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_ GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA co ee EUGENE ALLEN SMITH, State Geologist
MONOGRAPH 8
» _BCONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA ee PART 1
a a Pau) GEOGRAPHICAL REPORT
ON FORESTS
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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA
EUGENE ALLEN SMITH, Stade Geologist
MONOGRAPH 8
Economic Botany of Alabama
PART 1.
GEOGRAPHICAL REPORT
Including Descriptions of the Natural Divisions of the State, their Forests and Forest Industries, with Quantitative Analyses and Statistical Tables.
By ROLAND M. HARPER
UNIVERSITY, ALABAMA JUNE, 1913
245
PRESS BROWN PRINTING CO. MONTGOMERY ALABAMA
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. To His EXCELLENCY, GOVERNOR EMMETT O’ NEAL, MONTGOMERY, ALA.
Dear Sir:—I have the honor to transmit herewith Part I of a report on the Economic Botany of Alabama, by Dr. Roland M. Harper.
The plan of the present Geological Survey, organized in 1873, embraced the investigation of all the natural re- sources of the State, geological, agricultural, botanical, etc. The great work of Dr. Charles Mohr on the Plant Life of Alabama, published in 1901, was the first of the botanical series, and it was planned to supplement this systematic catalogue of our native plants with reports on their economic aspects. Dr. Mohr died before this part of the work could be taken up by him.
Dr. Harper, the author of this report, has been in the South most of the time since 1887, and in the last ten years has studied the forest conditions in all the south- eastern states, particularly Georgia, Florida and Ala- ama, having been employed on Geological Surveys of each of these three states. His work in Alabama, begin- ning in 1905, has covered something over two years all told, and has extended over practically all parts of the State. Since 1908 he has revisited about half of the counties and has taken over three hundred photographs of Alabama scenery, without cost to the Survey. Forty- eight of these photographs, together with some older ones belonging to the Survey collection, are used to illus- trate the present report, and many others, together with a great mass of field notes already in hand, will be avail- able for future reports.
Part I of the Economic Botany of the State, now sub- mitted, is a geographical report on the forests and forest industries of each of the natural divisions of the State, together with quantitative analyses of the forests of each region, something, so far as we know, not before attempted for a whole state.
This forms the natural introduction to the other botanical reports which are planned to fellow, viz: Part II, a catalogue of the trees and shrubs, with their dis- tribution and economic properties; Part III, the medicinal plants, the weeds and other useful or noxious plants not included in the preceding parts.
Very respectfully, University of Alabama, EUGENE A. SMITH. March 26, 1913.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CORPS, 1913.
Hugene Allen’ Smith; (Phi Da Lie De SS ee State Geologist William: BY ‘Prowty) Ph) Wes. ee ouloem 5 hates ae Chief Assistant Robert. S:\ Hodgest2 2a) 245 Sac ee See eee eee nee Chemist Herbert: He asmiths 22 = 5 ae een aero ee ee ee Curator of Museum Mrs7 Een Werueiice smth =.= eee Voluntary Assistant Curator Rolandivirskarpenss Eh.. J) sie. es 2S eee Botanist George Ne, Brewer: =— 2-2 3° 2322s == se Field Assistant Our Abelesret. = Clerk in charge of Statistics of Mineral Production James As Anderson: 22 2 oe Clerk in charge of Mailing List ACTED ONO HG Ake 2 L sti ED ED. SEE oe Stenographer
RIVER GAUGE HEIGHT OBSERVERS.
OPieeStower Se ee ees _& Jackson’s Gap, Tallapoosa River J. pcm bitehes d: 22222). ee Riverside, Coosa River LOMB SCS = 2 Dea ee SS ee ee ee ee Epes, Tombigbee River WAG... barly 2... ee ee Pera, Pea River SiPS Dillard. 242222.) 24 be be ee ees Beck, Conecuh River
From the records of daily observations of the gauge readings at these places when extended through sufficient time, the calculations of available horsepower to be obtained from the different streams are made.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Map showing geographical divisions or forest regions_ Frontispiece
PAGES
SCE SMO teal TT Ona GLO! = = eee ee Se 9-15 "EAT UIA OVS TEENY ON Tap ee Ae a i PS a Ls eee eed Se eee 10-15 PNCKTOW LEU SINICTIUS a Se sree cre ie ee eg ee 15 Principles of geographical classification______--_--_----_-_-- 17-22 ico Geciona le deSChiptlons= == a = see ee ee ee 23-34 The hill country and coastal plain contrasted_____--_---_--- 35-36 iesnesions im, details 5-2 se = ee el ee ee 37-128 BU SCOUNGR Y= = 2 2 erie Benen: oaee ee | fem oo See et 37-71
ik Nennesseevalley rerion=—_ =.= =. sa sent aes 37-47
A. Barrens>.orm-ichiland sRimesss 22sec ts aie 387-40
B. Valley proper (including Brown’s Valley) -_--40—47
2. Coal region (Carboniferous) UG Ls Roped Te cae nth. oY 47-57
A. Northern portion, or plateau region_-____-- 47-52
B. Southern portion, or basin Se ye eee 52-57
3. Coosa (Appalachian) valley region__-.-__-__~- 58-63
ASSIS tie BRAG (ekees Wee ot Ss Ee ee 64-66
Hee eedimontemeriOneae = sae k eo Se eee ee 67-71
AGUS Lp ey aT eee eer ee a ne eee ee Se 72-128
Go Genctralpine,sbelt-2 23-5 ee. Cee 2 Tae se 72-84
Ay onert-leat pine, belt seu. eo PTs 72-77 Batong-leat- pine @hiliSes so ee eee ee 78-81
Cr Biantaw-> pelts 3 a ne 2p ge 81-84
7. Black belt (cane-brake or prairie region) _~__-___ 84-91
8. Chunnennuggee Ridge or blue marl region______ 91-94
Omir ost moaksmtlabwo00dsSie-= ese Sar) Cee 95-97
10. Southern red hills (and “mountains”)_________ 97-103
11. Lime hills (white limestone, etc.)___________-_ 103-107
12. Lime-sink region (“Wire-grass’’)____________ 108-113
ia. Southwestern! pinie® hillss!s2 22 2s ete 113-123
14. Mobile delta (estuarine swamps)--___-______ 123-126
ae COaSEaeS tips ee ale ee ae a 126-128 Illustrations (half-tone cuts of forest scenery)--___-_____ 129-184 Barrens of Tennessee valley (figs. 1, 2)_-___.___-_-_______ 131 Tennessee valley proper (figs. 3-8)--___--_____-____- ise}, 11335: Coalsplateaumregion (fess (9-135) See ae ee ee That fly Ls) (CoalMbasinmmeresitone (figsi14 ol 5)ee ste. 2 eo 141 Coosa; valley srerion: (figs. lo=18)==s2 2 =: 2 oes eee 148, 145 Bine idee (hiss alo:; 20) eae =e ee 145 Piedmont rerionm(des. 2224) -oua es eee 147, 149 Shore-leat pine) belt (figsa 2-21 == 151 Central long-leaf pine hills (figs. 28-30)--__._----__-__- 153 Seemeaeben, (ies: o1-54) 222 oo SS 155, 157 Postmonks latwoogs: (figwish) S22 ese s2 fae ee 159 Nouumernered hills (figs n36-59) == 222 = a ee ee 159, 161
Pemeeee (he Al). asta ee 163
6 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
Linie-sinkssreerony (os. (42) 2 eee ee os See 165 Southwestern pine hills (figs. 43-48)_-_______________ 167-171 Mobile delta Gigs.“49) 50) 2__ Pe See ee 173 Hoast.ecrip (ies. b-53) so =_ oer ee ee See Bre Left 7/ Rorest industricS: 4 22+ 5822-323 eee 179-183 Turpentine (figs) )4-56))2 22" > se eee 179 Miscellaneous “(igs., (5W=60))- 2 22. eee 181 Lumber (figs. 61-63) 2-2 183 Appendix A. Graphic representation of environmental fac-
OE Se ene RN te eS PI 185-187 Appendix &, Climatological 7 Statistics-— 22 ee 188 mppendix Cy fist of Alabania trees- 2) =o." se ee 189-191 Appendix D. Statistics illustrating present. aap lea of the
forests, rate of exploitation, etc., by regions___________ 193-196 Appendix E. Statistics of Alabama forest products.______ 197-206
Dressed and manufactured lumber_____----_--_-___-- 197-199 Rough: lomber;: ete... 22 Gane Senay -bdeenn wa Ea 199-200 Miscellaneous rough sawmill products_____---__-----_- 201 Naval sstoresi eo: Brie sts seems © SOA BY 3 =. as 202-204 Timber-camp. productsi2e 22 sarees oreat - ad Se 201-202 Conclusions set 1. aie a. oon, FIG RIG ee 8 OS 204-206 rithm het = eee ape tA ee tee ee eee eee ee es eee 207-222 Supplement Geolocical’ Survey corps lols 2 ee ee 223
Previous publication of the “Survey——_ =. 2. 225-228
ERRATA.
Several typographical errors and a few omissions were over- looked in reading the proof, but the following are probably the only ones likely to mislead an intelligent reader.
Page 69, line 41, for cliffs read bluffs. Page 97, line 4, for operation read proportion. Page 113, add to list of references:—Schwarz (5, 10, 11).
Page 127. The third and fourth lines of the list of trees are partly transposed. They should read as follows:
Pinus clausa Sheltered dunes Juniperus Virginiana Cedar Bay shores mostly
On page 205 it should have been stated parenthetically or in a footnote, as an illustration of how the forests of distant regions are drawn upon to relieve the scarcity of timber in this part of the world, that even now shingles from the Pacific coast states are used in large quantities in Alabama and other eastern states.
Page 26, lines 24 and 25, for seedlings read pine seeds. Page 168, second line of title, for west read east.
Page 189. Strike out second line of Appendix C and substitute
the following:
foregoing pages, with a few unimportant exceptions, and is be-
lieved to be essentially complete for the.
(7)
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SOURCES OF INFORMATION.
LABAMA has probably been more thoroughly ex-
plored by various kinds of scientists than has any other southern state, and there is not very much to be said about its forests now that has not been said before, in one way or another. The present report differs some- what from previous descriptions, however, in the way in which the geographical divisions of the state are classi- fied and the descriptions of them arranged; and the quantitative analyses of the forests of each division, based on several thousand pages of field notes (repre- senting about 200 locality-records for each species of tree, on the average), are entirely new, as are all but two of the illustrations.
Among the numerous publications dealing with the geography or the forests of Alabama it will perhaps be sufficient for the purposes of most persons who use this report if only a few of the more important or accessible ones are cited. Some of these, however, contain refer- ences to many additional works of similar nature which can be obtained without much trouble by any one who is sufficiently interested to go into the matter more deeply or scientifically. For the benefit of such persons there are included in the following list the titles of a few publications which, although they contain valuable information about certain parts of Alabama, are so lit- tle known or else so recent that they have not been men- tioned in many bibliographies, particularly in the volum- inous “Bibliography of Alabama” by Dr. Thomas M. Owen (who is now at the head of the State Department of Archives and History), published in 1898 in the an- nual report of the American Historical Association for 1897, pages 777-1248; and in the bibliographies of North American geological literature published every few years by the U. S. Geological Survey. (Bulletin 127 of that Survey, dated 1896, covers the period from 1731 to 1891, and there are several later ones for shorter subse- quent periods.)
(9)
10 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
In the following list the names of authors are ar- ranged alphabetically, and the writings of each chro- nologically.
Ball, (Rev.) T. H.—A glance into the great southeast, or Clarke
County, Alabama, and its surroundings from 1840 to 1877. 782 pp. Grove Hill, 1882.
(Title-page and map missing in our copy. Title supplied by State Department of Archives and History.)
Mainly historical and biographical, but contains much in- teresting geographical information, especially on pages 120-130, 687-660, etc.
Bartram, William.—Travels through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, the Cherokee country, the extensive territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek Confed- eracy, and the country of the Chactaws; containing an ac- count of the soil and natural productions of those regions, together with observations on the manners of the Indians. 522 pp. and a few plates. 12mo. Philadelphia, 1791. (Soon afterwards reprinted in London and Dublin, and also trans- lated into French and German.)
The portion devoted to Alabama (which was then a part of Georgia) begins on page 388 and ends on page 457, but is not continuous. The author’s route seems to have passed near the present sites of Fort Mitchell, Tuskegee, Montgom- ery and Mobile, both going and returning.
Berney, Saffold—1. Hand Book of Alabama: a complete index to the state; with a geological map, and an appendix of use- ful tables. xxxix + 3838 pp. Mobile, 1878. Contains valuable chapters on geology by Dr. Eugene A. Smith, on soils by Dr. W. C. Stubbs, and on forests, grasses, etc. by Dr. Charles Mohr. 2. (Second edition of same.) 565 pp. Birmingham, 1893. The chapter on forests in this edition is shorter than in the first, and not credited to any one.
Brumby, (Prof.) R. T.—Mineral resources of Alabama—mineral waters, &c. In F. A. P. Barnard’s Alabama State Almanac for the year 1839, pp. 65-80. 12mo. Tuscaloosa, (18387). A very rare work, apparently not correctly cited in any previous bibliography. (Copy in Survey library presented
by Dr. Smith.)
Caldwell, G. W.—(‘‘Caldwell the Woodsman’’)—The story of the southern evergreens. Country Life in America 17:171-176. (Illustrated by half-tones.) Dec. 1904. Also issued in pamphlet form, with some of the illustrations different.
Describes the beginning of the evergreen decoration in- dustry in Conecuh County in 1888, and its development since that time.
Earle, F. S.—The flora of the metamorphic region of Alabama. Ala. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 119. 80 pp. Auburn, 1902. Includes also a small portion of the coastal plain, about as much of it as extends into Lee County.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 11
Foster, J. H. (of U. S. Forest Service.)—Alabama forestry. Wil- kinson’s Handbook of Alabama (State Agric. Dept. Bull. 27), pp. 63-68. 1909.
Gosse, P. H.—Letters from Alabama (U. S.), chiefly relating to natural history. (Illust.) 306 pp. 16mo. London, 1859. Deals mostly with Dallas County, and the Alabama River between there and Mobile.
Hale, C. S.—Geology of southern Alabama. Am. Jour. Sci. 56: 354-363. 1848.
Harbison, .T. G.—A sketch of the Sand Mountain flora. Biltmore Botanical Studies, pp. 151-157. 1902.
Harper, R. M.—1. A December ramble in Tuscaloosa County, Ala- bama. Plant World 9:102, 104-107. 1906. Deals with the vegetation along the cliffs of the Warrior River.
2.Some more coastal plain plants in the Paleozoic region of Alabama. Torreya 6:111-117. 1906. Refers to Sand and Lookout Mountains in DeKalb County and the barrens of Limestone County.
3. Notes on the distribution of some Alabama plants. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 33:523-536. 1906.
4.The vegetation of Bald Knob, Elmore County, Alabama. Plant World 9:265-269, fig. 44. 1907.
5. (Centers of distribution of coastal plain plants.) Torreya 7:42-45. Science 11.25:539-541. 1907. Contains a few notes on plants of the short-leaf pine belt in northwestern Alabama.
6. A botanical and geological trip on the Warrior and Tombig- bee Rivers in the coastal plain of Alabama. Bull. Torrey Boteelub: sis107=126, figs. 1, 2 1910.
(A popular account of the same trip, with one half-tone illustration, appeared in Forest and Stream for June 17 and 2A 1991:)
7. A few more pioneer plants found in the metamorphic region
of Alabama and Georgia. Torreya 10:217-222, fig. 1. 1910.
Contains some notes on the vegetation of the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge in Clay County.
8. The forest regions of Alabama. Some statistics illustrating [the] present condition of [the] lumber industry in each division. Southern Lumberman (Nashville, Tenn.), vol. 69, no. 915, pp. 31-32. April 5, 1913. Also reprinted as a 4- page quarto pamphlet.
Harris, J. T., and Maxwell, H.—The wood-using industries of Ala- bama. Lumber Trade Journal (New Orleans), vol. 61, No. 9, pp. 19-30. May 1, 1912. Contains valuable statistics which have been made use of herein, but several of the trees are erroneously identified.
Lyell, (Sir) Charles.—A second visit to the United States of North America. 16mo. 2 vols. New York and London, 1849. Valuable geographical notes on Alabama in vol. 2, about pp. 37-77.
2
ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
McCalley, Henry.—1. Alabama north of the Tennessee River. Rep.
Geol. Surv. Ala. 1879-1880, pp. 67-154. 1881. Notes on forests on pages 73-74, 86, 139-140, etc.
.On the Warrior coal field. 571 pp. (Geol. Surv. Ala.) 1886. . Report on the Coal Measures of the plateau region of Ala-
bama. (Including a report on the Coal Measures of Blount County by A. M. Gibson.) 238 pp. (Geol. Surv. Ala.) 1891.
. Report on the valley regions of Alabama (Paleozoic strata).
Part I, The Tennessee valley region. xvii + 436 pp., 4 figs., 9 plates. (Geol. Surv. Ala.) 1896.
. (Same), Part II. The Coosa valley region. xxii + 862 pp.,
14 figs., 25 plates. 1897.
All these reports of McCalley’s contain abundant notes on the trees characterizing the various geological forma- tions.
McGuire, W. W.—On the prairies of Alabama. Am. Jour. Sci. 26:
93-98 1834.
Mohr, Charles.—1. The forests of Alabama and their products.
2.
Berney’s Handbook (cited above), pp. 221-235. 1878.
List of trees and shrubs characteristic of each region of the state. Rep. Geol. Surv. Ala. 1881-1882, pp. 291-297. 1883. (See Smith No. 7, below, for full title of this volume.)
The same list appears also in Tenth Census U. S. 6:67-69. 1884 (7).
. (Notes on the forests of Alabama.) Tenth Census U. S.
9:525-530. 1884.
.The mountain flora of Alabama. Garden & Forest 5:507-
508. Oct. 26, 1892.
. The timber pines of the southern United States. (Together
with a discussion of the structure of their wood, by Filibert Roth.) U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Div. Forestry, Bull. 13. 160 pp., 27 plates. 4to. 1896.
. (Revised edition of same Bulletin 18, with additional notes
by Dr. Roth.) 176 pp., otherwise similar. 1897.
. Report on the forests of Sand Mountain. The Forester 4:
211-215. Oct. 1898.
.Plant Life of Alabama. An account of the distribution,
modes of association, and adaptations of the flora of Ala- bama, together with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the state. Contributions from the U. S. Na- tional Herbarium, vol. 6. 921 pp., 13 plates. July 31, 1901.
Also issued by the Geological Survey of Alabama, with the addition of a biographical sketch of the author (by Dr. E. A. Smith) and portraits of him and Judge T. M. Peters, in October, 1901.
Dr. Mohr was the author of about 100 scientific papers, but the above, especially the last one, contain the essence of practically all that are of importance to the student of Alabama forestry. His magnum opus, the Plant Life of Alabama, is doubtless the best description yet published of the vegetation of any whole state or similar area. Unfor-
SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 18
tunately it was not published until after his death, and it seems to have undergone considerable editing in Washing- ton, so that it may not represent his views exactly. Numerous other titles by Dr. Mohr can be found in Owen’s Bibliography of Alabama, referred to on a preceding page.
Reed, F. W.—A working plan for forest lands in central Alabama. U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Forest Service, Bull. 68. 71 pp., 4 plates, 2 maps. 1905.
Comprises excellent descriptions of two large tracts of long-leaf pine timber belonging to the same company; one in the foot-hills of the Blue Ridge in Coosa County, and the oe in the central pine belt, chiefly in Bibb and Hale
ounties.
Schwarz, G. F.—The long-leaf pine in virgin forest. 16mo, xii + 135 pp., 283 full-page half-tone figures in text, colored map, and 2 folded diagrams. New York (May), 1907. Based partly on studies made in Baldwin Co., Ala. Con- fins valuable notes on the effects of fire, among other things.
Smith, Eugene A.—1. Geological Survey of Alabama. Report of progress for 1874. 139 pp. 1875. Describes the Blue Ridge and Piedmont regions, with oc- casional notes on vegetation.
2. (Same for 1875.) 220 pp. 1876. Chiefly devoted to the Coosa valley region, in Bibb, Shel- by, Talladega and Calhoun Counties.
3. (Same for 1876.) 100 pp. 1876. Describes Roup’s and Jones’s Valleys and the Coosa coal field.
4.(Same for 1877 and 1878.) 139 pp., 4 colored geological maps of single counties. 1879. Describes the Tennessee valley region and the western parts of the coal region, treating several counties in consid- erable detail.
5. (Same for 1879 and 1880.) 158 pp., 2 maps. 1881. Includes description of part of the Warrior coal field, and McCalley’s report on the northern tier of counties. (See McCalley 1, above.)
6. Report on the cotton production of the state of Alabama, with a discussion of the general agricultural features of the state. Tenth Census U. S. 6:3-173, 2 colored maps. “1884.” (Some copies must have been in circulation as early as 1883, for there is internal evidence that this was printed be- fore No. 7.)
A remarkably complete geographical description of the state, by natural divisions and by counties, with many soil analyses, and two special chapters on cotton production. More accessible than the next, having been published in a much larger edition, but a little inconvenient to refer to on account of its quarto size and double system of page-num- bers. (The page-numbers of this work cited in the several
14
Stelle,
ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
regional descriptions beyond are those at the bottoms of the pages, which are the fundamental ones, the more conspicu- ous ones at the tops belonging only to this one report and not to the whole volume.)
. Geological Survey of Alabama. Report for the years 1881
and 1882, embracing an account of the agricultural features of the state. xvi + 615 pp., 8 colored maps. 1883.
Pages 1-154 comprise a general treatise on soils, while the remainder of the book, exclusive of the six climatolog- ical maps and the very full (58 page) index, is essentially the same as No. 6. Unfortunately this has long been out of print.
. (With the assistance of L. C. Johnson, D. W. Langdon, Jr.,
and others.) Report on the geology of the coastal plain of Alabama. xxiv + 759 pp., 29 plates. (Geol. Surv. Ala.) 1894.
. The underground water resources of Alabama. xvi + 388
pp., 30 plates. (Geol. Surv. Ala.) 1907.
Of Dr. Smith’s very numerous contributions to the knowl- edge of Alabama geology and geography, the foregoing seem to be the principal ones that contain descriptions of forests. Many additional titles can be found in Owen’s Bibliography of Alabama, and in U. S. Geological Survey Bulletins 127, 188, 301 and 372.
(Prof.) J. P. (agricultural editor, Mobile Register)—An outline expose of the geological, agricultvral, hygienic and other interesting characteristics of Mobile County, Ala- bama; embracing surface configuration with area, geolog- ical formations with useful materials, timber with other valuable growths, soils, agricultural capabilities and hy- gienic peculiarities. 8vo. 26 pp. Mobile, 1888.
This is one of the most complete and impartial county descriptions ever published, in Alabama or anywhere else.
Tuomey, M.—1. First biennial report on the geology of Alabama.
2.
xXxxii + 176 pp. Tuscaloosa, 1850.
Second biennial report on the geology of Alabama. (Edited after the author’s death by Dr. J. W. Mallet.) xix + 292 pp. and colored geological map. Montgomery, 1858. (Pages 243-252, on the Cretaceous and Tertiary, are by E. Q. Thornton.)
. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Scils.—Soil surveys
of various Alabama counties.
