Omaha daily bee., 1906-06-17


Many people think that the age Of wood
is passing away. andTthat from now on
steel and iron are to take it's place. There
is an enormous amount Of forest left in the
world. Canada has thick timber which
would cover about ohe-third of the whole
United States. Russia has still more than
100000 acres, one-third of which be-
longs to the car and is carefully man
aged TO prevent waste. 1t annually eX-
ports SOS, 100000 worth of wood; one may
see steamers loaded with 1t going out from
tho Baltic, and there is a great caravan
of boats always moving down the Volga,
carrying the lumber OF the north to the
great black plain and to the regions about
the Caspian. About 40 per cent of Sweden
is still covered with forest, and the same
is true OF 20 per cent of Norway, of which
three-fourths is pine.
{. 1 rode a thousand miles up the Amazon
a few years ago through giant woods all
the way, and could have gone by steamer
$500 miles westward from Para through
similar country. The whole Amazon val
ley is covered with woods, and this is so
of many of its tributaries. There are great
forests along the Parana and Paraguay
rivers, which are not exploited now be-
cause of the cost of getting the wood out
They have no snow there to help them,
and no modern machinery In the way of
lumber railroads, steam engines and cables
These will probably be introduced the
worlds crop of wood becomes scarcer.
Austria-Hungary has 100000 acres of for
est, of which about half is pine, and a
large part OF the remainder oak and beech
That country exports about 100000 worth
OF timber every year, and FIVE or six mil
lions n this iq in sta rs nd
sawed lumber. Australia has vast forests
in the west and it is now exporting wood
for pavements TO many OF the cities OF
Europe. Siam is exploiting its teak tim
Der, used largely for shipbuilding and fur
niture, and the same is true of Burma.
British India sells something like 100000
worth Of teak every year. and Great
Britain annually buys more than 10000
worth OF that wood to use in shipbuilding.
Our Big Timber supply.
We have enormous forests in the Philip
pines, which will supply ties to China when
the great railroad era Of the Celestial en-
pire begins. and the same is true Of For
mosa, Borneo and other islands of that
part of the world. Cuba, Santo Domingo
and Central America are all rich in hard
woods, and. indeed. there is scarcely a
NohiitA9 bii the Aitc VI the BlOpe Wnlcn
has not sim a large amount OF valuable
ti=-ber.
As for the United States proper. the last
census estimates that the timber owned by
lumbermen was more than 10000 900, 900
feet and that the total amount of our out
standing timber was ten times as great.
1t was then estimated that we had 1900,
10000 feet of white pine in Minnesota while
there was something like 50.0 10000 feet
OF white pine in the whole country. As 70
spruce, there was about 100000 feet OF
that, ard OF hemlOck more than twice as
much. There are about 10000. 900 acres OF
yellow pine left in the south, with more
than eOOOO0.O 900 feet on them, and alto
gether about 1soOOO.OOOOOO feet Of hard
woods In addition TO these woods there Is
vast amount of yellow pine and red FIR
The red mrs are found here in the north
west. They are eco or 800 feet I'm height
and II Is not uncommon TO get $1,000 feet
from one acre. The redwoods OF oregon
and California sometimes yield 10000 feet
and more per acre, and the supply is said
to be more than 1900, 900. 900 feet. Indeed
II will be a long time before we are out
OF building material and before Uncle Sam
will have 10 keep himself warm by hopping
up and down and swinging his arms.
LOggtng I'm Washington.
But let me tell you how numbering Il
done out here at the northwestern end Of
our country. II is far different than 4,