The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-10-20
TUESDAY,. OCTOBER 20.
TIMBER SUPPLY RAPIDLY GIVING
OUT.

In the October nUmber of The
Tradesman, of Chattanooga, Captain
A j. Gahagan, treasurer of the Loom
is & Hart Manufacturing Company, OF
that citv has ar interesting article on
the timber supply of the country. He
sounds u note of warning to the DeO-
pie over the rapid destruction
of our forests and the a of
means taken to renew the growth of
timber. He Il y we often hear unin-
formed people speak of the ineXhausti-
BILE supply Of timber, but that such is
%untenable and misleading: that the
supply is not only exhaustible, but is
rapidly being exhausted. He makes
the startling statement that at the
present rate of ~eXhausting the mer-
chantible standing timber now avail
able. the present generation can begin
next ten years all the available sup
ply of poplar will be wiped out if the
present rate of consumption is kept
up. Up to twenty-five years ago
nearly all the leading furniture manu-
facturers used walnut almost ex-
cIusiveIy. On account of it's scarcity
they were driven to the use of oak.
1t has been less than forty years, he
says since oak has been largely used
in furniture and ornamental lines of
work, and yet the forests are being
rapidly depleted and Quartered oak.
rHbiah nnT1Il hn hnIrrh+ ta- Hroarc q on
at twenty-five to thirty dollars per
thousand feet now sells for sixty to
ninety dollars in the northern and
western markets.
Mr.. Gahagan advocates the cultiva-
lion of walnut trees. He says:
People will go on c%ultivating orn
n wearing out their ground simply
because they produce one crop a year.
If the amount of money and labor
crops of corn were put into one crop
Of walnut. in my opinion the returns
would be five times greater in favor
of the production of timber. The south
ern states are now being looked to as
h source of the greatest supply of
standing timber in this country, east
of the Rocky mountains. At h pres
ent rate of denuding the forests. unless
the problem of reproduction is put in
to practical effect. the entire timber
products OF the country Will be mainly
exhausted before 1850"
He declares that the most valuable
and yellow pine. Next to that is h
oak and the cypress. The latter will
take the place of poplar. rs the oak
has of the walnut and cherry He
thinks there is big money in it for the
mar who Will invest in pine forests,
protect the trees and then watch the
Investment grow"
Mr.. Gahagan closes his article with
the following:
My conclusions are that standingI
timber is not appreciated: that lum-I
Der is being sold too cheap; that the
country is not taking enough interest
In reproducing this valuable product.
Government, both national and state,
ought to stretch out its hand and lend
encouragement to L reproduction Of
the forests. This course is essentially
necessary if we are to have wood with
which to keep the factories running inl
b future. Wherever there are largel
reserves of timber still standing, they
are being rapidly placed under theI
control of a limited number of timberI
holders. If this policy continues it will
not be very many years until timberI
will go up with q bound that surpasSesl
any of our expectations. To Circum-l
vent this every land holder ought TOT
be encouraged in the cultivation of
timber. n II ought to become aSI
popular to plant walnut. acOrns and.
chestnutS as it is now to p1ant corn
and cotton II SOW wheat 1t does not.
take so man generations to repro-I
duce timber as people imagine. Be-
fore | was 25 years of age | saw peO-.
pie making rails of new timber that,
grown on ground where my father
once raised corn. l have seen Walnutl
trees three feet through standing on
ground thai !, IN my boyhood days.
helped to cultivate III corn.
zone of the troubles Is hat We want
to reap in the fall what We SOW in
the spring. That rule will not apply.
to the reproduction OF timber. We.
recognize the fact that it takes forty
to fifty years to raise 4 president. and.
at the same time We overlook the i'm
pOrtGnt fact that under proper con-
ditiCuS ~ cultivation and care val
liable forests can he produced in less
than that MANY years
Let US encourage It reproduction OF
the forests in every legitimate way"