About half the counties in the state have been surveyed by this organization since 1902, after the first few years in co-operation with the state agricultural department. The resulting maps are useful, and some of the accompanying geographical descriptions are very good; but in the major- ity of cases the authors were not sufficiently familiar with previous literature on the same regions and with the local geography, geology and botany, a condition which has caused serious errors in their reports.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION. 15
Webb, (Dr.) R. D.—The relation of geological formations and of
_ soils to malarial fevers, as exemplified in Sumter County,
Alabama. Trans. Med. Assoc. Ala. 34:285-306. 2 folded colored maps. 1881.
Wilkinson, J. A. (compiler)—[Handbook of] Alabama. State Dept. Agriculture and Industries, Bull. 27. 388 pp., includ- ing numerous unnumbered full-page half-tone illustrations. 1909.
A compilation of miscellaneous information about the state, without maps, table of contents, or index. At pages 254 and 358 articles commending the work of the U. S. Bu- reau of Soils are appended to chapters contributed by Dr. Smith in such a way as to give a false appearance of havy- ing been written by him.
Winchell, A.—Notes on the geology of middle and southern Ala- bama. Proc. A. A. A. S. 10 (part 2): 82-93. 1857. On pages 87-88 the author has some notes on the vegeta- tion of the Buhrstone region, and comments on the abun- dance of evergreens.
For assistance in the preparation of this report, or for their sympathetic interest in it, the writer is especially indebted to Hon. R. E. Pettus of Huntsville, Col. S. W. John of Birmingham (now of Dallas County), Mr. Joshua Franklin of Erin, Clay Co., Mr. Daniel Pratt of Prattville, Mr. J. A. Avant of Gadsden, and Mr. A. L. Barker of the University of Alabama. Many students of the University, some of whom will doubtless be heard from often in later years, have contributed valua-. ble information about the forests and forest products of their home counties.
It would obviously be impossible to give a reasonably complete description of forest conditions in Alabama without spending many years in exploring the state, and publishing a large volume on the subject; and further- more, some regions have necessarily been visited more recently than others, a circumstance which naturally tends to make some difference in the freshness of the descriptions. Hence it is hoped that persons who may find their own neighborhoods inadequately or inaccu- rately described in this brief report will bear these facts in mind when pointing out its shortcomings. Additions and corrections of any kind will always be gratefully received.
PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION
LABAMA is such a diversified state that it would be impracticable to treat it as a unit in describing its forests. It is desirable therefore to subdivide the area into a number of forest regions, each of which shall be as distinct and nearly homogeneous as possible. As a matter of expediency the subdivisions should not be very numerous, for that would make some of them too small to be shown satisfactorily on a map of convenient size, and require too much repetition in describing them all. In the present report fifteen main divisions are rec- ognized, and some of them subdivided into two or three. It is a fact so well known as not to need any demon- stration that differences in type of forests (or other veg- etation), excepting of course differences produced artifi- clally, are nearly always correlated with differences in climate, moisture, soil, or other environmental factors. Hence it is customary in subdividing any area geograph- ically to base the classification of subdivisions on envi- ronmental factors which can be measured or mapped more precisely than can the forest types themselves. But it is not always easy to decide just which factors are most significant in this connection.
Obviously factors which change somewhat abruptly along definite lines are better adapted for the purposes of geographical classification than are those which vary more gradually and uniformly from place to place; so that the ideal system is one in which the boundary be- tween any two adjoining regions corresponds with a com- paratively sudden change in one or more environmental factors.
Among the factors influencing tree growth in a state of nature are light, heat, density of the air; amount, composition and fluctuations of water; texture and com- position of soil; frequency of fire; character and amount of subterranean life (bacteria, fungi, worms, insects,
2G (17)
18 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
etc.) ; friends and enemies in the animal kingdom, and competition of other plants of the same or different species; as well as some characters of the trees them- selves, such as the history of their migrations, and their adaptations for dissemination.
We can readily believe that if the force of gravitation or the composition of the atmosphere varied much in different parts of the world these variations would give rise to important differences in vegetation; but as it is, these factors are so uniform over the whole earth that they have no appreciable geographical significance. Terrestrial magnetism, atmospheric electricity, radioac- tivity, and the movements of the moon and other celes- tial bodies may have some influence on vegetation, but these influences are as yet unknown, so that we need not consider them further at present.
Geological history is doubtless a very important geo- graphical factor, but we do not yet know enough about its details to separate its effects satisfactorily from those of present environment. The density of the air, which varies with altitude, probably affects plants some- what (as it certainly does animals), but such effects, if any, are obscured by corresponding altitudinal varia- tions in light, temperature, and atmospheric humidity, whose effects are much better known, for they can be more easily isolated by experimental control. Altitude, although very easy to measure and map with accuracy, hardly needs to be taken into consideration in Alabama, for within our limits there is about as much difference of average annual temperature due to latitude (with a range of nearly five degrees) as to altitude, with a range of only 2,400 feet. And nearly all the trees growing on the highest mountains of Alabama can be found flourishing at much lower altitudes in the immediate vicinity or even considerably farther south.
Temperature is a very important factor in differen- tiating the vegetation of tropical, temperate and arctic regions, and the great differences betwen the vegetation of humid and arid regions can safely be ascribed mainly to differences in the yearly amount of precipitation; but within the limits of a single state like ours neither of
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSIFICATION. 19
these climatic factors varies enough from one place to another to overshadow the more obvious effects of soil, ground-water, etc. (The differences between the vege- tation of the northeastern and southwestern parts of the state are indeed doubtless due in part te temprature, but there are no differences in vegetation in Alabama that can be reasonably ascribed to differences in average an- nual rainfall.
Worse still, climatic factors, except in a few special localities like the summits of high mountain ranges, vary gradually from place to place, so that the location of lines based on any one of their numerous functions, such as average, maximum and minimum temperature, length of growing season or period between frosts, and seasonal variations of rainfall, is in general whollv arbitrary, and likely to be influenced largely by the scale used (whether Fahrenheit or Centigrade in the case of temperature, or inches or millimeters in the case of rainfall) .*
Almost equally worthless for our purposes are those environmental factors which vary greatly in short dis- tances, such as light (governed by slope of ground, den- sity of forests, etc.), evaporation (governed largely by the same factors), and soil moisture (governed largely by topography). Such factors are very useful for dis- tinguishing local forest types, such as swamps, ham-
*But for the difficulty mentioned in this paragraph it might be worth while to give some consideration to the seasonal distribu- tion of rainfall, which varies perceptibly in different parts of our state. This is well illustrated by the three rain maps between pages 176 and 177 of Dr. Smith’s report on the agricultural feat- ures of Alabama (Smith 7 in bibliography). The lines on the last map, showing annual rainfall, do not correspond very closely with the known distribution of any trees (or anything else, appar- ently), but the other two maps show that there is a general corre- spondence between hardwood forests and regions of heavy winter rains (December to February), and between the principal long-leaf pine area and heavy summer rains (June to August). But the distribution of forest types can be correlated much more staisfac- torily with soil, which seems to be much more closely connected with geology than with climate; and it is possible that the rela- tive proportion of pines and hardwoods in the forests has some influence itself on the seasonal distribution of rainfall, whose irregular distribution on the map would be difficult to account for otherwise. (In this connection see footnotes by the writer in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 37:415-416. 1910; Torreya 12:146. 1912.)
20 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
mocks, and pine woods, within a region, but not for de- limiting regions large enough to show on a state map.
Another difficulty that is unavoidable in the use for geographical purposes of any one simple factor, such as altitude, or any function of temperature or rainfall, that can vary in only one direction (i. e., from greater to less, or vice versa), is that all zones based on single factors must be parallel, so that each one can touch only two others, as is well illustrated by a hypsometric or climatic map on which the various altitudinal or temperature zones are shaded differently. It is indeed true that in some restricted areas the various types of forest are dis- tributed to some extent in parallel zones; but if any one of these zones is followed far enough it will as a rule be found to narrow down and disappear, or run up against some other zone (there are several examples of both cases on the map of Alabama accompanying this report) ; which can never happen with climatic or altitudinal zones. There are also many forest regions that are about as broad as they are long; so that a true map of forests (or any other kind of vegetation) would look something like a mosaic, or a crazy-quilt.
Topography and soil are not open to the objection just mentioned, for they are complex features, and may vary in an indefinite number of ways. ‘Topography however does not affect vegetation directly as much as it does in- directly through its influence on the local distribution of soil types, ground-water, and sunlight. Soil is almost universally admitted to be of fundamental importance to vegetation, and soils are comparatively easy to map— after a satisfactory classification for them is devised*—, for the several types are usually distributed in fairly well-defined patches.
The smaller soil units are too small and too numerous for our present purposes, but it is possible to group them roughly according to certain characters into classes or regions, each large enough to be shown on a state map.
*For a recent discussion of the problems of soil classification see EK. O. Fippin, Science I1.35:677-686, May 3, 1912. Also Bulle- tin 85 of the U. S. Bureau of Soils, by G .N. Coffey. November, OZ:
PRINCIPLES OF CLASSIFICATION. 21
In a featureless plain it might be difficult to decide where to draw the line between different classes of soils, but topographic diversity facilitates matters considera- bly by affording distinctions between wet and dry soils, ridge and valley soils, residual and colluvial soils, ete.
Although the geological age of a rock may have little direct influence on the vegetation growing above it, soil and topography are so intimately connected with geology that a geological map is of fundamental importance to the student of forest geography, in some parts of the world at least.*
The correlations between geology, topography, soils and vegetation, although not very evident in some of the colder and hotter parts of the world, are perhaps nowhere more clearly exhibited than in Ala- bama; and the map accompanying this report does not differ conspicuously from a geological map of the same size.
In the northeastern quarter of the state the chief dif- ferences are due to the fact that in some of the valleys several different Paleozoic formations crop out in a suc- cession of long narrow belts which cannot be shown on such a small map as this. And furthermore, while it is possible to map the outcrops of formations where they are only a few yards wide—if a sufficiently large scale be used—, the soils are often less diversified than the un- derlying rocks, or mixed (especially on steep slopes), topography cannot be studied to advantage in an area of less than several hundred acres, and it has not been found practicable to have geographical divisions, of the rank here considered, less than a few miles wide, or too discontinuous, either. In the valley regions therefore the various geological formations, though often very dis- tinct, are regarded as indicating local forest types rather than distinct regions.
In the northwestern quarter there is a rather wide transition zone between the coal region and the central pine belt, where the unconsolidated strata of the latter
*The diagram in Appendix A will make the relations of all these environmental factors to each other and to the forests a little plainer to students and other interested persons.
22 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
cover the uplands while many of the streams have cut down into the hard rocks of the former, causing an ex- tensive overlapping, or rather interlocking, of two more or less distinct kinds of country. On a large map this interlocking could be shown pretty accurately, but in the present case the best that can be done is to strike an average between the two regions as nearly as possible, by means of a dotted line.
In the southern tier of counties, especially eastward, the geology has to be partly disregarded for a different reason. There the strata are nearly level, and at the same time variable and poor in fossils, and the geolo- gists themselves are not yet fully agreed upon how they should be mapped; but it is possible to define geograph- ical divisions in that quarter pretty well on a basis of soil, topography and vegetation, without knowing much about the geology.
The principal sources of information for the present map, arranged chronologically, are as follows:
1. Agricultural map of Alabama by Dr. Eugene A. Smith, 1883. (Smith 6 and 7 in bibliography.)
2. Large geological map of Alabama, with explanatory chart, also by Dr. Smith, 1894. (A smaller edition of this map, first issued in 1904, resembles the present geographical map in size and to some extent in the absence of minute details.)
3. Small geographical map by Dr. Smith in J. H. Phillips’s Ala- bama supplement to Frye’s Complete Geography, 1897. —
4. Map of floral areas, frontispiece of Mohr’s Plant Life of Ala- bama, 1901. (Mohr 8 in bibliography.)
5. Some of the government soil maps of Alabama counties.
(See U. S. Dept. Agriculture in bibliography.)
6. Field work of the writer, 1905-6, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912-13,
extending into every county. The principal innovations from this source are in the southeastern quarter of the state.
PLAN OF REGIONAL DESCRIPTIONS.
HE description of each natural region into which the state is here divided follows as nearly as possible the following plan, the amount of space given to each head varying with the character of the region. Location and area. External relations. References to previous literature. Geology and soils. Topography and hydrography. Climate. Types of forest. Frequency of fire.
LIST OF TREES.
Percentage of evergreens. Other noteworthy features of
the list.
Economic aspects.
Density of population. Increase in last decade. Percentage of whites.
Relative area of forests and clearings.
Status of stock laws.
Changes in relative abundance of certain species, from va- rious causes.
Principal forest products and wood-using industries.
Illustrations.
Location and external relations.—The location of each region is not described in detail, for that is indicated with sufficient exactness by the map. As most of the regions are not confined to Alabama, some account of their extent outside of the state is appropriate.
References.—In the references to literature the titles in the foregoing bibliography are not reepated, but only the author’s name and the number of his paper (if more than one by that author is listed), and then in parenthe- ses the numbers of the pages on which the region under consideration is described, if they are not too numerous.
The geology and soils, topography and hydrography, are described very briefly. Full geological details can be found in several of the reports cited in the bibliogra- phy.
Climate.—For convenience of reference all the cli- matic data used herein are collected on a single page, which follows the regional descriptions. (Appendix B.)
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24 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
Statistics from 23 different weather stations, all based on at least 15 years’ observations, have been compiled from Bulletin ‘““‘W” of the U. S. Weather Bureau, and from the annual summary of the Alabama section of that Bureau for 1911. The data here published include only the mean annual temperature, the average length of the growing season (period between the last killing frost in spring and first killing frost in fall), the aver- age annual precipitation, and the percentage of the total annual rainfall that comes in the four warmest months, June to September inclusive, and in the six warmest months, May to October, inclusive.
It has already been pointed out (page 19) that some parts of Alabama are characterized by wet winters and others by wet summers; and the percentages of rainfall for the four warmest months seem to bring out the con- trasts in this respect better than do those for any longer or shorter period or for any other portion of the year. The six months percentages are added to facilitate com- parison of conditions in Alabama with those in the rest of the United States, as mapped by Dr. Henry Gannett on Plate 2 of U. S. Geological Survey Water Supply Pa- per No. 234, published in 1909. That map represents the percentage of rainfall for “the six warmer months, April to September, inclusive’; but in Alabama and most other parts of the eastern United States October is usually a little warmer than April, and furthermore it is usually drier than April in the regions that have dry summers, and wetter than April in the. regions that have dry winters, so that the figures for May to October give greater contrasts than those for April to September would.*
*It is interesting to note that in general where the summers are wettest the soils are sandiest, and vice versa, in the southeastern United States at least. Of course the correlation is not absolute, and there are many areas of clay soil in regions with wet sum- mers, and of sand in regions with dry summers, for the texture of the soil depends on many other factors than seasonal distribution of rainfall, which indeed has hitherto scarcely been recognized as a factor in the problem at all. To attempt to explain this corre- lation would be out of place in such a report as this, as it seems to be a matter of soil chemistry primarily. It is possible, though, that the relation may be partly reciprocal, or accidental. For ex- ample, the black belt of Alabama and Mississippi is characterized
PLAN OF REGIONAL DESCRIPTIONS. 25
In the regional descriptions all the climatic statistics are not repeated, but only the salient features pointed out.
Forest types.—The treatment of forest types is rather brief and superficial, for an exhaustive discussion of this feature would require a great deal more space, and would be of less economic than scientific interest. Abundant details can be found in Mohr’s Plant Life of Alabama, previously referred to.
Fire.—The frequency of fire is noted under the head of forest types, for it varies greatly in different kinds of forests, as well as in different regions. In general the effect of fire in a forest is to keep down underbrush and trees with thin bark or low branches, and thus favor the growth of trees with thick bark and clear trunks, such as most of the pines.* It also returns quickly to the soil the potash and other mineral substances accumulated in fallen leaves, but drives off the organic matter, which would otherwise make the soil more nitrogenous. It may also destroy some insects which would otherwise injure the trees. Most persons who have written about forest fires, especially in the northern states, where such fires are often much more spectacular and awe-in- spiring than they are with us, seem to regard them as an unmitigated evil, or as regrettable accidents, to be prevented by all possible means. In reality, however, fire is a part of Nature’s program in this part of the world, and the woods were undoubtedly set on fire by lightning and perhaps other natural causes long before man appeared on the earth. The frequency of forest fires varies greatly in different regions, and in general they are most frequent today in the same regions where they were most frequent in prehistoric times. Fires are and always have been rare in hardwood regions with wet winters and dry summers, like the Tennessee valley and
by wet winters and dry summers, and its soils are decidedly clayey; but its soil characters are closely correlated with the geo- logical formation, which is certainly independent of any modern climatic factors.
*This fact was noted by Sir Charles Lyell in Tuscaloosa County in the spring of 1846. See page 69 of his book cited in the bibliography.
26 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
the black belt, where the forest floor is covered with humus, usually too damp and too thoroughly oxidized to burn readily.
In the long-leaf pine regions, where environmental conditions are different in almost every way from those just mentioned, fire seems to have swept over every spot not protected by its topography or otherwise every few years in prehistoric times. There the fire consumes the herbage that covers the ground, and prevents the growth of most thin-barked trees, but does very little harm to the long-leaf pine after that reaches the age of four or five years. This pine withstands fire better than any other tree we have, but some of the other pines and a few of the oaks and hickories are not much inferior to it in this respect.
It can be safely asserted that there is not and never has been a long-leaf pine forest in the United States (and that species does not grow anywhere else) which did not show evidences of fire, such as charred bark near the bases of the trees; and fur- thermore, that if it were possible to prevent forest fires absolutely the long-leaf pine—our most _ use- ful tree—would soon become extinct. For where the herbage has not been burned most of the seeds 42@8 lodge in the grass and fail to germinate, and if the oaks and other hardwoods were allowed to grow densely they would prevent the growth of the pine, which can- not stand much shade, especially when young.
At the present time most of the fires in the pine woods are set purposely, to burn off the dead grass and improve the grazing. This practice has been repeatedly denounced by persons who have spent most of their lives outside of the long-leaf pine regions, but really the only just criticism of it that can be made is that it is done too often; oftener than Nature intended, one might say. However, as the number of roads, railroads, clearings, etc., increases, the area over which each fire can spread becomes more and more restricted, so that the frequency of fire at any one point may not be much greater now than it was originally.
PLAN OF REGIONAL DESCRIPTIONS. 27
The mixed pine and oak woods which constitute a very large proportion of the forests of Alabama and other southeastern states occupy an intermediate position be- tween the rich shady hardwood forests and the open long-leaf pine forests with respect to fire. In these woods fire often consumes the dry leaves in late fall, and even though it does little harm to the trees it tends to impoverish the soil by driving off the nitrogen and other organic matter contained in the leaves, so that it does not seem to be good policy to set fire to such forests purposely, at least where the land is likely to be used for cultivation at some future time.
Lists of trees.—The lists of trees for each region have been prepared with considerable care, and are probably not far from complete in most cases, for all but the rar- est species. The species are arranged in the same order in each list, beginning with the pines and ending with those trees which are generally regarded by botanists as most highly organized. This method does not bring out the contrasts between the different regions quite as plainly as it would to arrange the species in order of abundance, but it is more convenient for finding quickly in any list the name of any particular tree.
Each line in these lists begins with two numbers. The first represents the proportion of the area of the original forests of each region supposed to have been occupied by each species, and the second shows the same thing for the present forests. These ratios are expressed in per- centages, and are given only to the nearest unit, so that all percentages less than 14 are represented by 0. Species which make up less than one-tenth of one per cent of the forests of any region are usually omitted, as having lit- tle significance. The first figure is more or less of a rough estimate, while the second is derived from my field-notes by a rather complex and laborious method, which need not be explained here. Great accuracy can- not be claimed for these figures, but they are much bet- ter than what we have had before (viz., none at all), and perhaps none of them will prove to be more than double or less than half the correct figures which may be ulti- mately obtained. There are of course more precise
28 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
methods of estimating timber than that here employed, but to apply these over a whole state in sufficient detail to get better results than those presented here would take one person many years.
Where the second figure is larger than the first it does not necessarily mean that that species is more abundant now than it was originally. Those species whic have in- creased in abundance relatively are either those wihch tend to spread in clearings, those which are confined to soils not well adapted for agriculture, or those which have simply been left standing while more desirable spe- cies have been cut out from among them. On the con- trary, therefore, the trees which have decreased in abun- dance usually prefer the better soils, or are more valua- ble for lumber, or both. To get an estimate of the pres- ent stand of any species in any region the percentage of present abundance should always be multiplied by the estimated percentage of remaining forest in that region, which is given after the list of trees.
Where the whole technical name is printed in bold-face type it means that the species is evergreen, and where only the specific name (second word) is in bold-face the species is partly evergreen.
For each species both technical and common names are given, except in the case of a few trees which are so lit- tle known to the general public that they seem to have no bona-fide common names. Only common names that are actually used by a large number of people in this state are considered. The names applied to our trees in northern books are not always the same as those used in these parts, some of them being mere translations of the technical names, and therefore obviously not genu- ine, and not deserving of perpetuation.
After the name of each tree its usual habitat in the region is indicated in two or three words.
The percentage of evergreens, which is obtained by simply adding together the percentage-numbers of those species that are evergreen, throws an interesting light on the character of the forests of the several regions. In general a large percentage of evergreens seems to be correlated with small seasonal fluctuations of ground-
PLAN OF REGIONAL DESCRIPTIONS. 29
water, wet summers, streams comparatively free from mud, and sandy soils poor in potassium, if not in other elements of fertility. Just which of these factors are fundamental and which are secondary is not at present obvious.
Economic aspects.—In taking stock of our forest re- sources it is of course of the utmost importance to de- termine not only the composition of the forests but also the amount of forest still standing. No recent statistics on the latter point for areas smaller than the whole state, and taking into consideration both cultivated and abandoned fields, are available, so that only rough esti- mates can be given. But the amount of cleared land is pretty closely correlated with density of population, and that is known with considerable accuracy. The figures for the population of each region have been deduced from the reports of the 13th Census of the United States, and ought to be reasonably accurate. The chief difficulty here is due to the fact that the census figures are given for counties and other civil divisions, which do not correspond very closely with natural divisions. The best that can be done in the absence of maps show- ing beats is to combine the areas and populations of all counties wholly or mainly included in a given region, and make the computations accordingly.
It is a very obvious fact, though not often mentioned, that in a state as thickly settled as Alabama our friend the farmer has done more damage to the forests than all other agencies combined, for his operations involve a total destruction of the forest in the areas he cultivates. A great deal of this destruction is of course unavoidable; but if the farmers could be taught to cultivate more in- tensively and use less wasteful methods a much larger area could be kept forested.
The conservationists are inclined to blame the lumber- man most for the rapid exhaustion of the forests which our generation is witnessing. Dr. J. B. Killebrew, in an address delivered at the Tennessee Centennial Exposi- tion in 1897, spoke of lumbering practices in that state in the following vigorous language: ‘“‘Our present destruc- tive methods combine the stupidity of unthinking bar-
80 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
barism and the cupidity of unprincipled selfishness with the wantonness of unbridled license.” The same could be applied with equal justice to almost any state in the Union; and the lumberman certainly deserves some censure.
