and very interesting to the speculative chemist with a vision of the fu.ture of chemical industry. In resin we have the largest supply of an available, cheap, organic acid that exists ready to be converted into indus.trial uses when we have developed the technical processes for it."-DR. W. W. SKINNER, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA OUTLOOK FOR PRACTICAL FORESTRY GEORGE REYNOLDS, Albany, Ga. Saw Mills Introduced Civilization Into Back Country of the SouthLumber Production StUI Major Industry and Commercial Backbone of State-Reforestation of Idle La.nds Practicable and ProfitableGood Roads to Center Production The Outlook for Practical Forestry is the phase of the subject on which I have been asked to speak in connection with this Conference. In other words, I am requested to talk to you about the prospects for a profit in reforestation. Profits in any enterprise depend upon the demand and supply. If I undertake to stick close to my phase of the subject, I must deal closely with these two principles. When we consider profits we cold-blooded business men think of dollars and cents, but many people think of profit from the standpoint of how they can serve the public in general and do a service to humanity. If we consider the profits from this reforestation project, we must think of it from both angles. I am going to try to Dresent to you each side of the subject, and in my feeble way attempt to convince you that both the supply and demand will meet in a happy way and make it profitable for every one to co-operate in this great movement. To visualize the demand it is necessary to consider the importance of the commodity and how the country would progress without it. From the beginning of time, when Adam used fig leaves for clothing and Noah built the ark out of wood, the products of the forest have been used for comfort, health, and happiness of mankind; and the demand has increased with the progress of civilization. It is now difficult to find an important industry that is not in some material way dependent upon the products of the forest. We might assume that science would find a way to dispense with the product of the forest, but scientists have not succeeded in doing so. This is illustrated by the fact that some of the countries of the world most advanced in scientific research are purchasing from this country and other countries lumber and various forest products regardless of cost. Timber in abundance was placed on this continent by the Giver of every good and perfect gift to supply directly and indirectly much that is essential to the healtli, happiness and comfort of mankind; to furnish homes, shelter and food for wild and domestic animals; for the protectio.n of human beings; to prevent erosion and floods; and to hold in reserve a moisture essential to the growing of cultivated crops. This important and essential commodity given us by nature has been wasted, but it is not too late for us to stem the tide, redeem ourselves, obtain forgiveness for the past and place ourselves in the proper light in the eyes of God and future generations. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 9 Carried Civilization Into Wilderness There was an excuse for wasting timber in years gone by. When the original settlers located in the northeastern part of our country they found a fertile land covered by wonderful timber and a need for cleared lands to cultivate certain food crops. The excess timber at that time was really a liability to them. The lumber business started in the north woods many years ago. It then came south through various stages and finally the cut-over lands and cleared lands connect with the Atlantic on the east and the Gulf on the south. However, while this operation with its wasteful practices was in progress, tram roads were built, camps set up, and civilization was carried to the extreme sections of the country. The lumber jack worked hard and long hours and endured hardships, but he rendered a service in his crude and wasteful manner while laying a foundation for permanent railroads, schools, churches, and villages that grew into cities in the wake of his devastation. The network of railroads in Georgia were very largely logging railroads. The locations of the various towns were certainly picked by the pioneers of the lumber industry. The lumberjack, whom I represent, asks for no special consideration. Rather, we would apologize for our wasteful methods; but we remind you of these things to impress you with the fact that forest products have been the leading light in making our country what it is today. Railroads have been referred to as the great civilizing force of the past, and true they were, but forest products made railroads possible and profitable. Magnitude of Timber Products We, as a whole, do not value the forests while we are gtvmg credit to other products less essential and more expensive to pro- duce, with more hazards involved in the operation. Lumher products, aside from naval stores and other assets of the forest, amount to about $45,000,000 per year in the State of Georgia. Cotton, the major crop, which is very expensive and often disastrous on account of the boll weevil, runs to about $92,000,000 per year. Please keep in mind that the $45,000,000 of receipts come from just what you might call the lumber industry. Now, consider further the fact that tobacco, wheat and corn all together are only about equal to the total proceeds of the lumber industry, and the fact that these crops involve a lot of fertilization and toil to make them produce what they do. ' The annual cash to our state from forest products is equal to the value of all cattle, sheep and hogs in the state. These annually require attention and cost money to feed and grow; on the other hand, timber grows while we sleep, and it requires more than one year to produce livestock to a matured, salable condition. Please consider the fact that the annual value of lumber pro- ducts exceeds the total capital of all state and national banks in the State of Georgia. Each year the proceeds from the lumber industry, which is only a part of the timber resources, would place in the State equal of Georgia, capital and a su duplicate o rplus. You f,..e,;anchplestaastee and keep national in mind bank, with that this is 10 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA independent of the naval stores, pulp wood, etc., which have only partially been utilized in years gone by. Another comparison may be found in taxes. We all feel the sting of taxes and do a lot of complaining about them. Aside from government tax, profit tax, and inheritance tax, just keep in mind the fact that about 40 o/o of all our state and county taxes go to the support of schools, and the schools are certainly worthy of the cost; but the return to our state each year from lumber products is two ond one-half times the $17,357,000, which represents the cost of operating our public schools. Forest Wealth Stays in Community Eliminate from our section certain industries directly dependent upon products of the forest and the principal money, or cash, crop is gone. This is the backbone of the entire merchandising business of our section. It makes possible a livelihood from professions (medicine, law, and others). A wholesale dry goods house doing a million dollar business annually would be looked upon as an asset to your city, but the major part of the proceeds of their sales are sent to foreign markets for the goods they sell and are collected far from our own people, many of whom are dependent upon their incomes from the forest. A lumber manufacturing plant or a naval stores operation doing a million dollar annual business brings into our section, largely from outside trade, just that amount of money which is distributed among many peopleJ the land or timber owner, local railroads, laboring people, etc. It benefits the merchants, professional men; in fact, every man, woman and child is benefiitted by this industry. This is an asset that we can not avoid being benefitted by regardless of our own indifference. It can not be carted away over night; the proceeds stay with us. This must conclude my remarks in regard to demand for the commodity. We will now consider the cost of production and price to be received for it. Throughout the country there are thousands of acres of nude lands producing nothing. There is entirely too much cleared land. The pendulum has swung too far. Within my lifetime I have seen the changes. Formerly when one had a farm for sale the question was, how much cleared land? Now the question is, how much timbered land? So, it is a fact that at least some people realize the importance of timbered lands or lands that will grow timber. Production Cost of Timber The real cost or expense for growing timber should be practically nothing. This is an extravagant sounding statement but, in my opinion, true. Timber, as previously stated, will grow without cultiV!!tion, without mechanical fertilization, without pruning or attention, if we let nature take its course and keep fire out of it. It costs nothing to grow it, if every farmer of every reasonable acreage would set aside half of his lands for a timber crop. Records slJ.ow that farmers of the least acreage are the most prosperous. In this section too much land has been controlled by one landlord, too many individuals are living in town on the prospective re- FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 11 suits of the farm. In other words, there are t~o many "agriculturists," and you know what the definition of an "agriculturist" is. In the language of one good editor of a Georgia paper: "What we need down here in this God blessed country is something that will wake us up, something that will make us go to work." We have already had the boll weevil and a number of other things that have given us trouble, but probably we need some additional reverses. We are afforded too many advantages in this section. We are not alert to the situation, and expect too much of nature. It is said that the very best gardeners come from the bleakest spots of Scotland, and the very poorest farmers are produced in territory in Spain where they have very rich soil. I can consistently say that, in my opinion, many acres of land in this southeastern section, where timber will grow prolifically, should be protected for growing timber, and that in most cases each real farmer owns more land than he can cultivate efficiently, and he should turn over to the growing of timber a good portion of his holdings. The "Agriculturists" are responsible for the wasted lands which we observe along the highways. They and the speculator are the ones who have made it possible and necessary for the long loan companies to own large acreage and hold mortgages against many other acres. Who will redeem these lands? Who will place them on a profitable basis? Certainly, it must be the mortgage companies or firms or individuals who are in position to purchase stocks and bonds for a reasonable length of time for investment; and if they invest in this way, subject to the reforms and considerations that must come from the public through our county, state and national governments, they will reap direct benefits with dollars in the pockets of their dependents and, at the same time, serve civilization in general in a very material way. It will not be necessary for our various departments of government (county, state, and national) to exempt or make very light the taxes on forest reservation lands for a long period of time. Neither will it be necessary for tax supported departments to spend their money and time encouraging individuals to become cognizant of the opportunity to profit by this enterprise, but temporarily it is necessary that not only county, state and federal governments lend their influences through organizations represented here, but make light, for the time being taxes, as well as afford cheap protection from fire and supposed sportsm enwho slaughter the wild game, which is one These departmental representatives and the independently interested individuals here are essential to a culmination of an understanding that will phce on a profitable basis this industry. I can not conscientiously say that forestry or reforestation will be profitable without it. We must take advantage of the help and advice from various departments of the federal government, and we must solicit the consideration of county authorities. Low Taxes Desired We must also co-operate with every movement to encourage low taxes on lands set aside for timber growing, with offers to protec~ lands from ravages of fires, for a more sensible utilization of the full product of the forests. All of these phases will be brought out 12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA in this conference. I hope that during these discussions the fact will be impressed by the party handling the tax question that reduced taxes on lands growing timber will be returned a hundred fold. It is not a case of charity or special consideration to individuals but an encouragement to produce a raw material that will bring industry and wealth to our section, that can and will develop more taxable property than the entire value of these lands. Another essential to a proper encouragement to the producers of forest products in this section is a fatherly consideration on the part of the railroads to keep their freight rates from this attractive ti"!llber growing section to the markets on a fair and equitable basis With rates from other producing sections, particularly the western states. These rates are now unfair, but I have confidence in the business judgement of railroad officials and believe that this will be voluntarily taken care of. The railroads and the national government are now alert to the fact that there are, according to expert advice, one hundred million acres in the south better suited for growing timber than anything else and that along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast territory there are over thirty million acres ideal for this purpose and can not be competed with anywhere in the world. The state and county governments through public sentiment are awakening to an interest. These lands will produce tonnage for railroads, taxes for states and counties, and wealth for the benefit of all citizens. I would like to go into detail to explain my vision of the future marketing of forest products but must simply mention that within all reason the future harvesting of timber will be along different lines from those of the past. Wasteful practices will be eliminated because of new devices and new inventions. Hard surfaced highways are extending into the byways, and light inexpensive logging machinery is now available. Tramroads and railroads for lumbering, turpentining, and marketing pulp wood are no longer necessary. The motor truck and good roads have replaced the tramroad, and motor trucks and light motor driven machinery have taken the place of an operator's steam engines, cars and expensive equipment of other kinds. This is not a detriment to the rail- roads but a help, because they have not made money on these short expensive hauls of raw materials to concentrating points except to m:1ke a profitable tonnage available for final shipment. The future lumber mill, pulp and paper mill, veneer mill, naval stores plant, etc., will be located at a central point, and through these improvements timber that is ripe can be harvested and delivered to market cheaply without disturbing the youth of the forests. My opinion and contention is that forestry offers an opportunity for a profitable enterprise, but it is essential that the suggestions made in this conference be given serious consideration because they are pertinent to this success. I have faith in the final outcome and am following thils course. If you follow the recommendations coming from the govern- mental departments, from the press, and from others who are trying to show the way, your investments in this enterprise will bear fruit (from dollars in your pocket standpoint) and leave for your depen- dents a great heritage. You will be able to pass into old age feeling that you have done something to justify your existence and have profited materially and otherwise. FoRESTRY CoMMERCIAL CoNFERENCE 13 COMMUNITY INTEREST IN FORESTRY IN BRUNSWICK TERRITORY By A. S. KLOSS, Brunswick, Ga. County-Wide Educational Campaign-Naval Stores Progress-Poles, Piling, Crossties, Veneer Exports Grow-Research Must Pre- cede Greatest Forest Resource Development It is indeed a pleasure and an honor to have the privilege of appearing before this worthy association in behalf of the Brunswick Chamber of Commerce. Without taking too much valuable time, I will try to give you a resume of what has been accomplished in Brunswick territory in 1929; what the outlook for 1930 appears to be; and also, perhaps, my personal viewpoint of problems confronting the forestry situation. The year 1929 may well be recorded as a year of improved in~ terest in forestry. Through the assistance and kindness of Mr. W. C. McCormick, Regional Director, American Forestry Association, cooperating with a local Brunswick industry, it was possible to have a most excellent educational program on Forestry during the past year. This program, conducted by Mr. C. B. Wilson, Unit Director, was far~reaching and came in direct contact with 3800 adults and children in Glynn county. This is mentioned as of primary importance because it will convey to you that the Brunswick community has a great deal of interest in these problems. Also, you are, of course, aware that practical and conservative forestry practices are in use by Brunswick industries, and it will not be necessary to take your time to discuss the operations of the Satilla Forest, since I understand it will be discussed at another time at this meeting. From a business standpoint the figures for 1929 indicate the importance of Brunswick in forestry products. Of the industries located in Brunswick, Naval Stores, in all probability, reaches more people and affects the community to the greatest extent; poles, piling, cross-ties, and such products are a close second; and lumber and lumber 11roducts, including veneer, come third. Classifying the Naval Stores into gum producers and wood producers, we may state that for- (a) Gum Naval Stores Industry there were approximately: 1. 80,000 units produced. 2. 2,250 crops worked (36 units per crop). 3. 22,500,000 faces worked. 4. 18,000,000 trees worked. 5. 1,000,000 acres of gum producing territory (22.5 faces per acre.) 6. 1,560 sq. miles worked. If there are 17,000 square miles of plain land in Georgia, the above represents approximately 10 % of these lands. It is also estimated by reliable authority that timber shows an increased value of 14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA 7-So/o per year, and also that about 90% of available timber is now being worked for turpentine. (b) Wood Naval Stores Industry. There has been considerable progress made in the Wood Naval Stores Industry during the past year, particularly in research work, about which I will speak later. Production showed no increase in 1929 over 1928. There were utilized in Brunswick territory in 1929: 1. 181,602 tons of stump and down wood. 2. 45,400 units produced. 3. 51,900 acres worked (based on 3.5 tons per acre) . (c) While I do not have the figures showing total tons of tim- ber products (poles, piling, etc.) leaving Brunswick, yet I do have a comparison which should, in a comparative measure, be indicative of the business conducted. For the Brunswick Harbor figures there are shown : TONS Outgoing In Transit Total 1928 -------------- ------ --- ------ ______272,016 1929 ---~-- _________________________258,602 32,406 51,815 309,422 Tons 310,417 Tons A slight increase in activity is shown. The above gives a rough idea of past performance. What about the present and future? The present depression of commodity prices must have and has had its effect on forestry and Naval Stores products. As with other commodity prices, those of forestry products are low. Under these circumstances we naturally find curtailed operations, particularly in poles, logs, cross-ties and veneer packages. Also, with reduced com~ modity prices, we may and are experiencing lower prices for raw material obtained from the forest. Since five months of 1930 have passed, it seems certain that the present year will not offer large returns in forestry, and in many cases, severe losses will probably occur. The future outlook may be anyone's guess. It depends to a large extent on the ability of those engaged in the industry to ac- complish further research work and to produce such commodities as will be certain of higher value per unit or acre worked. As I speak of research, we must appreciate the present trend of process devel- opment, the changes that are taking place in industry, the over-pro- duction of almost all types of commodities, and the relative desires of the consumer in respect to satisfying demand. Certainly there is no greater field for true research than right in our pine belt of Georgia. It is with a great deal of satisfaction that I can bring to your attention methods of operation in the wood naval stores industry for production of stump and down wood. If we recall that less than three years ago, the removal of stumps from the ground was done with dynamite, you will readily appreciate the research which has been done in placing forty-ton stump pulling machines and auxiliary mechanical equipment for the replacement of the dynamite method. (At this point I would point out the reduction of fire risks and the making of fire breaks by these machines in the woods.) The above illustration points to results along mechanical lines. There is a wider field , and an equally important one, in chemical de- velopment. The pulp and paper industry should find its way into FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 15 Georgia: research is being conducted in the gum turpentine industry; the wood naval stores industry has, for sometime, produced paler rosin grades and commercial abietic acid through its extensive and continuous research program; and other forestry industries are conducting studies that will prove valuable. In a general way, I have given you an idea of Brunswick's interest in these problems. My personal opinion is to the effect that we must place ourselves in a position to produce more efficiently and cheaply, and through research develop our forestry products to a point where our products will have more value through diversification. When this is done we will be in a better and sounder position than we are today. 