The Daily times-enterprise. (Thomasville, Ga.) 1889-1925, November 03, 1889, Image 1
I
VOL. 1 —NO 149.
THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA, SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 3, *889
la. isr=r
-
We have heard
people wonder why
it is that at Lohn
stein’s you can al
ways find more
customers than at
any .other place in
town.
This question we
can easily answer:
The people like to
trade atLohnsteins
store,
1st. Because they
receive every possi
ble attention and
consideration from
the proprietor, as
well as from the
salesmen.;
2nd. Because
they find a better
selection of goods
at Lohnstein’s ihan
at any other place
in town, and .
Last, but not
least, because a dol*
lar goes farther and
reaches deeper at
Lohnstein’s than
anywhere else.
Politeness,square
honorable dealing,
excellence and
great -variety, of
stock, small mar
gins and quick
sales; These are the
cardinal reasons for
our flattering and
unprecedented suc
cess. And the good
work still goes om
Come and see us
this week. We
will divide profits
with you.
Bry goods, cloth
ing, shoes, hats,
complete in every
department. Bar
gains in every line.
They are waiting
for you. Come and
pluck them. It
will pay you.
GEORGIA PINE.
- ■■ -V <
BY S. G. McLENOON, THOMAS-
VILLE, GA.
A Paper Read Before the American For
estry Congress, Philadelphia,
Ootober 16th, 1889.
If the plantain should be destroyed
in a day, more suffering would come
to tho human family, from the loss
of daily bread,, than could be caused
by the destruction of any other single
article of food. - In tree, life thapine
does a larger service to tho human
race than any other. In making this
statement, I, of course, include , the
whole pine family, from the two
leaved pine of Europe, to the five-
leaved pine of Central America. It
is essentially the worlds house build
ing tree. It furnishes fencing, fuel
and freight It furnishes medicine
for the sick, material for> the inann-
focture of innumerable, articles,, and
even its leaves are applied ltd. textile
purposes, in this country in ibe man
ufacture of carpetsj whije in Germany
and Sweden they: are 1 , 'jfrroujghi'r into
waldwolle, a product resembling
coarse wool, and of this blankets and
garments are made; .But I do ,not
purpose to treat of the pine on so ex
tensive a scale; Nor .-dorI ; intend
even to consider it as ah American
tree, for in America we have a dozen
or rooro varieties. I know, it best
in Georgia, and-I shall speak-of that
part of tho pmu pahutris which finds
a home, one which the greed of man
threatens to make temporary, in the
state of Georgia. • " ;
The pine ot Georgia is found south
of a line drawn from Augusta to
Columbus, one on the eastern and the
other on the' western border of the
state. v
There are, in the state of Georgia,
19,000 square miles of standing yel
low pine. In area this is equal to
about thirty-three per cent, of the
entire state. Expressing it in another
way it is equal to 12460,000 acres.
Or putting it in still another shape
and accepting the government esti
mate ot the number of feet of lumber
B. M. to tho acre, 1339, certainly a
conservative estimate, there are 16, J
282,240,000 feet of lumber, in tho
standing pines of Georgia. These
data are for the year 1885, and .are-
based upon unpublished • reports; now
in the hands or Hob. : B. E. Fernow,
Superintendent Division of Forestry,
United States Department oi Agri
culture. Tho “ent” in 1885' in Geor
gia, in round imbibers, was estimated
at about 380,000,000 feet. . If ; these
figures aro entirely trustwoi tliy,'there
were in Georgia, in - 1885, - tree*,
which would have been, at the rate of
manufacture then prevailing, entirely
exhausted 1 in forty-three years. But
the conclusions to which these figures
would lead must be influenced by
two leading considerations or condi-
tions and their subsidiaries, else wo
would fall .into error. In the first
place, the cut/ cs here stated,' means
tho mill: cut, the number of feet
sawed iuto lumber dt the'mills, and
this, as I shall show, is far.below. the
mark, and in the second place, all the
timber, that is all tho trees, ore net
cut down for milling purposes, and
the small trees left by the axeman,
under fair' conditions, attain proper
size for being sawed into" lumber in
from twenty to thirty yews, Count
ing the numbydfeycos. -w»rdls#fef
sizo, on each acre, practical'mill men
say that not moreThau froth twenty-
five te thirty per cent are carried to
tho 6aw. £k> here is a large reserve
fund, the potential value of which is
amazing* Bat to take up these, two
questions separately.
