University of Southern Mississippi - Southerner Yearbook (Hattiesburg, MS)

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illlliaaizaimaia Svrrnnh' Cfrratvzt iixpnrt---Eumhrr BEU LA H KOC H HERE are more than one hundred and twenty different trees found in Mississippi. The most valuable for lumber are the long leaf pine, white oak, cotton wood, gums, hick- ory, ash, poplar, and cypress. Mississippi ranks third in the annual production of lum- ber in the United States. The lumber and timber products of the State increased in value from 951,920,335 in 1880 to 342,793,000 in 1909. In 1915 the estimated cut of timber for the State was 2,200,000,000 feet--1,850,000, 000 feet, or about 84 per cent, being Southern Yellow Pine. The principal hardwood areas of timber are found in the northern and western sec- tions of the State. The more plen- tiful kinds of hardwood that are cut in Mississippi are cypress for shinglesg oak for heading and staves, estimated at 30,000,000 feet annually, gums, 100,000,000 feet for veneers, and hickory 20,000,000 feet for making wheels and other parts of wagons, buggies, automobiles, and farm implements. Mississippi cuts over 325,000,000 feet of hard- wood timber yearly. A large num- ber of hardwood mills are found scattered over the northern half of the State, and Memphis has twenty- three mills largely supplied by Mis- sissippi timber. The largest hard- gourtes,-OfM,,,, wood mill in the world is claimed by Charleston in Tallahatchie County. It cuts 120,000 feet daily, or 40,- 000,000 feet in a year. The Company owns 74,000 acres of Delta timber lands, and owinlg to the selective method used in cutting the timber they expect to be running at a proit twen- ty years from now. About half of this timber is for home consumption and the other half 'is shipimied to Spain, France, England, Germany, Italy, and nearly all other countries ofthe wor . The southern portion of Mississippi has just reached the age in its geologic history where the soil is adapted to the growth of yellow pine. Millions of acres of virgin timber have been stripped, and at the present rate of consumption yellow pine will be extinct in thirty years, according to government reports. The yellow pine forests of Mississippi yield about 12,000 feet mill cut to the acre. Mills for the cutting of yellow pine are numbered by the dozen, Laurel alone having five immense plants, nearly all of which reach the million dol- lar limit in valuation. One mill at Hattiesburg has a capacity of 150,000,000 feet per year, and two companies at Laurel have capacities of 120,000,000 feet and 90,000,000 feet respec- tively. Laurel is reported to be the largest yellow pine shipping center in the world. Yellow pine is shipped all over the United States south of Minnesota and east of the Mississippi River. Under normal conditions these mills ship lumber, cross-ties, telephone poles, and naval stores to Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the countries in South America, the Jamai- ca Islands, and the British Empire. The shipping points are Gulfport, Mobile, and New Or- leans, Gulfport ranking second in the United States in lumber exports. O. R. R. One of Mississippi's Logs 19