And yet if it were possible for us all to live on fish, game, wild fruits, etc., or on food manufactured from the atmosphere, without cultivating the soil, Alabama could come pretty near supplying the whole South with timber. Thirty years or more ago it was confidently predicted by conservative scientists that the pine forests of West Florida and adjacent Alabama would be exhaust- ed in a very few years; but there are still immense areas of virgin timber in that section, simply because the soil is not very rich, and the population is still so sparse that if every able-bodied inhabitant should engage in lumber- ing they could hardly keep the trees cut down. Vast forests are still standing in Maine, Minnesota, Canada, etc., not because their resources are unknown or of little value, but because the soil and climate of those regions are not favorable to agriculture.*
Steck laws.—The ranging of domestic animals in the forests, where it is still permitted, has an important in- fluence, tending to retard the growth of underbrush and of some trees and probably favoring others, somewhat as fire does. Like fire, grazing returns mineral plant foods quickly to the soil, but unlike fire, it also returns nitrogen, probably with interest. Every county and beat in the state decides for itself whether stock shall be al- lowed to run at large within its borders or not; and these local laws do not seem to be codified, so that it would be impossible to ascertain their exact status throughout the state at the present time without a great deal of corre- spondence with county officials. In general, however, in regions where there is still considerably more forest than farm land the cattle, sheep, hogs, etc., are allowed free
*An interesting paper by Hu Maxwell on the timber resources of the South, on pages 41 and 42 of “The South the nation’s great- est asset’”—which is part 2 of the Manufacturers’ Record for March 27, 1913 (vol. 63, no. 12)—brings out stiJl more clearly the fact that the exhaustion of our forests is not as imminent as some have predicted.
PLAN OF REGIONAL DESCRIPTIONS. 31
range on any unenclosed land, and farmers have to pro- tect their crops and yards from them by fences. Where farms are in the majority the stock law or ‘“no-fence law” prevails, the stock being kept within enclosures and the fields therefore not requiring fences.*
In each regional description the present status of the stock law, as determined from newspaper items and soil survey reports, interviews with students and citizens, and observations made in traveling through thé various regions, is Summed up in a few words, as accurately as the information at hand permits.
Forest preducts.—The lists of the principal forest products of each region are derived from personal ob- servation, interviews, and examination of available lit- erature; and the various items in each list are arranged approximately in order of value of total output. Com- pleteness of such data is of course out of the question, but they are probably just about as nearly complete for one region as for another.
In deciding just what to include under the designation of forest products only articles made from native trees and sold, either in local markets or for export, are con- sidered. This excludes two extremes; first, such articles as buggies, show-cases, furniture and cotton gins, made in towns and cities from wood largely imported from other regions, states or countries; and second, articles produced strictly for home use, such as the fuel, fence rails and posts, axe-handles, cotton baskets, etc., which almost every farmer gets from his own woods. Stove-
*In the last ten years or so, since attention has been drawn to the importance and feasibility of eradicating the cattle-tick in the South, some agricultural editors have been urging the substitution of state-wide stock laws for the present loca] option system, be- cause tick eradication is much easier where cattle are confined than it is on open ranges. But a stock law would be unfair to per- sons of limited means who are raising cattle and hogs in thinly- settled counties, for it would deprive them of the use of the abun- dant natural pasturage. It might however be a good idea to have a state-wide law for a few years (just as certain species of game are sometimes protected for a few years in certain states), with the understanding that the present system would be restored after the extermination of the ticks. It might also be desirable to im- pose greater restrictions on hogs than on cattle, since the former seem to be more destructive.
32 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
wood cut by farmers and sold in near-by towns would be appropriate to include, if any statistics about it were available, but it is so common and familiar in all regions where there are any woods at all that it hardly needs to be considered.
Unfortunately no accurate quantitative estimates of the forest products of each region can be made from the information at present available. Some publications of the U. S. Forest Service and Census Bureau give valuable statistics for the whole state, which have been utilized in Appendix E, but they are of no value for regional de- scriptions, for they do not consider counties or other geographical subdivisions of the state. The paper of Harris and Maxwell on the wood-using industries of Ala- bama, cited in the bibliography, likewise treats the state as a unit for statistical purposes, but it also contains a list of over 200 wood-working establishments of higher rank than sawmills, with the location of each, from which a rough calculation of the relative number of such establishments in each region can be made.
Still more useful is a directory of the sawmills and other wood-working establishments of Alabama, pub- lished in the latter part of 1912 by the Southern Lum- berman, a weekly magazine of Nashville, Tenn. This lists about 600 sawmills and 100 other establishments, and is probably nearly complete for all mills large enough to ship their products by rail or water. It gives no sta- tistics of production, but tells almost everything else that one might wish to know about our sawmills, includ- ing the name and location of each, the character of its equipment (including length of railroad operated, if any), the kind of stock turned out (i. e., whether ordi- nary lumber or veneers, crates, cooperage stock, han- dles, vehicles, furniture, etc.), the daily capacity, and the kinds of wood used. From this directory it is a simple matter to count the number of mills sawing each kind of wood in each region, and compute their average ca- pacity. In summing up the information derived from this source in the regional descriptions those kinds of wood cut by only one mill in a region are usually omitted for the sake of brevity. With this exception the num-
.
PLAN OF REGIONAL DESCRIPTIONS. 33
ber of mills given for each species of tree is roughly pro- portional to the percentage of abundance of that tree in the region.
All these statistics obtained originally from lumber- men are a little defective for the reason that lumbermen recognize fewer species of trees than botanists do. Har- ris and Maxwell report only 38 species from Alabama (in- cluding a few imported ones), and the Southern Lum- berman only 34; the two lists together comprising about 40 native species; while as a matter of fact there are at least 50 native trees in Alabama that are used for lum- ber.
For example, the long-leaf and slash pines are not usually distinguished by lumbermen, and the “long-leaf pine” which some of the mills in the northern tier of counties claim to cut is probably neither of these. The “short-leaf pine’ of the trade also includes two and pos- sibly three species. It seems improbable that any real white pine, which does not grow within fifty miles of Alabama, should be brought into the state to be sawed, but we have two native pines with pretty soft wood, one in the northern half of the state and one in the southern, which may be called by that name. <A few of the mills in the Southern Lumberman’s directory report spruce, another northern tree, but probably mean spruce pine, a name which is applied locally to two or three of our trees.
Our two cypresses are not distinguished in the statis- tics (for although lumbermen often speak of white, black, and red cypress, it does not seem possible to cor- relate these names definitely with botanical species), but as the pond cypress in Alabama is confined to regions 12 and 13, there is very little uncertainty about the identity of the cypress reported from other regions.
Harris and Maxwell mention only six oaks (and some of those probably wrongly identified) and the Southern Lumberman only two, white and red. The “white oak’ of the trade probably includes some post oak, swamp chestnut oak, and a few other related species, and the “red oak” may be almost any of the numerous species with biennial acorns, bristle-tipped leaves and inferior
3G
84 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
wood, including the water and willow oaks, which are not listed separately by the Southern Lumberman.
The various hickories, elms, maples, ashes, etc., are not distinguished in these publications, but lumbermen could hardly be expected to do that, as their woods are very similar. The “red gum” of the lumber trade is a comparatively new name for the old familiar sweet gum, whose wood was not regarded as having any value un- til the scarcity of poplar began to be felt. Tupelo gum is another wood which has come into use very recently, for a similar reason; and the ‘“‘tupelo” of the trade may possibly include some of its near relative black gum, which is not listed separately. Bay, listed by Harris and Maxwell as “sweet magnolia,” and said by them to be cut in Alabama at the rate of 148,000 feet a year, is not mentioned in the Southern Lumberman’s directory, but may be combined in that with some other wood of the same family, such as poplar, cucumber or magnolia.
In the interpretation of the statistics of kinds of wood cut in each region the facts just mentioned need to be constantly borne in mind.
Illustrations.—All the half-tone figures are from the writer’s own photographs, except a few taken in former years by Dr. Smith and other members of the Survey, all of which are properly credited. Some of the latter are especially valuable as showing the appearance of vir- gin pine forests which have since been destroyed.
THE HILL COUNTRY AND COASTAL PLAIN CONTRASTED.
HE subdivisions of Alabama which are about to be
described fall naturally into two classes. Those numbered 1 to 5, covering about two-fifths of the area of the state, constitute the hill country or mineral re- gion, while the remainder belong to the coastal plain, which borders the coast from New York to Mexico, and is poor in minerals, water-power and mountain scenery, but rich in agricultural and timber resources. The line between them is called the fall-line, because most of the rivers which cross it have falls there.
In the hill country of Alabama the rocks are all Paleozoic and older, except for a few local alluvial depos- its, etc., and some of them are very much folded and faulted; while in the coastal plain there are no strata older than Cretaceous, and they have been very little disturbed by movements of the earth’s crust ,having in most places a gentle dip. to the southwestward or away from the hill country. This difference in geological age is the fundamental distinction, but there are others which can be easily made out by persons who are not geologists. Almost everywhere in the hill country hard rocks abound and sand is searce; while the reverse is true over the greater part of the coastal plain (more so farther east than in Alabama, though). In most parts of the coastal plain the fossiliferous strata are covered to a depth of several feet with a layer of loam or sand, or sometimes both, commonly regarded as of Pliocene age or later.*
*In the last few years some of the younger geologists have been asserting that this superficial formation, or most of it at least, is nothing but the weathered portions of the Cretaceous and Tertiary strata; but there are many facts that are not consistent with this hypothesis, and if such a simple explanation was the correct one it would probably have been proposed long ago, and universally accepted by this time. (35)
36 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
Of the commoner beneficial mineral ingredients of soils, lime is perhaps about equally common in both di- visions, though varying greatly from one subdivision or region’ to another. The same might be said of phos- phorus. Nitrogen and potassium are generally less abundant in the coastal plain soils, except in the “black belt”’.
On the average the coastal plain is considerably less elevated and less hilly than the hill country. The latter ranges from about 200 to 2,400 feet above sea-level, and the former from sea-level to nearly 1,000 feet. This top- ographic difference is due partly to the simple fact that the coastal plain is nearer the coast, but partly also to the fact that its rocks are younger and have never become as indurated as some of those in the highlands. The coastal plain exhibits a great variety of topography, perhaps more in Alabama and Mississippi than anywhere else (there being even some small “mountains” near the boundary between these two states), but on the whole its topographic forms are what would be called young. That is to say, most of the streams have not yet carved out wide valleys, and in the more level portions of the area there are many swamps and ponds, which erosion processes are tending slowly but surely (unless other physiographic processes, such as solution of underlying limestone, or warping of the earth’s crust, interfere). to do away with.
As the coastal plain, by reason of its position next to the coast, has almost certainly been submerged beneath the sea at a later date than the hill country, its surface is on the average not weathered so deeply, and the vege- tation is of a newer, more “pioneer” type. The greater abundance of evergreens in the coastal plain and scarcity of potassium in the soil may be partly due either to this fact, or to the prevalence of summer rains already men- tioned, or to both.
THE REGIONS IN DETAIL.
THE HILL COUNTRY—(REGIONS 1-5)
1. The Tennessee Valley.
NDER this designation is included all that portion of the state north or northwest of the plateau of the coal region (described a little farther on), including not only the main valley of the Tennessee River but also several narrower valleys almost surrounded by portions of the plateau. This region includes quite a number of rather diverse kinds of country, such as the “barrens” adjacent to the Tennessee line, the fertile plains border- ing the Tennessee River, the chert ridges in the western half, the limestone slopes bordering the plateau, the Lit- tle Mountains of Morgan, Lawrence and Colbert Coun- ties, and Brown’s Valley, a direct continuation of the Se- quatchie Valley of Tennessee, which extends southwest- ward into Blount County. Of these the barrens will be described separately, and the rest treated as a unit. References (for both the Barrens and the Tennessee valley proper). McCalley 1, McCalley 4, Mohr 3 (528- 529), Mohr 8 (21-22, 80-89), Smith 4 (9-18, 20-58), Smith 6 (38-44, 69, 109-119), Smith 7 (217-234, 297, 407-433), Smith 9 (10-11, 77-80, 100-107), Tuomey 1 (65-71), Tuomey 2 (1-24, 30-42).
A. The Barrens. (Figures 1, 2.)
Location, area, and external relations.—This name is applied locally to a strip of country covering about 800 square miles in the northern edge of Lauderdale, Lime- stone and Madison Counties. It is a part of the “High- land Rim” which surrounds the Ordovician (formerly called Lower Silurian) limestone basin of Middle Tennes-
(37)
38 ' ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
see. Besides certain references in the papers of McCal- ley and Smith just cited, the following describe the bar- rens more particularly:—Mohr 8, p. 88, and the gov- ernment soil surveys of Lauderdale County and the “Huntsville area”.
Geology and soils.—The geological formation of the barrens is mainly the Lauderdale or Keokuk chert, of Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian) age, but the re- gion under consideration is not quite coextensive with that formation. In some places, especially toward the Tennessee line, the larger streams have cut down into the underlying Ordovician limestones. The strata, as in most of the country between the Tennessee River and the Great Lakes, are very nearly horizontal throughout. The soil of the barrens is grayish to yellowish in color, more or less loamy in texture, somewhat more siliceous and much less calcareous than the soils of the Tennessee valley proper, and considered infertile in comparison with them, though it is a considerably richer soil than some in the extreme southern parts of the state which have become very popular in recent years.
Topography and hydrography.—The surface of the barrens is level to undulating, with ravines or gorges along some of the streams which have cut down into the older rocks as above described. In some of the more level areas there are shallow ponds, bearing considerable resemblance in their vegetation and otherwise to those in some parts of the coastal plain. Streams are moder- ately well developed.
Climate.—There are no weather stations within this region, but the figures for Madison and Florence, a little farther south, show that the average annual temperature must be about 61°, the length of the growing season about 200 days, and the annual rainfall about 49 inches, most of which occurs in the cooler months.
Forest types.—In the more level areas a few feet dif- ference in elevation makes a considerable difference in the amount of water in the soil, and consequently in the vegetation. The drier places have forests of short-leaf pines (the pines in this region seem to be almost con- fined to Limestone County, though) and various oaks,
1A. BARRENS. 39
much like those of the post-oak flatwoods region to be described later (no. 9); and around the ponds the vege- tation is similar to that of some of the Coosa valley flat- woods (region no 4). There are also considerable areas of creek-bottom forests in the more level portions. The gorges along the larger streams are insignificant in area, and have not yet been studied by the writer. They doubt- less contain some species not listed below, but their per-
centages of abundance cannot be very high. The upland forests are subject to occasional ground- fires, which however seem to do little damage.
LIST OF TREES.
20-22 Pinus Taeda Short-leaf
pine Various habitats 9-7 Pinus echinata Short-leaf
pine Driest soils 1-1 Juniperus Virginiana Cedar 4-2. Hicoria alba? Hickory Dry soils 1-1 Hicoria ovata? |Scaly-bark
hickory 1-1 Salix nigra Willow Along streams 1-1 Carpinus Caroliniana Ironwood Bottoms 1-1 Ostrya Virginiana Richer soils 0-1 Betula nigra Birch Creek banks, etc. 3-4 Fagus grandifolia Beech Creek bottoms, ete. 5-3 Quercus alba White oak Various habitats 6-5 Quercus stellata Post oak Dry soils 2-2 Quercus Michauxii Swamp chest-
nut oak Creek bottoms mostly
12-15 Quercus falcata Red oak Dry soils
3-3 Quercus coccinea iSpanish oak ‘|Dry soils 1-1 Quercus Marylandica /(Black-jack oak!|Dry soils 4-5 Quercus Phellos Willow oak Low grounds 1-1 Ulmus Americana? Elm Creek bottoms, ete. 2-2 Ulmusalata Elm Creek bottoms mostly 6-3 Liriodendron Tulipifera |Poplar Various habitats 8-10 Liquidambar Styraciflua|Sweet gum Various habitats 1-2 Platanus occidentalis ‘Sycamore Creek banks, etc. 3-4 Acer rubrum [Red maple Low grounds 1-1 Nyssa sylvatica ‘Black gum Various habitats
Assuming the above figures to be correct, it appears that about 30% of the trees, comprising only three spe- cies—two pines and a cedar—are evergreen.
Economic features.—The soil of the barrens is so much less fertile than that of the Tennessee valley proper im- mediately to the south, and the limestone basin just
40 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
north, that it has not been in much demand hitherto, and probably 80% of the area is still wooded. The region is being settled up pretty rapidly now though, like many other pine regions in the South. The two pines are probably as abundant there today as they ever were, if not more so; but the amount of white and post oak and hickory must have been considerably diminished to sup- ply the cooperage plants, wagon factories, and other hardwood industries along the Tennessee River.
Cattle seem to have free range in this region, or the greater part of it.
The principal forest products are pine lumber, oak cross-ties, and staves. The large number of cross-ties reported as produced in Lauderdale County in 1912 (see below) must have come partly if not mostly from the barrens. Many white oak logs are shipped to sawmills in other regions or states.
B. Tennessee Valley Proper. (Figures 3-8.)
This embraces an area of about 4,100 square miles in Alabama, and does not extend very far into any of the adjoining states, without changing its character consid- erably. References to literature have been given on page 37.
Geology and soils.—In a strip a few miles wide along the southeastern edge of the region, constituting the Brown’s-Sequatchie Valley anticline, the strata are most- ly Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian, and much folded and faulted, just as in the Coosa valley, to be described later. In the rest of the area the rocks are all Lower Carboniferous, ranging from Lauderdale chert to Ban- gor or Mountain limestone, and lie essentially horizon- tally, as is the case with other Paleozoic strata for many hundred miles northward from Alabama. Interstratified with the Bangor limestone south of the Tennessee River is a sandstone (Hartselle sandstone) varying in thick- ness from almost nothing to over 300 feet, and closely resembling the sandstone of the region next to be de- scribed. Toward the western boundary of the state the
1B. TENNESSEE VALLEY. 41
Paleozoic rocks are overlaid by unconsolidated coastal plain strata, whose boundaries are not easily defined. The soils of the valley are various, but red and calcare- ous clays and loams above the average in fertility pre- dominate in the central portion, with more limestone out- crops eastward and cherty soils westward. Sand is rather scarce.
Topography and hydrography.—Brown’s Valley, which the Tennessee River follows from the northeastern cor- ner of the state to Guntersville, contains several low longitudinal chert ridges. The country bordering the river from about the eastern edge of Morgan County to the western edge of Limestone is a wide base-leveled undulating plain (not a flood-plain, however), in which some of the roads and railroads run straight for miles. Toward its eastern end there are several peaks and small plateaus rising above it, capped by sandstone be- longing to the next region, which protects the underly- ing softer limestone from erosion and to a considerable extent from solution by meteoric waters. A few of the smaller peaks near Huntsville have already lost their sandstone caps, and are therefore much farther on the road to complete obliteration than those which are still capped.
In Lauderdale and Colbert Counties there are many chert ridges and limestone (Tuscumbia or St. Louis limestone) bluffs near the river. The Bangor limestone is almost confined to the steep slopes connecting this val- ley with the sandstone plateau region to be described next, and it is especially noticeable in Jackson County and the eastern part of Madison, where the edges of the plateau have been much dissected by erosion. A promi- nent feature of Morgan, Lawrence and Colbert Counties is the Little Mountains, an escarpment running approxi- mately east and west, with a steep northern slope rising 300 to 500 feet above the main valley (or 900 to 1,000 feet above sea-level), and a gentle southern slope. This escarpment owes its presence to the Hartselle* sandstone above mentioned.
*Misspelled “Hartsells” by the U. S. Post Office Dept.
42 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
On account of the prevalence of limestone in the val- ley, caves, natural bridges, subterranean streams and large limestone springs are rather common. The springs are found in every county; the most noted are those at Huntsville and Tuscumbia.
The Tennessee River, which touches nearly every county in the region, is a large navigable stream, over half a mile wide in some places. Very few accurate measurements of its fluctuations in Alabama are availa- ble, but there are probably places where it rises as much as 50 feet. Its water is very muddy in spring, but green- ish in late fall or whenever it is near its lowest stage, the green color presumably resulting from a mixture of the blue characteristic of limestone streams with yellow clay in suspension. Mussel} Shoals, in Lauderdale, Col- bert and Lawrence Counties, is a noteworthy feature of this great river. There the river falls 85 feet in about 15 miles, over strata of the Lauderdale chert, and is very wide and dotted with numerous islands. Opposite De- catur and at a few other places along the more sluggish portion of the river it is bordered by swamps and sloughs something like those along some coastal plain rivers.
In Brown’s Valley the streams, including the Tennes- see itself, all run lengthwise of the valley, except in Blount County, where they run out of it into the adjoin- ing coal region, as do some of those in the Coosa valley region.
Climate.—Climatic data for the Tennessee valley can be found in the appendix, under the stations Madison, Decatur and Florence. The winters are damp and the summers dry, as a rule, which together with the fluctua- tions of the Tennessee River must cause considerable sea- sonal variations in the ground-water level, and facilitate the natural processes of soil formation.
Forest types.—The forest types of this region are as diversified as the topography. It is difficult to recon- struct in the mind’s eye the original forests of the fertile plain bordering the river, but they must have been large-
+Often misspelled “Muscle.”
1B. TENNESSEE VALLEY. 43
ly of the oak-hickory type. The limestone slopes support a great variety of hardwoods, and these forests have been comparatively little disturbed, because the ground is mostly too steep and rocky for agricultural purposes. The chert ridges, the Little Mountains, and the bottoms, banks and bluffs of the Tennessee River all have their characteristic trees.
Fires are too rare to be of any importance in this re- gion, originally because of the rapid humification of the fallen leaves, and now also because of the discontinuity of the forests.
LIST OF TREES.
T
3-4 Pinus Taeda ‘Short-leaf pine Hartselle sandstone, ete. 1-2 Pinus echinata ‘Short-leaf pine Driest soils 1-2 Pinus Virginiana \Chert ridges mostly 0-0 Taxodium distichum | Cypress ‘Along creeks west |_ of Florence 10-15 Juniperus Virginiana (Cedar ‘Limestone slopes mostly 3-2 Juglans nigra (Black) walnut Richest soils 5-4 Hicoria ovata ‘Scaly bark | hickory ‘Rich woods 2-1 Hicoria alba Hickory Dry woods 1-1 Hicoria glabra Hickory ‘Dry woods 0-0 Hicoria minima Bitternut River banks hickory 2-4 Salix nigra Willow Banks of streams 0-0 Populus deltoides Cottonwood _ River banks 0-0 Carpinus Caroliniana Ironwood Bottoms 0-0 Ostrya Virginiana 1-2 Betula nigra Birch ‘Banks of creeks | and rivers 6-4 Fagus grandifolia Beech Rich woods 2-1 Castanea dentata Chestnut ‘Chert ridges, ete. 4-2 Quercus alba White oak | Various habitats 3-2 Quercus stellata Post oak ‘Dry non-caleareous soils 0-1 Quercus Prinus \Chestnut oak |Non-calcareous ridges 2-3 Quercus Muhlenbergii Calcareous soils 0-1 Quercus Michauxii ‘Swamp chest- | nut oak Bottoms 4-4 Quercus falcata /Red oak |Dry soils 0-0 Quercus velutina Non-calcareous ridges 0-0 Quercus rubra 1-0 Quercus coccinea ‘Spanishoak Dry soils 2-2 Quercus Schneckii |\Calcareous soils : 1-1 Quercus Marylandica —Black-jack oak Driest soils 2-2 Quercus nigra Water oak Low grounds 2-3 Quercus Phellos Willow oak ~— Flatwoods and bottoms 3-2 Ulmus Americana Elm Rich soils
di ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
3-2 Ulmusalata |Elm Flatwoods, ete.
1-0 Ulmus fulva \Shppery elm _ | Richest soils
0-0 Planera aquatica River banks below Florence
2-2 Celtis occidentalis Hackberry River-banks, ete.
