The 1928 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide Page: 81
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THE TEXAS ALMANAC. 81
of the present time is found. There are
many large sawmills in operation, and
the big lumber companies have many
large holdings. Though the longleaf ma-
tures more slowly than either the short-
leaf or the loblolly, it makes an excel-
lent timber for lumber production, and it
is in this region that the principal efforts
toward reforestation in Texas will prob-
ably be exerted.
The loblolly belt lies south and south-
west of the longleaf belt, covering parts
of Hardin, Liberty, Harris, Waller,
Grimes, Walker and other counties of this
region. There is a small, isolated loblolly
pine area in Fayette and Bastrop
Counties.
East Texas Hardwoods.
Though the territory described above is
generally known as the pine belt, it has
also the most valuable hardwoods in
Texas. As a rule the conifers grow in the
upland sandy soils, while the hardwoods
grow along the alluvial valleys of the
rivers and creeks, many of which trav-
erse this territory. There is a wide va-
riety of oaks, of which the white oak is
the most valuable, but including also the
red oak, scarlet oak an'd water oak, and
there is much gum, elm, ash, hickory, wal-
nut, dogwood and other timbers. There
is a considerable stand of hardwood left
in the northern as well as in the south-
ern and central portions of the pine belt.
There are about fifty species of oak na-
tive in Texas, most of which are repre-
sented in this area.
Postoak Belts.
There are two postoak areas in Texas.
The larger of the two, which is usually
known as "the postoak belt," lies west
of and approximately parallel to the pine
belt and extends west to the black land
prairies. It begins at the northern border
of the State and widens as it goes south
through parts of Hopkins, Rains, Van
Zandt, Henderson, Freestone, Anderson
and contiguous counties. It is irregularly
triangular in shape, lying between the
pine belt and the black land belt in the
northern half and between the black
lands and the coastal plains in the south.
Its southwestern tip lies in the vicinity
of Zavalla County, in Southwest Texas. In
this belt is also a wide variety of other
oaks, red oak, scarlet oak, water oak, also
scrub pine, blackjack and hickory. Pecan,
eln and walnut are found along the water
courses. The smaller postoak belt lies in
the east and west cross timbers.
Cross Timbers.
The black land belt and the Grand
Prairie are usually not wooded except
along the streams where pecan, elm,
blackjack, walnut and some other hard-
woods grow. The east cross timbers lie
in a narrow belt running from the Red
River south through portions of Grayson,
Cooke, Denton, Dallas, Tarrant, Johnson
and Hill, tapering out in the last named
county. Postoak predominates, but other
oaks are found, with small cedars on the
hillsides. There is also the usual pecan,
elm, blackjack and other hardwoods, espe-
cially along the streams.
The west cross timbers is a larger belt
lying just west of the Grand Prairie and
extending south from the Red River
through Montague, western part of Cooke,
Wise, Parker, Hood, Palo Pinto, Somer-
veil, Hamilton, Brown, Comanche, Coryell,
Mills, Lampasas and terminating in thevicinity of Burnet County. This belt ex-
tends as far westward as the eastern part
of Coleman County and the growth is
similar to that found in the east cross
timbers. The oaks found in this territory
are usually smaller than those found in
the postoak belt lying just west of the
pine belt.
Cedar Brakes.
The Texas cedars grow in the hilly
country of the Grand Prairie and the east
and west cross timbers and also through-
out the hills of the eastern part of the
Edwards Plateau, and in the lower section
of the eastern postoak belt. They attain
their greatest size probably in the moun-
tains of Burnet and surrounding counties
of Central Texas, and there is a consid-
erable commercial production from some
of these brakes for poles and posts. For-
merly there was considerable shipment of
cedar for domestic fuel, but it has de-
clined with the increased use of natural
gas in most of the populous centers of
Texas. Scrub cedars are found on the
hillsides as far west as the foot of the
cap rock which bounds the high plains of
Northwest Texas.
Live Oak Belt.
The live oak belt of Texas is not clear-
ly definable, It overlaps other sections of
both forested and prairie lands and ex-
tends from North Central and Middle
Western Texas southward through Cen-
tral Texas, and extends throughout South-
west Texas and into the coastal plains,
especially in the territory between San
Antonio and Corpus Christi. They are
found usually in small groves. In the cen-
tral and southern parts of the State the
live oak attains great size in some in-
stances, even larger than the white oak
of East Texas. The largest tree in Texas
is said to be a live oak at Rio Frio in
Real County. It has a girth of more than
twenty-six feet and a spread of more than
100 feet.
Mesquite.
The mesquite is found throughout a
wide area. It grows as far east as Dal-
las and Kaufman Counties and extends to
the foot of the Great Plains on the west.
It is most prevalent in Middle Western
Texas and on the Edwards Plateau of
Southwest Texas. The mesquite is found
also in South Texas extending to the
coastal plains. The mesquite is too small
to be valuable commercially, though when
cured properly, it is of rich color and
polishes beautifully. There has been a
small production of furniture and cabinet
work from this wood. The mesquite is
unique in that it is one Texas tree that is
not in need of reforestation efforts. Areas
that were great open prairies a quarter
of a century ago have grown up in this
timber. Prairie grass fires on the open
range were probably responsible for hold-
ing its growth in check until the country
was fenced. Throughout most of the
mesquite belt of West and Southwest
Texas there is a heavy growth of pecan,
walnut, elm and other timbers along the
banks of the streams.
Timbers West of Peeos.
The Trans-Pecos region is largely tree-
less with the exception of its mountains,
whose summits frequently are crowned
with timbers representative of the Pacific
Coast forests. On the higher reaches of
the Chisos, Chinati, Sierra Viega, Santiago,
Davis and Guadalupe Mountains are found
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The 1928 Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide, book, 1928~; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123786/m1/84/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.