In estimating the mill cut as tho
full measure of encroachment upon
this source of-individual and state
wealth, we fall far short of a just
appreciation of the truo state ortho
case. There are several sources of
destruction lying beyond the field of
ascertainable data. Among these I
would, namo the quantity of timber
used in making farm rad fauces, the
quantity used as fuel for domestic
purposes, the quantity destroyed by
'•deadening” in the clearing of fresh
land, the quantity destroyed by forest
fires that sweep over turpentine or-
ohards. Among the sources of con
sumption not ascertainable through
mill or market records, but stiff in
reach of the statistician, I would sug
gest the quantity consumed in fur
nishing cross-tics and fuel to railroads.
Some idea may bo had of tho extent
of this encroachment by the statement
of a single fact J. am-informed by
tho general manager-Of one of our
most important railroads/ that in1888,
on 540 m|les of road, 277,000 new
cross-ties were used, or 19.4 per cent.
of the whole number of ties oYi his
track. These ties each contained
fifty-four feet B. M., and therefore
this one road used 14,958,000 feet of
lumber. This shows the life of a cross
tie to be five years, less than it once
was, and yet probably greater fliim it
will be, for tonnage and speed, always
increasing, are appreciable agencies in
hastening decay. Not only are these
pine ties used by railroads in Georgia,
nut they are shipped oat of the state
in large numbers to other statesand
oven > to foreign countries. Adding
the amount consumed in these varioqe
ways, to‘ the amount sawed into lum
ber, and the merchantable timber in
Georgia in 1885, would not, I think,
represent over a thirty years’ supply.-
But in such an estimate, and ln fixfag
such a limit of exhaustion,; Wo leave
out of consideration the reserve fond
already mentioned. And the preser
vation of this, with its tremendous
potentiality, as a source of health and
wealth, is a matter, which should not
Italy claim, but peremptorily demand
the best thought of the state. Prodi
gal thoughtless, reckless waste, char
acterizes-the treatment of the ,pine
forests of the entire south. The fact
(hat Iftige profits lie in the hurried,
preparation of pine tree products for
market explains much of this waste.
The pine of Georgia has three sepe
rate values: First, its tax -value,'
2nd, rls market valuo, 3rd, its real
value. The rate at which wild lands,
andmori of our timber, lands -are so
classed, are valued for taxation, is
forty seven cents per acre, and the
average tax for stato and county pur
poses is nbout eight mills, or eighty
cents on each one hundred dollars.
Therforo onr 12,160,000 acres of pine
land, represent on the tax 'books a
valuo of 85,715,200. Its market
value is from one to three dollars an
acre, and at the average, is worth
824,320,000. Its real value is -alto
gether another matter. Savannah is
the largest naval store market in the
world, and the President of the Savan
nah Board of Trade furnishes me the
following estimnto on naval stores:
Two hundred acres ot averago Geor
gia pino land, will cut one crop, or
10,500 boxes, the term crop ns here
used, meaning tho 10,500 boxes.
These will yield:
Tho first year 40 casks spirits, 2,000
gallons, 35c,. 8-760; The first year
125 barrels rosin, grade N. C„ at
81.65, 8331,47; Total: $1031,47.
The second year 32 caskB spirits,
1,600 gallons, at 35c 8560; The
secondyear 112 barrels rosin, grade
G. and F. C., nt 824c, $148,50;
Total r 8708,50. The third year 25
casks spirits, 1,250 gallons, at 35c,
8437.50; The third year 87 barrels
rosin, grade E. C., at 80c. 8111.86;.
Total; $549.36 This makes a total
in three years of 82,289.33, which is
equal to $11.44}' per acre.: The 12,-
160,000 acres therefore in turpentine
dnd rosin at 811.44} per acre have a
value of $139,116,480...
Accepting the government estimate
UffHe nUmber or feet of lumber to
the acre, we have 16,282,240,000 feet
in Georgia, and.the present market
value at our seaports is about 813 per
thousand. Attnis prico per thous
and the lumber in standing trees in
Georgia has a market value of $211,-
669,120,: Exclusive of the value,
now wasted, in tree tops, sjabs ana
saw dost, of which could be
made creosote oil an invaluable
antiseptic, pyrolignous acid and other
things, the straw which is, to a small
extent,now manufactured into oarpets
and.ypgs, and which could be applied
to several other textile purposes, the
pine-trees of Georgia represent a real
valuo of $350,785,600. In this rati
mate I leave out of consideration the
VBtl|ipMthd'lAnd.for agricultural pur-
poses.-" I know j will be pardoned
tor digressing fust for enough to sug
gest a practical test of their value. A
few months ago a gentleman obtained
the names of quo bandied farmers in
Thomas eonnty, which is situated
near 4he center of this pine region.