16 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA SAVANNAH'S INTEREST IN FORESTRY PROBLEMS By F. M. OLIVER, Savannah, Ga. Forestry a Public Problem, Related to Rivera, Harbors, Erosion of Hills, Floods, Game, Public Health-Savannah Linked to Fores.ts in Naval Stores and Lumber-Desirabl'e for Paper Manufacture-South Must Take Lead in Forestry No creation of God's inanimate Kingdom is more enshrined in sentiment and, at the S!lme time, invested w1th more practical value than a tree. In the past, most of the forest land was under private ownership and was stripped of its growth without thought of the future. All the valuable timber of a tract of land was cut and the slash that remained was burned and thus a forest was destroyed. Then the cutting was continued on a fresh tract. The growth of new timber on these cut over lands brings to the forefront all the manifold problems of forestry. They are not private problems. They have to deal with farm and forest, soil and climate, man and beast. They are intimately related to the navigability of rivers and harbours, the flow of streams, the erosion of hillsides, the destruction of fertile bottom lands, the devastation of flood, the game and birds of the forests, the public health and national prosperity. They influence the life of cities, states and nations. Savannah's Vital Interest In Forests To some cities, community interest in forestry problems may be of minor significance; but to Savannah the resultant effect of these problems involves practically her whole existence. Savannah is known as the Forest City. Our children are taught to venerate the tree. Savannah more than any other city in the Southeast is affected in her community life by forestry problems which now await solution. If Savannah's trade territory does not produce the corn and cot-ton, truck and forage, fruits and vegetables formerly produced, because of change in rainfall or the erosion of hillsides, or the destruction of fertile bottoms, then Savannah's railroads, her railroad employees, Savannah's ships, the men who work on her docks, are direct- ly affected injuriously. If the forests cannot be restored and those re~aining cannot be preserved, then her timber, lumber and naval stores industries will be no more. Our people are engaged in the manufacture and sale of spirits, oils and rosins from wood and stumps, in the cutting and marketing of ties, the purchase and shipping of piling, in the exporting of logs, the creosoting of ~imber and the manufacture and sale of furniture, paints and varnishes. Furthermore, we have twenty-five wood-working plants with an invested capital of ten millions of dollars, employing nearly two thousand people with an annual payroll of a million and one-half dollars, consuming annually nearly two hundred million board feet of lumber and with an annual output valued at eight mil- FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 17 lions of dollars. The annual production of lumber, within a radius of seventy-five miles of Savannah is approximately three hundred million board feet. Naval Stores Center Savannah is the world's naval stores market. In Savannah are made daily the prices which are advertised by the Associated Press to all parts of the world. Ships which load in Savannah distribute naval stores products to all of the principal ports of the world. The naval stores trade in Savannah gives employment to a large part of our population, financiers, executives, clerks, common and skilled labor. The value of naval stores shipped from Savannah, both foreign and domestic, average sixteen to seventeen million dollars annually. Naval stores is one of the most important sources of revenue to the railroad lines which serve Savannah. Naval stores represents the greatest tonnage in our foreign exports and is second in valuation. Another community interest which Savannah has, in naval stores is the significant fact that more than two thirds of all the rosin oil now used in the United States comes from Savannah factories. A further community interest for Savannah is the fact that our city is logically the place for chemical manufacture in which naval stores are the raw material. Savannah has shipped spirits of turpentine abroad for years and years. We are happy that such is the case. We hope for this trade to continue and to increase. But we take no pride in the fact that last year nearly five million pounds of synthetic camphor were imported from Germany. It is a reflection upon our city that some of the very turpentine which we shipped to Germany should there be manufactured into synthetic camphor and sent back into this country for commercial purposes, such as celluloid manufacture. It is the old story of carrying coals to Newcastle. Why should not Savannah have that industry here in our own midst, utilizing our own material and employing our own people. Logical Place for Paper Manufacture Savannah should be, and I predict, will be the manufacturing center for pulp and paper in these United States. Dr. Charles H. Herty tells us that: "Georgia slash pine grows seven times quicker than Canadian Spruce, which is its closest competitor. A tree which takes fifty to sixty years to grow to a size in Canada for naval stores and paper pulp will grow the same size in eleven to twelve years in Georgia." Georgians must have faith in themselves and in Georgia's resources. There are too many Georgians who are investing in foreign bonds, on paper mills, when they could use their money to construct and operate paper mills at home. It is praiseworthy to urge outside capital to come to Georgia. We need every dollar we may b'e abl~ to induce to come to our State. But what right have we to ask outside capital to invest in our resources when we have not shown our willingness to make a like investment. Savannah's Chamber of Commerce is now engaged in compiling ~gures ~hich will show the tol'!nage of pulp wood now growing withIn a radms of two hundred miles of Savannah. It is estimated that the supply is sufficient to keep between twenty-five and fifty pulp 18 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA mills running constantly, and it is a significant fact that the reforestation of slash pine will be the main source of the supply of pulp wood. As the new growth of pulp wood is thinned out in order to insure the growth of trees which will produce both turpentine and lumber, the pulp wood which is otherwise destroyed in the thinning out process is the kind and quality of wood best suited for the manufacture of pulp and paper. That which would be a waste product in reforestation will become a by-product of immense value to the South. Rich Returns in Prospect Southern forestry promises rich returns. There is no field of conservation which holds out a greater hope of financial reward. One need not be over optomistic when he predicts that the day is dawning when destructive forest fires, wasteful lumbering and archaic methods of turpentining in the South will be things of an almost forgotten past. Gone are the days of ruthless and even wanton destruction of timber. One need not be over optimistic in predicting that the day is near at hand when "Forest regeneration will be reflected in a permanent lumber industry, in more prosperous communities and in timber lands where the careful husbandry of the forester will balance tree growth with tree use." Gone are the days of cheap stumpage. Fifty years ago long leaf yellow pine stumpage averaged 5c per thousand feet. Today the lowest stumpage price is $5.00 per thousand feet. More than 225,()00,000 acres of Southern forest soil must be made to continue their important part in the prosperity of the South and the Nation. The migration of negroes to the North and East has left us with the additional acreage for reforestation. These lands when devoted to the production of the slash pine will produce a larger revenue than they did when devoted to the cultivation, half-heartedly, of corn and cotton. The same is true of those lands which are allowed to lie idle because of the boll weevil pest. If nature be allowed to take her course, assisted by intelligent human effort, merchantable trees of the more valuable species can be grown in shorter time than was required for the chance survivors of a century or two of burning, illustrated by the greater part of that which we are proud to call our virgin forests. The South today is in a position to assume leadership in forestry. It is not so much a task as an opportunity. It will enable us to insure the perpetuation of wood-that most useful of all of nature's gifts to man. So long as the sun shines and the rains fall, so long as hope is the mainspring of human effort, the same wonderfully productive climate, the same deep, fertile soil which produced these forests of yore, will yield, when aided by intelligent methods of reforestation, a more rapid tree growth than was yielded in the days of the regretted past. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 19 COMMUNITY INTEREST IN FORESTS BONNELL H. STONE, Blairsville, Ga. Mountain County With Major Resources Develops Community Spirit In Fire Protection, Good Roads, Recreation and Erosion Prevention Community interest in Union county has no dividing line between town and county. The only town here is the county site, located 21 miles from the nearest railroad shipping point in another state. The local citizens have profited by a county-wide community spirit, and their cooperation in a good road organization dates back to 1915, while more recent efforts to develop this scenic and healthful section of Georgia are showing results through the Union County Chamber of Commerce. With no manufacturing: interests of any kind, and with a very limited local market for farm crops, the coming of paved roads has stimulated the harvesting of forest products until the truck-loads of lumber, ties, poles, and logs that now go out to the railroad daily are in striking contrast to the few wagon loads of ties and tanbark that formerly reached their shipping point over tortuous miles of mountain mud. Even now, the removal of forest products is limited, in comparison with the volume of hardwoods on the mountain sides, but the fact that 90 o/o of the area is in forest growth clearly shows that community interest should be most vitally concerned in forest protection. A good record of forest fire prevention has been made through the cooperation of -a large land owner and the local citizens for the past 15 years, for the community began to realize that its main stake for the future depended upon this essential thing. In former years, the old custom of burning the woods had resulted in great losses by fire annually and perhaps 75% to 90% of the forest area was burned each year, but community interest brought about the cooperative spirit which now maintains an average burned area of less than onetenth of one per cent. The importance of watershed protection can be illustrated to no better advantage than within the boundary lines of this one Georgia county. A perfect picture of the cause and effect of flood waters was drawn by nature only a few days ago in this county when bottom lands and roads were overflowed by a creek which flows out of a small group of mountains that had been burned over last month, while the streams in other sections of the county remained within their bf).nks as a result of no forest fires at their headwaters, and the protracted season of rain clearly brought home to our local citizens this concrete example. Even the younger people of the county discuss the fact that prevention of forest fires on the mountain rim of the area prevent floods in the valleys, and older citizens tell our visitorR how they remember when logs and tree tops were brought down the rivers when swollen torrents were the result of forest fires. The community appreciates the fact that we now have a better county to live in, and that the attractions of Notalee river valley have brought a colony of Atlanta people who have built summer cottages and who spend week ends at Notalee Orchards Club, of which Mr. T. G. Woolford is president. This group of Atlanta people is appreciated by 20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA every citizen of Union county, and community interest makes them realize that no summer visitors or new settlers would be attracted to a fire-swept locality in the mountains where valley farms suffered from constant recurrence of floods. In Union county the development of community interest in forestry has made it possible for timber land owners to protect their lands from fire at very low cost, and the reproduction of new growth has resulted in greater volume and better quality than could otherwise have been obtained. On the other hand, the results of this community interest in Union county, so widely manifested today, largely influenced the president of Pfister and Vogel Land Company in giving to the state a deed, under the Forestry Act of 1925, to 160 acres of their most valuable lands on the Appalachian Scenic Highway at Neel Gap, which is now in use as the first state forestr park in Georgia. Thousands of people visit this mountain beauty spot l!nnually from all parts of the United States, as shown by the register kept at the ranger headquarters, while the picn'ic area and over-night camping places are being taken advantage of continuously by native Georgians and citizens of nearby communities across the Carolina iine. If outdoor recreation is to be made most attractive in the Geor- gia mountains, the local citizens have come to realize that forest fires must be stamped out. The progress being made along that line in Union county is most encouraging and, in contrast with the many who openly advocated burning the woods prior to 1915, today there is not one outspoken advocate of woods burning, and the fire this past spring was the first in four years. The grand jury promptly investi- gated and brought two indictments against the guilty party at our last April term of court. No better objective c~uld be set for the activities of any chamber of commerce than that of forest protection in its trade area. In order to have better returns in agriculture, the prepetuation of forest crops, and the many other beneficial results of fire prevention, the cost in Georgia is only 3 .! cents per acre. What greater interests could a community have than in the basic forest industries? Other speakers at the conference will discuss the great opportunities in the proper handling of Georgia's "Acres of Diamonds", so aptly named in a recent editorial. May we all leave this Conference with the determination that Georgia shall solve her idle land problem, protect her waterpowers, develop her agriculture and all forest products industries through adequate fire prevention and just forest taxation. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 21 THE NEED FOR A STATE PROGRAM OF LAND UTILIZATION By DR. L. C. GRAY, Chief, Division of Land Economics, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Washington, D. C. Land Classification Essential in Determining Public Forest Policy, Local, State or Nation-Georgia Undergoing Readjustment in Land Utilization With Much Idle Farm Land Available for Forests According to the laissez faire doctrine of our forefathers, the proper use of land could be safely left to the private individual, whose self-interest was supposed to lead him to use the land in the most efficient manner, not only from the standpoint of private profit, but also from the point of view of public welfare. The main role of government was conceived to be to transfer public land into private ownership as rapidly as possible, and then to leave the individual free to use it according to his own devices In the presentation of this paper some fifteen charts were shown, which served to illustrate and amplify a number of the points. Since a large proportion of the charts have not been officially released, it has not been feasible to reproduce them. We have followed this comfortable doctrine since the foundation of our government. That which provides the essential basis of our National life, not only in the present but also in the illimitable future, has come to be regarded as the object of private rights of disposition and use over which but little restraint can be exerted in the public interest. The results of these policies and attitudes are now apparent in all parts of our country; the Nation's heritage of timber so largely used up that it is possible to foresee an acute shortage of commercial timber within a very few decades; in your own Southland the virtual exhaustion of the bulk of your comrrtercial supply of timber probably little more than a decade away, if present tendencies continue; immense areas of cutover land which are growing up to brush and uneconomical types of timber, except where fire or the depredations of livestock make even this form of reforestation impossible; throughout this and other States millions of acres of agricultural soils so depleted in fertility that they are no longer capable of profitable cultivation; in many regions, extensive farm abandonment and tax delinquency, decaying rural communities, and local governments seriously embarrassed by declining revenues. These widespread conditions should make it apparent, even to the most obstinate apostle of laissez faire, that we must begin to take thought, in the interest of the public welfare, regarding the utilization of our land resources. Our traditional outlook has been one of expecting a virtually unlimited increase of population, and consequently the prospective use for agriculture of all the land physically capable of being so emplrtan.t to Development of State and Are Anxious to Promote Forestry. The question of the value of forests and forest products to power companies brings the observer at once to the question of water power development. While it is true that great quantities of forest products are used by power companies at present it is also true that these products are becoming of less importance as the .art of generating and transmitting electrical energy progresses. The production of power through the utilization of waters of rivers and streams is a many-sided problem. Values of the separate sides of the question are rapidly changing, each one in itself, and in relation to the others. Probably the most important phase of the question is the ultimate cost of power to the consumer. Twenty-five years ago the generation of power by steam, utilizing fuels then available, fixed the cost of power at the point of generation, at what would be considered as compared to today's cost, a very high figure. At that time many of the water power situations, although requiring large sums of capital investment, could be developed and the power sold at less cost than power generated by fuel~consuming equipment. Many of the water-power projects developed and put into service at that time could not be considered today because the total cost of securing power from these sources would be considerably higher than for the same amount of power generated by other means available to the industry today. This has been brought about largely by recent advances in the art of generation and in new economies in the use of fuel. Twenty to twenty-five years ago the generation of one kilowatt hour at the output buses of a central station averaged, in the over-all operation of plant, approximately four to four and onehalf pounds of coal of good grade. This figure, expressed in terms of heat units, considering a fair average of coal heat unit value, would amount to between fifty-four thousand and sixty thousand b. t. u. per kilowatt hour at the busbars. Today in well-designed, carefully operated, large output generating plants, one kilowatt hour delivered to the output busbars of a steam station can be secured for an expenditure of twelve to fourteen thousand b. t. u. And the end is not in sight. In some instances a kilowatt hour is being produced at an expenditure of only 10,000 b. t. u. and the more optomis- tic men in the industry look forward expectantly to the time when a kilowatt hour can be produced at an expenditure not to exceed 8500 b. t. u. This means that the production of power from combustible fuels can be accomplished for approximately twenty-two percent of the fuel requirements of the earlier period. This relative figure will hold among all those steam plants that have been designed and con- 58 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA structed within the last three or four years. Another important phase of the problem of power production thru the use of water power lies in the fact that as a matter of course practically all of those potential water power sites which could be developed under the most advantageous conditions as regards capi~ tal outlay, taxes, stream control, and availability to market, have been constructed to meet the power needs of distributing companies. This means that today available water powers in certain sections will cost more per unit to develop than the average of those that have been developed have cost in the past. Lands to be used in reservoirs cost more per unit. Construction difficulties at many of the remaining sites are serious obstacles because of their overall cost.. Many of the potential water power sites can be developed only for rela- tively small amounts of water, and the cost of developing the multiplicity of these relatively small power units, and the added cost of operation, all tend to prohibit the utilization of these sources of power at this time. In Georgia, however, we have a rather different set-up than in most of the other states. Water power developments are of prime importance. About 94 o/o of the power generated by the Georgia Power Company comes from hydro plants and very properly so. Owing to the location and size of these developments it is of economic advantage to maintain the present plants and continue to build other hydro developments of suitable size and at strategic locations. One of the principal difficulties of a power system based almost entirely on water power is the matter of insufficient water supply during periods of drought. This problem has been met in Georgia through an inter-connected transmission system throughout the Southeast whereby the physical properties are connected and power delivered to the required point. This Southeastern inter-connected system is the first of its kind. It provides power insurance. It makes Georgia's hydro developments commercially practicable. It provides the way for continued development of large hydro plants located at suitable points. But it should be regarded as power insurance rather than as a ready source of power. It will be seen then that steam plants will be needed from time to time to meet the continued demands for additional power. These plants will be located at strategic points, where the costs of transmission from hyrdo plants would be more costly. In a word the situation in Georgia is about as follows: Hydro electric power will remain our principal source of power for sometime to come. New hydro developments will be undertaken as demand warrants and in such cases as the location and quantity of water justifies, due reference being made to new economies in electrical generation by the utilization of fuels. The interconnected system provides power insurance. New steam plants will be added as conditions warrant, due ref- erence being made to the transmission costs of hydro electric power. Viewing the problem of preservation of timbered lands and reforestation and taking into consideration the statements above, it would seem that the electric power industry would be directly concerned in the general forestry problem to the extent that this movement in forestry would tend to offer some measure of insurance so that those reservoir developments which have already been con- structed would be, in a measure, protected from the gradual filling up FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 59 by unrestricted run-off, which carries with it excessive amounts of silt. Under the best of forest and undergrowth conditions surrounding our streams there will always be some considerable amount of silt which, through a long term of years, will sooner or later reduce the storage capacity of these reservoirs to the point where their value as reservoirs will cease, and only normal run of the river will be available for the generation of power at any time. The chief interest of the power industry at this time would seem to lie largely in determining what increased length of life will be secured for those reservoir capacities which are now