The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1907-05-24
The Timber Supply
Three Times as Much Timber Used Each Year
as the Forest Grows.

wv
as the Forest Grows.
Every person in the United States is
using over six times as much wood as
he would use il he were in Europe.
The country as a whole consumes
every year between three and four
times more wood than all of the forests
of the United States grow in the mean
time. The average acre of forest lays
up q store of only 10 cubic feet annual
ly. whereas it ought to be laying up
at least 3Ocubic feet in order to fur
nish the products taken out of it.
Since 1880 more than zoe, OOO, OO0, 900
feet Of timber have been cut for lum-
Der alone, including 90, 0 600, 900
feet Of coniferous in exces of the
total c%oniferous stumpage estimate of
the Census in 1880.
These are some of the remarkable
statements made IN Circular 81 of the
Forest Service, which deals with the
timber supply of the United States
and reviews the stumpage estimates
made by all the important authorities.
A study of the circular must lead
directly to the conclusion that the
rate at which forest products in the
United States have been and are be-
ing consumed is far too lavish. and
only one result can follow unless steps
r promptly taken to prevent waste
in use and to increase the growth rate
of every acre of forest in the United
States. This result is a timber famine.
This country is today in the same
position with regard to forest re-
sources as was Germany $50 years
ago. During this period of $50 years
such German States as Saxony and
Prussia, particularly the latter, have
applied a policy of government con-
troll and regulation which has i'm
mensely increased the productivity OF
their forests. The same policy will
achieve wen better results in the
United States, because we have the
advantage of all the lessons which
Europe has learned and paid for in
the course of q century of theory and
practice.
Lest it might be assumed that the
rapid and gaining depletion of Ameri-
can forest is sufficiently &C.
county for by the increase of popula-
ton, it is pointed out in the circular
that the increase in population since
1880 is barely more than half the in
crease in lumber cut In the same
period. Two areas supplying timber
have already reached and passed
their maximum production-the North
eastern States in 1870 and the Lake
States in 1890. Today the Southern
States, which cut yellow pine amount
ing to one-third the total annual lum-
Der cut of the country, are undoubted-
ly nea their maximum. The Pacific
States will soon take the ascendency.
The State of Washington within q few
years has come to the front and now
ranks first of all individual States in
volume of cut.
At present but one-fifth of the total
forest area of the United States is
embraced in National Forests. The
remaining four. ffths have already
passed or are most likely to pass into
privat hands. The average age of
the trees felled for lumber this year is
not less than $50 years. In other
words. II he is to secure q second crop
of trees Of the same size, the lumber
man or private forest owner must
wait, say, atleast one hundred years for
the crop to grow. AS . rule, such
longtime investments as this waiting
would involve do not commend them.
selves to business men who are &C.
accustomed to quick returns. But the
States and the Nation can look much
farther ahead. The larger, then, the
area of Nation and State control over
woodlands, the greater is the likeli.
hood that forests of the country will
be kept permanently productive.