1-0 Morus rubra Mulberry Rich soils
3-2 Liriodendron Tulipifera |Poplar Various habitats
2-1 Sassafras variifolum Sassafras
6-5 Liquidambar Styraciflua Sweet gum Various habitats
3-4 Platanus occidentalis Sycamore Banks of streams
0-0 Amelanchier sp. Service-berry
0-0 Crataegus viridis (Red) haw Bottoms
0-0 Prunus Americana Wild plum Rich soils
0-0 Prunus umbellata Hog plum, sloe
1-0 Prunus serotina Wild cherry
1-1 Cercis Canadensis Redbud Calcareous soils mostly
0-1 Gleditschia triacanthos |Honey locust |Calcareous soils mostly
1-0 Robinia Pseudacacia Black locust | Mountain slopes mostly
0-1 Cotinus Americanus Chittamwood | Limestone slopes only
0-0 Ilex opaca Holly
0-0 Acer Saccharum? Sugar maple |Rich woods
1-2 Acer saccharinum Silver maple ‘Muddy river banks
2-3 Acer rubrum Red maple Along smallest streams, ete.
0-1 Acer Negundo River-banks, etc.
1-0 Aesculus octandra Buckeye Richest soils
1-0 Tilia sp. Basswood, lin Rich woods
2-2 Cornus florida Dogwood Dry woods
2-2 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum Poorer soils mostly
0-1 Nyssa uniflora Tupelo gum sa a near Tennessee
iver
0-0 Oxydendronarboreum |Sourwood Non-caleareous ridges
0-0 Bumelialycioides . Limestone outcrops, etc.
0-1 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon Various habitats
0-0 MHalesia Carolina
3-1 Fraxinus Americana Ash Rich soils
0-0 Viburnum rufidulum Black haw Dry woods
A noteworthy feature of this list is the large number of trees in it which have durable dark-colored heart- wood. Among them are the cedar, walnut, mulberry, sassafras, cherry, redbud, black locust and chittamwood, and several others show the same character in lesser degree. The last-named (Cotinus Americanus, also known as Rhus cotinoides) is one of the rarest small trees in the United States, and is not known in any other part of Alabama. It has been found at several different places in this region, but all within a few miles of the Huntsville meridian. The honey locust (Gleditschia)
1B. TENNESSEE VALLEY. 45
does not seem to be indigenous in any other part of the state, though it grows along roadsides, in pastures, etc., in several other regions.
This is one of the few divisions of Alabama which has no long-leaf pine and apparently no species of Magnolia. Evergreens are scarcer here than in any other region, with one exception, having constituted only about 16% of the original forests if the above figures are correct. Most of the evergreens are of a single species, the cedar, which although it is being cut more than any other tree in the region, is relatively more abundant now than it was originally, because it is chiefly confined to rocky slopes unsuited to agriculture. (The vast forests which have disappeared from the more level and easily tilled areas presumably consisted almost entirely of deciduous trees.)
Population, percentage of woodland, ete.—In 1910 the density of population in the Tennessee valley proper was about 53 persons to the square mile, an increase of 11% since 1900. This comparatively small increase is char- acteristic of many other parts of the United States where agriculture is the dominant industry and where the den- sity of population has already passed 40 per square mile. About two-thirds of the inhabitants are white. Probably not more than 40% of the area is at present wooded, and the remaining forest is chiefly confined to rocky slopes and wet bottoms, which would be difficult to cultivate. There is little or no free range for cattle.
Forest products.—The Tennessee valley is pre-emi- nently the hardwood region of the state (as already indi- cated by the small percentage of evergreens), and it still supports a great variety of wood-manufacturing indus- tries. About 10% of the manufacturers listed by Harris and Maxwell in their paper on the wood-using industries of Alabama are located in this region. The principal forest products, in approximate order of total value, seem to be as follows:
Cedar posts, poles, and pencil-wood. : Cooperage stock of various kinds, both tight and slack. Cross-ties from various species of oak.
Crates and baskets.
46 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
Spokes, handles, hubs.
Wagons, furniture.
Columns and pump-logs. Shingles.
Boats.
Shuttles.
Hickory fiber for street brooms. Locust pins.
Sporting goods.
Charcoal (less now than formerly). Butter trays.
Walnuts and hickory nuts. Medicine from barks, roots, etc. Sassafras oil.
The Southern Lumberman’s directory lists 48 sawmills from this region, with an average capacity of 9,250 feet a day, and 19 other wood-working establishments. This is a larger number of mills in proportion to the remain- ing area of fores than any other region has. The two largest mills in the region have a daily capacity of 30,000 feet each. One of these, at Falkville, operates 614 miles of tram-road, or logging railroad.
These mills cut a greater variety of timber than those of any other division of the state, too. Five of them claim to cut long-leaf pine and two white pine, but the supposed long-leaf pine is probably mostly Pinus Taeda and the white perhaps P. Virginiana. Eighteen mills. cut short-leaf pine, 9 cedar, 7 walnut, 24 hickory, 2 birch, 13 beech, 9 chestnut, 38 white oak, 40 red oak (these names doubtless cover several species of oak, as ex- plained on page 33), 12 elm, 3 hackberry, 3 cucumber (probably obtained from some region farther south), 34 poplar, 16 “red” (sweet) gum, 7 sycamore, 5 cherry, 6. basswood (lin), 5 maple, 4 tupelo gum, and 23 ash, not to mention several other woods reported by only one mill each. No statistics of the relative amount of each of these woods cut in the region are available, but for most of them some figures covering the whole state can be found in Appendix E.
Pencil-wood mills are located in Jackson County and the eastern part of Madison, where the cedar seems most abundant at present, and at Decatur, and much of their product is shipped to England and Germany for the use of the well-known pencil-makers there. A news item
2A. PLATEAU REGION. 47
sent out from Florence to the state newspapers on Oct. 26, 1912, stated that the river bank was lined with white oak and red oak cross-ties from there to the west end of the county, and the value of the year’s output from that county alone was estimated at $125,000 (which would mean enough for over 100 miles of railroad). De- catur seems to be the greatest center of hardwood manu- factures in the state, in proportion to population at least. Quite a number of wood-working industries are located also at Bridgeport, Huntsville, Florence and Sheffield.
2. The Coal Region.
This includes all those parts of the state where the country rock is Coal Measures (Carboniferous proper, or Pennsylvanian). It can be divided for convenience, though not very sharply, into two subdivisions, the plateau region and the basin region. The line of separa- tion between them corresponds approximately with the northern boundary of Walker and Jefferson Counties.
A. The Plateau Region. (Figures 9-13.)
This sub-region includes all the Coal Measures north of the Tennessee River (i. e., the spurs of the Cumber- land Mountains in Madison and Jackson Counties), the main body of similar rocks down to the line named in the preceding paragraph, commonly called Sand Mountain, and two isolated plateaus a little farther east, Chandler Mountain and Lookout Mountain. It is a continuation of the Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky, East Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, and covers about 3,100 square miles in Alabama.
References.—Harbison, Harper 2, Harper 3, McCalley 2 (5, 16-40, 52-75, 81-96), McCalley 3 (15-218), Mohr 5 (89, 110), Mohr 6 (95, 118), Mohr 7, Mohr 8 (20, 69-80), Smith 4 (59-60, 97-104), Smith 6 (36, 37, 68-69, 103-106, 108-110, 120), Smith 7 (213-214, 217, 296, 390-398, 404- 411, 438), Smith 9 (9-10), Toumey 2 (160-161).
48 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
Geology and soils.—The geology is very simple, the rocks being of the lowest Coal Measures, nearly all sand- stone (a little shale), and the strata very little dis- turbed by faults, folds, or tilting. Toward the western edge the Coal Measures dip beneath the unconsolidated formations of the coastal plain so gradually as to make the boundary between the two on the surface very in- tricate, as explained in the introductory part of this re- port (page 21). The soil is nearly all sandy loam, de- rived from sandstone by weathering, and its prevailing color is yellowish gray or pale buff. It is rather defi- cient in lime and phosphorus, but pretty well supplied with other elements of fertility, and has the advantage of being easily tilled, and responding readily to fertili- zation.
Topography and hydrography.—The greater part of the plateau stands pretty high—in some places nearly 1,000 feet—above the valleys on either side of it (hav- ing a maximum elevation in Alabama of about 1,800 feet above sea-level), but its topography is of the kind called immature by geomorphologists. The smaller streams have not yet excavated their valleys much, while the larger ones, especially toward the edges of the plateau, have cut deep narrow rocky gorges, making some of the most picturesque scenery imaginable, for a country that can hardly be called mountainous. With very few ex- ceptions the streams of this region originate on the plateau and flow off into the surrounding valley regions and coastal plain, and they are mostly small, swift, clear, and not subject to much fluctuation.
In Winston and Marion Counties and to some extent in those adjoining there are many examples of a pecu- liar type of topography known as “rock-houses.”* As one ascends a ravine he will often find at its head a mas- sive overhanging ledge of sandstone with its upper edge horizontal and either straight or concave. A _ small stream usually tumbles over the ledge in wet weather, while at all seasons there is likely to be water dripping
*For additional descriptions of this sort of topographic feature see McCalley 2 (17-18, 54), Smith 4 (98-99), Smith 6 (108), Smith 7 (405), and Mohr 8 (75-76).
2A. PLATEAU REGION. 49
from crevices on its under side, and often a few small springs at its base as well. Some of the ledges overhang so far that part of the roof of the “house” back of the edge has become loosened by the action of water on joint- planes and fallen in, leaving the outer edge as a natural bridge. A beautiful example of this can be seen near Natural Bridge station in Winston County. The bridge there has a span of about 80 feet and a width of about 20, and is of very graceful proportions, being a very flat arch with a thickness of only three or four feet in the middle. (See figure 10.)
Climate.—None of the present weather stations with- in this region have been established long enough to give accurate climatic data, but the climate of the plateau probably does not differ much from that ef the Tennes- see valley, in average annual temperature at least. On account of its elevated position it may be a little more exempt from early and late frosts, and thus have a slightly longer growing season.
Forest types.—The principal forest type of the plateau region is the dry oak and pine woods of the compara- tively level loamy uplands. Much more limited in ex- tent, but perhaps equally rich in species, are the richer woods of ravines and bluffs, sufficiently protected from fire and evaporation for the growth of beech, sweet gum, poplar, etc., and the swamps and banks of creeks and branches. Fire is moderately frequent in the level open woods, especially in the limited areas where long-leaf pine grows.
LIST OF TREES.
-1 Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine ‘Poorest soils
1 12-16 Pinus Taeda Short-leaf pine [ener ally distrib- or swamp pine | uted 8-10 Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine |Driest soils -3-4 Pinus Virginiana Cliff pine Rocky places 1-1 Tsuga Canadensis Spruce pineor | hemlock Ravines 1-1 Juniperus Virginiana Cedar ‘Rocky places 0-0 Hicoria ovata Scaly-bark | hickory Richer soils 3-2 Hicoria alba Hickory Dry woods 2-1 Hicoria glabra (Pignut) hick- | Me TOLY, Dry woods
5e ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
|
Salix nigra Willow Along creeks
0-1 0-1 Carpinus Caroliniana Ironwood Along creeks mostly 0-0 Ostrya Virginiana Ravines and bluffs 0-0 Betula nigra Birch Along creeks 0-0 Betula lenta |Birch Exposed cliffs 3-3 Fagus grandifolia Beech Richer soils 4-2 Castanea dentata Chestnut Dry woods 0-0 Castanea pumila Chinquapin Dry woods 6-4 Quercus alba White oak Richer soils 7-5 Quercus stellata Post oak Dry woods 4-4 Quercus Prinus Chestnut oak _ | Dry or rocky places 2-4 Quercus falcata Red oak Dry woods 3-3 Quercus velutina ‘Black oak Dry woods 1-1 Quercus rubra 3-3 Quercus coccinea Spanish oak Dry woods 2-3 Quercus Marylandica \Black-jack oak | Driest soils 0-1 Quercus nigra Water oak Along creeks mostly 1-1 Magnolia glauca Bay Along branches 0-0 Magnolia tripetala Cucumber tree | Ravines 1-1 Magnolia macrophylla (Cucumber tree |Ravines , 6-4 Liriodendron Tulipifera |Poplar phase distrib- ute 0-0 Sassafras variifolium (Sassafras 3-4 Liquidambar Styraciflua |Sweet gum Richer soils 0-1 Platanus occidentalis Sycamore Along creeks 0-0 Amelanchier sp. Service-berry 0-0 Malus angustifolia Crab-apple 0-0 Cercis Canadensis Redbud 2-1 Robinia Pseudacacia Black locust Bluffs mostly 2-2 Ilex opaca Holly Ravines, ete. 0-0 Acer Jeucoderme ‘Sugar maple 4-5 Acer rubrum Red maple Along branches mostly 0-0 Tilia sp. ~ Lin, basswood | Richer soils 4-4 Cornus florida Dogwood Dry woods * 8-2 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum Various habitats 0-0 Nyssa biflora? Black gum Along branches 2-2 Oxydendronarboreum |Sourwood Various habitats 0-0 Halesia Carolina Rich woods 1-1 Symplocos tinctoria Sweet-leaf Ravines, ete. 0-0 Viburnum rufidulum Black haw
There is a marked difference between this list of trees and that for the Tennessee valley, especially when the percentages of abundance are taken into consideration. It is interesting to note that some of the trees that grow on the poorest soils in the valley are common on the plateau, and some of those common in the valley are con- fined to the richest soils on the plateau, all of which is
2A. PLATEAU REGION. 51
easily explained. About 29% of the trees in the primeval forests of the plateau were evergreen. Be- sides the conifers (the first six species on the list) the other evergreens are the bay and holly. The water-oak and sweet-leaf are semi-evergreens.
Population, amount of woodland, ete—In 1910 the plateau region had about 30 inhabitants to the square -mile, an increase of about 37% in ten years. This re- gion has by far the largest proportion of white people of any part of the state, namely, about 98%.
About 75% of the area-is estimated to be still wooded, _and consequently open range for stock is the rule in most parts. Now that the richer soils of the neighboring valleys are nearly all occupied by farmers the once de- spised sandy lands of the plateau are being utilized more and more, and for the last quarter of a century or so the agricultural population has ‘been increasing here more rapidly than in any other equal area in northern Alabama. (The greater percentages of increase shown by some counties a little farther south are due more to mining and manufacturing than to farming.)
All the commoner trees have probably suffered about equally from farming and lumbering operations, but some of the pines have spread considerably in aban- doned clearings, and thus increased in relative abun- dance. Before there was much farming done in this re- gion large areas are said to have been denuded of their best timber to make charcoal for the iron furnaces in the valleys, but that practice is now on the wane, coke hbe- ing used much more than charcoal. A great deal of tim- ber has been consumed also for props in the numerous coal mines in the region, and of course for cross-ties on the railroads.
No navigable river traverses this region, but the Ten- nessee approaches it closely in Jackson and Marshall Counties, and furnishes an outlet for some of its prod- ucts. Railroads are not very numerous as yet, largely because the abrupt edges of the plateau are too difficult for them to climb in many places. Some points in the region are at present 20 miles from a railroad.
The principal forest products seem to be as follows:
52 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
Short-leaf pine lumber.
Post-oak and chestnut cross-ties. Fuel and charcoal.
Chestnut poles and posts.
Mine timbers.
Staves, handles, furniture. Chestnut oak tanbark.
Chestnut wood for tanning extract. Chestnuts and hickory nuts.
The Southern Lumberman lists 21 sawmills from this region, with an average daily capacity of 6,300 feet. The largest cuts only 15,000 feet a day. With over 7% of the total standing timber of the state, the plateau region seems to be producing only a little over 1% of the state’s preset output of lumber. Even if the enumeration is in- complete, with the possible exception of two regions less than 1,000 square miles in extent, this one seems to have the fewest mills in proportion to the amount of wood- land, the smallest average capacity per mill, and the smallest total output in proportion to the area and the number of inhabitants. All this is probably due mainly to the topography, which hinders the building of rail- roads. Evidently this region contains a large reserve supply of timber for future use.
Five of the mills claim to cut long-leaf pine, but this may be an exaggeration, as was intimated in the case of the Tennessee valley. Ten of them cut short-leaf pine (which includes two or three species), 5 hickory, 2 beech, 2 chestnut, 13 white oak, 11 red oak, 11 poplar, and 2 sweet gum.
B. The basin region. (Figures 14, 15.)
This includes the remainder of the Alabama coal fields, comprising the Warrior field proper and the Ca- haba and Coosa coal fields a little to the southeast of it. The area thus defined covers about 3,300 square miles. It has no exact counterpart in nay adjoining state, but a good deal of the coal region of Pennsylvania and West Virginia has very similar topography.
2B. BASIN REGION. 53
References.—Harper 1, McCalley 2 (5-6, 109-124, 128- 542), McCalley 3 (218-225), Mohr 8 (20, 90-93), Smith 4 (60-95, 105-109), Smith 6 (386-37, 106-108, 123), Smith 7 (212, 214-215, 399-404, 445-448), Tuomey 1 (81-93).
Geology and soils.—The sandstones of the plateau just described dip southwestward, and. in the basin region are covered deeply in most places with newer strata, still be- longing to the Coal Measures. Although some pretty thick beds of sandstone are found in the basin, the rocks are as a rule shaly; and there are also a few thin beds of limestone and of iron ore, according to McCalley, as well as many coal seams of varying thickness. In a few places near the southeastern edge of the Warrior basin and in the Cahaba and Coosa fields the strata are con- siderably crumpled and faulted, but elsewhere they are nearly horizontal.
No analyses of soils in the basin region seem to be available, but they are more clayey as a rule than those of the plateau, though perhaps not any more fertile, on the uplands at least. Agricultural operations are chiefly confined to bottom-lands.
Topography and hydrography.—Erosion has _ pro- gressed much farther here than in the plateau region, partly because the rocks are softer, and perhaps also for other reasons, and the topography is what would be called mature, or even old in some parts. There is little level land on the uplands, and many of the creeks flow through rather wide flat-bottomed valleys bordered by bluffs. The railroads and settlements are mostly in the valleys, instead of on the uplands as they are in the plateau region. There are few steep bare cliffs in the basin region, the bluffs formed by erosion being mostly well rounded in outline, and densely wooded. Waterfalls and natural bridges are scarce. The smallest streams usually head in rich ravines which are dry a large part of the time. There are no big springs or subterranean streams. The smaller creeks dry up in summer, and the larger ones and the rivers are usually somewhat turbid, and have considerable seasonal fluctuation. A few have their sources in limestone valleys belonging to the next
a4 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
region, and when the water is low enough the influence of the limestone in such streams is perceptible.*
Climate.—Judging from the records for Cordova, which is pretty centrally located in the basin region, the average temperature is about 61°, the rainfall 53 inches, and the summers a little drier than the winters. The au- tumn months are the driest, as in most other parts of the eastern United States.
Forest types.—The forest types can be correlated pret- ty closely with the topography. There are dry oak and pine woods on the uplands or ridges, dense thickets of cliff pine on the brows of many of the bluffs, a consid- erable variety of trees on the lower slopes of the same bluffs and in ravines, and still other kinds in the valley bottoms and on the banks of rivers.
In the northeastern half of Walker County, and ex- tending a short distance into Winston and Jefferson, there is, or has been, a splendid long-leaf pine forest cov- ering part of several townships, remarkably similar in appearance to some of the open pine forests within 100 ~ miles of the coast. (See figure 14.)+ Although not very far from the coastal plain, its presence does not seem to be correlated with any outlying patch of coastal plain deposits, for the soil is apparently nothing but a resi- dual sandy loam derived from the Coal Measures, and does not differ materially from that of the plateau region.
On the shale bluffs of the Warrior River in Tuscaloosa County one finds a remarkable number of trees and shrubs belonging to species that are commonly supposed to be lime-loving; but a recent analysis of a typical speci- men of the rock showed only 0.42% of lime (computed as CaO). The percentage of potash (K,O) was much higher, 3.95%, and may possibly be the significant fac- tor in this case.
Fire is less frequent in the basin than on the plateau, no doubt chiefly on account of the more broken topo-
*On Oct. 16, 1911, the Locust Fork of the Warrior River near Palos, Jefferson Co., looked as blue as the outlet of a large lime- stone spring.
+For additional information about this isolated area of long-leaf pine see McCalley 2 (58, 129), Mohr 5 or 6 (42), Mohr 8 (91), Smith 6 (108), Smith 7 (404); especially the first-named.
—
2B. BASIN REGION. 55
graphy, which limits the spread of fire. This is pretty well illustrated by the manner of growth of the cliff pine, a thin-barked tree very sensitive to fire. As stated above, it forms thickets on the brows of bluffs. Fire rarely originates in the bottoms and travels up the bluffs, and a forest fire starting on the unland and com- ing to the top of a bluff would run down hill very slowly, if at all.
LIST OF TREES.
|
Pinus palustris ‘Long-leaf pine | Poorest soils
5-4 5-20 Pinus Taeda |Short-leaf pine Nearly everywhere 6-6 Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine Dry uplands 5-7 Pinus Virginiana Cliff pine Dry blvffs 1-1 Juniperus Virginiana Cedar 'Dry cliffs 0-0 Juglans nigra Black walnut Rich soils 2-1 Hicoria alba | Hickory Dry woods 1-1 Hicoria glabra |(Pignut)
hickory Dry woods 1-2 Salix nigra ‘Willow Creek banks, ete. 1-1 Carpinus Caroliniana _Ironwood Bottoms mostly 2-1 Ostrya Virginiana Bluffs, ete. 1-1 Betula nigra Birch Along creeks and rivers 6-5 Fagus grandifolia ‘Beech Ravines and bluffs 0-0 Castanea dentata ‘Chestnut 5-4 Quercus alba White oak Various habitats 4-3 Quercus stellata Post oak Dry soils 0-0 Quercus Durandii Bluffs on Warrior River 2-2 Quercus Prinus Chestnut oak Dry bluffs, ete. 1-1 Quercus Mvhlenbergii Bluffs near Warrior Riv 2-1 Quercus Michauxii Swamp chest-
nut oak Bottoms, ete. 3-4 Quercus falcata Red oak Dry soils 1-1 Quercus velutina Black oak Dry soils 0-0 Quercus rubra | Ravines, ete. 1-1 Quercus coccinea Spanish oak Dry woods 2-2 Quercus Marylandica Black-jack oak) Driest soils 0-0 Quercus cinerea Poorest soils 2-2 Quercus nigra Water oak Low grounds mostly 0-0 Quercus laurifolia | Along Warrior Riv.,etc. 1-1 Quercus Phellos Willow oak Bottoms, ete. 0-0 Ulmus Americana Elm Bottoms, etc. 1-1 Ulmusalata Elm Bluffs, ete. 0-0 Ulmus fulva \Shppery elm _ | Richest soils 0-0 Ulmus serotina Elm Rich bluffs 0-0 Celtis occidentalis Hackberry River-banks 1-1 Morus rubra ‘Mulberry Bottoms and bluffs 1-1 Magnolia glauca Bay Along branches 0-0 Magnoliaacuminata {Cucumber tree} Ravines and bluffs 1-1 Magnolia macrophylla |Cucumber tree|Ravines and bluffs 4-3 Liriodendron Tulipifera!Poplar Ravines mostly
56 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA,
7 LIST OF TREES—Continued. 0-0 Asimina triloba Pawpaw Rich bottoms 0-0 Sassafas variifolium Sassafras 3-4 Liquidambar Styraciflua|Sweet gum | Widely distributed 1-2 Platanus occidentalis Sycamore Along creeks and rivers 0-0 Amelanchier Canadensis|Service berry | Bluffs, etc. 0-0 Crataegus spathulata |Haw Dry woods 0-0 Prunus Americana Wild plum Rich woods 0-0 Prunus serotina Wild cherry |Ravines, etc. 0-0 Prunus Caroliniana Mock orange | Ravines, Tuscaloosa Co. 0-0 Cercis Canadensis Redbud Rich woods 0-0 Cladrastis lutea . |Yellow-wood |Bluffs on Warrior River 1-1 Ilex opaca Holly Ravines, ete. 0-0 Ilex decidua Bottoms. 0-0 Acer Saccharum? Sugar maple /Ravines and bluffs 1-1 Acer leucoderme Sugar maple |Ravines and bluffs 3-4 Acer rubrum Red maple Along branches 0-0 Acer Negundo River banks, ete. 1-1 Tilia heterophylla? Lin, basswood Rich woods 3-3 Cornus florida Dogwood Dry woods 2-1 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum ___| Various habitats 0-0 Nyssa biflora Black gum Along branches 1-1 Oxydendronarboreum |Sourwood Bluffs, etc. 0-0 Bumelia lycioides Bluffs of Warrior River 0-0 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon __|Old fields mostly 2-1 Fraxinus Americana Ash Rich woods 0-0 Fraxinus quadrangulata|Ash Bluffs of Warrior River 1-1 Black haw __ |Bluffs, etc.