developed. However there is another phase of this question of the value of forests which affects power companies indirectly but to considerable degree. Power _companies are permanent institutions, if any busi- ness can be called permanent. They do business within a certain locality. They grow or decline with that locality. Anything that makes for the betterment of that locality is of interest to them. In the company which I represent, we regard it as good business to do anything we can to further the prosperity of our territory. We now serve more than three hundred towns. We are tied up with Georgia definitely and permanently. Anything that adds to the material welfare of Georgia adds to our welfare. Then again, we claim to be citizens wherever we serve. We want to be good citizens, valuable citizens. A good citizen is interested in his community and state even beyond the pocket-book factor. It is obvious then that the power companies have a genuine in- terest in the forestry program. We are directly interested in the movement in that it helps conserve our reservoirs without which hydro electric developments would not be commercially feasible, we are less directly, though still vitally interested in the movement in its aid to the economic and social progress of our state. I predict that you will find the power companies of Georgia ready to cooperate with you in the future as they have in the past. 60 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA FORESTS FOR RECREATION By WILLIS B. POWELL, Indian Springs, Ga. Cool Retreats of Forest Haven& and Nature's Temples Need of the Times-State Forest-Parks Windows to Forestry-Georgia's Forest-Parks Described. The forests were man's first temples. There in the darkling wood, amidst the cool and silence, surrounded with the mystery of the jungle, he knelt and offered up his solemn thanks and supplication. Through the dim and misty pathways of civilization the deep wood has been the refuge of mankind. Here was found solace and relief and c:>mfort from the blazing sun or the blasts of winter. He would be an anchorite who would not stand in awe and veneration of the handiwork of God who has woven into the fabric of the woodland a majestic grandeur and overwhelming loveliness. To-day a condition, not a theory confronts us. One can travel interminable miles without finding a cool retreat open to the public. The remaining woods are only to look upon as part of the scenery but not to enjoy physically. Realizing this condition the Georgia Forestry Service is trying to maintain areas of woodlands of greater recreational value by setting them aside as state properties under a definite plan of management which will safeguard their value to the greatest number of people. The Georgia Forestry Service is motivated with the thought that these playgrounds, these recreational areas, these breathing spotswill be the show windows of forestry. They will create in the average person, a greater desire for further knowledge of the problems of timber growing, protection and utilization. Forestry will not lose any of its commercial importance coupled with pleasure, nor sentiment suffer through thoughts material. The contact with these recreational centers will strip forestry of all its mysteries and translate the general purposes and methods into terms the layman may understand. While the Georgia Forestry Ser11ice, in its plans and purposes, to establish five recreational centers, located as regards its boundaries ;--east, west, north, south and one central-is, primarily altruistic it also has under consideration that its main objectives will be amplified and strengthened through these enterprises. The indirect benefits would be 1-To fetch the general public in closer touch and sympathy with the work of the forestry department. 2-To those who love hunting the lesson will be brought home that without a forest home there can be no game. 3-To those who love to fish the lesson will be brought home that without an adequate water supply there can be no fish. Fish cannot breed and live in raging torrents one week and dry bottom the next, nor will fish bite when waters are laden with silt. 4-To those who love the Great Out Doors and the trees and the forests the lesson will be brought home that one of the greatest FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 61 questions before the American public today is forest conservation and reforestation. The Forest Service of the state has under its management at present Indian Springs in the central part and Neel's Gap in the Northern, the latter known as the Vogal State Forest Park. Indian Springs gets its name from a mineral spring located in 1792 by a hunter named Dunlap, escaping from a band of Creek Indians. The Indians called the spring "Healing Water." Fearful that the gambols of the squaws and pappooses might drive the spell from the curative properties of the water they ne'\7"er camped near it. Indians of the Creek tribes came from vast distances to drink of the water and when a cure was effected would return to their wars or hunting grounds. About 1800 General William Mcintosh, a half breed and a cousin of Governor Troup, erected a cabin here and spent his summers with his family close to the spring. Rival factions of the Creeks, headed by General Mcintosh and Napothlehatchie began warring in 1821 and continued the onslaught until 1825. It was in 1821 that Mcintosh ceded to the United States government all the Creek lands lying between the Okmulgee and Flint rivers, except about 1000 acres of which the springs were the center, Mcintosh reserving this land for his own purposes. In 1825 a second treaty caused the warring factions to meet at the Springs the government agents being protected by United States troops. Under the treaty entered into then the Indian possessions in Georgia were ceded to the whites. This treaty was the undoing of Mcintosh who was assassinated a few months later. The speech to incite the natives to this action was made from a rock which remains on the Varner estate, suitably inscribed by a bronze tablet. In 1826 the property was divided by the state into town lots, the state reserving ten acres around the mineral springs for the free use of the public for all time. Here the state has a large casino, pavilion, bath rooms, lodging rooms, and so on, and the acreage landscaped and beautified as funds will permit. Three years ago the state placed this property under the management of the Forestry Board, and the Forestry Board created an advisory board to pass upon improvements. More than 100,000 people visit the springs annually, some Sundays the attendance being in excess of 12,000 people. The Vogel State Forest Park is located in Union county, Georgia, near Blairsville, on federal route 19. This park has an area of 160 acres, the gift of Mr. Vogul, of Wisconsin. Through the park runs Neel Gap, a popular scenic highway from Atlanta to Asheville penetrating one of the most picturesque areas of the Southern Appalachians. At the highest point, 3108 feet, the Georgia Forest Service maintains ranger's quarters and a concession for the benefit of passing travel. Loyal citizens of Blairsville have created a picnic grounds and tourist camp near by the ranger's home, where the people luxuriate beneath majestic trees, and surrounded with rhododendron and laurel and riot of mountain flowers. A stream bisects this recreational area. This year the American Legion of Georgia purposes to construct on Blood Mountain a memorial to the Georgia World War dead on the summit of Blood Mountain, some 1500 feet higher than the highway elevation. The top of Blood Mountain is now reached with a two-mile path winding up its sides. The possibilities of this recreational area are unlimited. It has an appeal that is irresistible. Here one can look upon a number of waterfalls, or a 62 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA vista for miles where on clear days the highest mountain in Georgia, Enotah Bald Mountain, 4800, can be seen; oft times one is above the clouds. Thus we have the mountain scenery of the North and the mineral springs of the central parts of the state provided for. There is still on the program a recreational area for the ocean border; the enchanting beauty of the Okefenokee swamp, and the hill country of the Caloosahatchee river. But I would not stop there, nor do I think that the people of this great commonwealth will stop with the example set by the state forestry service. There will come a broader understanding of forestry, in all its ramifications, when every county of the state will set aside an area of virgin timber for the use of the public, the area to be beautified and developed and maintained through a small levy on general taxation, thus insuring perpetuity and ever-inviting all" peal. By county units the plea and plan of forestry would be broadcast locally and practical demonstrations made that would register. It would afford each county a playground, a retreat, a community center. The Boy Scouts, the Camp Fire girls, the American Legion and other civic and cultural and religious societies would have a home in the Great Outdoors, and where their combined energies would be centralized, drawing the communities closer in bands of fellowship. Their activities would find vent in building lodges, community houses, swimming pools, amusement devices, and in beautifying the grounds. That this would have an appeal is without question. In every one of us there is a craving to wander out into the romantic and appealing regions where life is different. And after I have written, in my humble way, it was Cowper who covered the entire ground in that classic which goes rebounding through the ages: "God made the country and man made the town, What wonder then that health and virtue, gifts That can alone make sweet the bitter draught That Life holds out to all, should most abound And least be threatened in the fields and groves?" FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 63 THE PRESS AND FORESTRY D. G. BICKERS, Associate Editor, Savannah Morning News Georgia's State Seals Emphasise Forestry-Hope of Future Lies in Forests-Ample and Cheap Supply of Newsprint Await Development of South's Paper Manufacturing Opportunities-Newspapers' Responsibility to Aid in Education Along Line of Conservation, Protection and Reforestation. It should be extraordinarily interesting in a significant way that this conference is held in Georgia, the heart-state of the Southeast, in which hope of the future lies in timber in a state which has signed her name officially six times in her great seal with symbols of forestry. Men can interpret signatures. In this signature of Georgia is revealed the thought of the best minds of the state, the core of what leaders were thinking about when the seal was designed, considered and adopted. On every seal of Georgia has appeared a Tree or Trees. Trees on Yamacraw Bluff attracted Oglethorpe to the spot on which the colony was founded in this city of Savannah, mother settlement of the state. We have been in some ways thinking trees ever since; and now we are, by force of circumstances, impelled to be forestminded. What is important in the development of the state and section is a major concern to the newspaper editors-who get and distribute the news and daily express their views about the news. Georgia papers have more news about forests and carry more editorials about the natural resources as seen in the trees than almost any other one subject, not excepting politics. This is appropriate and wise. The newspapers are interested in THE big item which for the future has to do with the permanence of prosperity in this section. And it is significant that the words in our language which mean paper or book, and this is true in the Latin, and the Greek and the French and the Spanish and in almost every other tongue, come from old original terms which meant something about TREES or the relation of the trees in smaller growth-like the papyrus reeds. Library comes from the inner bark of the trees. Book is from the same source. The newspaper, the current, daily, universal medium of letter is printed on paper that in the very name comes from the trees. But the newsprint itself is actually manufactured from the pulp from spruce and other trees. And now the spruce supply is threatened; prices are rising; the big supply area is in a region where spruce growth is slow. Here in the Southeast is the inexhaustible supply of a rapid growing tree that offers to relieve us of the burden in Canada-the slash pine. Dr. Herty and the International Paper Company and the state and federal forestry services have been looking into the slash pine, growing seven times as fast as the spruce, as a potential future supply for paper pulp. The solution has been found and more than once announced by authoritative statements in the past few months. The newspapers are interested tre (e) -mendously -get the pun-in timber other than political timber, because in the 64 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA forests are hiding the hope of the wealth of this section in future generations; and aside from that unselfish interest there is the inti- mate dollars-and-cents interest of the solution of the problem of ample and cheap supply of newsprint for their own increasing use. With such interest, direct and general, in the future of the for- ests, the newspaper finds a great responsibility in the opportunity to aid in education along the line of conservation, protection and reforestation. Continuing publicity by editorial, news story and special feature will help much in the pine tree area. The Morning News averaged for the past year an original or a reprinted editorial a day on forestry and not a day passes but the news columns carry something to help the cause of intelligent handling of the pines in the Southeast. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 65 CHEMISTRY AS AN AID TO PROFITABLE FORESTRY DR. CHARLES H. HERTY, New York, N.Y. Second Growth Pines Do Not Involve Resin Problem in Paper Manu facture--Triple Purpose Pines, Thinnings for Wood Pulp, Naval Stores, Lumber-100,000,000 Acres Available-Rapid Grow.th Assures Permanent Supply of Material for Paper Mills. Dr. Charles H. Herty, industrial chemist of New York, native of Georgia and formerly on the faculty of the University of Georgia, declared in his address before the Georgia Commercial Forestry Conference that he is more convinced than ever that the young slash pine is as suitable for the manufacture of white paper as red spruce now largely used for producing news and book paper. Dr. Herty's subject was "Chemistry as an Aid to Profitable For- estry". He spoke without manuscript, and it is with regret that no provisions were made to report his address in full, an address which is considered gave the greatest encouragement and assurance to the timber owner that his trees are to find a greater and more profitable market in the future than in the past. But Dr. Herty has provided a summary of his statement which is presented further on in this article. Dr. Herty's epochal discovery that the slash pine up to the time it begins to form appreciable heart wood, estimated at about 25 years, is as free from resinous substances as the red spruce, was announced about a year previous to the meeting in Savannah. He said that the chemical determinations made by A. S. Kloss of the Hercules Powder Company of Brunswick on which his original statement was based, had been checked by analysis made by the Research Bureau of the International Paper Company at Glenns Falls, New York, and the findings had tallied with remarkable exactness. This had added to his confidence in declaring that the young slash pine is suited to the manufacture of white paper. The statement obtained from Dr. Herty embodying the substance of his remarks before the conference about paper manufacture from southern pines is as follows: "Four misconceptions have misled public opinion regarding the South as possible center for the future paper industry of the United States. "First, paper manufacturers have thought of forests of Southern pine in terms of the original forests which once covered the South Atlantic and Gulf States, consisting chiefly of the old trees, practically all heartwood, which once gave to Southern yellow pine its reputation for structural purposes. Such pine is rich in resin and capable of manufacture only into kraft paper. Saw mills have removed the great bulk of these original forests. It is the second-growth forests, the trees in which heartwood does not form until they are about twenty-five years of age, which are the actual material to be dealt with in the present and future. "Second, because the slash and longleaf pines produce abundant 66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA supplies of spirits of turpentine and ros'in it has been assumed that these pines are too rich in resin for consideration other than for kraft paper. Experiments have demonstrated, however, that these all-sap- wood pines, prior to scarification for oleoresin production contain but little physiological resin. The actual crop of oleoresin is a pathologi- cal product. The question of resin removal therefore no longer exists, and the field is open for manufacture of all grades of paper by any process. "Third, cattle owners and turpentine operators have annually burned the carpet of wire grass, the former through the misconception that cattle were thereby given better grazing, and the latter through the assumption that burning the woods was the necessary protection for a crop of naval stores. It has not been demonstrated that better grazing is found on unburned land, and the official records of State Forestry Departments show that through timber protective associations, with resultant intensive fire-control, ample protection against fire can be secured at the low cost of 3 1-2 cents an acre. "Fourth, the states have failed to provide -just measures of taxation of cut-over lands where reforestation is being attempted. A heal- thy sentiment is now rapidly developing for laws which will establish a minimum taxation during the period of early growth of new forests, and until they become revenue producers. "The rapid growth of these pines, especially the slash pine-about two cords per acre per year-is in startling contrast with the slower growth of northern woods, though from a chemical point of view it is perfectly reasonable and to be expected. "These pines can be termed "triple purpose" trees, namely, utilization of the thinnings from natural reforestation for pulp wood, then production of naval stores, and. finally utilization of the maturer trees for lumber. More than 100,000,000 acres of cut-over lands in the South are available for such development, while further millions of abandoned farm lands can be readily converted into revenue producing areas through pine tree growth. Such abundant and rapid growth assures a permanentsupply of raw material for a paper mill, and therefore justifies the conviction that gradually the South will become the natural home of the paper industry." Dr. Herty said in closing that for a long time, industrial chemists have been centering attention on coal tar products. Now they are turning to cellulose and such significant advances have been made in this field that he had said more than a year ago that we are entering upon the cellulose age. He sketched the progress made in producing nitroglycerine for gun powder, rapid-drying paints, artificial silk, cello- phane paper, non-breakable glass for automobiles, artificial leather, etc., and declared that the chemists are opening up almost unlimited possibilities in the use of wood cellulose. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 67 IMPROVED PRACTICES IN NAVAL STORES INDUSTRY By H. L KAYTON, Savannah, Ga. Second Growth Pine Brought Back Naval Stores Production-New Problems Faced Which United St<>.tes Forest Service Aided in Solving-Improvements 'in Chipping Methods and Distallation Practices Recounted That Have Reduced Production Costs and Improved Naval Stores ProductsLand Ownership Important Factor for Future -Field of Wonderful Possibilities Opening When the "tar heelers" from North Carolina, after depleting the magnificent forest of long leaf pine which had cradled the American naval stores industry, cut and hacked their way through South Carolina into Georgia, they found a continuation of pine forest growth which to them seemed endless and which, therefore, called for no modification of the ruthless methods of lumbering and turpentining which they had originally adopted. The marvelous specimens of this primeval forest were first "boxed" to the limit--three, four and even five "boxes" being cut deep into the base of these trees,-then bled to the maximum through the medium of weekly chipping or hacking with the old No. 2 hack. After a few years of intensive turpentining, the lumberman claimed his toll and the sawmill was kept busy working up the logs which came to it in an endless stream. Lumber was needed for building and numberless other purposes, cleared land was required for farming and forest devastation was a mark of progress, testimony to the advance of civilization. Why worry about a few thousand square miles of pine forest? There were limitless areas to the South and West. I need not repeat history to you who know as well as I do how, within the course of a comparatively few years, the naval stores business found itself apparently nearing the end of the trail and centered in the last of the remaining virgin fields, the splendid forests of Louisiana and Mississippi. Second Growth Pines to the Rescue It was freely predicted that the American crop of rosin and turpentine was doomed to practical extinction and the laboratories of industry m;ing these commodities were set to work finding substitutes therefor. Then came the miracle of the second growth and the discovery of healthy stands of young trees which had unobtrusively established themselves in the cut-over fields; volunteer growths, despite lack of any human aid but, to the contrary, in the face of fire, hogs and other obstacles to successful reforestation. Especially in Georgia did these young forests thrive, and again the sound of the hack was heard in locations which had been abandoned years earlier and declared "worked out." Experience soon showed, however, that former methods of operation, those applicable to the original pines, were not suitable to the smaller trees. These latter, while vigorous and generous producers, permitted less expanse of face and consequently yielded in lesser vol- 68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA ume than the larger tree. Profitable operation was a problem and producers were not financially_ able nor equipped nor trained to make the required experimental processes and secure the correct deductions therefrom. At this stage the U. S. Forest Service interested itself in the naval stores industry, recognizing it as the key to the successful reforestation of the southern pine lands. Field men were sent into this territory, studies of gum flow and the effects upon tree growth of various methods of turpentining were made, miscroscopic examinations of the chips and ring growth followed and gradually conclusions were reached that have been of material aid to the turpentine operator in reorganizing his woods work to meet the changed conditions he now faces. Without Government aid, unquestionably the progress made would have been impossible. Improvement in Chipping Methods The first and most important advance step in turpentining was the abandonment of the "box" in favor of the cup system. The "box" was a cavity cut into the base of the tree, 12 to 14 inches wide and about 7 inches deep and held about three pints. While not a menace when cut in a large tree, it was not suitable to trees of smaller size as it weakened them at the base and made them susceptible to being blown down by heavy winds. Naturally a "box" close to the ground and containing inflammable material offered a constant hazard during the season of ground fires and to it may be attributed the destruction of many splendid trees. In the French forests a cup system had long before been developed and Professor Charles Herty first caught the vision and advocated its adoption by the American producers. Professor Herty personally conducted a series of field experiments, modifying the French methods to suit the local con- ditions. As a result, the Herty cup and gutter came into being and rapidly gained favor. The first cup was made of clay and shaped like the ordinary flower pot; it was heavy and easily broken and would not stand freezing temperatures. Galvanized iron was found to be more practical, hence later cups were made from such material, though there are still some operators, usually those working in the lower portions of the turpentine belt and immune to freezes, who prefer the clay cup. Zinc cups have been tried but the material is soft and in case of ground fire fuses too readily. Aluminum is more satisfactory but its higher cost precludes its more general use. The manner of placing the apron and gutter has passed through various stages of development and there is a great diversity of opinion as to the best method. Originally, installation was made by us- ing a broad axe and maul and placing the apron or gutter in the incision thus produced but again weakening of the tree resulted, as evidenced by the large number of trees which snapped and broke under the pressure of high winds. Especially was this the case in instances where cups had been raised and the apron incision made with the axe. Operators studied this situation and the more progressive ones resorted to the small nail affixing the aprons by tacking to the tree. This change proved beneficial and is slowly growing in favor, in fact, one of the factories will now furnish a flanged apron. one ready formed for tacking to the tree. