The trees selected in this study are part of a larger program
to study the variability and development of properties for
southern pine. Three trees were selected from each site.
The majority of this paper is concerned with a set of 55-yr
old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) trees felled from a natural
regeneration stand in the Crossett Experimental Forest,
Crossett, AR. Periodic understory control was conducted via
a series of prescribed burns. Trees were also collected in South Carolina and two sites in Mississippi for comparsons. A set of 15-yr old loblolly pine trees was collected
from a rapid growth experimental plot near Summerville,
SC, in which a 6 x 6 ft spacing was chosen for the first 5
years and then 12 x 12 ft thereafter. Three extremely-fast
grown loblolly pine trees were chosen from a seed orchard
in Eastabuchie, MS. These were felled from a 29-yr old
clonal stand in which the conditions were primed for cone
production. The last set in this study is a set of 30-yr old
slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm) trees, grown on a wet
site, in DeSoto National Forest, MS. Important tree data
such as the height, diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) and
height to live crown are listed in table 1.