Viburnum rufidulum
About 34% of the trees in the original forests seem to have been evergreen. There are represented here fifteen species of oak, which together make up nearly one- fourth of the forest growth.
Population, amount of woodland, etc.—The coal basin region had in 1910 about 40 inhabitants to the square mile, an increase of 38% since 1900. About 70% of them are white. But there are probably nearly as many min- ers as farmers in the region,* and about 80% of the
*In Walker and Jefferson Counties, excluding the cities of Birm- ingham and Bessemer (which are in the Coosa valley region and probably number very few coal miners among their citizens) there were in 1910, according to the census, 33,095 adult male inhabit- ants. The number of men employed in or around coal mines in the same two counties, according to reports of the state mine in- spector, was 14,443 in 1909 and 15,168 in 1911. Even if some of © the miners are not adults, if the merchants, railroad men, iron miners, etc., were deducted from the total adult male population it would doubtless leave the farmers less numerous than coal min- ers in the areas named.
2B. BASIN REGION. 57
area seems to be still wooded. Cattle have open range in all or nearly all the counties. The bottom-land trees have suffered most from agricultural operations, as al- ready indicated, in which this region differs from most other parts of the state.
None of the rivers are naturally navigable, but the Warrior is being gradually made so by the construction of locks. The region is fairly well supplied with rail- roads.
Forest products.—The Southern Lumberman lists 21 sawmills from this region, with an average capacity of 12,900 feet a day. Thirteen of these mills claim to cut long-leaf pine, 14 short-leaf, 2 white pine (Pinus Virgin- iana?), 11 white oak, 9 red oak, and 9 poplar. The long- leaf pine mills are mostly in Walker and Tuscaloosa Counties. The largest one, which is at Manchester, Walker County, operates 15 miles of railroad and can saw 60,000 feet of lumber a day. The relatively small development of the lumber industry in this well-wooded region is doubtless due partly to the topography, but perhaps also to the fact that coal mining is the greatest industry, and much timber is used for mine props, etc., without going through a sawmill. A good deal has also been consumed in the form of charcoal for the iron fur- naces in neighboring regions.
Other forest products besides lumber are post oak cross-ties, white oak cooperage stock, and naval stores (i. e., rosin and turpentine, from long-leaf pine), the last not being made farther north than Tuscaloosa County.
58 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
3. Coosa (Appalachian) Valley Region. (Figures 16-18.)
This is the southwestern end of the great Appalachian valley, which lies between the coal region and the Blue Ridge and is over 1,000 miles long, the other end of it be- ing in Pennsylvania. In Alabama it comprises the vai- ley of the Coosa River from the Georgia line to the north- ern border of Chilton County, and several narrower val- leys of similar geological formation lying a little to the northwestward and parallel to it, such as Wills’s, Mur- phree’s, Roup’s, Jones’s, Shades and Cahaba; in all about 4,000 square miles.
References.—McCalley 5, Mohr 3 (529), Mohr 5 or 6 (41-42), Mohr 8 (21, 67-68), Smith 2 (83-188), Smith 3 (9-39), Smith 6 (27-35, 95-102, 105-107), Smith 7 (190- 210, 368-389, 396-402), Smith 9 (7-9, 71-77, 81-87), Tuomey 1 (8-29), Tuomey 2 (27-29, 79-93).
Geology and soils.—The rocks of the Coosa valley re- gion are mostly Cambrian, Ordovician and _ Silurian. Strips of Devonian and Lower Carboniferous, mostly too narrow to show on a state map, crop out along the edges of the coal region. The strata are nearly everywhere folded and faulted in a complex manner, but with a gen- eral northeast-southwest strike, as already noticed in Brown’s Valley. The soils are very diverse in color, tex- ture and fertility. The principal varieties are residual gray, yellow and red clay, shale and chert. The Upper Silurian sandstone ridges, such as Red Mountain, have thin sandy soils much like those of the plateau region already described, but deep beds of sand are rare or wanting, as in the Tennessee valley. There are many limestone outcrops of various ages in the valleys and on mountain slopes. Some of the streams are bordered by more or less alluvial soil.
Topography and hydrography.—The topography is about as varied as the geology, and closely correlated with it. A prominent feature of this region, as of the whole Appalachian valley, is long parallel ridges with broad base-leveled valleys between them; a decidedly ma-
3. COOSA VALLEY REGION. 59
ture topography. Streams are pretty numerous, but many of the smaller ones now run through cultivated ‘fields, where they have eroded their channels several feet below the general level as a result of the lowering of the ground-water level by deforestation, and they are also dry part of the time. The larger ones become muddy and rise several to many feet in the rainy season (winter and spring). The Coosa River, as far down as the point where it leaves Etowah County and becomes a county boundary, is a sluggish navigable stream with very sin- uous meanders, rising and falling about 25 feet during an average year. Below that point it is shallower, - swifter, and straighter, and not naturally navigable, but navigation has been extended down it some distance by means of locks.
Large springs, caves and YY eemae streams are much less frequent in the Coosa valley than in that of the Tennessee, but small springs are common. Swamps are almost unknown. In the narrower side valleys, ex- cept Wills’s, the streams do not run lengthwise of them for any considerable distance, but soon turn aside into the coal regions, which in many places are actually lower, beyond their elevated rims, than the valleys. In Wills’s Valley the size of the streams is limited in an- other way. The divide between the Tennessee and Coosa Rivers crosses this valley near Valley Head, and it is only about 50 miles from there to the south end of the valley; too short a distance to form a river.
Climate.—Records from two weather stations in this region, Gadsden and Talladega, will be found in the sub- ‘joined table. The average temperature is about 63°, and the growing season about 210 days. The summer and fall are rather dry, as in the Tennessee valley.
Forest types.—These are closely connected with the topography and soil, and are too numerous to be de- scribed in detail here. Near the Coosa River all the way through the region the chert ridges and even some of the more level areas were originally covered with splen- did forests of long-leaf pine, intermingled with various oaks and a small proportion of short-leaf pine. The veg- etation of the sandstone ridges is somewhat similar, ex-
60 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
cept that the proportion of long-leaf pine is less. Hard- woods prevail in the narrower valleys, especially in the flatwoods near the southwestern end of Jones’s Valley, in Jefferson County. Still other types of forest clothe the mountain slopes and ravines, or follow the banks of streams.
Fire is frequent in the long-leaf pine forests, less so elsewhere, especially in the flatwoods and bottoms, where it is rare or unknown.
LIST OF TREES.
10-8 Pinus palustris 'Long-leaf pine |Poorest soils 15-20 Pinus Taeda ‘Short-leaf pine | Nearly everywhere
7-6 Pinus echinata ‘Short-leaf pine |Dry soils 2-2 Pinus Virginiana Rocky hills 4-2. Juniperus Virginiana Cedar Limestone outcrops
mostly 1-0 Juglans nigra ‘Black walnut __|Rich soils 1-1 Hicoria ovata Scaly-bark
hickory Flatwoods, etc.
2-1 Hicoria alba ‘Hickory Dry woods 1-1 Hicoria glabra (Pignut) hick-
| ory Dry woods 0-0 Hicoria microcarpa? Hickory Chert ridges 1-2 Salix nigra Willow Banks of streams 0-0 Populus deltoides Cottonwood River-banks 1-1 Carpinus Caroliniana Ironwood Near streams 1-1 Ostrya Virginiana he Rich woods 0-1 Betula nigra ‘Birch Along creeks and
| rivers 2-2 Fagus grandifolia ‘Beech Rich woods 2-1 Castanea dentata Chestnut Ridges mostly 5-3 Quercus alba White oak Various habitats 6-4 Quercus stellata Post oak Dry soils 0-0 Quercus lyrata Bottoms 1-1 Quercus Prinus Chestnut oak Rocky ridges 3 0-0 Quercus Muhlenbergii Calcareous soils 1-1 Quercus Michauxii Swamp-chest-
nut oak Bottoms 3-4 Quercus falcata Red oak Dry soils 0-0 Quercus pagodaefolia Flatwoods and bot- toms
0-0 Quercus velutina Black oak Dry soils 0-0 Quercus rubra 0-0 Quercus Schneckii Flatwoods 1-1 Quercus coccinea Spanish oak Dry woods 3-4 Quercus Marylandica Black-jack oak |Driest soils 2-3 Quercus nigra Water oak Low grounds 0-0 Quercus laurifolia 3-3 Quercus Phellos Willow oak Flatwoods, ete.
38. COOSA VALLEY REGION. 61
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
0-0 Ulmus Americana Elm Low grounds
2-2 Ulmus alata Elm Flatwoods, etc.
0-0 Ulmus fulva Slippery elm Caleareous soils
0-0 Celtis occidentalis Hackberry Banks of streams
1-0 Morus rubra Mulberry ' |Rich soils
1-1 Magnolia glauca Bay Along branches
0-0 Magnolia macrophylla |Cucumber tree /|Bluffs, etc.
4-3 Liriodendron Tulipifera |Poplar Various habitats
0-0 Asimina triloba Pawpaw Bottoms
1-1 Sassafras variifolium Sassafras
4-6 Liquidambar Styraciflua |Sweet gum Various habitats
1-2 Platanus occidentalis Sycamore Banks of streams
0-0 Malus angustifolia Crab-apple Flatwoods, ete.
0-0 Crataegus spathulata Haw Dry woods
0-0 Crataegus viridis Haw |Bottoms
0-0 Prunus Americana | Wald plum ‘Caleareous soils
1-1 Cercis Cabadensis Redbud |Caleareous soils mostly
0-0 Ilex epaca Holly
0-0 Acer Saccharum ? Sugar maple Rich soils
0-0 Acer Floridanum ? Sugar maple Creek bottoms
0-0 Acer leucoderme Sugar maple Bluffs, ete.
1-0 Acer saccharinum Silver maple ee of Coosa
iver
2-3 Acer rubrum Red maple Along branches
1-1 Acer Negundo Box elder Along creeks and rivers
0-0 Tilia heterophylla? Lin Rich woods
3-3 Cornus florida Dogwood Dry woods
1-1 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum ~ {Various habitats
0-0 Nyssa biflora Black gum Talladega County
0-0 Nyssa uniflora Tupelo gum Sloughs, Shelby Co.
0-0 Oxydendronarboreum |Sourwood Bluffs, etc.
0-0 Bumelia lycioides Limestone outcrops
0-1 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon Various habitats
1-0 Fraxinus Americana Ash Rich soils
0-0 Catalpa bignonioides Catalpa River banks
0-0 Viburnum rufidulum Black haw Dry woods
Evergreens seem to have made up about 40% of the original forests.
Population, ete.—Leaving out of consideration Jeffer- son County, which contains the largest city in the state, Birmingham, which draws its trade from hundreds of miles in every direction, and does not depend on the Coosa valley alone for its wealth, the density of popula- tion in this region was about 54 to the square mile in 1910. Nearly three-fourths of the inhabitants are white.
62 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
Agriculture alone, the way it is practised in America at the present time, would not support such a dense popu- lation; and many if not most of the people make their liv- ing from mining, manufacturing and commerce. Ap- parently a little over half, perhaps as much as 60%, of the region is still wooded, but the stock law prevails now over much of the area, particularly in Talladega County, which seems to have the largest proportion of land un- der cultivation.
Forest products.—This region contains more large towns and cities in proportion to its area perhaps than any other part of the state, and wood-manufacturing in- dustries are numerous and varied for this reason, if for no other. Of the industries listed by Harris and Max- well for Alabama about 20% are located in this region. Nearly half of these, however, are in Birmingham, and very likely much of their raw material is brought in from other regions and even from other states by the numerous railroads centering there.
The Southern Lumberman’s directory mentions 69 sawmills located in this region (which is 11.7% of the number in the whole state, and a larger number ‘in pro- portion to the amount of woodland than in any other re- gion except the Tennessee Valley), with an average ca- pacity of 12,070 feet a day. The five largest mills cut from 20,000 to 60,000 feet a day, and average four miles of tram-road apiece. The secondary weod-working in- dustries are even more highly developed than in the Ten- nessee valley, 23 such establishments being enumerated in the same publication. In variety of wood consumed the Coosa valley is second only to that of the Tennessee. Forty-one of the mills report long-leaf pine, 40 short-leaf pine, 2 “white pine,” 12 hickory, 2 cottonwood, 2 beech, 2 chestnut, 40 white oak, 36 “red oak,” 5 elm, 22 poplar, 10 sweet gum, 3 sycamore, 2 basswood (lin), 4 maple, 2 tupelo gum, and 4 ash, besides several species represent- ed by one mill each. The principal wood products seem to be as follows:
Short-leaf and long-leaf pine lumber. Doors, sash, blinds, mouldings, interior finish. Shingles, laths, flooring.
3. COOSA VALLEY REGION. 63
Charcoal (less now than formerly).
Post-oak and long-leaf pine cross-ties,
Cooperage stock, baskets and crates.
Furniture, wagons, freight cars.
Handles, spokes, chair stock.
Cedar posts and pencil-wood.
Mine timbers.
Tan-bark.
Roots of sassafras and other small trees for medicinal purposes.
All the charcoal iron furnaces in the state, four in number, are located in this region, and they have been in operation about forty years each, on the average. Their combined annual capacity is about 80,000 tons of iron, and as the making of a ton of iron requires just about 100 bushels of charcoal, equivalent to about 1,900 feet of lumber, board measure, it is evident that an enormous amount of timber (mostly pine) has been consumed in this way. Some of the furnaces operate their own char- coal ovens, and others get their supplies from kilns at various convenient points. One of the largest charcoal plants is near Attalla, and there is another large one at Childersburg.
The naval stores industry does not seem to have in- vaded this region yet, unless at the extreme southwest- ern end. Its coming is probably only a question of time, though, for it is gradually creeping inland from the vast but depleted pine forests nearer the coast to the more scattered bodies of long-leaf pine among the mountains. In Talladega County especially there are considerable areas of this pine where it would seem profitable even now to establish the industry, provided a conservative method of exploitation (the Herty cup-and-gutter system or some modification of it) were used.
64 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
4. The Blue Ridge. (Figures 19, 20.)
This begins in Pennsylvania, has its greatest develop- ment in a complex mountain system in western North Carolina, and tapers out in Alabama. In this state it com- prises a single ridge with a few spurs branching off to the southeastward, and a few isolated peaks and ridges in the edge of the Coosa valley northwestward. The to- tal area to be included in this region is uncertain on ac- count of the vagueness of its southeastern boundary, but it is probably not more than 400 square miles.
References.—Harper 7, Mohr 6 (73), Mohr 8 (59-65), Reed (7-8, 9-10, 27-28), Smith 1 (37-48, 58-75), Smith 6 (87-88, 92, 100), Smith 7 (348-349, 361, 383), Smith 9 (6-7).
Geology and soils.—The main body of the Blue Ridge consists of metamorphic rocks, presumably mostly pre- Cambrian, though some of the strata must be much more recent, for Carboniferous fossils have been found at the southeastern base of the ridge in Clay County, ac- cording to Dr. Smith.+ The outlying peaks and ridges lying to the northwestward, in Calhoun and Talladega Counties, are Cambrian (Weisner quartzite), but do not differ perceptibly in soil or vegetation from the meta- morphic mountains. The rocks on all these mountains (as on many other southern mountains of various ages) are mostly sandstone, and there is comparatively little soil, but what little there is is rather sandy.
Topography and hydrography.—The Blue Ridge in- cludes the highest mountain in Alabama (Cheaha, 2,400 feet above sea-level), and many peaks and ridges as high as 2,000 feet, or over 1,000 feet above the adjacent Coosa valley. The difference of elevation on the southeastern or Piedmont side is almost as great, so that from the main ridge on a clear day one can see in either direction as far as the curvature of the earth will allow.* The slopes of
+Science IJ.18:244-246. Aug. 21, 1903.
*There are no higher peaks in sight from which to estimate dis-
tance, but the view from Cheaha must embrace at least 10,000 square miles.
4, THE BLUE RIDGE. 65
the ridges are steep and their summits narrow and undu- lating. There are very few cliffs high enough to over- top the trees so as to be visible from the neighboring lowlands. Many swift clear streams course down the mountain slopes in ravines of moderate depth, but with few waterfalls of any size. Talladega Creek, which rises in Clay County and flows into the Coosa River, has cut a deep gap in the ridge a few miles from Talladega, which now affords passage for a railroad.
Climate.—No. climatic data are available, as the re- gion is almost uninhabited. But as a whole it is un- doubtedly cooler and probably wetter than the regions on either side of it, on account of its greater altitude.
Forest types.—The principal forest types are those of dry ridges and slopes, and of damp ravines. Below 1,900 feet the long-leaf pine is a common tree, especially on the south side, but at higher elevations other pines take
its place. The trees on the highest ridges are rather
stunted, averaging perhaps ten feet tall. Fires are rather frequent here, as in all other places where long-leaf pine is common.
LIST OF TREES.
Pinus Taeda
Pinus echinata
Pinus Virginiana Juniperus Virginiana Hicoria alba
Hicoria glabra
Bentula lenta Fagus grandifolia Castanea dentata Castanea pumila Quercus alba Quercus stellata Quercus Prinus
Quercus velutina Quercus coccinea Quercus Marylandica Magnolia glauca Magnolia macrophylla Liriodendron Tulipifera Persea pubescens
Long-leaf pine Short-leaf pine Short-leaf pine
Cedar Hickory (Pignut) hick-
Beech Chestnut |Chinquapin |White oak Post oak /Mountain or chestnut oak \Black oak ‘Spanish oak |Black-jack oak Bay /Cucumber tree Poplar
‘Red bay
Dry slopes Ravines
Ridges and slopes Rocky places Cliffs
Slopes
Ridges
Cliffs
|Ravines
‘Slopes
Slopes
Ravines
Slopes and ridges
Ridges
Slopes and ridges Ridges
Ridges
Wet ravines
Rich ravines Ravines
Wet ravines
66 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA,
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
0-1 Sassafras variifolium Sassafras ‘Ridges, ete.
1-1 Liquidambar Styraciflua |Sweet gum Ravines
3-2 Robinia Pseudacacia Black locust Slopes
1-1 Ilex opaca Holly |Ravines
3-4 Acer rubrum (Red) maple =| Wet ravines
0-0 Tilia heterophylla? Lin \Rich ravines
3-3 Cornus florida Dogwood Ridges and slopes 1-1 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum Slopes
2-3 Oxydendronarboreum |Sourwood ‘Ravines and slopes 0-1 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon
About 45% of these trees are evergreen, which is a little larger proportion than in any region previously de- scribed. Nearly all bottom-land trees are of course con- spicuous by their absence. The (mountain) birch, Betula lenta, is in Alabama almost confined to this re- gion, and the chestnut oak is more abundant here than in any other part of the state. The red bay. which is more: abundant near the coast, here reaches its highest eleva- tion. The same might be said also of the common bay and the long-leaf pine. (There are some reasons for be- lieving that this part of Alabama was the original home of the latter.)
Economic features.—At least 90% of the Blue Ridge region has never been cleared, the ground being too steep and rocky to offer much attraction te the farmer. Cattle have had free range here, at least until very re- cently.
A great deal of long-leaf pine has been cut for lumber and charcoal, but the other timbers have not suffered so much from civilization. Some post-oak cross-ties and doubtless some chestnut oak tan-bark have been gotten out.
5. PIEDMONT REGION. 67
5. The Piedmont Region. (Figures 21-24.)
Between the Blue Ridge and the fall-line, all the way from Pennsylvania to Alabama, is a belt of foot-hills av- eraging about 100 miles wide, known as the Piedmont region. In Alabama it covers about 5,000 square miles.
References.—Earle, Harper 4, Reed (7-44), Smith 1 (26-36, 43-57, 76-116), Smith 6 (24-27, 87-94), Smith 7 (184-190, 348-367), Smith 9 (66-70), Tuomey 2 (43-78).
Geology and soils.—The rocks of the Piedmont region in Alabama are presumably mostly pre-Cambrian (Archaean), metamorphic or crystalline, obscurely or not at all stratified, and devoid of fossils, but containing a great variety of minerals. Lithologically they are near- ly all granitic, gneissic, or schistose, but there are also a few small belts of limestone, perhaps belonging to a later formation. The principal soil varieties are residual red clay, gray loam and shaly soil (the red predominat- ing) on the uplands, some of them mixed with rock frag- ments of various sizes, and alluvial and colluvial soils in the valleys. They are mostly well supplied with all the essential mineral ingredients, except that they are a lit- tle deficient in lime. The richest upland soils seem to be in Chambers County.
Topography and hydrography.—The topography is maturely dissected, and all referable to normal erosion processes, there being no ponds or subterranean drainage such as characterize limestone regions. Away from the immediate vicinity of the Blue Ridge all the hills in any neighborhood usually rise to about the same level. The ridges are as a rule a little broader and more rounded than the valleys.
Springs are common, but all small. Branches and creeks are well developed, there being few points in the whole region more than half a mile from running water. The rivers all rise within the region, or on the slopes of the Blue Ridge, except the Coosa, which instead of con- tinuing out to the end of its valley region and then direct- ly across the coastal plain, like most other: Alabama riv-
68 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
ers of the same class, turns nearly at a right angle to its former course, leaves the comparatively soft Paleozoic rocks, and cuts across the western end of the Piedmont region for a distance of about fifty miles, resuming its original direction immediately upon crossing the fall-line at Wetumpka.
All the rivers and creeks are full of rocky shoals (which are being utilized more and more for water- power), and are navigable only for skiffs or other small boats. The larger streams are muddy most of the time, and fluctuate considerably, but they were undoubtedly clearer and more constant before so much of the forest was cut away.
Climate.—The climatological data for Goodwater and Opelika show that the average temperature of this part of Alabama is about 63°, and the length of the growing season about 235 days. The average precipitation is about 52 inches, and winter and spring are a little wetter than summer and fall, as in all the regions previously discussed.
Forest types.—The principal forest types are dry woods on the ridges, rich woods on north slopes and in ravines, wet woods along branches, and strips of river- bank trees on the larger streams. The driest soils have the largest proportion of pines. Long-leaf pine seems to be entirely absent from the central portion of Chambers County, but becomes more and more abundant with in- creasing distance from that center of rich soil.
Fire is frequent in the long-leaf pine forests, as usual, moderately so among the short-leaf pines, and rare in other types of forest.
LIST OF TREES.