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 69 Progress in Gum Collecting Methods There is a great diversity of opinion as to the best method of guiding the gum flow into the cup. Some use the one-piece concave apron, some the two~piece tapered apron, some the double gutter system. There are various modifications and combinations designed to secure the best results and to eliminate waste wherever possible. In the case of raised cups the apron is sometimes moved up upon the scarified face and the chipping carried on from the place of the previous year's discontinuance. In other instances, the operator "jump streaks", leaving an inch or two of the bark at the peak of the face and securing a dam, under which he may firmly set his cup and over which the gum must flow into the cup. This method is considered good turpentine practice since the small area of lost face consists of light wood which would probably have to be chipped away in any event in order to reach live gum producing tissue. Reference has been made to the No. 2 hack, the chipping tool which was generally used in the earlier days of the turpentine business; this hack ate deeply into the tree, or to use the trade expression, "climbed" rapidly. A streak of 3-4 of an inch or about 24 inches per year pertically was the toll exacted by this hack. Experimentation developed that a shallower chip was equally as effective in keeping the wound open and running freely and that 1-4 inch streak would result in an equal production of gum over a three year period; the tree would be climbed more slowly and as a consequence the face could be worked over a longer period; also, the tree would better stand the bleeding process, remain more vigorous and continue its wood growth at a higher rate. Gradually the larger hack has yielded to the smaller tool until now there are but comparatively few No. 2's in use. The No. 1 hack is probably the most popular but a great many No. O's and even some No. OO's are in the hands of progressive operators. Progress in Distillation Proper methods of distilling the crude gum have not materially changed but through ignorance and carelessness, efficiency had been gradually discarded and bad practices had crept into the business. Kettles were improperly set so that the heat from the fire was not uniformly applied and poor yields of turpentine and low grade rosin resulted; worms, often of too small capacity, failed to entirely condense the vapor and a considerable portion passed from the tail pipe in a gaseous state and was lost; still tubs of insufficient capacity, or not supplied with an adequate quantity of fresh cold water produced a similar loss. The majority of present day operators have eliminated these bad practices and maintain substantial and efficient stilling outfits. Furthermore, they equip their stills with recording thermometers which enable them to run their gum scientifically, rather than by the old sound method and consequently they secure !Jetter yields of turpentine and higher grades of rosin. Abandonment of the fire still has been attempted but steam stills have not been successful in operation, though the obstacles to be overcome are probably not insurmountable. Considerable improvement has been accomplished in minor details, such as packing and especially so in the rosin barrel, which has been standardized and made practically 70 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA uniform. The old riven stave has disappeared entirely and has been displaced by the cylinder sawed stave, crozed and chamfered, with standard specifications as to length and thickness. Land Ownership a Factor Probably the factor which will most likely govern the future of the gum naval stores industry is that of land ownership. Until a few years ago, practically all rosin and turpentine were produced from trees worked under the lease system. The "privilege" was secured for a period of years, usually three, later for four. The only interest of the leases was to secure the utmost in gum flow during the life of his lease, regardless of the effect upon the timber. Naturally abuses were common. Trees were hacked to death; small trees were worked with no regard to their size or vigor and forests were frequently left in condition where the first winter fire practically completed their destruction. Scarcity of timber, resulting in steady mounting lease costs, forced producers to the idea of land ownership and timber raising, the possession of sufficient acreage to justify forest administration with a view to continuous production. This thought has been followed in a number of instances and is working out most successfully. Our native pines lend themselves admirably to this plan, being prolific seed bearers and of rapid growth. Protection against fire is about all they require, other than thinning as the young stands develop. The formation, by individual land owners, of timber protective associations, under State super>vision and with Federal assistance, has blazed the way for forest rehabilitation, upon a very large scale. Naturally, the working of one's own timber will be by conservative, rather than wasteful methods; selection of trees suitable for cupping will supersede promiscuous hanging; small trees will be taboo and such will be given the opportunity to develop into workable size; misshapen trees and weaklings will be thinned out in order to give healthier specimens the light and food they require. Survivors will be stronger and more robust and when properly worked will give higher yields of gum and at lower costs. It seems to me we are just now in a period of transition, that what we have learned is merely the opening chapter of the book and there lies before us a field of wonderful possibilities which in time we shall surely attain. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 71 RESEARCH PROSPECTS IN THE NAVAL STORES INDUSTRY! By DR. W. W SKINNER, U. S. Department of Agriculture, WasJrington, D. C. Pine Tree lndustl"y of South Passing Through Period of Evolution- Primary Need Well Organized Naval Stores Industry Willing To Support Research on Which to Develop Future Prog- ress of the Industry-Standards of Products Estab- lished-Economies of Distillation Methods Developed It was with real pleasure that I received the invitation to participate in the program of this convention because of the opportunity to renew personal contacts with the many ple:j.sant and interesting people engaged in the forestry and naval stores industries of this region, and because of the opportunity it affords me to bring to your attention personally some of the research work and some of the accomplishments of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, particularly of the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, along lines which are of peculiar interest to the several groups brought together here in this convention. It might be of interest for me to outline very briefly how the Department of Agriculture is organized to conduct the investigations and research made necessary by an expanding and progressive national agricultural policy. The activities of the Department are organized largely on a subject matter basis, under carefully planned and definitely formulated projects. These projects may be allocated to several administrative units, usually called Bureaus, but leadership in a project is assigned to that Bureau or unit which is most favorably situated or most efficiently equipped to do the work. Thus it happens that more than one administrative unit may be engaged in work in a general field of activity, and this is sometimes confusing to those who find it necessary to make contacts with the work of the Department. In order to prevent duplication and overlapping, the research work of the Department is correlated and coordinated under one supervising official directly responsible to the Secretary of Agriculture. This liaison or coordinating official is known as the Director of Scientific Work. In that branch of agriculture which deals with trees as a product of the soil, the Bureau of Forestry, or the Forest Service, as it is officially designated, has the natural leadership, but several other Bureaus of the Department of Agriculture are vitally interested in a collateral way. For instance, the Bureau of Entomology is interested in insec>ts that attack all plants, including forest plants; the Bureau oi ?lant Industry is interested in diseases that affect all plants, includmg forest plants; the Bureau of Agricultural Economics is interested in problems of the marketing of forest products and the utilization of marginal lands; and the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils is interested in the soils on which new forest farming is to be undertaken, as well as the effects upon soils of deforestation. This Bureau also is interested in these technological processes, chemical and physical, which con- 72 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA vert the raw materials of the farm or forest into products ready for inaustrial consumption. The conversion of one of the products of pine tree farming-that is, the raw gum-is the foundation of the naval stores industry, the problems of which are assigned, in the U. S. Department of Agriculture, to the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils. Thus, in this word picture which I am very briefly placing before you of the activities of the Department of Agriculture, as it applies to the pine tree farming of the South, you see in the background the activities of the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils in relation to the many soil problems involved; then, in the body of the picture, appears the great work of the Forest Service, in forest management, in forest protection, in forest utilization, and in reforestation; and, here, to one side in the foreground of the picture, is the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils in its naval stores work, solving the technological problems of making ready for industry the raw gum of the pine. The pine tree industry of the South has been passing through a period of evolution, comparable to that experienced by many other industries depending upon natural resources for raw material. This is particularly true of the naval stores part of the industry. Beginning in the South in North Carolina, where the naval stores industry first attained a position of primary importance, this interest shifted, because of the exhaustion of the natural first growth forests, first to South Carolina and Georgia, then on to Alabama and Mississippi, and, finally, to Texas. Now, It is shifting back, with Georgia today again the leading naval stores producing state of the South and Savannah its greatest port. This shift has been in response to definite economic factors, to which the time at our disposal permits only this brief allusion. The return of the naval stores industry to the Atlantic seaboard has been made possible by the remarkable natural reforestation of cut-over lands. This phenomenon has attracted attention to the great possibilities of a rational, systematic effort at reforestation of countless acres of land which are not needed now for general agricultural production, but which are ideally suited for pine tree farming, as is evidenced by the memory of the magnificent forest these same lands once supported. Pine Tree Farming I like to use the phrase, "pine tree farming," to define the selection, the planting, the caring for, and, perhaps, the fertilization, the protection, the thinning, the chipping, and the harvesting of the gum from the glorious long leaf pine and its equally interesting slash pine cousin. A rational and profitable development of pine tree farming is dependent, no doubt, upon several factors. One primary factor is, I believe, a profitable, progressive, thoroughly organized naval stores industry, an industry which must apply scientific principles to its daily activities, and which must be willing and ready to set aside a tithe of today's proceeds to provide for that research for fundamental facts that will permit the industry to meet the changes in demand and the utilization of its products which are sure to come with the morrow. In a progressive program of research upon which the future of America depends, the Federal Government, the State Government, the Boards of Trade, and Chambers of Commerce all have important parts to play, but with the industry itself rests a most important obligation to foster and support fundamental research on problems, upon the so- FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 73 lution of which it needs no occult power to perceive the future prosperity or, perhaps, the very life of the industry may depend. The naval stores industry has seen both the opportunity and the necessity. It has created worthwhile organizations which have good leadership and which are doing splendid work. It is bringing together, at stated intervals, producers and consumers to discuss and debate matters of common interest. It is seeking ways and means to expand new markets for its products. I have said before that I am glad of the opportunity to tell you of what the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, the unit which I am here to represent, has done and is doing to aid and to stimulate the naval stores industry. While we believe we are able to report some substantial results, this is not done in a boastful spirit. I rather like to think that I am here as an officer in a great corporation to make a report to you as a part of the "Board of Directors" of the corporation. I should also like to say that what we have done is what you and other directors have asked us to do and we have done it to the best of our ability and to the extent that you directors have provided us with the funds with which to work. Work Accomplished One accomplishment of outstanding importance to the rosin industry Is the perfection of official physical standards which are the outgrowth of experimental work. The fixing of those standards has helped to eliminate trade controversies in the barter of rosin and has removed a baffle that had interfered with the desired easy flow of trade. These standards are now used universally in this country and also in foreign lands. They have been made the official standards in law enforcement regarding grades. A set of these standards, such as I have here, is obtainable at cost from the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils. Another notable accomplishment is the result of research work on the setting of the fire still, which has increased the yield of spirits and resulted in a material improvement in the grade of the rosin produced. It has made possible a reduction in the cost of operation. There has been an increasing demand on the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils for the blueprints of this set up from those who are building new stills or resetting old ones. The development of a new type of steam still has been, we believe, a real achievement. This still produces a much higher grade of rosin at a lower cost, as compared with the old fire still. The use of the steam still may mean a change in the handling of the gum so that its introduction, except where larger acreage is involved, may be slow. We believe, however, that, ultimately, the industry will adopt the steam mill as a matter of economy and efficiency. The Bureau of Chemistry and Soils maintains here in Savannah a Naval Stores Field Station under the direction of Dr. George Shingler, known, probably, to everyone here at this convention. The function of this Station is consultation work and the demonstration of improved technological processes of rosin and spirits production, taking to the stiller in the woods the most approved methods of conducting his operat.ions, such as gum clell;ning, still practice, rosin straining, barrel glumg, and proper packagmg. The importance of the demons- 74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA tration work lies in the introduction of standardized processes and equipment which permit the production of a uniform product, the lack of which has in the past been a serious handicap in the expansion of the market for the products and has, perhaps, seriously retarded the development of new uses. At the staff laboratories in Washington, work is being conducted on several important problems, one of which I think has recently been solved by the development of a new type of filter for cleaning gum before it is delivered to the still. This filter, which is of new and novel design, produces really remarkable results. I have here a sample of the rosin from such cleaned gum which I should be glad to have you examine and note its remarkable clearness and brilliancy. We are conducting research on the various constituents of turpentine. These data are fundamental and may have an important bearing upon the greater utilization of turpentine in chemical manufacturing, such as, for instance, the production of synthetic camphor, which may open up a wide market for turpentine with a greatly increased demand. We are not willing to admit that the last word has yet been said on the synthesis of camphor. A knowledge of the constituents of rosin also is needed, and can be acquired only by painstaking, time-consuming, fundamental re- search. The possibilities in this field are tremendous and very interesting to the speculative chemist with a vision of the future of chemical industry. In rosin we have the largest supply of an available, cheap, organic acid that exists ready to be converted into industrial uses when we have developed the technical processes for it. The needs of the naval stores industry as we see it, are: First, better methods of operation to prevent wastes, which is real conservation; second, the enlargement of research activities for the purpose of expanding the present market and creating new markets for pine tree products. The immediate need of the industry is to so improve its methoas as to materially prevent waste, thereby lowering the unit cost of production. I am advised that present methods of operation result in securing, perhaps, only about 60 per cent of the turpentine in the original gum as produced by the tree. Assuming that this is so, it is no compliment to our intelligence or our Ingenuity, and is a challenge to our technical science. While practices have been and are being improved, there are losses in the handling of the gum itself from the tree to the still. Undue exposure of the gum by present methods of harvesting is undoubtedly affecting the character of the materials, and may have a profound influence on manufactured articles made from them. An undue amount of foreign matter or a failure to adequately remove it not only affects color but probably influences certain chemical characteristics of the finished products. These and similar problems must be solved by careful experimentation, and then the results of the laboratory must be demonstrated in field practice. The second need is more knowledge, a great deal more, of the products themselves, their chemical constituents, physical and chemical properties, and how the methods and steps of production affect those properties. Then, we must learn how to change those methods so as to meet the needs of the consumer. Dr. Herty has been vigorously and forcibly preaching the possibilities of pulp wood from southern yellow pine as a factor in a rational system of reforestation, the pulp of the surplus young trees FORESTRY C OMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 75 helping to carry the fixed charges during the time of bringing the pine tree planting into bearing. It seems quite possible that an intelligent scientifically developed naval stores industry depending entirely upon second growth pine may materially aid this desirable result. Indeed, the naval stores industry may be the economic key to the solution of the reforestation problem for southern yellow pine. The problem, I believe, needs to be considered under three major subdivisions: First, the woods operation; second, the handling and processing of the gas; and, third, the development of a definite, well supported research pro- gram tq ascertain and make available those fundamental facts upon which the future must surely depend, such a program as other large and successf:ul industries have found it necessary and profitable to support. A satisfactory solution of such problems will mean bringing into productive use millions of acres of land, the creation of millions of dollars of new wealth, the employment of thousands of people, which, together with the development of new industries here at home to profitably utilize your raw products, such as outlined to you yester- day by Mr. Oliver, will make a large contribution to the industrial in- dependence of the South. - 76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA THE SOUTH AS A FUTURE SOURCE OF PULP WOOD RICHARD WOODS EDMONDS, Manufacturer'$ Record All Factors Considered No Other Area in the World Can Compare With the South as Potential Source of an Everlasting Supply Of Pulp Wood-Nearness to Consuming Market, Abundance Of Good Water, Hydro-Electric Power, Capable Native Labor, Are Other Advantages in Paper Manufac- ture-Reforestation, Reasonable Taxation And Forest Management Would Increase Supply When we study the South as a source of pulp wood, the one fact that stands out most conspicuously is that when all factors are considered, no other equal area in the world can compare with the South as a potential source of an everlasting supply of pulp wood. There are two main forests regions in the South-the turpentine pine belt, and the hardwood belt. In a subject as large as this one, and with only 25 minutes of allotted time, it would be desirable to draw a ring around a part of it, and stay inside that ring. However, book and white bond papers are now being made in large mills from the hardwoods of the hills and mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina; and the possibilities those mills represent cannot be ignored. Accordingly, while I am going to draw a ring around the pine belt, it will be necessary for me to step outside of it occasionally. It is a common saying that all measurement and evaluation go by comparison, and in order to set up a background for appreciation of the South as a source of pulp wood, I want to describe pulp wood production in that section from which comes most of our competitionour own northeastern states and Canada. In that section the shrinkage of the available supplies of spruce has already forced adaptation of pulping processes to other species of trees; but all species now are scarce in our own states, and the favorite Canadian wood for pulp-making is still spruce, by long odds. Canadian spruce will grow to pulp wood size in from 60 to 80 yearsprovided it is given a fair start. But where a spruce forest is burned over, or cut over clean, it will not reseed naturally at all. Spruce seeds will not germinate and grow in an open field. In fact, spruce seedlings as much as a foot high and 10 to 15 years old, growing up under a cover of their own species, will be promptly choked off by growth of worthless species if the larger trees are all cut away. A leaflet published by the U, S. Forest Service describes reproduction of conifers-spruce, fir and pine--in the northeastern states. This leaflet states that "where a goodly supply of reproduction two or more feet high is already present in a forest composed entirely, or predominantly, of the conifers", clear cutting of all merchantable timber will not prevent reproduction, but "where adequate reproduction is lacking a 'shelter-wood' system of cutting should be practiced. By this system one-third to one-half of the stand may be removed in such a way as to open up the stand uniformly and permit the establishment of additional reproduction under the shelter of the remaining trees. