Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1883-12-16
SOME VERY LARGE FIGURES
WHICH Represent the Value of West
ViIgiuIa's Timber Resources.
Special TO the Register.

EDtCtuS u tIc LSVtott.
WAsHyGTcH, December l5.-Coming
back to the subject of West Virgina's tim
Der resources, concerning which | sent you
something yesterday, ! have succeeded
finally in getting the figures furnished in
preliminary reports OF the National Geo
logical Survey from the several counties
in the State. Where the amount in any
county is inconsiderable, say less than 100
square miles, the county is not included in
these figures, so that the aggregate can be
relied upon as being considerably under
rather than over the real area of timber
forest in the Stale. beginning with Boone
c.unty, the reports give her i3O square
miles Of forest, Brnxton, 80; Calhoun, 2DJ;
Clay. 800; Doddridge, 100; Fayette, $50;
Gilmer, 200; Grant, POO; Greenbrier, $50;
Hardy, $50; Lincoln, 300; Logan, $50;
Mcdowell, 60; Marshall $50; Mercer 200;
Nicholas, 300 Pendleton, 800; Pocahontas,
500; Preston, $50; Putnam, l50i Raleigh,
400; Randolph, 500; Richie, 2Ol;
Roane, l5U; Summers, 2ao; Tucker,
200; Upshur, l75; Wayne, $50;
Webster, 400; Wyoming 600. This only in
cludes the returns from thirty out OF fifty
four counties OF the state, and the esti'
mates given run considerably under the
amount supposed by the Department here
TO exist in the counties named, and yet the
aggregate foots up nine thousand tive hun
Gred &nd five square miles, or five mi lion
one hundred and eighty-three thousand
and two hundred acres OF tmber forest.
Estimates as 10 the number OF thousand
feet per acre that can he gotten out run all
the way from ten thousand 70 twenty thous-
and 'ect per acre. Mr. c. X. DOrr, a praC-
tiCaI lumber man of Webster county, re
ports that the timber forest Of that county
Will'aversge seventeen thousand feet to. the
acre. Mr.. O'keefe, another expert, igure6
out the yield in Mcdowell at twenty thous
and feet per acre. Take the lowest of these
calculations say ten thousand feet to the
acre--aud ii give total OF D., ,532,Ow
thousand feet, which at ten dollars per
thousand would be worth S5lS,32O.JOJ
These are big figures bat il is doubtful
whether they are not lar below the value OF
this timber ready Tor market. \ large pro
portion Of it is hard wood, worth from $50
to 500 per thousand feet in any market, do
mes,i- or foreign, ard none OF il would be
worth less than $40 per thousand. An av-
ersge OF $50 per thousand would run it up
TO a billion and a hall Of dollars, aud the
incidental values that would accrue to the
State in the preparation for and carrying
on Ii" work OF getting it ready for and
in transportation to market are beyond
any estimate.
C,rs Gcrable space has been devoted TO
u, vii = how practicable such transporta'
Jon may be made. Some OF these i'm.
uroveu cuts, such as the clearing out OF
Isrgec streams. will probably require go'-
?; ueut alG Others, such as the COnstruc-
ion o; interior railroads, have already been
uroi.CteG. II is not hoping too much to
cox (, ward TO the opening up OF much OF
,h's territory within the present century,
suG owners OF timber lands who can care
CT theru. make mistake in allowing them
q te wasted bv hacking, or deplete bv
small operators who secure possession OF
valuabie trees FOR small consideration and
remove them singly. 1t will pay the
present holders TO give these matters atten-
ton. Commissioner Loring, OF the Ag!i-
cultural Bureau. in his last annual report,
saws the total value ci the fOres. products
Of the United States for the census year
alone exceeded 500 DOD 600 In other words
the forest products OF that one year eX
ceedrd in value the crops Of the country
in hay. rye. oats. barley, bucS%he1t, p0ta.
toes and tobacco taken together. Ihfy
smOGnt 10 ten times the value OF or gold
and silver product, Of which we mako 50
much account, and tO more than three
times the value Of the precious minerals
and the coal and other minerals combined.
Las.