12-10 Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine |/Poorest soils
8-10 Pinus Taeda Short-leaf pine |Various situations
10-8 Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine |Dry woods
0-0 Taxodium distichum Cypress Along rivers near fall-line
0-0 Juniperus Virginiana Cedar Rocky places mostly
3-2 Hicoria alba Hickory Dry woods
2-1 Hicoria glabra (Pignut) hick- |Dry woods
ory
5. PIEDMONT REGION. 69
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
1 1 1 Ree Dp
Sp Cor Co a oOnwnwor
ite lift OoOrcordd
Sow OoONR ES
cle Ws. eel ooocorw, a
1 1 1 meow;
i
ee nee Oe oa oos > Nok ©
1 ! worm ONSHE
WwNoow oro orFeoooe Le
Salix nigra Willow ‘Banks of streams Carpinus Caroliniana Ironwood Near streams Ostrya Virginiana ‘Ravines and bluffs Betula nigra Birch Along creeks and | rivers Fagus grandifolia Beech ‘Rich woods Castanea dentata Chestnut Slopes Quercus alba White oak . |Richer soils Quercus stellata ‘Post oak ‘Dry woods Quercus Prinus Chestnut oak Rocky slopes Quercus Michauxii ‘Swamp chest- Bottoms nut oak | Quercus falcata Red oak Dry woods . Quercus velutina Black oak Dry woods Quercus rubra /Ravines Quercus coccinea Spanish oak ‘Dry woods Quercus Catesbaei | \Dry hills, Elmore County Quercus Marylandica Black-jack oak |Driest soils Quercus cinerea Poor soils, south- ern edge Quercus nigra Water oak Low grounds Quercus laurifolia | | Quercus Phellos Willow oak Bottoms Ulmus alata Elm Morus rubra Mulberry Rich woods and | banks Magnolia glauca [Bay Wet woods Magnolia tripetala . Cucumber tree |Ravines, etc. Magnolia macrophylla Cucumber tree Ravines and bluffs Liriodendron Tulipifera Poplar ‘Ravines, wet | | woods, ete. Persea pubescens ‘Red bay Wet woods Sassafras variifolium Sassafras Liquidambar Styraciflua |Sweet gum Various situations Platanus occidentalis Sycamore Along creeks and rivers Amelanchier Canadensis|Service-berry |Rich woods Crataegus spathulata Haw Dry woods Crataegus viridis Haw Bottoms Prunus serotina Wild. cherry Ravines and cliffs Cercis Canadensis Redbud Robinia Pseudacacia Black locust Rich woods, north- ward Ilex opaca Holly Ravines, ete. lex decidua Bottoms Acer leucoderme Sugar maple Ravines and bluffs Acer saccharinum Silver maple (Banks of Coosa River Acer rubrum Red maple Wet woods Acer Negundo River-banks Tilia heterophylla? Lin River-banks
Cornus florida Dogwood Dry woods
70 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
2-2 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum Various situations 2-2. Oxydendron arboreum_ |Sourood Bluffs, ete. 0-1 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon 0-0 Halesia Carolina Rich woods 0-0 Halesia diptera River-banks, southward 1-1 Symplocos tinctoria Sweet-leaf Bluffs, ete. 2-1 Fraxinus Americana Ash Rich woods 0-0 Catalpa bignonioides Catalpa River-banks 1-0 Viburnum rufidulum Black haw Dry ang rich woods
About 35% of the trees in the original forests seem to have been evergreen.
Population, amount of woodland, etc.—In 1910 this re- gion had about 40 inhabitants to the square mile, an in- crease of a little over 10% in ten years. About two- thirds of the population is white. About half, perhaps as much as 60%, of the area is still wooded, the propor- tion varying considerably in different counties, however. Clay and Coosa Counties probably have the greatest amount of woodland and Chambers and Lee the least. Until recently cattle had free range in the more hilly sec- tions, but now the stock law seems to prevail throughout.
Forest utilization.—The three pines, the hickories, the white and post oaks and poplar, have been cut a good deal for lumber and other purposes, but the other trees have not been disturbed much except by the farmers. The naval stores industry, which seems to have invaded this area only since the beginning of the present century (no doubt somewhat to the astonishment of the natives of this long-settled region), threatens still further dam- age to the long-leaf pine unless the most approved meth- ods are used; which however is being done in most places, apparently. About 4% of the state’s wood-using industries are located in this region or on its borders. The principal forest products seem to be as follows:
Short-leaf and long-leaf pine lumber, and various finished prod- ucts thereof.
Post oak cross-ties.
2oplar lumber, also logs exported whole.
5. PIEDMONT REGION. 71
Naval stores.
‘Doors, sash, blinds, columns. Chestnut poles.
Furniture.
Hickory handles.
Charcoal (decreasing).
oney. Poplar bark horse-collars. Hickory nuts and chestnuts.
The Southern Lumberman enumerates 46 sawmills in this region, with an average capacity of 7,300 feet a day, and 7 other wood-working establishments, which seems an underestimate. The low average capacity is doubtless correlated with the discontinuity of the ferests. Thirty- one of the mills cut long-leaf pine, 21 short-leaf, 2 “white pine” (whatever that may mean), 2 cypress, 4 hickory, 2 beech, 18 white oak, 15 red oak, 16 poplar, 5 sweet gum, and 2 ash. None of the mills located within the re- gion seem to be large enough to operate tram-roads, but near the Coosa River a few tram-roads belonging to larger mills in other regions penetrate this one for short distances.
=] bo
ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
THE COASTAL PLAIN (Regions 6-15).
6. The Central Pine Belt.
Extending in a gentle curve from a little south of the middle of the eastern border of the state to the north- western corner, and widening out considerably to the northwestward, is what may be appropriately designated the central pine belt. Its underlying strata, as well as much of the surface material, are Cretaceous, mostly fresh-water deposits, judging from the absence of ma- rine fossils. Three divisions of it are recognizable, though not very sharply defined, namely, the short-leaf and long-leaf pine and Eutaw belts.
A. Short-leaf Pine Belt. (Figures 25-27.)
This covers about 5,100 square miles in Alabama, and extends northwestward into Mississippi. Eastward it narrows rapidly, but there are indications of the same sort of country bordering the fall-line in Georgia and Maryland.
References.—Harper 5, McCalley 2 (19-22, 40-51, 75- 80, 102-109, 125-127), Mohr 3 (529), Mohr 6 (95-96), Mohr 8 (90, 96-97), Smith 6 (47-51, 118-127), Smith 7 (243-252, 433-459), Smith 8 (67, 307-344, 349, 529-532, 536, 540-542, 545-546, 559-560), Smith 9 (113-123).
Geology and soils.—The strata of this belt are of the Tuscaloosa formation, and present quite a variety of ap- pearances in cuts and gullies, including regularly strati- fied gray clays, cross-bedded pink and yellow sands, and clay mottled in various colors and patterns, some red and white, some liver-colored, and some mouse-colored. The clay on exposure often becomes intersected by a network of fine cracks a fraction of an inch apart, giving an ap-
6A. SHORT-LEAF PINE BELT. 73
pearance which is very characteristic of this formation and almost peculiar to it. In many places the formation is full of pebbles, mostly well-rounded quartz pebbles eastward and sub-angular chert pebbles northwestward. Layers of ferruginous sandstone, usually approximately horizontal but often irregular, and varying from about a quarter of an inch to several inches in thickness, are common, especially on and near the surface of the ground. Where the formation has been long exposed to weathering almost all phases of it may pass into a dull reddish loam, very similar to the Lafayette, a superficial formation which is found in all parts of the coastal plain.
The .Lafayette is undoubtedly present also over large areas of this region. Artificial sections of it along rail- roads, ete., are of course chiefly confined to uplands, and its usual appearance there is a brick-red loam, very homogeneous and usually not over ten feet in thickness, with smooth surfaces intersected by a network of very shallow cracks usually a foot or two apart. In roadside ditches on slopes “pot-holes” from about a foot to a yard in diameter and about the same in depth are very char- acteristic of this formation. Rounded ferruginous con- cretions from a fraction of an inch to a few inches in di- ameter abound in some places, especially on the surface. Little is known about the character of the Lafayette for- mation where it lies below the level of ground-water, but in such situations its red color must be lacking, if noth- ing else.
Both the Tuscaloosa and Lafayette formations are likely to be rather sandy near the surface, especially on level ground. The soils derived from them consist of varying proportions of clay and sand (the sand being most prevalent eastward), and are somewhat deficient in lime and potash.
Topography and hydrography.—In Franklin County the uplands of this region are about 1,000 feet above sea- level, which seems to be the greatest elevation recorded in any part of the coastal plain. The lowest altitude in the short-leaf pine belt is a little less than 100 feet, along the Warrior River. The topography varies from nearly level—particularly on the high terraces or third bottoms
74 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
of the larger rivers, and on uplands remote from streams —to rather hilly, and is all due to normal erosion. The streams are of all sizes, from the numerous small clear branches to the large muddy rivers which rise in the mineral region and cross this belt almost at right angles. Most of them are -bordered by more or less swamp. Springs are fairly common, but all small.
Climate.—The average temperature is about 63°, the length of the growing season (which of course varies considerably with latitude) from about 295 to 240 days, and the average annual rainfall about 50 inches. The summers are about as dry here as in the Tennessee val- ley, or even drier in the northwestern portion. The cli- matological data for Tuscaloosa, given in the table, prob- ably represent the average for the whole region pretty well.
Forest types.—These include dry pine, oak and hickory woods on the uplands, richer woods with beech, white oak, sweet gum, etc., on bluffs and in ravines or valleys, non-alluvial swamps along the smaller streams, small areas of muddy alluvial swamp near some of the rivers, and the usual river-bank vegetation. Fires are rare in the valleys but moderately frequent on the uplands, es- pecially where the long-leaf pine grows.
LIST OF TREES.
5-4 Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine Poorest soils 20-20 Pinus Taeda Short-leaf pine Nearly everywhere 0-0 Pinus serotina Black pine |Non-alluvial | Swamps
10-6 Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine Dry woods 1-1 Taxodinm distichum Cypress Alluvial swamps 0-0 Juglans nigra Black walnut Richest soils 0-0 Hicoria aquatica Alluvial swamps 0-0 Hicoria ovata Scaly-bark
hickory Rich soils 2-1 Hicoria alba Hickory Dry woods 1-0 Hicoria glabra (Pignut) hick-
ory Dry woods 2-3 Salix nigra Willow Along streams 0-0 Populus deltoides Cottonwood Along creeks and
rivers
1-1 Carpinus Caroliniana Ironwood Low grounds 1-1 Ostrya Virginiana Bluffs, ete.
_
LROok oO a ie ea
ROOF WWNOOF,
a ) i)
ere Te ooocoow
S6656Hh HheDw
el ace
eooooo NNGS COrRNOSCS
ooooo FUS To ee eOr all Li
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ePre ooro&
6A. SHORT-LEAF PINE BELT. 75
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
Betula nigra
Fagus grandifolia Castanea dentata Castanea pumila Quercus alba
Quercus stellata Quercus lyrata Quercus Prinus Quercus Muhlenbergii Quercus Michauxii
Quercus falcata Quercus pagodaefolia Quercus velutina Quercus rubra Quercus coccinea Quercus Catesbaei Quercus Marylandica Quercus cinerea Quercus nigra Quercus laurifolia
Quercus Phellos Ulmus Americana Ulmus alata Planera aquatica
Celtis occidentalis Morus rubra Magnolia glauca
Magnolia acuminata Magnolia tripetala Magnolia pyramidata Magnolia macrophylla
| ‘Birch
Beech ‘Chestnut
Chinquapin White oak Post oak
Chestnut oak
‘Swamp chest-
nut oak Red oak
Black oak
Spanish oak
Black-jack oak
Water oak
‘Willow oak
Elm Elm
Hackberry Mulberry Bay
Cucumber tree Cucumber tree i;Cucumber Cucumber tree
Liriodendron Tulipifera |Poplar
Asimina triloba Persea pubescens
Sassafras variifolium
Pawpaw Red bay
Sassafras
Liquidambar Styracifiua|Sweet gum
Platanus occidentalis
Amelanchier Canadensis
Crataegus spathulata Crataegus viridis Prunus serotina Cercis Canadensis
Gleditschia triacanthos
Cyrilla racemifiora Tlex opaca
Ilex decidua
Acer Floridanum
Sycamore
Service-berry Haw
Haw
Wild cherry Redbud Honey locust
Sugar maple
tree
Along creeks and
| rivers
Bluffs and bottoms Hillsides
Dry woods ‘Various situations Dry woods River-bottoms Ravines and bluffs
‘Bottoms \Dry uplands ‘Bottoms ‘Dry woods \Ravines and bluffs ‘Dry uplands Poorest soils ‘Driest soils ‘Poorest soils Low grounds Sandy banks of streams Bottoms
Banks of Warrior River
River-banks, ete.
Richer soils
|Non-alluvial swamps
/Rich woods
/Rich woods
Rich woods
\Bluffs, ete.
Ravines and bluffs
|'Bottoms
Non-alluvial swamps
Various situations
Along creeks and rivers
Bluffs, ete.
|!Dry woods
‘Bottoms
Bluffs, ete.
Creek swamps Ravines and bluffs River-bottoms Bottoms, ete.
76 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA. LIST OF TREES—Continued.
0-0 Acer saccharinum Silver maple /River-banks
3-4 Acer rubrum Red maple Non-alluvial swamps
0-1 Acer Negundo River-banks, etc.
0-0 Tilia heterophylla? Lin Bluffs, etc.
3-3 Cornus florida Dogwood Dry woods
1-1 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum Various situations
1-2 Nyssa biflora Black gum Non-alluvial swamps.
1-1 Nyssa uniflora Tupelo gum Sloughs, ete.
1-1 Oxydendron arboreum |Sourwood Bluffs, ete.
0-0 Bumelia lycioides
0-1 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon ‘Old fietds mostly
0-0 Symplocos tinctoria Sweet-leaf \Valleys and bluffs
0-0 Fraxinus Americana Ash Rich soils
0-0 Fraxinus Carcliniana Ash Swamps
0-0 Catalpa bignonioides Catalpa ‘River-banks
0-0 Viburnum rufidulum Black haw ‘Dry woods
This region, although belonging strictly to the
coastal plain geologically, has a good deal in common with the hill country in its vegetation. Some of its trees are more characteristic of one section and some of the other; and it seems to have a greater variety of trees than any other region into which the state is here di- vided. There are at least 17 kinds of oak, though some of them are rather rare here. About 44% of the trees in the original forests were evergreen; which is a higher percentage than we have found anywhere in the hill country (except in the Blue Ridge), though rather low for the coastal plain.
Density of population, etc.—In 1910 the short-leaf pine belt had about 30 inhabitants to the square mile, an in- crease of 22% in the ten years preceding. Just about 75% of the inhabitants are white. The region is still pretty well wooded, probably to the extent of about 75% of its area. Cattle had free range in nearly all parts up. to within a few years, but now the stock law is in force in several counties and beats. ;
Forest utilization—Although the pines have been cut a good deal for lumber, the commoner short-leaf (Pinus Taeda) has probably more than held its own, on account of its propensity for spreading in old fields and other
6A. SHORT-LEAF PINE BELT. vi |
clearings. About 20% of the sawmills and 15% of the other wood-working industries of the state are located in this region, which has only 9.8% of the total area. The Southern Lumberman enumerates 120 mills, with an av- erage capacity of 15,000 feet a day. Nine of these mills operate tram-roads, with an aggregate length of 57 miles. Fifty-five of them report long-leaf pine and three white pine, but these figures must be exaggerated, for several of the mills reporting long-leaf pine are located in coun- ties where that species is unknown, and none of the trees which might pass for white pine are known to grow in this region at all. Of course some of these two woods may be imported, but that does not seem reasonable in a region so abundantly supplied with timber. Ninety- eight mills cut short-leaf pine, 6 cypress, 16 hickory, 6 beech, 51 white oak (etc.), 41 red oak (etc.), 2 elm, 67 poplar, 30 sweet gum, 10 tupelo gum, and 3 ash. Those mills which cut 25,000 feet or more in a day are usually provided with a waste-burner, a device very rarely seen in the hill country. Only six cut as much as 50,000 feet a day, and two or three of those get part of their timber from other regions. The principal forest products seem to be as follows:
Short-leaf and long-leaf pine lumber. Post oak and pine cross-ties.
Sash, doors, blinds.
Cooperage stock.
White oak baskets and chair-bottoms. Sweet gum and black gum columns.
Chestnut and cypress poles.
Pine and poplar shingles.
Charcoal.
Honey.
7S ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
B. (Central) Long-leaf Pine Hills. (Figures 28-30.)
The boundaries of this belt are so vague that its area cannot be estimated with accuracy, but it is probably about 850 square miles. Besides the area shown on the map there are several patches of almost precisely similar country a few square miles in extent in the eastern part of Tuscaloosa County within a few miles of Brookwood, where the underlying rocks are Coal Measures. Al- though this belt does not extend beyond the borders of the state, it has a good deal in common with the fall-line sand-hills of Georgia and the Carolinas. Westward it has no counterpart.
References.—Reed (44-68), Smith 8 (349, 541, 545- 546). Also U.S. soil surveys of Hale, Bibb, Perry and Autauga Counties.
Geology and soils—The strata of this belt are all of the Tuscaloosa formation, and vary from pink and yellow cross-bedded loamy sands to mottled white and purple clays, with the various phases often passing into each other in short distances horizontally. The liver-colored and mouse-colored clays with their fine network of cracks, described under the short-leaf pine belt, seem to be wanting here. The summits of many of the hills are capped with ledges of horizontally bedded blackish fer- ruginous sandstone, which are doubtless only local in- durations. Thin plates and fragments of the same kind of rock and of shiny brown limonite are strewn profusely over many of the higher slopes. The Lafayette forma- tion, if it exists in this belt, is less typical than elsewhere. The soils are mainly sandy, and deficient in lime.
Topography and hydrography.—This belt is pretty- hilly, for the coastal plain, and almost mountainous in Tuscaloosa County, where some of the hilltops are prob- ably at least 250 feet above valleys less than half a mile distant. The valleys are rather narrow, and sometimes ravine-like. The northeastern or inland edge of this belt makes a sort of escarpment which can be seen from the Mobile & Ohio R. R. nearly all the way from Duncanville
6B. LONG-LEAF PINE HILLS. 79
in Tuscaloosa County to Trio in Bibb, a distance of about 30 miles. Streams are fairly numerous, but mostly small, and many of the smaller valleys are dry a large part of the time. The water in the ground and in the streams is above the average in purity, and it does not seem to fluctuate much. Where the M. & O. R. R. passes through this belt in Chilton and Autauga Counties it has at least two water-tanks fed automatically by pumps op- erated by breast-wheels located on small creeks.
A minor topographic feature which reaches its inland limit in this kind of country is the salamander hills, small mounds of sand thrown up in long-leaf pine forests (especially soon after fires in winter and spring) by the salamander, a subterranean rodent which lives in sandy soils in the coastal plain from the Warrior River east- ward to the Savannah.*
Forest types.—Reed, in his excellent description of a part of this region, recognizes only two types of forest, the long-leaf pine type on the hills and the creek type in the valleys. Each could be subdivided somewhat, how- ever, especially the last, for streams of different sizes are usually bordered by different kinds of swamp vegetation. Fire is frequent in the long-leaf pine land.
LIST OF TREES.
30-20 Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine |Hills 10-12 Pinus Taeda Short-leaf pine | Valleys 0-0 Pinus serotina Black pine Sandy swamps 5-6 Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine |Hil!s 0-0 Pinus Virginiana Sterile hills, Tusca- loosa County 1-0 Hicoria alba Hickory Slepes 0-0 Hicoria glabra (Pignut) hick- ory Slopes 0-1 Salix nigra Willow Aleng creeks 0-0 Carpinus Caroliniana /|Ironwood Along creeks 0-0 Fagus grandifolia Beech Valleys 1-0. Castanea dentata Chestnut Slopes 2-1 Quercus alba White oak Valleys 1-1 Quercus stellata Post oak Slopes 1-2 Quercus Margaretta Post oak Ridges 1-1 Quercus Prinus Chestnut oak /Slopes 3-4 Quercus falcata Red oak ‘Ridges and slopes
*See Science [1.35:115-119, Jan. 19, 1912.
80 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
0-0 Quercus velutina Black oak Hills 5-7 Quercus Catesbaei Turkey oak Ridges 7-8 Quercus Marylandica Black-jack oak/Hills 4-5 Quercus cinerea Upland willow oak Hills - 2-2 Quercus nigra Water oak Aleng creeks 4-5 Magnolia glauca Bay Along branches, etc. 0-0 Magnolia tripetala Cucumber tree|Ravines 1-1 Magnolia macrophylla |Cucumber tree|Valleys 3-3 Liriodendron Tulipifera |Poplar Valleys 0-0 Persea pubescens Red bay Along branches 1-2 Liquidambar Styraciflua Sweet gum Valleys 0-1 Cyrilla racemiflora Tyty Along creeks 1-1 Ilex opaca Holly Valleys 2-3 Acer rubrum (Red) maple |Along branches 3-3 Cornus florida Dogwood Hills 1-1 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum Slopes 2-2 Nyssa biflora Black gum Swamps 1-2. Oxydendronarboreum (|Sourwood Slopes 0-0 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon
In the original forests about 52% of the trees were evergreen, most of which figure was made up of long-leaf pine. There are more species of oak in proportion to other trees here than in most other parts of the state.
‘Economic features.—This belt is so narrow that it is difficult to form any estimate of its population. Culti- vated tracts are mostly confined to the valleys, and probably do not exceed 13% of the area. Open range for cattle seems to be the rule. A great deal of the long-leaf pine and some of the two short-leaf pines has been cut for lumber, but there has not been much demand yet for the other trees. In this belt, particularly in Chilton and Autauga Counties, are quite a number of large and more or less permanent sawmills, each with a pond and a waste-burner, a type more frequent in the southern parts of the state. The large mill of the Kaul Lumber Co., recently erected near Tuscaloosa, derives its timber from this belt, transporting it by rail across the short- leaf pine belt for about 15 miles. The principal forest products are lumber and naval stores.
According to the Southern Lumberman there are 18 sawmills in this region or very close to it, with an aver- age capacity of 40,000 feet a day (which is not exceeded
6C. EUTAW BELT. 81
by any other region in the state). The total capacity is larger in proportion to area and population than in any other region, except—in the case of population—no. 14, which is practically uninhabited. Six of the mills oper- ate tram-roads, aggregating 108 miles in length, but most of these pass through other regions as well. At the same time there is no telling how many logs from this region are hauled out to mills elsewhere.
C. The Eutaw Belt.
This takes its name indirectly from the town of Eutaw, the county-seat of Greene County. It is a nar- row belt, more easily defined geologically than geograph- ically, bordering the short-leaf pine belt on the south- west. It covers about 1,500 square miles in Alabama, and extends without much change into Georgia and Mis- sissippi.
References.—Bartram (388-398?), Lyell (87-41), Smith 8 (290-303, 321, 350, and several county descrip- tions).
Geology and soils.—This belt coincides with the out- crop of the Eutaw formation, a division of the Cretace- ous lying next above the Tuscaloosa. The formation con- sists mostly of laminated clays and cross-bedded sands, and the latter are more or less glauconitic and phos- phatic. The Lafayette red loam seems to cover the greater part of the area, however, as in most other parts of the coastal plain. The soils are similar to those of the short-leaf pine belt, but a little richer, on the average, owing no doubt to the greater amount of potassium and phosphorus in the formation.