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 77 Ten to fifteen years later, when under normal conditions sufficient reproduction will have come in, the remainder of the old stand-which generally will be found to have put on increased growth since the first cut--may be logged." The fact that stands out between all the lines of this paragraph- and of nearly all paragraphs on the subject--is the amazingly slow growth of those species as compared with our own southern pines. However, the paragraph I quoted represents reforestation under the most favorable conditions. When land is cut over clean, or burned over, conifers simply will not reseed themselves at all. A paper mill consulting engineer who had a large practice in our own North and in Canada used to describe the cycle of reforestation to me very much in this fashion. Following the cutting or burning over of a spruce forest comes a growth of blackberries, fireweed, pincherries or other worthless species. Gradually, then, comes a growth of deciduous trees, usually birch and poplar. Upon the maturity of the deciduous trees, and in their shade, pine may spread in from a neighboring pine forest, eventually overtop and kill off the deciduous trees. Finally, in the year-round shade of the pines and the spruce from surrounding spruce stands gradually reseeds. Evidently this cycle must require centuries where any large area is concerned. It has never been observed in full, but merely conjectured from study of different areas in various stages. As for replanting by hand, spruce nursery stock must be three years old, and must be transplanted in the nursery at least once, before it will be ready to set out in the field. The result is that the planting of a spruce forest in the Lake States will cost from $10.50 to $18.75 per acre. With such a cost to start with, the forester must then wait 60 to 80 years for hand-planted seedlings to grow to pulp wood size. Compared with this dismal forest picture, southern pine will reseed itself naturally and spontaneously wherever seed trees have been left standing. The young seedlings, if protected from fire and from the razor-back hogs that love their juicy tap roots, will grow to pulp wood size in from 15 to 20 years. Compared with the 500,000 acres or more that are required to maintain a perpetual operation for a 100-ton mill in the North, the area required in our southern pine belt will range upward from a minimum, under most favorable conditions, of 75,000 acres to more than double that area on very poor land. Thousands of acres of land logged off so clean that nothing was left for regeneration have been planted by the Great Southern Lumber Company, in Louisianna, at a cost, including nursery seedlings, of $3.42 per acre. On smaller and less carefully organized operations, the cost would be higher, but at any figure reasonable for the South, and with 15 or 20 years to wait for pulp wood, compare the cost with from $10.50 to $18.75 and 60 to 80 years in the North! According to the latest estimates of the U. S. Forest Service, in twelve of the Southern states there is a total of more han 114,000,000 acres of pine area. This includes not only land now in pines, but land that has been denuded of pines and is not now restocking. There is about 90,000,000 acres of cut-over pine lands, of which a pproximately one-third is in saw timber, one-third in young second growth, and one-third is not restocking at all. One hundred and fourteen million acres of land is an area almost / 78 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA exactly three times as large as the entire state of Georgia. But these figures are for pine alone. "The South Atlantic and Gulf States," says Bulletin No 1241 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, "contain nearly 178,000,000 acres of forest lands," and on the next page, "pos- sible growth of pine alone under intensive forestry is estimated at more than 40,000,000 cords a year." Considering all species, it is esti- mated that the Southern forest growth could be increased by good forest management to over 90,000,000 cords a year. Naturally, much of this will be needed for lumber, but our entire requirements for pulp wood, including imports of pulp wood and of wood pulp, are only about 10 per cent of this total possible production of Southern forests, managed on a perpetual-yield basis. It must be evident, then, that the ex- isting forests of the South, if properly managed, could indefinitely supply all of the pulp wood needs of this country, on top of a great lumber industry, and keep it up just as long as the United States wants to make its paper of wood pulp. While immense forest areas, large existing stands and a pro- digious capacity for growth are the primary factors in making a great source of pulp wood, they are not by any means the only ones. The claim I made for this section is that when all factors are consid- ered, no other equal area in the world can compete with the South as a potential source of a continuous supply. Pulp wood is a bulky, low priced raw material, and cannot stand a high freight rate. In less degree wood pulp is subject to the same limitation. No other like area that can produce as much pulp wood, year in and year out, is so near to great markets or so well equipped with all the other facilities that go to make a great and successful source of pulp wood. Our own Pacific Coast can meet its own needs for pulp wood, but freight rates impose a heavy handicap for compet- ing in the greatest markets of the country. Russia will be able to sup- ply enormous quantities for a time, subject to freight rates for the water shipment and the handicap of slow regrowth. None of these areas can by any possibility reach so large a market, so close at hand; for our own people are the greatest consumers of paper in the world, and the South is, therefore, in a preferred position in regard to mar- kets. , Paper mills require large quantities of both water and power. One of the big and essential advantages enjoyed by the South for paper-making is an abundance of good water. Further, the many streams contribute to the highly developed, interconnected electric power system that covers the South with a network of electric lines, and provides power anywhere it may be wanted. But Southern paper mills are not limited to central station power. Mills desiring to supply eastern markets settle down along the cost, where they can buy power and ship their product by water, while those desiring to reach the interior markets build further north, near coal fields, and generate cheap steam. Not paper mills only, but many other industries, have found the untrained labor of the South apt at learning new trades. Tens of thousands of men are existing on farms in the South today because no jobs are available. The great need of the whole section is factories, factories and still more factories, to take up the surplus of available labor, and strike a balance between agricultural output and the local market. Let a mill or factory be opened anywhere in the South, and FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 79 the labor flocks in from all directions. Many years must pass, and enormous industrial growth take place, before there can be a situation even remotely resembling a labor scarcity. Transportation facilities by rail, water and highway are adequate and extend into nearly every nook and corner of the area. But while all of these factors-large existing stands, rapid growth, great markets, accessibility, power, water and labor-make the South the great potential source of pulp wood that it is, they will not make it a perpetual source. Throughout, I have been careful to refer to this section as a potential source of continuous supply, and that word po- tential is packed with significance. Unfortunately, the South is not yet such a source, and only prompt and wise action of the Southern people can make it that. Today our forests are being destroyed much more rapidly than they are re-growing; about four times as fast, the usual estimate is. E. L. Demmon, Director of the Southern Forest Experiment Station, sums it all up in a few words in his last annual report when he says that "although a few forward-looking companies have made a very good start in planning for future forest crops from their holdings, it must be admitted that the timber growing industry in this region is still in its infancy." And he adds, "The various states are helping very materially in furthering the practice of forestry, particularly where state forestry organizations exist." The various states are helping-yes; but most of them could help a great deal more. They seem strangely slow to realize the enormous values that are so seriously jeopardized by the prevailing indifference and lack of progressive legislation and education for the care and perpetuation of our forests. I wonder how many of our people have ever seen a vision of what modern forest management could mean to the vast turpentine pine belt of the South? You have all heard discussions of French methods of chipping trees, and French methods of refining the gumbut how many read--or having read, remember,-the description of the French turpentine forests, published six or seven years ago by a committee of naval stores men who went to France and studied the methods at first hand? It presented a striking contrast to our own temporary, crude camps. Exactly as the wood pulp industry of the North has wandered from place to place, and as the lumber industry has done everywhere, seeking fresh forests to destroy, so has done the naval stores industry of the South. In the last few years both industries are undergoing a momentous transformation, not only settling down to cultivate the soil where formerly they despoiled it, but, in the turpentine pine belt, combining to get naval stores, pulp wood and lumber in perpetuity from the same soil. No other section can draw revenue from its growing pulp wood as can the turpentine pine beltstill another reason for the region's pre-eminence as a source of pulp wood. The American naval stores men who visited France six or seven years back, reported that about 80 years ago the French Government tried a huge experiment, planting pines on a vast tract of land which, under summer suns, was a parched desert and under winter rains, almost a vast swamp. The planting took a good many years, for a large area was involved. As the young pines reached sufficient age, experiments began in chipping them for gum, and the French naval stores industry gradually developed. Its methods today set the 80 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA standard for the world. When the Americans visited the region they found, instead of our temporary turpentine camps, towns scattered through it, homes, schools, churches, banks and stores substantially built of brick or stone, and all connected by good highways. They found in brief, that the industry, which, in this country supports its workers in wretched camps with few of the advantages of civilization, there supported them in comfortable homes, where men could live with their families. They reported further, that the people of that section had suffered less from the post war depression than those in any other part of France and were, accordingly, the happiest and most prosperous of the whole country. While private industry in this country is making some little headway, here and there, toward the realization of small communities like that great one in France, how pitifully far behind what it could be is nearly all of our great turpentine belt! The states are vexed by the reversion of cutover lands for delinquent taxes; and landowners cannot afford to reforest bare lands unless the area in young second growth at any one time is a small proportion of the total holdings. But a state, with such lands on its hands and no revenue coming in, cannot afford not to plant and cultiV!lte its own pine forests. Much of such land is unfit for anything but pines; will never produce revenue except from pines, and cannot be sol~ unless the state first makes it salable by establishing pine forests on 1t. The subject of forest taxation was assigned to other speakers, and I will not go into it; but it may not be amiss for me to relate an experience I had once, because it has such direct bearing on the development of the South as a perpetual source of pulp wood. Six or seven years ago I was in the office of a consulting engineer-the same one I quoted awhile ago, in fact-and we were, as usual, discussing reforestation and paper making in the South. He took me into his library and handed me a bound volume four or five inches thick of typewritten pages, charts and photographs, and left me to study it. It had been compiled for a large Southern lumber company which had nearly exhausted the timber on its holdings, and had asked for a report as to whether it could profitably go into the paper business, cultivate a perpetual supply of pulp wood on its tens of thousands of acres, and forever settle down to the production of payrolls from land that would otherwise remain idle. The report was exhaustive, and I spent the full morning on it. It listed all the advantages-and a very few, minor, disadvantages. It showed that the lands owned by that company were admirably suited to the cultivation of forests; that the company, with a perpetual supply of cheap pulp wood at its doors, could undersell existing mills in the North and still make a handsome profit. As I read, I grew enthusiastic over the golden opportunities that mass of cold facts and figures set forth. But the last paragraph of that report dashed all my enthusiasm, for the gist of it was that there was just one obstacle to the successful realization of the reforestation program; and that obstacle was archaic forest taxation. Until the tax system of that state should be revised, the report concluded, the lumber company could not afford reforesta tion. At least six years ago, that was. Today, on both sides of that state, where more advanced forest tax laws have been adopted, great paper mills have been built. Tens of thousands of acres of pine lands FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 81 are under the most careful forest management, and are producing a perpetual source of wealth for those states to tax and payrolls for their citizens to spend. In the state that I speak of, a start has been made in the protection of existing timber stands from fire; a forest department has been created and some sort of a revision made of forest tax laws. But as far as the new tax laws are concerned, they are so half-baked and inadequate that, as the state forester wrote me a few weeks ago, not one acre of land has been listed under them for relief during the growing period from the older tax laws. If that were the only state in the South where such a situation exists, it would be worth while to name it; but since it does not stand alone, I will not point it out. Oh, I know that progress is being made; that state after state has created a forest department, and has set out to protect its forests from fire. But, gentlemen, the progress is so painfully slow. Foresight is the rarest thing in the world in this matter. The New England states are far ahead of the South in their forest legislation-taxation and otherwise; but why are they? Is it because they were more farsighted? Not on your life! They were forced to it, by a degree of forest denudation not yet reached in any Southern state. In the South, Louisiana is the leader in progressive legislation. Why? Deos Louisiana deserve any more credit than other Southern states for foresight and statesmanship in pulling out in the lead in forest legislation? She does not! With lumbering the great industry it has been in Louisiana for years, no other state in the South has so drastically reduced its forest area. The latest figures I have indicate that only about 3,500,000 acres remain in forests of an original stand of 22,000,000 acres, while about 13,500,000 acres are idle and not restocking. Louisiana had to take the situation in hand. I elieve you could almost lay down a rule that the states with the most progressive forest legislation are the ones with the least forest values left-the ones that are feeling most keenly the loss of forest industries and the reversion to idle lands for delinquent taxes. Why won't the states protect their forest values while they are great? Does a bank dismiss its guards and relax its vigilance when its vaults are bulging with wealth, and guard them jealously only when that wealth has been squandered or stolen? Lumbermen and paper mills can't cultivate timber unless the laws of the State permit them to make a profit on it. Let the state legis- latures do their part, and you can depend upon it, the paper mills and the lumber companies will see to it that pulp wood grows wherever pulp wood will pay a profit. Sometimes one is inclined to feel that where a legislature is so flagrantly negligent of the state's interest, there should be some way to indict it for neglect of duty; but legislatures are not altogether responsible; to a great extent they must follow public opinion. As long as the public remains indifferent to the values that are being wasted in our forests, we can expect nothing better of our legislatures. It is true enough that no other equal area in the world can compare with the South as a potential source of a continuous supply of pulp wood, but those potentialities can never be realized unless the people of the South can be aroused to the wealth they are annually throwing away through indifference, carelessness and bad legislation. 82 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA THE WOOD INDUSTRY OF GEORGIA GEORGE M. ROMMEL, Industrial Commissioner, The Industrial Committee of Savannah, Ga. Unlimited Forest Resources Await Market Demand-Most Rapid Tree Growth, Herty's Discovery of Absence of Resin in Young Pines and Long, Uniform Fiber of Pines Make Paper Production Inviting-Chemical Research for Larger Use of Organic Acid of Resin Needed in Naval Stores Development-Financing Tim- ber Production on Long Term Loans Sound I observe several things as I take my place on this morning's program: First, I am the last of a heaping baker's dozen, each assigned at least ten minutes, to some of whom (not me) you would willingly listen for ten hours if you had the time; Second, much of what I might say concerning the wood industry of Georgia has been or will be said as well or better by someone else; Third, instead of tiring you with a lot of rhetorical effort, I might as well jump right to the nub of my remarks, which is the real excuse of my appearance before you and which perhaps may have some of the earmarks of originality. So, this alleged address will be in the nature of a tabloid summary, the moral of which is that trees grow so fast down here when they have a chance that a man can visualize the possibility of returns from a forest investment within a few years. Therefore, commercial reforestation of cutover lands in South Georgia is a practical proposition which can be worked out by businessmen without interference or subsidies from any kind of government--county, state or national. We do not need the Government to buy our cutover lands to hold for the benefit of a future generation. We do need a market for the forest products which we can grow on them. The question then, is how and where that market can be found. From the standpoint of present demand, the timber resources of this region are practically unlimited. There is infinitely more wood in the coastal plain than the wood-using industries, including papermaking, can possibly use. It is estimated that, within a radius of 200 miles from Savannah, there is enough gum timber standing to supply three times the present annual cut for a period of 40 to 50 years. And gum will reproduce itself in that time. Within 75 miles of Savannah there are at least 3% million acres of potential timber lands, lands which will return more money raising trees than any other crop, but which today produce far below their capacity in wood and wood products because they are burned over every year or oftener. And they are burned over because there is no market for the forest products which they can readily be made to produce. Pine Timber Supply While the hardwood timber supplies of the Southeast are extensive, they do not fire the imagination as do the possibilities of our pine trees. There is something appealing about a pine which a deciduous FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 83 tree does not have. From the time that the young seedling forces its way through the ground, its evergreen foliage holds out to the beholder a perennial promise of use and service, as well as beauty. We know much more of the reproducing powers of pines than of hardwoods. We know that the rate of growth is much faster than that of conifers of the North. We know this so well that northern foresters think we are exaggerating; they are from Missouri, from Maine and from everywhere else that hardheads grow and think. What we can show them here in South Georgia makes them think things which they never thought before, and that, as you all know, is almost an insult to the intelligence. Southern Pines for Making Paper It was only two years ago that we were all talking of the disadvantages of southern pines for paper making. We said that all that was needed was for some bright young chemist to show how to take the resin out of the wood, and all would be well. I wish to take this opportunity to get myself right and to make a public acknowledgment which is due one of the best beloved and most useful sons of Georgia. I was one of those who shouted about what would happen when the chemist showed how to take the resin out of southern pine wood. I said: "Taking the resin out of Southern pine, so that newsprint can be made of it, is the most important chemical problem in Southern forestry, on which the Southern timber interests could well afford to spend large sums in fundamental research. The chemist who does that will transform the Southern timber industry as Charles H. Herty transformed the turpentine industry twenty-five years ago." It is not often given to one man to effect two sweeping transformations in his lifetime, but that same Charles H. Herty has done it, for he has shown that our whole thinking was wrong in regard to the resin in Southern pine, and that, instead of being resinous as we all thought, the resin is mainly in the heartwood, the sapwood containing no more than is found in northern white pine and spruce. When trees are protected from fire, heartwood does not form in slash pine until the trees are twenty years old or more and have reached a diameter of six to ten inches. Does it need an expert to show what this means, not only to South Georgia, but to the wood-using industries of the Nation? There is nothing just like it anywhere in the world. Quick Growing Trees and Diversity of Products Rapidly-grown trees give a quicker return, have a shorter rotation of growth and thus more intensive use can be made of the land, with a corresponding effect on the value of that land; quicker returns from the land make it more valuable to the owner and to the community. Rapidly-grown trees have longer fibers than those which grow slowly; long and uniform fibers are more valuable to the pulp and paper maker. And finally, the trees which we have in mind, slash pines especially, are valuable producers of turpentine-dual-purpose trees, as Alex Sessoms calls them, so that the owner has two sources of income-really three when we consider that the tree at maturity will yield sawlogs-as against one source of income or possibly two in the North. 