The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-06-05
OUR LUMBER REsouRcRs.
. Concise Statement and Interesting
q Figures About Timber.

From. the Macon (Ga) Telegraph.
lara are few interesting facts in con-
Ion with the lumber business in the
tate Of Georgia:
There were in 1880 about 100000 acres
-, line land in the state of Georgia, and,
-.;u,ating that there was an average of
o60 feet Of lumber TO eacn acre, taking the
-,LoIe area into consideration, the quantity
Wti1rnber would not fall far short of this
Innate. This, therefore, is what Geor-
s;s had to her credit of her pines in that
year. A.. .o-....
ranroduce themselves every thirty-three
oars and. as a matter of fact, 100 years
2gvonld be nearer the mark, Georgia had in
\ 80 vast estate an investment with a divi-
dand earning capacity of about per cent
TsT annum. During the year 1890 there
Tss sawed into lumber from our pines 272,-
$4,000 feet. 1901
mat in one year in Georgia, 500, O45 cords
H ~ wood were consumed, with population
Il ~ 421. 800; this was less than four cords per
H canta per annum. In sixty counties in the
\ nine belt there was population of 553, 536.
Hunting four cords of wood per capita
nor annum for this population we see that
H there were consumed in the pine belt 2,214,-
ia cords of wood for cooking and general
domestic uses.
HOW MUCH BURNED.
II ONLY one-eighth of this was cut from
v,erchantable timber, and this is certainly
a conservative estimate, particularly in
view of the fact that many trees, which in
4 the course of time would make merchanta-
BILE timber, are cut up into wood, then
b3, 1S4. 43l feet Of lumber was burned up
that year. Inasmuch as the quantity con-
sumed by railroads as fuel for locomotives
l. w-<~El 49, "a
il fair to put the consumption, on account
| of fuel, down at this figure.
Estimating that 500 acres Of land per
county were cleared during the year 1880
| for farming purposes, there were cleared in
the sixty counties 80, 900 acres, and estlmat-
ing the number of feet of lumber per acre
at 5000 feet, we would see that in 1886
| 1000. 900 feet of merchantable lumber were
| destroyed in this way.
Fire swept over 705,351 acres Of land in
Georgia during the census year, inficting q
loss Of $l67,6
IN RAILROAD TIES.
In 1880 there were about /, 200 miles OF
railroads traver sing the counties in cues
ton. On each mile of track there were
2.640 crossties, and there were AZ, $50 feet
| of lumber in crossties, and on the 1,20C
miles there were III, or, 900 feet. Assuming
| that renewals are necessary every five years
the railroads would use one-ffth of this
amount and therefore in 1880 consumed
/ 342l4, 400 feet
We have seen that in 1880, according to the
controller generals report, there were 16,
100000 acres of land returned for taxation
as improved land. We have seen from the
government estimate that only about 80 pei
cent. of this land was IN actual cultivation
This would give 4, 5000 acres as being
in actual cultivation by population Of
| 553, $50 persons.
According to these estimates we see that
about 8 $40 acres per capita were
cultivated, or forty-three acres for
each family of five persons. It is
| certainly within the mark to say that In
keeping up plantation fences, as many as
twenty rails per acre per annum are used
II this is true, then the people in these sixty
counties used in the year 1880, Sc, 000, 0OC
rails or S64, 900, 900 feet of lumber Sup
1 pose half of these rails were obtained from
other than merchantable timber, then we
would see that 432, 100000 feet Of lumber
went into fences.
Now, if these fences have to be renewed
every several years, the annual draft upor
the forests on this account would be, Oh
was, in 1880, 4l2.633, 81 feet of lumber
But this, it will be seen, have put dow1
at 49,, 100000.
By reference to the compendium to the
tenth census, pages SOL to COG, it will be seer
tuaI Gu0 dCtudA HuutUcI u ldTIlS Ol dll SIG
in these counties, large and small, in 1880
was As, S64.
- So. on the basis of forty-three acres K
each family, the number l give is close t.
correct
This is what a practical and successful
farmer has to say on this subject;
l6 acres will cost TO fence it,. ........S &c o.
Is acres will cost to fence it............. 80 o.
% acres will cost to fence it ........... $50 u
100 acres will cost to fence it. ..,........ $50
The annual cost will be about one-seventl
OF the amount.
1t costs $3.50 to fence fifty acres, and this
is equal to 80 60 per acre. Renewing ever
seven years costs 81 TIC cents per acre pc
annum. And if rails cost 81 so per 100
about thirty-three rails per acre are useC
instead of twenty, as have estimated.
THE TOTAL CONSUMED.
Estimating 1900 feet of lumber to tn
acre in the timber belt, at this rate tn
1904, $40 acres contained, 1880, the numbe
OF feet heretofore stated. Georgia had thi
much to her credit in 1880, and her outgo
her expenses for the same year, may b
summarized as follows:
Feet.
- 100000. <IE, so W