The fai returns fond these in Georgia
are made under oath by each indi
vidual) of these one hundred farmers
for 1879 and .1889, were compared.
The figures showed that the average
increase was nine per cent, or in other
words these tax payers were ninety
pec cent richer in 1889 than they
were in 1879.: -. When, we remember
that hundreds of millions of dollars
are invested in railroads - and
other enterprises in this country that
produce no dividends, and that these
one hundred men supported their
families and annually added nine per
cent, to the corpus of their estates, the
gnthesis becomes' complete, and the
value of theso lands, for agricultural
purposes is established beyond contro
versy. The limits of this paper for
bid farther elaboration of this feat-
The secret of the rapid and reck*
less destruction of this magnificent
domain, lire in the fact that the life
blood of this princely tree congeals
into gold as it trickles from the tur
pentine still, and that every blow of
the woodsman’s axe is echoed back by
the falling of a silver dollar into the
lumberman’s pocket. But this is a time
when figures and not figures of speech
arrest thoughtful attention. It is a
conservative estimate, to say, that in
every thousand feet of lumber there
is a profit of one dollar and twenty-
five cents, and that in three years
there is a profit of four dollars per
acre in the manufacture of naval
stores. It is a simple sum iu arithme
tic to demonstrate that in the conver
sion of the Georgia pine into these
commodities, there is a profit on
lumber of
820,352,800
On turpentine and rosin 48,840,000
Total , „ 69,192,800
Here lire the temptation, and here
}ies the danger. In the mad rush to
grOsp this margin, the necessities and
profits of the future in Georgia, and
throughout the South, have been en
tirely ignored and lost sight of. And
Unless tho people can he awakened
through such instrumentalities as this
Congress and the Forestry Division of
the United States Department of Ag
riculture,; th r qSo jfeho come after us
will suffer from our avarice and de
nounce us for our greed. The prac
tical question which invites solution
at the hands of practical statesman
ship, is the proper method of nursing
to ripeness the young trees not con
sumed, which ns I have said, represent
from 70 to 75 per cent, of the actual
number of trees on each acre. These
are, many of them, turpentined at
entirely too young an age and almost
literally bled to death. The great
enemy of the forest, aside from the
axe, is fire, fire which comes in the
wako of the turpentine man, and the
one which precedes him. A most
thoughtless, and I might justly say,
ini-one practice prevails in the pine
region of burning off the woods in
•ly spring in order that a small lot
worthless cattle may got an early
bite of grass. Theso burnings impov
erish tho soil by destroying the voge
table matter that would, if left un
touched, enrich it, and also destroy
the young pines that spring up from
seed. How serious this dnmago is,
the future will fully realize. What
the best policy will be, to husband
this wasting wealth, I do not under
take to say, but if, without too|serious
an invasion of the domain of private
right, it could be raado penal to box
trees less than 12 inches in diameter,
and penal to burn tho woods or set
forest fires, I think a decided advance
would hel made in the direction of
reerving our pino.
The mill man thins out, the turpen
tine man destroys. The one cuts down
only large trees, not over thirty per
cent., while the other boxes not less
than seventy per cent Behind the
first tHe forest fire is hurtful, behind
the other it is destructive. In one
case it is simple assault and battery,
in the other it !b murder.
1 have spoken of the State of Geor
gia because statistics were closer at
hand/ but what is true of Georgia is
true of every other pine bearing State,
from Virginia to Texaa flow pro
foundly asleep our people seem to bo.
The cry is going up from Maine and
Michigan and California that pine
timber is becoming scarce. I find
the statement in the second annual
report of the Division of Forestry for
the year 1887, that 81.50 stumpage,
equal to $150.00 an|acre,is being paid
for timber In California, on land
whlcjh could have been purchased a
few years ago for from 82.50 to $5.00
per aero. Frof. Fernow quotes the
Northwestern Lumberman as saying
"the great study, now a-days, on the
part of lumbermen in Michigan,
Wisconsin and Minnesota, while the
pine is fading away, coneerns the
avoidance of waste and the utilization
of a|l tho timer in some way. Even
wormy pine is being cut in large
quantitire hy Saginaw Valley lumber
man this winter (1887),'’ Hcnlsoquotes
another paper as saying that many
of the runs coming down the 8aginaw
ore composed of veritable poire, which
are.hardly worth the name of saw
logs, and barely sufficient in size to
prodace a piece of four by four timb
er. And vet the thoughtless Gorgian
will, for 50 cents per acre, allow his
lands turpentined, when if he would
only hold it inviolate, ho would pres
ently he able to sell a single tree on
each aero for the same money.