84 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA So let me remind you again that it was a chemist who showed the naval stores men how to avoid the danger of vanishing supplies which threatened them 25 years ago, just as he is now showing us how we can use these southern pines as a source of other kinds of paper than Kraft. The chemist and the chemical engineer are the men who will open up to us the new markets which may be developed for the forest products of South Georgia. The possibilities of naval stores are no less attractive than those of the wood from which we tap our gum turpentine. And here again the chemist is blazing the way. A simple arithmetical statement shows what service the chemist can perform for this industry. Outlet for Organic Acid in Rosin For every barrel of turpentine produced there are more than three barrels of rosin. It will do no good to find new uses for turpentine unless we discover four times as many new uses for rosin. Rosin is said to be our cheapest source of organic acids, containing about 90 per cent abietic acid. Organic acids have an enormous use in industry, but, while pure abietic acid is now being offered on the market, it does not yet appear to have the outlet which is needed to take up the slack caused by "overproduction". It is significant that the leaders in the naval stores industry appreciate keenly the importance of this matter, and it is still more significant that research chemists are diligently studying it. The Mellon Institute and other research institutions are engaged on various chemical problems which, when solved as they will in time be solved, will do much to stabilize the naval stores industry. The results which have been obtained are stni locked up in laboratory files, but it is violating no confidence to say that we may anticipate a great chemical industry developing in South Georgia on rosin and turpentine as raw material. These two great sources of raw material-pulpwood from sap pine and naval stores---can be economically obtained from young trees, for which the owner does not have to wait longer than 15 years and which, with good management on good sites, he may get in 10 years. Financing Reforestation Here, then, is the great opporunity which the cutover lands of the Southeast present to their owners. Their possibilities are already being appreciated by paper companies, and in the complete realization of these possibilities the Soutli will point the way to the development of a constructive reforestation and land-utilization policy for the entire nation. In the cutover lands on which seed trees are standing, the investor may find the possibility of an early return which will attract his capital. The financing of reforestation in the Southeast is simplified by the relatively short time which elapses between seed-time and harvest. If bonds for farm-crop lands are commercially sound, why may it not be possible to work out a plan of long-time financing for the development of these timber holdings? The idea that the farm will follow the logger on the lands of the Southeast has been tried and found wanting. We must realize that we can cooperate with God Almighty to the best advantage with these FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 85 lands when we use them for what they were intended, which is to grow pine trees on them-that there are millions of acres here on which trees will be more profitable than any other crop; in fact that, in many instances, they are the only profitable crop to raise, a crop which can be produced more quickly than in other sections and which can be made continuous, year after year, with the right management. In working out this development to its fullest consummation, private initiative will lead the way. Only such cooperation from Government is needed that policing and intelligent taxation require and that fundamental research can furnish. With these limitations, on which we should strictly insist, Government should keep its hands off the Southern forests. It is a job for business men. 86 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA PRIVATE FORESTRY AS A COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE By ALEX K. SESSOMS, Cogdell, Ga. Settling Cut-Over Pine Lands Proved lmpracticai-Reforeatation Solving Land Problem, Growing 500 to 1,000 Board Feet of Timber Annually Per Acre-Naval Stores Key Industry, Wood Pulp Promising-Pine Forest Investment Better Than Insurance, Safer Than Bonds, More Profitable Than Preferred Stock Beginning soon after the original pine forests were cut and lasting until about five years ago we had a great problem confronting us known as "The Cut-Over Land Problem." Every land owner whose timber had been cut was impressively reminded each year at tax paying time that he had an apparent asset, which in reality was a li~bility. The Turpentine Operator, followed by the Saw Mill Man, descended upon a virgin forest, beginning at Norfolk Va. and extending along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to Houston Texas. While their operations were in progress the country was a bee hive of industry. Railroads were built, towns were established and every one was prosperous. When the turpentine man worked the timber for three years he moved on to a new location. The saw mill man then began cutting the boxed timber, and when the last log was cut the mill operator usually moved to a new location, taking most of his employees with him, and leaving behind him a deserted, bankrupt, ruined country, robbed of its one great natural resource. The greatest friend of genuine conservation was the ruthless and destructive lumberman. Because of him it is possible now for constructive forestry to pay dividends. The removal of the forests not only affected the land owner, but the railroads, the merchants, the banks, and everyone in the adjoining territory. We did then just what we do today, we held meetings; we formed organizations; we grasped at every straw that offered the slightest relief. For several years it was thought the only solution to our problem was to put all the land into cultivation or cattle ranges. Reforestation Solved Land Problem Large land owners, railroads, real estate companies and individuals all went after new settlers. Some of us even went so far as to clear land, build houses and offer "ready to go farms". We thought we could settle up this country just as the West was settled by offering inducements to turn the tide of migration Southward to our cut over lands. Many of the large land companies and railroads kept special agents in all parts of this country and Canada in an effort to secure settlers for our lands. Efforts were made to get colonies from Europe; but with all our efforts we made very little progress. The outstanding colonization projects can be counted on the fingers of one hand. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 87 In 1918 there was an organization supported b~ the railroad known as the Southern Settlement and Development Organization. Its president at that time -was the late S. Davies Warfield, President of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Clement S. Ucker, its Exe~utive Vice-President asked the U. S. Forestry Service to send a special representative to this section to make a study to see if, and what, th~ Forest Service might do to help the cut over land problem. Dr. Austin Carey was sent and it was my good fortune to have him come to Cogdell the first stop on his mission. Dr. Carey spent a week with me, the greatest part of each day we spent in the woods and under his tutorship I learned maytr things about the pine tree that I never knew before. The following winter we began protecting our lands against fire. The first winter we kept about seven thous- and acres from burning, in two years we had a stand of slash pine about knee high as thick as hair on a dog's back. Today these trees are from fifteen to thirty feet high, three to five inches in diameter breast high, standing between three hundred and eight hundred trees per acre. In ten years we expect to begin cupping them for naval ~;~tores. Forests as an Investment The standard dictionary defines forestry as "The Art of Develop- ing or Managing Forests." To be more definite we may say Forestry is the management in the growth and use of forests, which results in a greater continuous and profitable production of timber values than would occur without such management. Forestry is carried on by two sources, the Government and Private enterprise. Governmental forestry does not have to meet the same acid test that private forestry does. A private forest to be a commercial enterprise, must be a profitable business venture. It must pay expenses of management, operation, taxes, and a fair return upon the invested capital. If a land owner does not profit in dollars and cents by his methods of timber production, he is not practicing forestry. Private Forestry is not unlike other private enterprises, it has many problems and it requires the same hard work and careful thought. We are to be congratulated on these problems because they are the seeds of opportunity, without which we might not have discovered the greater and better things in store for us. Location and type of soil are some of the determining factors of Forestry. In this paper I shall consider only private forestry as it applies to the slash pine in the Coastal Plains of the South Atlantic states. It is here that we have a combination of climate soil, and economic conditions not duplicated elsewhere in the world. It is a unique and limited opportunity. Everyone knows there are breeds of dual purpose cattle, that profitably give milk while growing beef; there are comparatively few people who know of that wonderful dual purpose tree, the slash pine, which will produce pine gum of sufficient value to pay all expenses, taxes and interest on the invested capital while it is growing wood at the rate of one to two cords per acre each year, or stated another way, five hundred to one thousand board feet of lumber per acre annually. From an industrial standpoint the most promising raw materials for this section are the timber and chemical products of the pine tree. 88 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA The returns from a forest for lumber alone will attract some men, but the greater and quicker profits are to be realized from trees which produce chemical products as well as lumber, it should be clear that the Naval Stores Industry is the strategic key to forest growth in this area. For every dollar of profit made from lumber and thinning products of the slash pine, two dollars are made from naval stores. Imagine a field for conservative investment which definitely can be called better than insurance, safer than bonds, and more profitable than preferred stock. An economic situation now exists in the South which will permit these specifications to be filled. When you read in your favorite newspaper or magazine that, "Commercial reforestation is in actual progress in the South", it means little to yo_u, unless you realize also its potential affects in the financial and industrial fields and that it may have a direct and personal relations_hip to your pocket book. C. E. Curran, Senior Chemist, U. S. Forest Products Laboratory, writing recently in the Paper Trade Journal says, "Apparently the South is just entering upon the development of a pulping industry that will make past projects there seem more or less insignificant. To the informed observer this development is not surprising. The only thing strange about it is that it has been so long in coming. Perhaps the chief factor in the delay has been a lack of technical knowledge needed to make the best use of the pulping resources that the South has in such abundance." Dr. Austin Cary, in an article published recently in the Naval Stores Review, tells of a small grove of slash pine, twenty years old at Starks, Florida; where in 1929 he worked for turpentine 150 faces on an acre and left unworked 114 trees of equal size. At prices which turpentine leases can be sold for, the land owner would realize about $:6.50 per acre annually for the lease on these 150 faces, and the volume of tree growth would increase one and one-half cords of wood or 750 board feet of lumber annually. Diversified Products Lands reforested with slash pine have four main products to sell, the_y are: First--"Land By-Products", such as game, cattle and sheep. Second-"Thinning Products", such as poles, piling fence posts ties and pulp wood. ' ' Third-"Pine Gum", from which we make Naval Stores. Fourth-"Lumber." It has been shown conclusively in France over a long period of time, and in the United States by isolated examples over shorter periods, that the growing of turpentine producing trees is a profitable enterprise for the land owner. It is a sound investment returning attractive profits and the land owner need not necessarily wait until his trees reach the age suitable for working because thrifty growing timber at all times has a sale value the same as growing domestic animals or orchards. I know and you can find out for yourself that raising slash pine trees is a safe, sound and profitable commercial enterprise. There is rio danger of overproduction of slash pine, we can not raise enough. Pine trees can be raised with less work and worry than other FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 89 crops. They are natural to our soil and climate, and suffer less danger from insects, disease, drought, rain and winds than any other crop, in fact about the only enemy they have is fire, the razor back hog, and the destructive type of turpentine operator. I know that in raising pine trees I am helping my neighbor who prefers to raise other crops. I am creating a foundation for prosperous industries in my community, I am insuring better fortunes for my children and I am also certain to make safely and easily as much as other people with a like investment but who must take more care and risk. 90 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA FARM, FOREST AND FACTORY AUSTIN CARY, U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D. C. Southeast Most Promising Region in United States for Timber Pro- duction-Outstanding Progress Beiing Made-Towns in Tim- her Belt Looking Hopefully to the Future of Profitable Timber Industry-Higher Efficiency and Lower Cost In Naval Stores Industry, Introduction of Wood Pulp Industries in Program of Progress The topic assigned me is one that has often been treated in meetings designed to stimulate better handling of woodlands, and that uniformly far as I remember, in a way to serve directly the purpose named. For a meeting held at this city of Savannah in the year 1930, exactly that line of treatment, it has seemed to me, would be a bit behind the times, for the reason that the country around us sometime ago started out on the line of advance indicated. A good deal of this has been made evident by papers that have preceded mine, and to residents of the region it is a very familiar thing. For those who have come from further away, and for the wider audience that will perhaps be reached through publication, a brief summary of the facts of the case may be useful. The speaker has been working here as a government man for 12 years past, mixed up pretty thoroughly with these developments. The region from Savannah west and southwest for about 150 miles has for some years been recognized as one of the most promis.ing regions in the whole United States from the timber production standpoint. Strategic location is evident for one thing; a climate and great areas of soil that favor rapid growth, with tree species among the most valuable, are other factors. Here is the native habitat of longleaf, and particularly of slash pine, those trees from which are derived the greater part of the world's requirement for naval stores. The naval stores industry, as well as lumbering, was extensively conducted on the original growth in this section; then, after its exhaustion and removal, second growth of the same species came on very generally. This in its turn has been worked for a number of years now, to such an extent indeed that the City of Savannah today holds the place which it held y~ars ago as the largest assembling and shipping point for naval stores in this country, and in the world. Facts of that nature are bound to make their impression on all men, to create an atmosphere favorable to the generation of progressive ideas, or the reception of such coming from outside sources. In this respect too, the region has run true to correct form; I hardly think that any other section of the United States at this time is more generally permeated with the idea of perpetuating industry through timber growing. This idea is taking very substantial forms too, those of primary interest to this audience being fire protection, which is spreading through the country fast today, and numerous business enterprises based on the idea of permanent timber production that have been started. We of this section, therefore, have something in the wa,y of achievement to tell of; in addition, it may be that we have learned some things from experience to date that may with advantage be communicated to others. At any rate these FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 91 considerations guide largely in what I have put into this paper. Farm, Forest and Factory is the topic, forest central to the other terms in it. That seems to be a logical arrangement because the forest itself is a natural, fundamental thing, and because forest industry seems, on sober view, to promise to be the largest economic support of this section. By "farm" in this connection I think we may consider that not only actual farmers, but all classes not connected with forest industry are designated. Since then the welfare of all these is bound to be affected by the dominant industry of their section, it is worth while to follow out to some extent relations between them, and particularly to inquire what, if any, favor- able consequences have already resulted from the movement in the timber field to which I have just referred. To do this at all adequately, we must go back a little. The traditional attitude of American communities toward forest industry is that with exhaustion of the native timber it must disappear. That idea held here as elsewhere, was in fact held by leaders in the forest industries themselves only 15 years ago, and by country people apparently much later. The possibility of renewal of useful forest seems not to have entered the minds of most men. Established habits of country dwellers toward fire best illustrate this. Fire on uncultivated land was not thought of as a damage to the country, but as a cleansing agent and aid to stock raising. If it were a ques- tion of human activity and encouragement, there would in fact be no second growth in this territory today. Contrast is suggested with the present condition of things as pictured at the beginning, and contrast there is in fact, though it is easy to exaggerat~ it. Such exaggeration is not intended, however. The elements of time and degree enter. As for the change from one condition to another, in this respect as in others yet ahead of us, progress rather than revolution is considered to be the natural and wholesome thing. Progress there surely has been, as others have made evident. I will only add that from my own standpoint it has proceeded and seems now to be proceeding at a satisfactory rate. Timber growing is often pictured as an activity suited to the farmer or small land owner, and it is interesting to inquire how that matter is shaping up in this section. From what has just been said, it must be clear that conditions at the start were not propitiqus. This also is widely recognized. I think that farmers as a class are not usually alert, quick to change their habits and plans in response to new economic developments. It is true that here, as elsewhere, once in a while a farmer has realized the value of growing timber, done his best to keep fire out of surplus land he owned, even worked his timber. This is well known too- how, especially further north in this state than the section with which I am chiefly dealing, when the boll weevil struck the country and knocked from under hundreds of men their habitual means of livelihood, bodies of timber that in many cases they did not till then know had value saved them from practical destitution. In the turpentine belt of late years, the small land owner has been getting more and more out of his timber by way of lease; in some cases the amount of this revenue has surprised him ; naturally that fact is changing his attitude toward his own forest land and toward the timber growing idea as a whole. All of this is to the good and what is to be expected. It cannot be said that farmers and small 92 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA land owners are as a rule living up to their opportunities yet. Certainly they are not leading in the movement on foot; that part is being taken by progressive