Topography and hydrography.—The topography does not differ much from that of region 6A. Although rather less hilly, on the whole, there is along Autauga Creek at Prattville an inland-facing escarpment about 200 feet high, which when viewed from a mile or two to the northeastward looks like a small mountain.
In proportion to area this region has more creeks and rivers than the other two divisions of the central pine
6G
&2 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
belt. The same rivers which cross them also cross this, and the Tombigbee, Alabama and Tallapoosa flow length- wise of it for some distance.
Climate.—Montgomery is pretty centrally located in this region, and some climatic data for that place can be found in Appendix B.
Forest types.—Th? forest types are also so similar to those of the short-leaf pine belt that it is hardly worth while to describe them. The relative abundance of the trees is somewhat different, though, as will appear from the following list:
LIST OF TREES.
4-3 Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine |Poorest soils
15-12 Pinus 'l'aeda Short-leaf pine serena ci distrib- ute
6-4 Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine Dry woods
1-1 Pinus glabra Spruce pine Elmore Co. and eastward
2-3 Taxodium distichum Cypress Swamps
0-0 Juniperus Virginiana Cedar
1-1 Hicoria aquatica Alluvial swamps
2-1 Hicoria alba Hickory Dry woods
2-3 Salix nigra Willow Along streams
1-1 Populus deltoides Cottonwood River-banks, ete.
0-0 Carpinus Caroliniana Ironwood Low grounds
1-2 Betulanigra Birch Along streams
4-4 Fagus grandifolia Beech Ravines, etc.
1-0 Castanea dentata Chestnut
0-0 Castanea pumila Chinquapin Dry woods
2-1 Quercus alba White oak Moderately rich soils
3-2 Quercus stellata Post oak Dry soils
1-2 Quercus lyrata Swamp post oak Muddy swamps
1-1 Quercus Michauxii Swamp chest-
nut oak Bottoms
3-4 Quercus falcata Red oak Dry woods
0-0 Quercus pagodaefolia River hottoms
0-0 Quercus velutina ‘Black oak Dry woods
2-1 Quercus coccinea Spanish oak Dry woods
0-1 Quercus Catesbaei Turkey oak Sendiest soils
1-1 Quercus Marylandica Black-jack oak Driest soils
0-1 Quercus cinerea Poorest soils
5-4 Quercus nigra Water oak Low grounds
2-2 Quercus laurifolia Sandy banks, ete.
3-3 Quercus Phellos Willow oak Bottoms, ete.
1-0 Ulmusalata Elm Low grounds
0-0 Planera aquatica River-banks
0-0
Celtis occidentalis Hackberry River-banks
6C. EUTAW BELT. 83
LIST OF TREES—Continued.
2-1 Morus rubra Mulberry ‘Bottoms, ete. 1-1 Magnolia grandiflora ‘Magnolia Hammocks, south- silienls eastward
5-6 Magnolia glauca Bay |Non-alluvial swamps
5-4 Liriodendron Trlipifera Poplar 'Ravines, ete.
0-0 Sassafras variifolium (Sassafras
7-7 Liquidambar Styraciflua Sweet gum peyrally distrib- ute
2-3 Platanus occidentalis Sycamore Along creeks and
| rivers
0-0 Cyrilla racemiflora Tyty Creek swamps
2-2 Ilex cpaca Holly ‘Ravines, etc.
2-2 Acer saccharinum Silver maple River-banks
2-3 Acer rubrum (Red) maple Non-alluvial swamps
0-0 Tilia heterophylla? Lin
2-1 Cornus florida Dogwood Dry woods
1-1 Nyssa biflora Black gum Non-alluvial swamps
1-2 Nyssa uniflora Tupelo gum sloughs, ete.
1-1 Oxydendron arboreum sourwood Ravines, ete.
0-1 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon
0-0 Catalpa bignonioides Catalpa River-banks
About 39% of the trees in the original forests were evergreen, a somewhat smaller proportion than in the other parts of the central pine belt, as might have been expected from the richer soil. There are two interesting trees in this belt which are not found in any of those previously described, namely the spruce pine, Pinus gla- bra, and the magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora. Both are very characteristic of hammocks* nearer the coast, and
*“Hammock” is a geographical term used only in the coastal plain (more in Florida than anywhere else) to designate a dense stand of trees other than pines, growing in comparatively dry soil (and thus distinguished from a swamp) in a region where open grassy pine forests predominate. Most hammocks are shady and have some natural protection against fire on one or more sides, and therefore contain considerable humus. (See Ann. Rep. Fla. Geol. Surv. 3:217; Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 38:515-525. 1911.)
The word has also been spelled hamak, hommock and hummock; the last-named form, which may have originated in a mere typo- graphical error, having caused a great deal of misunderstanding. (See Science I1.22:400-402. Sept. 29, 1905. Its use in Dr. Smith’s two contributions to the 6th volume of the Tenth Census was prob- ably due to the interference of some editor in Washington.) The matter has however been set right in “Webster’s New Interna- tional Dictionary,” 1909, and other dictionaries will probably fall into line sooner or later.
84 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
reach their inland limits a few miles north of Mont- gomery.
Economic features.—The population of this region is doubtless denser than in most other parts of the central pine belt, but about two-thirds of the area seems to be still wooded; perhaps not more than half with virgin for- est, though. The virgin forest is chiefly confined to swamps and bottoms. The forest products are much the same as in the short-leaf pine belt. The region is fairly well supplied with railroads and navigable rivers.
For this belt the Southern Lumberman lists 22 saw- mills, with an average capacity of 13,600 feet a day, and 7 other wood-working establishments, most of the latter located in Montgomery. Ten of the mills cut long-leaf pine, 15 short-leaf, one “spruce” (Pinus glabra?), 2 cy- press, 3 hickory, 2 beech, 8 white oak, 5 red oak, 10 pop- lar, 5 sweet gum, 3 tupelo gum, and 2 ash.
7. The Black Belt. (Figures 35-39.)
This well-defined region, also known as the cane-brake or prairie region, embracing about 4,300 square miles in Alabama, extends northwestward through Mississippi and a short distance into West Tennessee, making a cres- cent-shaped area. There is nothing at all resembling it anywhere farther east, but there is some very similar country in southwestern Arkansas and eastern Texas.
References.—Bartram (398-400?), Gosse, Hale, Lyell (41-42, 75-76), Mohr 8 (97-105) *, McGuire, Smith 6 (55- 58, 68, 128-140), Smith 7 (265-272, 295, 459-492), Smith 8 (276-285, 350-352, and county descriptions), Smith 9 (13, 131-132, 144,.191), Tuomey 1. (122-137,. 140-142); Tuomey 2 (134-135, 234-236; the last by E. Q. Thorn- ton), Webb.
Geology and soils.—This region coincides exactly with the outcrop of the Selma Chalk (formerly called Rotten Limestone) one of the Cretaceous formations. The rock is a soft gray argillaceous limestone, remarkably uniform
*This also covers regions 6C and 8.
7. THE BLACK BELT. 85
in composition throughout its whole extent and thick- ness. It weathers into a gray clay of exceptional fertil- ity but somewhat difficult to cultivate, because it bakes hard in summer and becomes a very tenacious mud in winter. Chemical analyses of this soil made under Dr. Smith’s direction at the time of the Tenth Census show 1 to 2% of lime, 0.20—0.44% of potash, and 0.10— 0.51% of phosphoric acid. When the region was first settled much of the soil contained so much organic mat- ter that it was almost black, contrasting with the red soils of neighboring regions, whence the name “black belt.” The Lafayette red loam is rather sparsely repre- sented in this region, but where it does occur it usually makes hills, being less easily eroded and dissolved than the Rotten Limestone. Within a few miles of the Ala- bama River in Lowndes and Dallas Counties a considera- ble area is covered with sand which may be even more re- cent than the Lafayette. (The sand-hills near Montgom- ery, mentioned on page 105 of Dr. Mohr’s last book, but apparently not identified by previous or subsequent ex- plorers, may be of a similar nature.)
The soils of the black belt have been described so fully in the publications above cited, and in some of the gov- ernment soil surveys, that it is hardly necessary to give any more details about them here.
Topography and hydrography.—The Selma Chalk or Rotten Limestone differs from most other limestones in Alabama in that it is almost never hard enough to form steep hills, or pure enough to be dissolved by percolating waters so as to form lime-sinks, caves, subterranean streams and big springs, which are characteristic of so many limestone regions. The prevailing topography is gently undulating, in a manner difficult to describe, though probably due almost wholly to normal erosion processes. Some parts of the region, mostly remote from the rivers, are so level that the railroads have built sev- eral tangents (i. e., straight tracks) a dozen miles or more in length.
In the spots where the Lafayette sandy loam occurs there has been less erosion than elsewhere, and the con- ical hills formed by this feature have been described by
§6 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
Tuomey and several subsequent writers. The rivers which traverse the reg’on are bordered in most places by steep bare chalk bluffs of striking appearance. Swamps are comparatively infrequent. The rivers and creeks fluctuate considerably with the seasons, and are muddy most of the time. Small streams are rather scarce, especially in dry weather, and the ground-water lies at such a depth that shallow dug wells are not used much. The inhabitants who cannot afford artesian wells generally use cisterns. 1
Climate.—The climate of this region is well illustrated by the statistics for Uniontown and Selma. The average temperature is about 65° (which is just right for human comfort), and the growing season about 240 days. The annual rainfall averages about 49 inches, most of it com- ing in winter and spring, as in the regions previously de- scribed. .
Forest types.—It is stated by several writers that when this region was first visited by white men there were many naturally treeless areas scattered over it; a circumstance from which one of its names is derived. But the greater part of the area has been under cultiva- tion so long that it is well-nigh impossible to get any di- rect evidence of the location and extent of the treeless areas at the present time. The patches of Lafayette loam were pretty well wooded with short-leaf pines, post oaks, ete., and many of these forests still remain almost undisturbed, because the soil of such spots is considered so much less valuable than the residual calcareous soils near by. The other remaining forests are chiefly con- fined to the bottoms of creeks and rivers, and they in- clude a considerable variety of useful hardwood trees.
Fires are rare in this region now, Dut may have been more frequent originally, and may have had something to do with the existence of the treeless spots, somewhat as in the case of the better known prairies of the Missis- sippi valley; which by the way resemble the region un- der consideration a good deal in soil, topography, herba- ceous vegetation and crops, though very different geo- logically.
_
i 1 1 modo He
orp ews
C9 he Nr oO el
NOADWNOSORE EDD BPOTRP RR OMRWwWWwIY
Lie US ed ee ee is ie ee Rn RRR OOOWR OR NONFREOF FF e
SCSONMNONBRKR POR OCR OF RFE CD
7. THE BLACK BELT. 87
LIST OF TREES.
Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine |Sand in Lowndes & Dallas Counties Pinus Taeda Short-leaf pine Pocrer soils Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine Lafayette patches Pinus glabra White or spruce : pine ‘Second bottoms, etc. Taxodium distichum Cypress Swamps and sloughs Juniperus Virginiana Cedar ‘Chalk outcrops | mostly Juglans nigra Walnut Richest soils Hicoria aquatica Along rivers Hicoria ovata Sealy-bark | hickory Bottoms, ete. Hicoria alba Hickory Dry woods . Salix nigra Willow Along streams Populus deltoides Cottonwood \Along streams Carpinus Caroliniana Ironwood ‘Low grounds Ostrya Virginiana Betula nigra Birch ‘Banks of streams Fagus grandifolis Beech Second bottoms, etc. Quercus alba White oak Various situations Quercus stellata ‘Post oak Lafayette patches Quercts Margaretta - Post oak Sand, Dallas Co. Quercus Durandii ‘Caleareous soils Quercus lyrata Swamp post | oak ‘Bottom lands Quercus Michauxii Swamp chest- | nut oak Bottom lands Quercus Schneckii Bottom lands Quercus falcata \Red oak Lafayette patches Quercus pagodaefolia ‘Bottom lands Quercus Catesbaei ‘With long-leaf pine Quercus Marylandica Black-jack oak Lafayette patches Quercus cinerea With long-leaf pine Quercus nigra Water oak Low grounds Quercus laurifclia Sandy banks Quercus Phellos Willow oak ‘Low grounds Ulmus Americana Elm Bottoms, ete. Ulmus alata Elm ‘Oak groves, ete. Ulmus fulva Slippery elm Rich soils Planera aquatica |River-banks Celtis occidentalis \Hackberry Bottoms, ete. Morus rubra Mulberry ‘Bottoms, etc. Magnolia grandiflora Magnolia Second bottoms Magnolia glauca Bay Sandy swamps in | Lowndes and Dallas Counties Liriodendron Tulipifera |Poplar Non-calcareovs soils Persea Borbonia Red bay Second bottoms, etc. Liquidambar Styraciflua |Sweet gum Varicus situations Platanus occidentalis Sycamore Alorg creeks and rivers
Amelanchier Canadensis 'Service-berry
§8 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA. ©
LIST OF TREES.—Continued.
0-0 Crataegus spathulata Haw Dry woods 0-0 Crataegus Crus-galli Haw Caleareous soils 0-0 Crataegus viridis Haw Bottoms 1-0 Prunus Americana Wild plum Rich soils 0-0 Prunus Caroliniana Second bottoms 2-1 Cercis Canadensis Redbud Dry woods 0-0 Xanthoxylum Clava- Herculis Chalk bluffs 0-0 Ilex opaca Holly Second bottoms 0-0 Acer Floridanum Sugar maple |Second bottoms 0-1 Acer saccharinum Silver maple |River-banks 0-1 Acer rubrum Red maple Non-alluvial , swamps 0-0 Acer Negundo Along creeks and rivers 2-0 Tilia heterophylla? Lin Second bottoms, ete. 1-1 Cornus florida Dogwood Lafayette patches 0-0 Nyssa sylvatica Black gum Dry woods 0-1 Nyssa biflora Black gum Non-alluvial swamps 0-1 Nyssa unifiora Tupelo gum Sloughs 0-0 Bumelia lanuginosa Along Catoma Creek, ete. 0-0 Bumelia lycioides Limestone outcrops ; mostly 1-1 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon Various situations 0-0 Halesia diptera Second bottoms 4-2 Fraxinus Americana Ash Rich soils 0-0 Catalpa bignonioides Catalpa Creek banks 0-0 Viburnum rufidulum Black haw ‘Second bottoms
Only about 19% of these trees are evergreen, which is a very low proportion for the coastal plain, and proba- bly correlated with the abundance of lime and potash in the soil of this region. The proportion of evergreens seems to be greatest in the eastern half, where the sum- mers are a little wetter; and it probably ranges from about 15% in Sumter County to 25% in Macon.
Population, etc.—Several of the oldest towns in the state, most of them county-seats, are located on slightly higher ground just outside of the black belt, but close enough to it to be markets for much of its produce. Among these are Eutaw, Greensboro, Marion, Montgom- ery and Tuskegee on the north, and Livingston, Fort Deposit and Union Springs on the south. This circum- stance, in the absence of statistics for areas smaller
7. THE BLACK BELT. 89
than counties, makes it difficult to estimate the popula- tion of the region accurately, but there seems to have been in 1910 about 49 inhabitants to the square mile, most of them negroes.
As in many other essentially agricultural regions with a similar density of population (e. g., parts of Middle Georgia, Middle Tennessee and Illinois, and most of Iowa and Missouri), the population decreased a little in the decade just past. The towns grew, but this was more than offset by the decrease in the rural districts. The principal reason for this state of affairs seems to be that the soil of such areas is so fertile that nearly all the ara- ble land was taken up long ago, and as the farmers be- come more efficient with the increase of agricultural knowledge, improvement of farm machinery, etc., fewer of them are needed to cultivate a given area, and most of their sons have to seek their fortunes in town or in newer regions. Wherever that is the case further in- crease of population usually comes about only through the establishment of manufactures, as is well illustrated in the Tennessee valley (region 1b).
Some optimists like to believe that the present “back to the farm” agitation will soon increase the agricultural population of all these fertile regions again, but past ex- perience does not lend much support to such a belief. It is easy to say that the large farms can be subdivided and cultivated more intensively, but it has not worked out that way in other states, except in the vicinity of manufacturing cities.
Conditions in Alabama are somewhat different from those in the Middle West, though. Before the use of commercial fertilizers became common in the black belt, say about 25 years ago, much of the soil had become somewhat impoverished by the prolonged cultivation of cotton, and overrun with Johnson grass and other per- sistent weeds; and since that time the sandy soils far- ther south, which respond generously to fertilization and are much more easily tilled and less subject to weeds than those of the black belt, have drawn thousands of progressive young men in that direction, leaving a large proportion of women, old men and negroes behind.
“80 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
(Every black belt county has now more women than men.) On Jan. 23, 1913, the Montgomery Advertiser had on its editorial page an interesting little note on this movement of population, concluding with these words: “Wiregrass lands are now worth more than the Black Belt lands. Moreover, if the roll is called of the leading citizens of any Wiregrass city, it will be found that a majority of them were born in the Black Belt.” (AI- though this may be a trifle overdrawn, or less true now than it would have been a few years ago, essentially the same would be true at corresponding distances from the eoast in Georgia and Mississippi, too.)
However, several comparatively recent developments make it hazardous to predict what the future destiny of the black belt will be. The discovery of the cause of malaria about 1900, the arrival of the cotton-boll weevil a few years ago, the introduction of alfalfa and the in- creasing tendency to diversification of crops, the cam- paign for eradicating ticks and raising more and better cattle, the utilization of the abundant Rotten Limestone as the principal ingredient for Portland cement, the building of locks for slack-water navigation on the Tom- bigbee River, and finally the fact that some of the “wire- grass” counties are now just about as thickly settled as the black belt, all bring new elements into the problem. Just when the turning-point will come it is impossible to guess, but it is certain that the decrease of population in the black belt cannot continue indefinitely.
Forest utilization —At the present time forests occu- py probably not more than 25% of the area (more than that having been devoted to cotton alone in 1880, accord- ing to the Tenth Census,—Smith 6 in bibliography), and this is almost the only part of the state where treeless horizons are common. The stock law prevails through- out, and there is now almost as much pasture as plowed ground. The uplands were naturally cleared and culti- vated first, as in most other parts of the state, so that those trees confined to swamps, river-banks, ete, are relatively more abundant now than they were originally.
Notwithstanding the limited extent of the forests, they are still furnishing a considerable variety of useful
8. CHUNNENNUGGEE RIDGE. 91
products, such as post oak cross-ties, white oak cotton- baskets, cooperage stock, spokes and handles, cedar posts, and more highly elaborated articles like sash, doors, blinds and wagons.
Having the smallest proportion of woodland it is not surprising that this region should also have the fewest sawmills per square mile and per inhabitant. The South- ern Lumberman’s directory previously referred to enu- merates 22 mills, with an average capacity of 13,400 feet a day, and 6 other wood-working establishments. The largest mills, one of which has a daily capacity of 40,000 feet, are located on navigable rivers, and doubtless ob- tain much of their timber from more densely wooded re- gions farther inland; so that if this outside timber could be eliminated from the statistics the output of the saw- mills would show up much smaller. Only one tram-road is reported from the region, and that is enly two miles long, with 35-pound rails.
Nine of the mills cut long-leaf pine, 19 short-leaf, one “white pine” (Pinus glabra?), 5 cypress, 5 hickory, 5 cottonwood, 2 beech, 12 white oak (etc.?), 12 red oak (etc.), 3 hackberry, 10 poplar, 10 sweet gum, 2 syca- more, 4 tupelo gum, and 6 ash.
8. Chunnennuggee Ridge or Blue Marl Region.
Going southward from the black belt, particularly in Bullock, Montgomery and Lowndes Counties, one as- cends an escarpment sometimes 100 feet or more in height (called Chunnennuggee* Ridge at Union Springs, where it is perhaps most conspicuous), and enters a re- gion of different aspect, extending all the way from Georgia to Mississippi (and with:some interruptions to West Tennessee), and covering about 2,300 square miles in Alabama.
References.—Smith 6 (56, 58-61, 132, 135-142), Smith 7 (267-268, 273-278, 487-498), Smith 8 (352-356 and nu-
*Also spelled Chunnennugga and Chunnenugga, but the form
given above seems to be preferred locally. It is easy to imagine how the others may have originated as typographical errors.
92 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
merous county descriptions), Smith 9 (226, 230-244), Tuomey 2 (135-143).
Geology and soils.—This region is underlaid through- out by the Ripley formation (uppermost Cretaceous), whose strata vary from marly to sandy; but most of the surface, and therefore of the soil, seems to be of the Lafayette formation. In some parts this is the usual red loam, but elsewhere, especially eastward, it is sandy enough for salamanders to live in. The soils are just about the average in fertility.
Topography and hydrography.—In the western half of the state, where this region is narrow, it is rather hilly throughout, with rather sharp ridges. Eastward, where it widens out and takes the place of the black belt, the topography is more diversified, comprising considerable areas of comparatively level country with low hills ris- ing above it and narrow ravines cut into it, with many bluffs along the larger streams, and not much swamp. The streams are rather numerous, but seem to present no special noteworthy features.
Climate.—The weather stations at Fort Deposit, Un- ion Springs and Eufaula are located in this region. The average temperature and length of the growing season are practically the same as in the black belt. The rain- fall is a little more copious, and more evenly distributed through the year, especially eastward. (There may be some correlation between the wetter summers and the sandier soils in the eastern portion. (See footnote on page 24.)
Forest types.—These present no striking features. There are dry oak and pine woods on the uplands, swamps along some of the streams, and a hammock type of woodland in ravines and second bottoms. Fire does not seem to be very frequent now, though it may have been more so originally, before the forests were broken up so much by cultivated fields.
8. CHUNNENNUGGEE RIDGE.
93
LIST OF TREES.
i.)
on e
NrFoOoRWNW OCOFNRNFKE HPO CO Poy he et he ech lie ON a ee eee.
NNN RFwoNno,
>
Tee i (ee ll cell cell do Sy OO NRF N Ree CO NrROoONMh ry RPReWOANORO oom
ee ie ee ee
CORF WH
ele Ie
SCOSF BRE
Pinus palustris Pinus Taeda
Pinus echinata
Pinus glabra Juniperus Virginiana Myrica cerifera Salix nigra
Populus deltoides Carpinus Caroliniana Betula nigra
Fagus grandifolia Quercus alba Quercus stellata Quercus Durandii Quercus lyrata Quercus Michauxii
Quercus falcata Quercus Catesbaei Quercus Marylandica Quercus nigra Quercus laurifolia Quercus Phellos Ulmus alata
Planera aquatica Morus rubra Magnolia grandiflora
Magnolia glauca
Liriodendron Tulipifera Sassafras varlifolium Liquidambar Styraciflua Platanus occidentalis
Cercis Canadensis Cyrilla racemiflora Ilex opaca
Acer saccharinum Acer rubrum
Acer Negundo Tilia heterophylla ? Cornus florida Nyssa biflora
Oxydendron arboreum Diospyros Virginiana Osmanthus Americanus Catalpa bignonioides
Long-leaf pine
Short-leaf pine
Short-leaf pine Spruce pine Cedar
Myrtle
Willow Cottonwood Tronwood
Birch
Beech White oak Post oak
Swamp chest- nut oak Red oak Turkey oak Black-jack oak Water oak
Willow oak Elm
Mulberry Magnolia
Bay
Poplar Sassafras Sweet gum Sycamore
Redbud
Tyty
Holly
Silver maple Red maple
Lin Dogwood Black gum
Sourwood Persimmon
Catalpa
Dry soils
Generally distrib- uted
Dry soils
Sandy bottoms, ete.
Bluffs, ete.
Ravines and bluffs
Along streams
Along streams
Creek bottoms, ete.