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illlliaaiazippi Cfvnvrnuzlg Svupplivh with Artvziun M2115 sinh illiirwral waters BEEDIE E. SMITH HE earnest attention given in late years to sanitation and prevention of disease has led to a thorough investigation of the water supply. Surface and shallow wells are con- demned and river waters are regarded dangerous. An abundant supply of good, pure water from deep wells is Mississippi's most valuable resource. As Dr. Logan says, Upon it depends not only the physical well being of its people but much of its material prosperityfl Mississippi has flowing springs in nearly every section and artesian wells are common, the water bearing strata lying at different depths in different places. The best flowing artesian water in the Tennessee Hills, lpage 115, is found at a depth of 300 to 400 feet, the flow in some places filling a four inch pipe and being highly mineral- ized. In North Tishomingo springs abound. At Iuka there are several mineral springs of wide reputation, 3000 or more guests going there each year in search of health. These waters were awarded the silver medal at the St. Louis World's Fair over 160 others from diierent parts of the world. They are bot- tled and shipped to all sections of the country. T he dairying industry must have pure water to have 1 Arfesian Well at Hattiesburg pure milk, and this resource adds i i much to the value of the Prairie liiell as a dairying region. The thick stratum of sand underlying the Selma limestone is filled with pure water: and there remains on the eastern side only to tap these sands to obtain fiovvxing Wells, while in other parts artesian water will come within easy pumping distance. Over the Plateau are many springs, and Howing artesian wells are possible in most places here as well as in the Delta and Loess I-lllls. Almost every town in the State can have pure artesian water, heavy flows being obtained right on the coast and even on Ship Island, 12 miles out in the Sound. The McNeill Experiment Station, located in the Long Leaf Pine section has a six-inch well 100 feet deep from which can be pumped 1800 gallons per hour. The mineral wells and springs are popular health resorts, and have become a profit- able industry for the owners, a considerable income being obtained from the shipment of the water and from the large number of guests every year, some of whom seek health and others rilest and recreation. Only a few of the oldest and most noted watering places are mentioned ere. At Brown's Wells near Hazlehurst there are seven wells. Many guests were ac- commodated in the hotels and cottages in 1916. Water is shipped to great distances. Before Mississippi was settled by the white people, there v'as an Indian settlement at the present site of the Stafford Mineral Springs, which they called Bogohama, meaning Water of Life. These springs furnished 130,000 gallons of water for medical purposes in 1916, and have a plant with facilities for bottling and shipping two car loads of water per day. The Kolola Springs near Columbus have long been known for the curative properties of the watery Cooper's Wells at Raymond is crowded during the open season: the waters of Robinson's Springs are said to have wonderful healing powers. 18

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lining tlgr Svtumpa---691' muah ilhhurtiun lglzmtz HEN five million or more acres of the Long Leaf Pine Region of South Mississippi lost their big trees, there remained a vast area of nothing but stumps-H useless, blotting the landscape, hindrances to cultivation to be removed only after much labor and a dead expense. Truly necessity is the mother of invention. Obstacles, as they were, in the way of the emigrant, stumps have now become a source of income to the owner: and the pine stump earns its right to existence by paying for its removal and netting a profit over and above its expenses. A process has been discovered by which turpentine and rosin can be extracted from the pinewood and already two mills known as Wood Reduction Plants, have been erected in Mississippi, one at Gulfport and one at Hattiesburg. The materials used are pine knots, pine limbs, stumps, and roots. These are brought to the plant by cars and weighed, then thrown from the cars into a large machine with steel knives making about eleven thousand revolutions per minute. These knives cut the wood into small chips, which are carried by a conveyor into a machine known as a shredder which reduces the chips to very small particles. These are conveyed into large retorts and steam is applied. This steam passes through large copper condensers and turpentine is extracted from the wood in about sixty minutes. The steam pressure is increased and a substance known as pine oil results, which is used for medicinal purposes. The wood is then treated by a solvent processg a heavy dark liquid is removed known as rosin liquid, which is refined and rosin is extracted therefrom. There is left a substance known as pulpg after this is treated it can be used by the paper mills in making a high grade paper, so nothing is wasted. After the turpentine is refined it is pumped into tank cars holding six to eight thousand gallons and the rosin is barrelled. These products are shipped tc markets in north- ern states and foreign countries. The machines are patented and the reduction process is very expensive. The plant manufacturing one hundred cords per day will require two hundred and fifty thousand dollars capital. It is only recently that chemists have been successful in perfecting a process that would refine rosin, but it is thought in the near future there will be a great number of these plants that will successfully convert the waste products of pine forests and cut-over lands into valuable products. A cord of rich top wood will yield about sixteen gallons of turpentine, one and a half gallons of rosin oil, and four hundred and fifty pounds of rosin. A cord of rich stump wood will yield about twenty-three gallons of turpentine, two and a half gallons of rosin oil, and about six hundred and fifty pounds of rosin. It is estimated that the cut-over lands have an average of about seven cords of wood per acre which would be worth to the land owner about four dollars per cord. The removal of the stumps from the land enables the farmers to use improved im- plements, to cultivate more land, and to make better crops. They realize enough money from the stumps to have the land cleared and to buy fertilizer to enrich the soil for crop growing. Thus we see that the wood reduction plant is a most valuable asset to the development of goiith Mississippi, and offers opportunity for profitable investment of many thousands of 0 ars. 20