Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1873-11-20
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 70, 1873.
Our Timber Forests,

Oul AimUcl ! ulSStS.
Just before the meeting of the national
board of trade at Chicago, Mr.. James Lit
tie of Montreal addressed letter to Mr..
John Walker. one of the Canadian dele
gates in that body, in which he considered
at some length the question OF reciprocity,
so far as it relates to the article of lumber.
Mr. Little does not exactly request Mr..
Walker to oppose the principle of reciproc-
lily, but all his arguments tend to show
that it would be unwi>e for Canada to
sacrifice her forests. which will become
more valuable when the rash folly OF
American lumbermen has stripped the
United States. We do not know the
source from which Mr. Little gets his
statistics, and We certainly cannot vOuch
fur their accuracy. If they are correct.
the situation i sufficiently startling. Mr..
Little states the total annual consumption
al lumber in the United States at ten thou
sand million feet. He says that the amount
cut annually in Maine is seven hundred
millions. rate which he thinks will eN-
hau>t the supply in ten wears, while five
years viii be sufficient to use up all that is
worth bringing to market. Pennsylvania
cuts five hundred million feet. and has a
supply for not more than ten years.
Northern New York. now producing three
huudred million feet q year. Mr.. Little sup
poses i to be taken Tor national park.
cutting OF that supply! Michigan pro-
duccs two thousand TO three thousand
million feet wear, and. allowing for in
crease. Will be stripped in about twelve
Years. Minnesota and Wisconsin have a
large extent OF forest. but their distance
and the sharp demand for their products
in the West cut OH the East from the
benefit of them. The writer sums up his
conclusion with this statement: But they
may. ia some measure. be able to under
stand their position when the fact j. pre-
scented that, notwithstanding the vast ex-
tent OF their forests. ten to twelve wears
Al the outside, will leave them without a
suck Of pine. spruce, hemioch and oak be-
tween the head-water> of the Mississippi
and the eastern seaboard.'
Although We can present 10 exact
A@uTes IN contradiction TO those above
given. there are some facts that make il
certain that the case is overstated, and
that there i not so much occasion for
;.larm A. Mr.. Little thinks. In the first
place, While lac has estimated the CON
sumption of lumber in the whole United
States. lie has proceeded upon the a>>ump-
ton that the tier OF States bordering on
Canada. a. far west a. Minnesota. is called
upon to supply it. This is by no means
the case. oii.l it j. true that they are the
emei sources of supply for the northern
states. and it the forest area and the rate
o! consumption in them were n Mr.. Little
suPpuees. his conclusion Is TO the time
necessary 10 strip them would be correct.
The last report Of the agricultural depart
neut of the United States enters into this
question of forest area somewhat in detail.
The >tau>tician puts down The total wood
ed area in the States ii three hundred and
eighty million acres, out of the total area
ct one thousand two hundred and seventy
i've million acres. or rather more than
oHe-fourth. But as We are chiefly con-
cerned with the northern States. we may
restrict ourselves 10 the eastern. middle
and western States north of MARYLAND.
kentucky and Missouri. In them there
are still nearly niuety-four million acres OF
Woodland out OF 4 total acreage Of three
hundred and fifty millious-still more than
one-iourh. Estimating that only one
third oi this is accessible, and that il Yields
only twenty-five hundred feet 10 the acre
"ne-halt the average assigned by Mr..
Little. it would still suffice for nearly eight
years consumption of the whole United
states. Taking the woodland area Of
Maine 81 ten and a half millions of acres
The estimate 81 the agricultural depart
ment, and snPpoein2 that it yields but one
thousand feet to the acre on an average.
there i stiIl enough Al MIR. I.ittles estimate
81 The amount cut 10 last fifteen years.
iAe supply Of Michigan at Mr.. Little's
own average is enough Tor thirty years al
ihe present. rate of consumption.
But. pat the b 81 face possible ON the
matter. Il is evident that We are wasting
oar forests. and that the time when We
must loOh upon an almost treele>s eXpanse
Ia all oar northern States is hardly more
than generation distant at the lurthest.
We have lao faith in free trade in lumber
a,s a preventive. The result would proba-
bly, be an increased consumption and a
quicker clearing of the Canadian forests
well as onr own. The real remedy is in
4 policy of preservation Of our forests by
economy and of sysi ematic planting of new
forests. The first is q work exclusively
for the owners Of woodland: the other
mas require some encouragement from the
state. Our water supply has already been
unfayorably affected by the extensive tim
der cutting and forest burning in New
England. 1t is plain that lumber must be
more expensive few years hence, and
those who preserve their forests now will
lind great profit in 30 doing in the end
Boston Adrertiser.