operators and large owners of land. Another very interesting question arises--whether this move- ment for timber growing is having any effect on communities as a whole. Time enough has not yet elapsed for that to show up strongly, but I think the tendency is to be seen. With absorption of the idea that their naval stores industry is not doomed to early extinction, but promises to be permanent and very likely to reach a development that it never before had; with thought also of the upgrowth of other industries based on the forest; with the turning of man's mind into broader channels like chemical research as related to their business and markets for their products in all parts of the world, men have been expanding, broadening, and some of these South Georgia towns have been picking up, respecting themselves more, improving living conditions for their people. Illustration tells in a thing like this, and no odium should attach when comparison is not intended. Homerville in Clinch County, a town that for some years, with a degree of pride apparently and certainly with considerable justification, has been calling itself the pine center of the South, is today a very different place to visit than it was a few years ago. The final term in my topic is the "factory". By this is doubtless meant in the first place, the turpentine still, the saw-mill, manufacturing plants of any description. We all understand how important these are, to the producing section for the employment they furnish and the returns they bring in, to consumers as well for service rendered in fitting to human use the raw material provided by the forest. I think also that one can logically treat under that head industrial developments in a general way and external or marketing relations also if sufficient reason appears for doing that. The idea with which I began this portion of my discourse may seem a strange one for a forester and a government man to formulate; it is this--that it is not industry alone and unqualified, but profitable industry, that benefits a country. It may be well to dwell on that a little, but it ought to be evident enough when men consider it. Industry of any kind is human effort fundamentally. That should be rewarded, to the extent of tolerable living conditions for workmen and returns that enable reasonably efficient business men to continue and expand; otherwise it fails of its true object. The above is sufficient on the philosophy of the matter, I am sure. I will go on now to recount some observations and deductions of my own, fortified, however, by long, intimate and friendly association with the people directly concerned. We may go back again to the state of mind long holding in this section and the country at large in respect to our forest resources. Periodically since 1880 at least, predictions of timber famine have been made, and it is true that in the country as a whole virgin timber has been disappearing fast, while from time to time conditions in the lumber markets have been in evidence that gave more or less color to the idea. However, incidents have also occurred of another sort. Take a specific example from my own country, New England. Ten years ago in that territory and lasting for a period of about eight years, white pine lumber brought prices higher than ever before, and the demand could hardly be supplied. Stumpage, too, went up FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 93 to high figures; it seemed clear to a lot of us that to raise timber ought to be a highly profitable line of business. Today, however, as for five years past, conditions are of an entirely different sort. One trouble was that our prices got too high; it was too good to last; West Coast lumber and boxes made of fiber and veneer replaced our products in the markets, stumpage owner and lumbermen alike being deflated. That is one case; numerous others could be cited. It seems appropriate here only to refer to a set of events more or less similar that has worked out during the last ten years in the territory we have under review. Just ten years ago, men's ideas about the future of the naval stores business as dependent on its raw material came to the surface through a government publication. The outlook pictured was gloomy indeed; there was no future worth speaking of; by this time in fact timber available for the purpose was to be practically at an end. Vastly different however has been the course of actual events. For one thing the process of procuring naval stores from fat stumps and top wood has been perfected and a large volume of production built up in that line. But in the other field the forecast was wrong utterly. There was more timber in existence than men thought and growth in the country was greater; also the results of studied, intelligent operation proved far greater than men at the start would have thought in the way of producing more gum from the tree. As a result of all these developments, for the last three years crops of gum naval stores among the larger ones on record have been put out, and while the world has absorbed them, prices received have been low, not enough to keep the country comfortable; and no relief is in sight for the present season. Normal men regret these things as far as they do not represent necessary adjustment to industrial change, working for higher efficiency and lower cost perhaps. The point that I am especially con~ cerned to make on this occasion is that conditions of the kind indicated interfere with and limit the effort and expenditures we are so anxious to have put out in the way of developing our forests. Take fire protection for one thing; that costs some money, particularly in a section under handicap just starting out on that line. Take thinning also, a cultural measure that men arre just coming to understand, when applied to young turpentine timber is hardly less productive. In cases with which I am perrsonally familiar, it is halting today, because income is not available to meet the expenditures involved. What are fair and useful inferences from all of this? Not certainly those embodied in words by a couple of men it was my own chance to encounter-one saying that if government workers had left them alone, operators would now be getting a dollar and a half instead of less than fifty cents for their turpentine; the other, that he would contribute to any common project except fire protection, because there was too much timber in the country already. The true lesson, it seems to me, is moderation, patience with this territory, to realize that soundness of financial and industrial structure is essen- tial to the interests we have at heart, understanding and sympathy as men in different ways go about the task of strengthening that structure. 94 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA To come to matters more directly in line with the interests of this audience, I >nay mention in the first place the judgment of the best informed men, as to future volume of the naval stores industry. That runs to this effect-that while there may be temporary shortages of supply, there need in a general way be no apprehension. A vast resource in stump and top wood is available in case of need. Of standing timber also, a large amount is in existence, promising, it is thought, a greater abundance for the somewhat removed than the immediate future. A step that the industry is today taking of its own motion should help in this direction, as well as toward securing better returns, limitation of the size of trees to be worked. As evidencing alertness and progressive outlook in this indus- try, I may mention things now going forward within it or under its auspices,-chemical research started in the hope of finding new uses; fundamental inquiry into methods of manufacture that may conceivably result in radical change; trade organization shaping up as a means of backing the research in part; an inquiring state of mind in respect to marketing methods. Note of the reaction of the industry and region to specific fea- tures of what is usually called forestry, will be of especial interest to some. Here I feel myself that the situation is promising. We have heard already of fire in this relation, but men are going, or getting ready to go much beyond that-at least that is true of significant leaders. In this field of forest management, the French are our patterns in a way, and following their ideas, but with modifications adjusted to our own conditions, a system of this kind has just lately been worked out, technical and practical men CO'-operating. This I expect to see applied as fast as it proves out and is called for. The features characterizing this proposed system lead to the formulation of other ideas. First, the plan of management framed up involves, in addition to working for naval stores, the outturn of great quantities of timber of rather small size, not well suited to sawinl!, but on the other hand ideal for the use of paper mills and for other somewhat similar uses. This seems to me true and the most significant point in the field now entered-that this section of the country, given inducement to do so, can produce pulp wood in vast quantity at lower cost probably than any other section of the United States. The paper mills in their extensive migration to the South have so far skipped us in this section. They may have made a mistake in that. It seems to me they have, and that in all reasonable likelihood they will soon rectify it. Secondly, it looks to some of us as if, along with production of naval stores and small timber, and rendered all the easier because of these outlets, the production of saw timber also is likely to be a feature of forest management here. The technique of this business I cannot recount now, but will say that it has been worked out on paper, and that sufficient inducement in the way of market and price Is the most we seem to need. That statement may seem strange to some, but it is literally true to the best of my belief and judgment Of course, we understand that unfavorable conditions may be temporary; men I know would be thankful indeed for information of a br~ad and fundamental nature on which they felt they could place rehance. With that the time allotted has been used probably, and it only remains to emphasize a few essential points. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 95 I think it can be said with confidence that the world need have no concern over future supplies of naval stores on the scale it has hitherto required, at prices no greater than it has been accustomed to pay, nor the United States as to its future predominance in this field. In fact, the forest lands of the Southern States can very readily be made to produce crops several or many times as large as they ever did. Vast quantities of bled out timber suitable for paper making and numerous other such industries stand in this and neighboring sections today, cumbering the ground mostly available therefore at a very low price. The supply can be perpetuated, promises to be, as a by-product of naval stores production. No section of the country, it is thought, .Promises to provide cheaper pulp wood. Out of and along with these lines of production, that of saw timber should grow naturally as well-will in my opinion do so unless sufficient inducement fails. Again, in this field also, no section of the country stands in better shape to compete. To say these things involves a degree of faith-that there is no denying. That in the present instance is in the first place faith in a country, and secondly, faith in men. These last are in part those of the immediate locality, owning its lands, conducting its industries, performing its labor; in part also our general citizenship here and elsewhere. These last enter the picture at various points, most evidently in connection with taxation, protection, and in the various ways in which Jaw and community behavior may affect enterprise of this sort. These matters have been developed by other speakers; the promotion of advances in these lines I understand to be the chief purpose of the present congress. 96 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA HIGHER RETURNS FROM TURPENTINE FORESTS LENTHALL WYMAN, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Starke, Fla. Proper Cup Adjustments, Regularity of Chipping, Greater Frequency Of Chipping in J uly and August, Removal of Foreign Matter From Cups, Location of Faces on Sides of Trees With Greatest Limb Growth Avoidance of Placing Cups Above Fire Scars, Lower Chipping of Trees, Nar- rower and Shallower Streaks, Working Trees In Excess of 9 Inches in Diameter, Thin- ning Over-Crowded Stands and Fire Prevention Will Bring Higher Returns to Turpentine Operators Higher returns from turpentine forests may be realized from elimination of wastes, intensive working methods and a gradual building up of the woods which will bring them into greater productivity. It is recognized that many wasteful practices are employed in handling and stilling of the gum but these are outside of the province of this paper which will be restricted to the production of gum in the woods. Practically every operator is familiar with the many forms of waste which occur in his woods. Therefore, this phase of the problem of obtaining higher returns from the turpentine woods will be only touched on very briefly. In the aggregate the gum which is wasted in the woods is a considerable factor. First there are many leaning trees on which the cups are so placed that they do not catch the gum which is produced. These trees are frequently in need of having short side tins inserted at the shoulders of the face to guide the gum into the cups. Flat cups are frequently set in such a way that it is necessary to tip them at a sharp angle in order to remove them for dipping. If these cups are full of soft gum such as is produced by slash pine timber during the hot summer months some is apt to spill out. Very frequently careless dippers replace cups in such a way that they fail to catch the gum on this account. Another common form of waste comes from a failure to change cups promptly when they are full. Some operators report that many high yielding trees in titi thickets are not chipped regularly because of the brush. The obvious remedy is to have more careful supervision in the woods. Closer inspection will eliminate most of this waste. To get this inspection it may be necessary to reduce the size of the "ride" from ten crops or so down to seven or eight and to give increased duties to the woods rider. He would then have time to fix any loose aprons or gutters. He could also give closer supervision following dipping to see that the cups are properly replaced on the trees. By reducing the amount of territory covered by the woods rider it would .Qe possible for him to cut out paths to trees frequently missed be- FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 97 cause of their occurrence in dense thickets and therefore make it less likeiy that the chippers would miss them. The increased cost of such work would be justified by a saving of 2% of the gum production. There is a great deal of variation in the matter of carrying paddles to cover the cups and exclude chips and trash at the time of chipping. The amount of chips and foreign matter in the gum as it reaches the still varies between 1 per cent and 3 per cent by weight and even more than this by volume since the chips are lighter than the gum. Not only does this trash soak up rosin in the process of stilling but also the operator who has a large amount in his gum is paying for trash which is not only of no benefit to him but is even a positive detriment. Here again close supervision and a strict insistence on the carrying of paddles are the obvioussolutions which suggest themselves. So far the points discussed have been ones which are usually recognized oy operators. The next point for consideration is one which may not be so generally appreciated. It deals with the marking of timber in advance of facing. It is believed that this is a field which offers a possibility of large returns. The proper location of faces on the tree is an important item. It has been shown by experiments that trees with eccentric tops produce more on the side of the tree which has the largest branches. Frequently trees which are growing close together so that the branches have been shaded away on one side yield very poorly when faces are placed on the side with no branches. Many of our trees have been scarred by fires in the past and faces placed above these fire scars are poor producers which almost always fail to yield as much as they would have if there had been no interference with the flow of sap by the fire scar. The proper location of faces can be designated by paint marks or blazes put on by the woods rider in advance of the facing. At the time any trees which are obviously poor gum yielders can be eliminated and a strict adherence to the minimum size of tree which will be faced can be observed. In order to get the most out of the trees it is essential that they be worked intensively when they are yielding at the maximum. In the summer time turpentine faces cease to yield after about the third day or at least during the last four days of the week is such a small factor as to be insignificant. It is fairly obvious that chipping twice a week during July and August should be productive of higher returns. In the past there has been some question as to whether the timber would not be hurt by such practice. Some of the early Forest Service experiments showed the expected increased yields from double chipping but they also showed a considerable amount of damage to the trees so treated during the second year of operation. However, this test was conducted in old growth yellow pine which is much more susceptible to damage than the younger stands of trees which make up the bulk of our turpentine woods today. Some experiments have been carried on by the Southern Forest Experiment Station in the use of frequent chipping in order to get high yields from second growth pine. Although these tests were confined to a few trees and may hardly be termed conclusive yet they do indicate that short chipping intervals may not be as injurious to the timber as the former experimental work indicated. In the late fall and early spring when the weather is cold the situ- 98 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA ation is quite different. Our experiments have shown that trees continue to yield for 10 days to 2 weeks or even longer when low tempera- tures prevail. Therefore a two-week chipping interval should be allowed during cold weather at the beginning and end of the turpentine season in order to get the maximum production from the streak. There has been considerable discussion in the past about the desirability of prolonging the chipping season. The conclusion reached by the Southern Forest Experiment Station is that winter work is not injurious to the trees although it is doubtful whether a streak put on during the cold weather will be as productive as one made in July or August even though the trees are allowed to run for two or three weeks during the winter. In the long run winter work is apt to be poor economy. Although the general tendency on the part of turpentine opera- tors today is toward the practice of low chipping, nevertheless a great deal more can be done in this direction and by the practice of lower chipping greater returns may be realized from the timber. Some of these returns are direct and some of them more or less indirect. For instance, although wide streaks have been shown to be more productive during the first two or three years of operation than narrow ones, yet over a five-year period narrow streaks have been productive of as great a yield as heavier work. After a face reaches a height where it is no longer possible to raise the tins the yield falls off rapid- ly. This point is reached in 3 or 4 years with the current practice of chipping 1-2 inch streaks. With narrower chipping it will be possible to chip for 5 or 6 years before the face is so high that cups can no longer be raised. By using low-chipping methods it will be possible to ~se a h.ack for 5 ye8;rs b~fore changing to a. puper. Furthermore, by mcreasmg t~e workmg hfe through low ch1ppmg and by using narr?wer faces It is possible to work fast growing timber practically contmuously. The naval stores leasing value, of the timber is of course in- creased by increasing the number of working years. Since most oper- ators are also timber owners this means an additional asset to them. Finally by working the timber continuously it would be constantly under fire protection and the fire damage which has been almost universal on old abandoned faces would be avoided. The trees would grow faster and heal in over the old faces more rapidly and back faces yields would be improved. The practice of a conservative depth of chipping ranging from 1-2 to 3-4 of an inch will be productive of higher returns in the long run. The proper depth of chipping is dependent upon the width of sap wood in the tree. Trees with wide sap rings stand much deeper chipping than those with narrow growth rings and narrow sap wood caused by growing under crowded conditions. It has been found in experimental work at Starke that chipping in excess of 3-4 of an inch in depth increases the amount of damage considerably. Many more trees dry-face and there is a noticeable increase in the number of trees broken down by the wind. Furthermore, the growth of the trees during the chipping period is cut down more by deep chipping than by shallow work. The elimination of close cupping should also be productive of higher crop yields. Dr. Cary and others have shown that the yield per face is reduced by working two faces concurrently on tr(!es ranging from 8" up to 10" or 11" in diameter. In fact in some cases the FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 99 total yield from small trees with two faces has been lower than the yield from other trees of the same size carrying only one face. Fur- thermore, it is recognized that the production of turpentine trees is determined primarily by the size of the tree. During the past months the desirability of confining chipping to trees above 9" in diameter has been emphasized and this undoubtedly is the most important step that could be taken by turpentine operators today to obtain higher returns at no increase in cost of production. During times of low prices for naval stores products such as are prevailing today it is important that all trees which are being worked shall be large producers. The cost of operation of 10" trees is no greater than the cost of working 7" trees, yet the larger ones will yield practically twice as much as the smaller. Timber owners should take steps to improve their forests. Experiments carried on by the Southern Forest Experiment Station show that the best type of tree for naval stores purposes is a large crowned fast growing tree. Such trees can be obtained by thinning stands which are overcrowded so as to provide plenty of growing space. Fires are injurious to tree growth. They defoliate the trees in some cases and reduce the fertility of the soil whenever they occur. If tree growth is to be kept at a maximum they must be excluded. Fortunate- ly, this is becoming an easier matter every year until today the State Forestry organizations stand willing to assist land owners in eliminating fires with every prospect of success. It is believed that by reducing waste to a minimum, by practicing cllnservative chipping, by avoiding close cupping, and by eliminating low yielding faces the number of crops will be reduced