With such facts before them, and
such history behind, it is certainly
none too early for the ownere of
Georgia pine lands to begin to study
how to preserve their timber and put
an end to its wicked waste. Here is
arich field open to the best efforts of
that great organization, the Farmers
Alliance. Another thought which is
worthy of consideration: The pine
forests are supposed to place, as a
sweet burden upon the atmosphere,
an aroma, an euxer of life, whose
beneficent power will be attested by
thousands. What this medicine of the
air is,I do not presume to suggest, but
if it can replaco that flush whieh is
the banner of death, with the ruddy
glow of healthful blood, or even old
in such gracious work, the preserva
tion of tnree.forrets becomes a matter
of national conoern.
Whetting for ’Possum.
Some people have a prejudice for
such feasts as ’possum suppers, but
those who have the weakness are
almost fanatical in their taste.
Just here it is well to recall the
conversation that occurred between
two darkeys, who were fellow travel
ers is a certain direction.
One had asked the other what he
considered the finest dish he had ever
eaten.
With due promptitude he replied,
and mentioned everything that was
suggested to his mind. But his appe
tite wus evidently not aroused, os his
companion afterwards found out.
After relating, or stating every
thing tempting that occuired to him,
his companion said:
“Well, de finest thing I ever eat
was’possum. Jes’ get a big, fat, juicy
’possum, boko him till do grease pins
all over tho plate, let him be good
done and brown, den have taters
packed up all ’round him baked well
in do grease.”
Tho other one couldn’t stand it
any longer. Stopping his companion
just at this point, ho said:
“Look here, nigger, if you don’t
quit talkin’ ’bout dat, I’m gwine ter
fall offn dis mule right here.”
This indicates how irresistiblo the
’possum is jyhen properly baked and
served, and no one is to be censured
for having n highly cultivated taste
for this rich meat.—Albany (Ga.)
News.
An Immense Wagon Train.
Columbus, Ga., Oct. ag.- -An im
mense wagon train of cotton will reach
the city on Thursday morning, from
Russell county, Alabama. The or
ganizers anticipate that about 300
wagons will be in line, with about 600
bales of cotton. The farmers, who
arc all alliance men, will be entertained
at dinner, by the wholesale merchants
in the afternoon.
The Muscogee county alliance men
met here to-day and transacted con
siderable business. They are sticking
up to the cotton bagging, and are
determined to win in the fight against
the jute trust.
A thorough tret on a considerable
scale is soon to be made, on one of the
Western roads, ot metal crossfire. The
rapid destruction of our forests and
the gradual decline of the price of
iron and steel lead to the belief enter
tained by many well-informed rail
road men that before many yean
metal will be extensively, it not ex
clusively, need instead of wood for
this purpose. The question will be
simply one of economy, after a satis
factory form in which to uso - metal
h&s been found, and with tho increas
ing price of wood and the decreasing
prico of steel the relative positions of
the two materials may eventually bo
reversed, when the service expected
of them is considered.—Telegraph.
We give for the benefit of our readers
an old fashioned receipt for a little
home comfort: “Take of thought
for self one part, ttro parts of thought
for family; equal parts of common
sense and broad intelligence, and a
large modicum of the sense of the
fitness of things, a heaping measure
of living above what your neighbor
thinks of you. twice the quantity ot
keeping within yoar income, a sprink
ling of what tends to refinement and
aesthetic beauty, stirred thick with
Christian principle of the true brands,
and set to rise.
IN THE CITY.
Still another in
voice of choice dress
goods just received.
Our Ladies’ Broad
cloth in all the
leading colors ig >
certainly worthy of
your attention. We
are 60c. per yard
under New York
retail prices on
them.
In Oarpets and
Rugs we down ev
ery in this market,
and we invite a
comparison of pric
ey with other and
larger markets.
In Ladies, Misses
and Children’s
Wraps we are head
quarters, as we are
in everything else
pertaining to our
line.