Along creeks and rivers
Ravines and bluffs
Richer soils
Dry woods
Caleareous soils
Bottoms
Bottoms
Dry soils
Dry sand
Dry soils
Lew grounds
Ravines, bluffs, ete.
Low grounds
Low grounds
Muddy river-banks
Bottoms, ete.
Ravines and bot- toms
Non-alluvial swamps
Ravines, ete.
Various situations
Along creeks and rivers
Bluffs, ete.
‘Creek swamps, etc.
Ravines and bluffs River-banks Branch-swamps, ete. Creek-banks, etc. Ravines and bluffs Dry woods Branch-swamps, ete, Ravines, etc.
Ravines and bluffs River-banks
94 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
About 38% of the trees in the original forests were evergreen, a much larger proportion than in the adjoin- ing black-belt, but less than in most of the regions far- ther south.
Population, etc.—The density of population in this re- gion was about 41 persons to the square mile in 1910, a slight decrease since 1900. Most of the inhabitants are negroes, but the proportion of them is not as large as in the black belt. About half of the region seems to be still wooded, but much of the forest is second growth. There is little or no free range for cattle at the present time.
Forest products.—The forest products are relatively unimportant, and mainly of the commoner sorts, such as short-leaf and long-leaf pine lumber and products, pine and oak cross-ties, white oak cotton baskets, etc. Some evergreens of various sorts are shipped north in winter for Christmas decorations. This industry will be de-’ scribed more particularly under region no. 11, where it is more prevalent.
For this region the Southern Lumberman lists 23 saw- mills with an average capacity of 8,700 feet a day, be- sides one with 50,000, and 3 other wood-working estab- lishments. Thirteen of the mills cut long-leaf pine, 22 short-leaf, 2 “white pine” (probably Pinus glabra), 2 hickory, 11 white oak, 12 red oak, 8 poplar, and 4 sweet gum. The 50,000-foot mill, at Prentice, Marengo County, operates 9 miles of tram-road, presumably extending into the post-oak flatwoods near by, which are much ~ more heavily timbered.
9. POST OAK FLATWOODS, 95
9. The Post Oak Flatwoods. (Figure 35.)
This is a very narrow belt, both in Alabama and in Mississippi, the only two states in which it is represent- ed. The Alabama portion has been estimated by Dr. Smith (no. 6, p. 61; no. 7, p. 279) to cover 335 square miles.
References.—Smith 7 (279-281, 460-462, 470), Smith 6 (61-62, 128, 129, 1382), Smith 8 (186-188, 592-593, 601- 602, 609), Smith 9 (132, 188-189, 247-248), U.S. soil sur- vey of Sumter County, and R. D. Webb.
Geology and soils.—The geological formation of this region is one of the Lower Eocene formations, the Sucar- nochee or Black Bluff, and it forms the surface over most of the area, the Lafayette being apparently absent. The soil to a depth of many feet is a grayish or yellowish laminated or faintly mottled clay, tolerably pure, or at least with very little sand or lime in it. Fresh exposures of it in cuts and ditches soon become covered with fine cracks just like those described on page 72 for one phase of the Tuscaloosa formation. It is fairly well supplied with potash, but deficient in lime and nitrogen, and con- tains a rather high percentage of magnesia, which is be- lieved to be detrimental to some plants. For this reason and also on account of its stiffness, and the scarcity of water, it is not cultivated much.
Topography and hydrography.—tThis belt is too nar- row to have any well-marked topographic characters, but it is for the most part pretty level, as its name implies. Small shallow ponds are found in a few places. Some streams flow across it, but few originate in it.
Forest types.—The forests are nearly al! of one type, dry open woods. There are doubtless some characteris- tic trees along the streams, but these have not been stud- ied much. Fires presumably are moderately frequent.
96 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
LIST OF TREES.
3-2 Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine |Poorest soils 22-20 Pinus Taeda Short-leaf pine |Nearly Pah 3 15-12 Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine |Dry soils
2-2 Hicoria ovata Scaly-bark
hickory
3-2 Hicoria alba ‘Hickory Dry soils
1-2 Salix nigra Willow Along streams
1-1 Betula nigra ‘Birch Along streams
1-1 Carpinus Caroliniana Low grounds
3-3 Fagus grandifolia Beech Low grounds
2-2 Quercus alba ‘White oak 11-9 Quercus stellata Post oak Dry soils
2-2 Quercus Michauxii Swamp chest-
nut oak Low grounds
5-6 Quercus falcata Red oak Dry soils
3-3 Quercus pagodaefolai Low grounds
0-0 Quercus coccinea Spanish oak Dry soils
1-1 Quercus Marylandica ([Black-jack oak |Driest soils
2-3 Quercus nigra i\Water oak Low grounds
0-0 Quercus laurifolia
3-3 Quercus Phellos Willow oak Low grounds
1-1 Ulmus Americana Elm |
2-2 Ulmus alata Elm |
1-1 Celtis occidentalis Hackberry Low grounds
2-2 Liriodendron Tulipifera | Poplar Along branches, ete.
0-1 Magnolia grandiflora Magnolia Creek bottoms
0-0 ‘Magnolia glauca Bay Along branches
6-8 Liquidambar Styraciflua|Sweet gum Various situations
2-2 Platanus occidentalis Sycamore Along creeks and
rivers
0-0 Crataegus viridis? Haw Low grounds
0-0 Ilex opaca Holly
1-2 Acer rubrum Black gum Along branches, ete.
2-2 Nyssa sylvatica? (Red) maple
0-0 Oxydendronarboreum |Sourwood Dry soils
0-1 Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon
0-0 Fraxinus Americana Ash
The three pines, constituting about 40% of the orig- inal forests, are evergreen, and the few much rarer ever- green trees increase this to about 42%. About the only noteworthy feature of this list is that the species are comparatively few in number, and nearly all common and widely distributed. The magnolia is the only one of them that is confined to the coastal plain.
Forest utilization—Probably 80% of the area has never been cultivated, but a good deal of the three kinds
10. SOUTHERN RED HILLS. 97
of pine has been cut for lumber, and doubtless much of the post oak for cross-ties, etc.
From the Southern Lumberman’s directory it would appear that this region has more sawmills in operation to its area than any other, but the area is so small that there is considerable chance for error in this estimate. Their average capacity is pretty high, too, 23,800 feet a day. Probably half of them are of the “big mill” type, with tram-road and waste-burner. Of the nine mills re- porting, two cut long-leaf pine and eight short-leaf (of two species, of course). White oak, red oak and poplar are reported by two mills each, and sweet gum by one. There seem to be 25 or 30 miles of logging railroad in the region, which is about as much to the square mile as any other region has.
10. The Southern Red Hills. (Figures 36-39.)
This region extends uninterruptedly frem South Caro- lina to West Tennessee, if not farther. and embraces about 8,000 square miles in Alabama. In the eastern half of the state, as in adjacent Georgia, its northern edge is marked by an inland-facing escarpment similar to the Chunnennuggee Ridge mentioned a few pages back, passing a few miles north of Troy and Clayton.
References.—Ball, Lyell (53-66), Mohr 3 (527-528), Mohr 5, 6 (39), Mohr 8 (106-110), Smith 6 (51-55, 68, 141-153), Smith 7 (252-265, 294, 496-528), Smith 8 (194 and numerous county descriptions, especially 610-625 and 629-637), Smith 9 (20, 239, 245-246, 263-267), Tuomey 1 (143-154), Tuomey 2 (244, by E. Q. Thornton), Win- chell.
Geology and soils.—This region is underlaid by vari- ous Eocene formations, which have been named in Dr. Smith’s reports and elsewhere Midway or Clayton, Nahe- ola, Nanafalia, Bell’s Landing or Tuscahoma, Wood’s Bluff or Bashi, Hatchetigbee, Buhrstone, and Clai- borne. (Most of these names are derived from Alabama localities, because the Eocene strata are more diversified
7G
98 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
in Alabama than anywhere else in the whole coastal plain.) These strata vary greatly lithologically, espe- cially in percentage of lime, but they do not affect the soil as much as they do the topography, for they are pretty well covered by a more homogeneous superficial formation, presumably the Lafayette. This is mostly a red loam, as usual, but eastward much of the surface is covered with loose yellowish sand, which may be a later formation, but is more likely a mere phase of the Lafay- ette. The soils are very diverse, ranging from nearly pure limestone on outcrops of the Midway formation to barren quartz sands. Most of them seem to be a little deficient in potash. The sandiness eastward may be cor- related in some measure with the wetter summers in those parts, as was suggested in the case of region no. 8.
Topography and hydrography.—The topography is so diversified that it would be out of the question to at- tempt to describe all the numerous forms here. On the average it is moderately hilly, with the valleys a little swampy. The hills are usually somewhat broader than the valleys, and in some places they spread out into pla- teaus standing about 400 feet above sea-level, known lo- cally as “red levels.”” In some of the more elevated areas the valleys are narrow and ravine-like, with no swamps. In Choctaw, Clarke and Monroe Counties the Buhrstone rocks are very siliceous and have resisted erosion so long that they form high rocky ridges, rising in some places 200 feet or more above the surrounding country, and known locally as “mountains.”* In Butler and Crenshaw Counties can be seen another extreme of topography, flat pine woods much like some of those considerably nearer the coast.
Most of the streams are sluggish and bordered by swamps. The rivers are muddy most of the time, but the creeks and branches are of course considerably less so. Small springs are common enough, but large ones are rare, and chiefly confined to the regions of Midway
*The only railroad tunnels in the coastal plain of the United States, as far as known, are in these mountains, one in Monroe County, and one in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, which adjoins
Alabama. See also Harper 6 (111).
10. SOUTHERN RED HILLS. 99
and Nanafalia limestone. (The Blue Spring in Barbour County is probably the largest one in the region.) The ground-water fluctuates less here than in most of the re- gions previously described, partly because this is nearer the coast, and partly also on account of a more evenly distributed seasonal rainfall.
Climate.—Two of the weather stations mentioned in the appendix are located in this region, namely, Push- mataha, among the mountains of Choctaw County, and Thomasville, in Clarke County. The average tempera- ture and length of the growing season seem to differ lit- tle from those of the three or four regions last de- scribed. At Thomasville the summers are a little wetter than at any station previously mentioned, and if any data were available for the eastern half of the region they would probably show a still greater tendency in that direction.
Forest types.—The “mountains” and most of the other ridges are or have been covered with splendid long-leaf pine forests, interspersed with several upland oaks. But in Pike and Barbour Counties (as well as in the corre- sponding parts of Southwest Georgia) there is a belt ten or fifteen miles wide where this pine is rare or absent, for no apparent reason.* Little or none of it is visible from the railroads in Clarke and Wilcox Counties, but that is partly due to the fact that the railroads there run for considerable distances through valleys, while the pine is chiefly confined to hills. In the more hilly por- tions the ravines and bluffs are covered with beech, white oak, cucumber trees, short-leaf pines, ete. Some out- crops of Midway limestone, particularly in the northern part of Butler County, are said to have once supported a fine growth of cedar. The “pocosin’; in Pike County,
*Sugar-cane, which is cultivated in nearly every region where Set pine grows, seems to be equally scarce in the same elt.
yPocosin, like hammock, is a phytogeographical term used only in the coastal plain. It is most prevalent in eastern North Caro- lina, where it means a level area with wet sour sandy soil, sparse- ly wooded with pine or cypress, with a dense undergrowth of shrubs and vines, mostly evergreen (something like fig. 52 of this report). Just how the term came to be applied to such a different type of vegetation in Alabama is a mystery.
100 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
about half way between Troy and Brundidge, is a beau- tiful bit of virgin forest covering several hundred acres and closely resembling the sandy hammockst which are common farther south. The trees in it are mostly of species which cannot stand fire, and they are protected from fire by being nearly surrounded by an area of dry sand on which the vegetation is too sparse to feed flames. The swamps vary from alluvial to non-alluvial, and each kind has its characteristic timber.
Fires are frequent on the wooded uplands, especially where long-leaf pine is the prevailing tree, but rare in the valleys, and almost impossible in ravines and swamps.
LIST OF TREES.
16-10 Pinus palustris ‘Long-leaf pine |Poorest soils 0-1 Pinus Elliottii Slash pine Low grounds 10-12 Pinus Taeda Short-leaf pine|Various situations 6-4 Pinus echinata ‘Short-leaf pine|Dry soils 3-3 Pinus glabra ‘Spruce pine Hammocks 2-2 Taxodium distichum, Cypress Swamps 1-0 Juniperus Virginiana Cedar Limestone outcrops 0-0 Hicoria aquatica (Swamp) hick-|Along creeks and d ory rivers 1-0 Hicoria alba Hickory Dry woods 0-0 Hicoria glabra (Pignut) hick- |Dry woods ory ; 1-2 Salix nigra Willow Along streams 1-2. Populus deltoides Cottonwood River-banks 1-1 Carpinus Caroliniana (Ironwood iNear streams 1-1 Ostrya Virginiana Ravines and bluffs 1-2 Betula nigra Birch Along creeks and rivers 3-2 Fagus grandifolia Beech Bluffs and bottoms 0-0 Castanea dentata Chestnut Becoming scarcer 0-0 Castanea pumila Chinquapin Dry woods 3-2 Quercus alba White oak Rich woods 2-1 Quercus stellata Post oak Dry woods 0-0 Quercus Margaretta Post oak Dry sand 0-0 Quercus lyrata Alluvial swamps 0-1 Quercus Michauxii Swamp chest- |Alluvial swamps nut oak 4-3. Quercus falcata Red oak Dry woods 0-1 Quercus pagodaefolia Bottoms 0-0 Quercus rubra Ravines and bluffs 0-0 Quercus Schneckii Bottoms 0-0 Quercus velutina ‘Black oak Dry woods
tSee footnote on page 83.
10. SOUTHERN RED HILLS. 101
ERR OCCrPNWNNNO
ooodHorFooorFo& Re Re © ll eee ell eel ooornko oorhroo WWrFODOCORFRNNRFNHS coorF-oodrFrHocorF&S Nowor NRrOoF Oo Coon ueo Coowroe
LIST OF TREES.—Continued.
|
Quercts coccinea Spanish oak §|Dry woods Quercvs Catesbaei Turkey oak ‘Dry sand Quercus Marylandica Black-jack oak Dry soils Quercus cinerea Dry soils Quercts nigra Water oak ‘Low grounds Quercus laurifelia ‘Hammocks, ete. Quercus Phellos Willow oak Low grounds Ulmus Americana Elm Ulmus alata Elm Planera aquatica . River-banks Morus rubra Mulberry Bottoms, ete. Magnolia grandiflora Magnolia Hammocks, ete. Magnolia glauca Bay Non-alluvial swamps Magnolia acuminata Cucumber tree | Rich woods Magnolia pyramidata Cucumber tree | Rich woods Magnolia macrophylla |Cucumber tree | Bluffs, ete. Liriodendron Tulipifera | Poplar Along branches, ete. Persea Borbonia Red bay Hammocks, ete. Persea pubescens Red bay Non-alluvial swamps Sassafras variifolium (Sassafras Liquidambar Styraciflua| Sweet gum Various situations Platanus occidentalis Sycamore River-banks mostly Crataegus spathulata Haw Dry woods Crataegus Michauxii Haw Dry sand, eastward Prunus Caroliniana Hammocks and bluffs Cercis Canadensis Redbud Rich woods Ilex opaca Holly Ravines, bluffs, ete. Acer Floridanum ‘Sugar maple |Ravines, bluffs, etc. Acer saccharinum ‘Silver maple |River-banks Acerrubrum . ‘Red maple Branch-swamps, | eiG: Acer Negundo River-banks, ete. Tilia heterophylla? Lin Rich woods Cornus florida 'Dogwood ’|Dry woods Nyssa sylvatica ‘Black gum Rich woods Nyssa biflora Black gum Non-alluvial swamps Nyssa uniflora ‘Tupelo gum Sloughs, ete. Oxydendron arboreum Sourwood Ravines and blffs Bumelia lycioides | Bumelia lanuginosa | Sandy hammocks Diospyros Virginiana Persimmon Halesia diptera River-banks, etc. Symplocos tinctoria Sweet-leaf Ravines and bluffs Fraxinus Americana Ash Rich woods Fraxinus Caroliniana Ash Swamps Osmanthus Americana Hammocks
Catalpa bignonioides Catalpa River-banks
102 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
About 47% of the trees in the original forests were evergreen. Seventeen of the species, comprising about 20% of all the trees, are oaks. This number of oaks seems to be equaled only in the short-leaf pine belt (6A); but oaks form a larger proportion of the forest in several of the regions farther inland. The meost note- worthy tree reaching its inland limit in this region is Pinus Elliottii, the slash pine,* which is found in the southern part of Butler County, but is much more abun- dant in the regions farther south.
Population, etc.—At the time of the last census the southern red hill region had about 32 inhabitants to the square mile, an increase of. about 12!14% in ten years. About 57% of the population is white. About 60% of the region seems to be still wooded,—more in the mountain- ous sections than elsewhere, of course. Some of the counties have a stock law and some have not.
Forest utilization. A great deal of the long-leaf pine has of course been cut out, but it is still the most abun- dant tree in the region, apparently. The short-leaf pine and a few of the oaks have spread somewhat into old fields, but otherwise the proportions of the different up- land species have not changed much. From the swamps some cypress has been removed, but little other damage has been done to them. In some parts of the region which are remote from railroads, tram-roads have been built out from navigable rivers, particularly the Tombig- bee, and the timber gotten out in that way. The princi- pal forest products seem to be as follows:
Long-leaf and short-leaf pine lumber.
Naval stores.
Cross-ties (mostly pine).
Baskets, crates, veneers.
Doors, sash, blinds, mouldings, mantels.
Staves, spokes, handles.
Pine and cypress shingles (both split and sawed). Cedar posts and pencil wood (decreasing). Dogwood logs for shuttles.
*In the latter part of the 19th century this tree was miscalled “Cuban pine” by many writers on forestry, because it was thought to be identical with Pinus Cubensis, a species now believed to be confined to eastern Cuba. The name “slash pine” may not be used much in Alabama, but it is common in Georgia.
11. THE LIME HILLS. 103
Poplar logs and lumber.
Other hardwood logs of various kinds, exported whole. Evergreens for winter decorations.
Pine lightwood shipped to cities.
White oak cotton baskets.
Honey, persimmons, hickory nuts.
The stage of development of the lumber industry in this region is just about intermediate between that of the hardwood and the long-leaf pine regions, and in many respects pretty close to the average for the whole state. The Southern Lumberman enumerates 76 saw- mills, with an average capacity of 13,900 feet a day, and 5 other wood-working establishments. Only about five of the sawmills have tram-roads (aggregating 114 miles in length), but one of these five, at Chapman, Butler Coun- ty, in the flat pine woods area mentioned a few pages back, seems to be the third largest in the state. Over twenty kinds of wood are reported by the sawmills of this region. Sixty-one of them cut long-leaf pine, 52 short-leaf (of two or three species), one “spruce” (Pinus glabra?), 6 cypress, 8 hickory, 4 beech, 19 “white oak,” 11 “red oak,” 36 poplar, 2 magnolia, 8 sweet gum, and 6 ash.
The evergreen industry, which will be described more particularly under the next region, is carried on to a con- siderable extent in Monroe, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Barbour, Henry and perhaps a few other counties, mostly in late fall.
11. The Lime Hills. (Figure 40.)
This division, covering about 1,300 square miles in Alabama, extends from Conecuh County northwestward into Mississippi. The red lime lands of the central part of Jackson County, Florida, which seem to extend a little way into Houston County, Alabama, are essentially the same kind of country. Farther east there is nothing ex- actly like it.
References.—Ball, Lyell (77), Smith 6 (62-64, 143-145, 148-149, 154-155), Smith 7 (281-285, 500-501, 503-504,
104 ECONOMIC BOTANY OF ALABAMA.
507, 515-518, 530-533), Smith 8 (107-117, 120-121, and county descriptions), Smith 9 (284-286, 298-302), Tuo- mey 1 (154-159), Tuomey 2 (249-252, by E. Q. Thorn- ton).
Geology and soils.—The principal rock of this region is the Vicksburg or St. Stephens white limestone, regarded by some geologists as the uppermost member of the Eocene and by others as Lower Oligocene; a matter of classification which does not particularly concern the geographer. Some older Eocene rocks, such as Claiborne and Buhrstone, are exposed in the Hatchetigbee anti- cline of Choctaw, Clarke and Washington Counties, which belongs geologically with the region last de- scribed, but for geographical purposes is best included in the lime hills region, which completely surrounds it. The white limestone crops out on hillsides in many places, and is a favorite material for chimneys, on account of the ease with which it can be sawn into blocks of the de- sired size when freshly quarried.
The soil on the uplands is mainly a dark red loam, probably most of it residual from the limestone, rather than belonging to the Lafayette formation. Like most calcareous soils lying considerably above sea-level, it is very fertile; except that potash is a little deficient on the ridges.
The existence of deposits of salt, alkali, sulphur, etc., in this region, especially in the vicinity of the Hatche- tigbee anticline, is shown by the occurrence of these sub- stanes in the water of springs and artesian wells; and there are a few places where their effects on vegetation are noticeable.
‘Topography and hydrography.—The topography is in general rather hilly. In some places in the vicinity of the anticline above mentioned it is almost as mountain- ous as in neighboring parts of the red hills region. One or two caves are reported, but there seems to be no ponds or large limestone springs, and the streams present no peculiarities worth mentioning.
Climate.—The weather records from Bermuda, Cone- cuh County, which is just about on the northern edge of © this belt, may be taken to illustrate its climate. The av-
11. THE LIME HILLS. 105
erage temperature is about 65°, and the average annual rainfall about 50 inches. The four warmest months get more than their share of rain, but the six warmest months get a little less. (In this and several other cases it appears that the contrast between summer and winter rainfall is better exhibited by taking the figures for four months than for six.)
Forest types.—The limestone outcrops are character- ized by cedar, redbud, mulberry, and other trees that are sensitive to fire, usually draped with “moss” (Villandsia usneoides). The drier uplands have various oaks, short- leaf pines, and occasionally long-leaf pine, the latter seeming strangely out of place among such dense vegeta- tion. The forests on loamy slopes and in bottoms are mainly of the hammock type, with magnolia, beech, spruce pine, etc. Fire is infrequent.
LIST OF TREES.
10-8 Pinus palustris Long-leaf pine |Dry soils 10-12 Pinus Taeda Short-leaf pine oe distrib- ute 3-3 Pinus echinata Short-leaf pine Dry soils 5-6 Pinus glabra Spruce pine 'Ravines and bluffs 2-2 Taxodium distichum Cypress ‘Swamps 4-2 Juniperus Virginiana Cedar ‘Rock outcrops 0-0 Juglans nigra ‘Black walnut (Limestone slopes 1-1 Hicoria aquatica (Swamp) hick- Along creeks, etc. ory | 2-1 Hicoria alba Hickory Dry woods 1-2 Salix nigra Willow ‘Along streams 1-1 Populus deltoides Cottonwood River-banks, etc. 1-1 Carpinus Caroliniana [lronwood Creek-swamps, etc. 1-1 Ostrya Virginiana Ravines and bluffs 2-2 Betula nigra Birch Along creeks and rivers 4-4 Fagus grandifolia Beech Bluffs and bottoms 5-3 Quercus alba - ‘White oak Bottoms, ete. 1-1 Quercus stellata Post oak Dry woods 1-1 Quercus Durandii Limestone outcrops 0-0 Quercus Muhlenbergii Limestone outcrops 1-1 Quercus<