and the aver- age crop yield will be raised. In this way the problem of getting higher returns from the turpentine woods will be met. 100 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA FOREST MANAGEMENT ON THE SATILLA FOREST By"E. A. STERLING, Vice-President James D. Lacy Co., Jacksonville, Florida Large Concern Bought and Managed Forest to Produce Poles--Com- plete Forest Survey First Essential to Forest Investment- Response of Young Growing Timber to Fire Protection and Thinning Remarkable The Satilla forest is intended as a business investment. Its primary purpose is to grow timber for poles as a permanent source of supply for the local creosoting plant of the owner. It is also part of the economic picture, that the forest produce enough revenue from the salvage of merchantable timber, by-products, and turpentine operations to carry it while being brought up to capacity production. The Georgia Creosoting Company as a subsidiary of the American Creosoting Company faced no immediate problem of pole or general timber supply. The potential producing area tributary to the Brunswick plant is some 85 o/o forested land, with streams, rail- roads and highways which provide transportation. Local contractors deliver poles and other material at the plant, and with over five million acres of second-growth timberland to draw on there was an evident over-abundance of small poles for an indefinite time. The only indication of shortage was in large poles, long piling, and large dimension timber. At the same time, it was apparent that the pole supply must come from available timber in general demand by other consumers. The executive head of the company was not satisfied with the existing conditions. His concern was not with the next five or ten years, but as protection fifteen, twenty, or even more years ahead he visioned the changes likely to take place and the need of at least a neucleus of company timber uf suitable size and character to serve as a reserve supply. Turpentining was everywhere retarding the growth and reducing the quality of the second-growth longleaf, piling contractors were seeking out the larger pine of all species, tie cutters were supplying their market, and the steady drain for various purposes might at any time be increased by pulpwood production which would take the timber before it was large enough for other uses. Various factors contributed to the conclusion that dependence could not be placed indefinitely on a satisfactory timber supply from the diversified holdings of the many local owners. In riding through Camden County one sees little except second growth timber, but closer study shows that general appearances are misleading. Some 80 o/o of all available properties are being turpentined, in many cases down to a diameter of 7 inches. The average tree when completely worked for turpentine will be 9 inches D. B. H., and have two or three old faces 7 or 8 feet high. Such timber will make D and E poles only and are so slowed down in growth that they hold little future promise. Larger timber is found only in the swamps and branches, and without protection and management most of the small FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 101 timber which dominates the landscape will never be much more than it is now. Another factor is that local ownership is unstable and as tracts change hands, each owner tries to liquidate enough of the timber and naval stores to make a little profit. The result is that most of the properties are continually depreciating rather than improving. The present Satilla Forest comprises about 24,000 acres in two main units. In selecting these lands several fundamental requirements were kept in view. Two major site conditions represented by the pine flat woods along the coast and the pine uplands further inland were recognized. The desired combination was good growing conditions, a reasonable amount of natural reproduction, and enough commercial timber to yield a revenue during the development and improvement period. The "crawfish" type of pine flat land along the coast was avoided because growth conditions are unsatisfactory and there is more swamp than on the better drained lands represented by the pine uplands. Transportation is also important in relation to both streams and highways. Longleaf pine is the most important tree from the standpoint of volume and quality, and since young growth of this species is excep- tionally fire resistant it has, as a rule, seeded in on large areas where all other re-growth has been killed by fire. Of equal importance, and encouraged wherever possible, is the slash pine which, with longleaf, are revenue producers for naval stores as well as timber. The remaining species are loblolly and pond pine, the gums, ashes, cypress, and other species of the swamps. The first step in forest management or in acquiring lands for this purpose is a complete forest survey and inventory. This is usually called for prior to purchase in order to arrive at a basis of value and determine the suitability for the purpose in view. This was the procedure on the several units of the Satilla Forest and was followed by more intensive study of growth and yield. From all of the data, including a forest map, a management plan was prepared which outlines a production and improvement schedule so that each year's operations are budgeted and carried out under a definite program. Forest management in the Atlantic coastal pine region is essentially systematic protection and production. Protection from fire comes first and is attained by the usual methods of look-out towers, patrol, fire lines, and education. Its importance cannot be over-estimated in establishing a capacity stand of regrowth and in increasing the rate of growth of timber of all sizes. T'he importance of fire protection is so well appreciated that it needs no further elaboration. Production represents both volume accretion by new growth and conversion of timber ready to be cut. The first has almost unlimited possibilities, and one of the most stimulating and encouraging phases of a management program is the increase in the productive capacity of the land. The aim of the forester is the normal forest, but to the operator the appeal is a maximum stand on which 200 or more cups can be hung to the acre instead of 30, or a lumber yield or its equivalent of 25,000 to 30,000 feet per acre instead of 5,000. The first means to this end is to have the land fully restocked, and the second and one of the most important aids that can be given to nature is proper thinning so that maximum growth without stagnation from root and crown competition can be obtained. The response of y ....~-".,, "'"\~ u:.-<~.:::; "" ~ 102 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA growing timber to fire protection and thinnings is little short of remarkable, but we as yet have no complete figures covering this because so few areas have been protected and handled in this way. Production from the standpoint of utilizing material now on the ground is both an important measure and an early source of revenue. The progressive owner and the conservative operator should be able to go much farther than the average owner in utilizing both major and minor forest products, and on the Satilla Forest there is a distinct advantage in having a creosoting plant as an outlet for certain classes of material. In southeast Georgia turpentine operations are an important phase of management and on many properties the largest source of revenue. Old face trees which will carry another face can be worked several years and then removed, while round timber under the present program will not be turpentined under 9 to 10 inches, and then only by conservative methods which permit a long working cycle with a maximum damage to the trees. These improvements are carried right on through to the still for the purpose of increasing both yield and quality. On the Satilla Forest and many other favorable locations in the coastal pine belt extensive areas are already well restocked. This brings an earlier financial return and results can be shown without waiting a long period of years which tends to lessen an individual's interest. The natural regrowth 10 or 15 feet high or 3 to 6 inches in diameter has already got a start of 10 to 20 years so that even a 10 year period brings about a marked transition and improvement in the character and value of a well managed and protected forest. It has been found that early liquidation or conversion of the merchantable timber is desirable in order to reduce the capital investment and cut down the carrying charges. Well selected, cutover pine land with 1500 feet of merchantable timber remaining per acre and good reproduction in various stages should carry itself. In any event, it is in the future that the substantial results from management will be attained and no one should undertake it without a long time viewpoint. There is a much larger picture in which the Satilla Forest and similar projects appear against a very broad background of diversified conditions and influences. If the conception of commercial for- estry as applied in these cases is correct, these industrial forests will serve as examples in pointing the way to a better use of extensive- areas of cut-over pine land in the southeast. There will likely be a difficult transition period during the next five or ten years, but if the present regional competition, over-production and other complications serve to bring about stabilization of the forest industries, much greater encouragement will be found for commercial forestry. The universal use of wood will certainly continue, with adjustments and changes which should ultimately favor the producer. Whatever these changes may be, it is reasonably certain that a highly productive forest in a region of growing industrial activity and with transportation outlets to centers of consumption will be a desirable and profitable investment. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 103 TA.XATION AND FOREST ENTERPRISE J. LEONARD ROUNTREE, Summit, Georgia Agriculture Without Forest Products Not Self-Sustaining-Forests Solution of Abandoned Farm Problem in Georgia-Tax Relief Essential as Reforestation Takes Place Under Organized Fire Protection-Tax Deferred to Time of Harvesting Advocated To those who have been associated with the Forestry work since its inception, and others, this meeting has been of inestimable value, will produce wonderful results, add interest and renew courage to reestablish forestry, not only in our state, but in this entire section. We wish to extend again our heartfelt appreciation of those who have come from a distance and outside of the realms of our own commonwealth, and by their wise counsel, experience and training, have materially aided us-and to beautiful Savannah, made famous through the natural beauty of her original forest parks, noted for her hospitality, which was made secure forever, right after the battle of Manilla, when in a burst of patriotic fervor unequalled in any city in these United States, its people welcomed Admiral Dewey and made him feel at home. It has been only a short time since we created the Forestry Act after four years of untiring effort. Just to realize the interest now manifested in forestry, as compared with then, I remember Hon. B. H. Stone, myself and others, as a delegation asked the late Hon. M. M. Parks, then State School Superintendent, to adopt a course of study on forestry in all the schools of the stat(), and so far as I know this was the first effort in Georgia to demonstrate and teach to the youth of the state the great value of forestry. Your committee has asked that I say something on Taxation and Forest Enterprise. While this subject could be dwelt upon at length, I shall only make a few remarks without attempting to cover it. Let us go back, if you will, to nearly two hundred years ago, when Oglethorpe landed on the bluffs of this now beautiful city, and vizualized tne magnificent empire that stretches to the Pacific Ocean for the greater part covered by the most valuable forest the world has ever known. Immediately, after landing and settling this country, the inhabitants began denuding the forests and converting the land to agricultural usage. This spread all over the state and enlarged until now there are only a few tracts of original forests left, and we are met here today to try to devise some plan and create an interest that will in a way re-establish our much abused, much wasted and more often fire-destroyed forests. The forests of Georgia were the almost direct result of her development, more especially in this part of the state, because practically all of the railroads of this immediate section were constructed primarily to remove forest products. Agriculture, towns, and manufacturing enterprises followed as natural consequences. Without digressing, let us look at agriculture as allied with forestry. Right here I am going to make the astounding statementrealizing that you may not agree with me--that agriculture in this section without the aid of forest products has not been self sustaining. 104 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA In line with this statement, without knowing the latest statistics, we have to point out only that there are in Georgia today 55,000 abandoned farms, and to those who have read the census figures that are being released, you will be coll}pelled to arrive at the conclusion that this enormous number of abandoned farms in Georgia will be in- creased further, and from a taxation standpoint we can readily see that we are losing enormous revenue, potential and real, from those abandoned acres. Add to that five or six million acres of cut over lands in this state, most of the growth being retarded annually by fires and you have a problem of a large percentage of the available area in Georgia non-productive. This situation, coupled with the question of taxation, is the problem that we are faced with today. Another feature that con- fronts us is that despite the present slump in forestry products, we are imposing an enormous tax on not only the present, but the future generations, because they will have to go into distant markets to pur- chase their lumber and other forest products, paying enormous profits to those who are fortunate enough to have them for sale, high freight rates to transport these products, and last but not least, probably these products will be of an inferior grade to what we could grow ourselves. This might not be considered from a taxation standpoint, but it most assuredly is. What, then, is the answer to the question of what we are to do) \ with our devastated farms, and our cut-over areas? We have just (sintagtemd otrheatththaenreanayre over other 65,000 state abandoned farms in the union has in Georgia, this beand is about 75 o/o of all the farms abandoned in the United States. We see by the pres- ent census reports daily confirmation of the drift of the rural popula- tion to the cities. We know that this is caused by the fact that farm- ing, within itself, is unprofitable, our farm products bringing less than the cost of production. Therefore, our inevitable conclusion is that our best remedy is to go back to nature on these abandoned, cut-over, and devastated area endeavor to re-establish our forests, knowing that they will pull us out of many financial situations just as they have done in the past. But to do this, the owners of these lands who are now compelled to pay high ad valorem taxes on them, although they may not be producing one cent of revenue with which to pay these taxes, will be compelled to have some assurance from the state that they will not be penalized if they should attempt to grow forests by any method, because we all know we cannot grow these trees over- night, but that it takes time and care, and ever watchful vigilance to keep fires away. After careful study, we know of no better plan than the proposed Forestry Contract Act that was offered by us in the legislature some years ago. One of the provisions of the Act provided for stabilization of taxes on the land proposed to grow forests, and in my opinion, the State of Georgia could pass no wiser law than to exempt from taxa- tion entirely, her lands for growing timber for the period of the con- templated growth. If we can not do this, then let us insist that our representatives pass a law that would make one safe in the investment of growing timber by the provisions of the Forestry Contract Act. We propose that where a landowner had a tract of land that he wished to set out to timber, or protect it from fires by patrols, that he and the C01mty Tax Assessors should agree on a stabilized price per acre for FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 105 this l!!_nd for the period of time it took to grow a crop of timber, agreed on between the assessors, the land owner, and the State Board of Forestry, operating with, or without, connection with the Clark- McNary Act and that the taxes on this land should be agreed upon as to the price per acre. After the timber has been grown, and after it has been sold, the revenue derived therefrom then certain percentages of the price received for the sale of the timber should be paid to the state, counties, and schools, as a part of the accrued taxes while this timber is still growing, but from which no revenue had or could be derived until sold. There are other provisions, but in the main, this is the gist of the act. While there may be other plans for grow- ing timber, we know that from a business standpoint, very few are going to invest any large sums of money in timber re-growth with the almost certain knowledge that just as soon as they get timber growing someone will come along and put a prohibitive tax on it, although he may have been spending enormous amounts of money on his timber crop for a period of years and yet not having received one penny in return for it. 106 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS BRIEFED NAVAL STORES RESEARCH The United States Department of Agriculture is urged to esta blish at the earliest possible date a naval stores experiment or research station under the direction of the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, to investigate the proper methods of handling and stilling crude gum, rosin and turpentine. REFORESTING WASTE LANDS To fulfill the purposes intended by the Federal Government in its acquisition of denuded and waste areas unfit for profitable private development it is recommended that Congress appropriate adequate funds to plant idle lands in national forests on a scale and at a rate commensurable with the problem. EXHIBITS AT CONFERENCE The Georgia Commercial Forestry Conference extends its sincere thanks to the Georgia State Board of Forestry and to the Georgia Forest Service for the splendid exhibit prepared by its Bureau of Education for the Conference. This exhibit has been one of the features of our conference and has been of undoubted interest and value. We especially appreciate the presence of State Forester B. M. Lufburrow and Director of Education C. A. Whittle, whose activities have proved a great assistance in making this conference a success. THANKS TO THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Appreciation and thanks were expressed to the United States Department of Agriculture for the attendance and participation in ihe Conference of Dr. L. C. Gray, Dr. W. W. Skinner, Dr. Austin Cary, Dr. E. P. Veitch, Mr. Lenthall Wyman and Mr. R. D. Garver. The United States Department of Agriculture was asked to print and distribute in Georgia 10,000 copies of Dr. Gray's address. EXPRESSIONS OF APPRECIATION Resolutions of appreciation were voted the Savannah Chamber of Commerce, the Savannah newspapers, the DeSoto Hotel and the Georgia Forest Service for contributions in making the conference successful. The Georgia Board of Forestry was thanked for a con-tribution to help Dr. Austin Cary in his important research work in connection with naval stores production. FORESTRY COMMERCIAL CONFERENCE 107 GEORGIA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION RESOLUTIONS At its final business meeting the Georgia Forestry Association passed the following resolutions: REFORESTATION ACT To encourage reforestation on many thousands of acres of cut-over land, the idea of a Forestry Contract Act was approved, provided such bill can be made satisfactory to the land owner, timber operator and naval stores producer. FORESTRY EXPERIMENT STATION In order to secure an experiment station to assist the naval stores industry in solving problems of production, endorsement was given for the Federal Government to purchase a tract of land not exceeding 10,000 acres for this purpose. THANKS TO PRESIDENT WOOLFORD The thanks of the Association was given to President T. G. Woolford for his great service rendered to the Georgia Forestry Association and progress made under his splendid leadership during the past twe:ve months. APPRECIATION OF UNITED STATES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Thanks were given to the United 'States Chamber of Commerce for the work of its Natural Resources Production Department, for attendance at the Georgia Commercial Forestry Conference by Colonel W. M. Wiley and Major William DuBose Brookings, and for the Chamber's cooperation in making this Conference a great success. Especial appreciation was expressed for the services so efficiently rendered by Mr. A. A. Doppel, Forester of the National Chamber, who has been untiring in his efforts to make every detail of the Conference a complete success. APPRECIATION OF PARK Thanks were expressed to Mr. Fred Vogel, Jr., of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the gift of Vogel State Forest-Park at Neel Gap in Union County which, it is hoped, is the beginning of a State system of Forest-Parks in Georgia for outdoor recreation and forestry demonstrations. EDUCATIONAL PROJECT Thanks were expressed to the American Forestry Association for cooperation with all Georgia Agencies in visual instruction in the public schools and for the services of Mr. W. C. McCormick, Director of the Southern Forestry Educational Project. SAVANNAH AGENCIES Thanks were expressed to the Savannah Chamber of Commerce, the De Soto Hotel, the Convention and Tourists Bureau of Savannah, and all Savannah people who contributed to the success of this best meeting ever held by the Association. GEORGIA FOREST SERVICE Thanks were expressed to the State Forest Service for its efficient work in the State and its cooperation in making this Conference and Annual Meeting of the Association a success, and special thanks were given to the Bureau of Education of the State Department for the exceptional display of exhibits for this meeting. 108 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEORGIA OFFICERS OF GEORGIA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION The Report of the Nominating Committee was unanimously adopted and the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: Mr. T. G. Woolford, Atlanta, President Mrs. M. E. Judd, Dalton, 1st Vice President Mr. S. H. Morgan, Guyton, 2nd Vice President Mr. Wm. Folks, Waycross, 3rd Vice President Mr. Joseph A. McCord, Sr., Atlanta, Treasurer Bonnell Stone, Blairsville, Secretary The Executive Committee included the above named officers and Mr. C. B. Harman, Atlanta; Mr. H. L. Kayton, Savannah; Mr. A. K. Sessons, Cogdell; Mrs. Nora L. Smith, Ashburn; Col. R. E. Benedict, Brunswick; Mr. Jas. B. Nevin, Atlanta; Miss Emily Woodward, Vienna; Mr. Gordon E. Reynolds, Albany; Mr. B. C. Milner, East Point; Judge Ogden Persons, Forsyth; and Mr. W. T. Anderson, Macon.