Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1907-07-18
A Record Year in Timber Output

AGE.
The production of lumber, lath, and
shingles in the United States in 1906
was the largest ever recorded. A
census bulletin recently issued gives
373 billion feet as the actual cut of the
$1,000 mills which made reports. This
is seven billion feet more than the cut
reported in 1905.
These figures at first seem to point to
very alarming conclusion-that the
country had in the last year cut more
than % per cent. more lumber than in
1905, in the face of the fast waning sup
ply. The difference is, however, chief
ly due to the fact that $1,000 concerns
have reported their cuts as against less
than $4,000 a year ago. The gain is
the result of response from the smaller
mills, made because the rank and file
ofthe lumbermen now appreciate that
these returns are important to the
trade, and that their value depends up
on everybody helping to make them
as complete as possible.
If the returns were complete they
would probably show cut of forty bill
lion feet for lumber alone. The cut of
lumber forms perhaps DO per cent of
the total timber consumption for all
purposes. The figures are alarming
enough, taken in connection with our
available supply of wood. The total
amount of mercantable timber in the
United States is believed to be less than
1000 billion feet. If the demand could
be kept stationary, and no timber were
burned up by forest fires, we should
have twenty years from now only whas
our forests would have grown in the
interval.
Three-fourths of the population of
the country is east of the Mississippi,
but more than half of the timber sup
ply is west of it. The West has in its
forests material to last it for nearly
fifty years if its per capita con-
| sumption is no greater than that of the
country as large and ifit can hold it.
self down to the same annual total
This, however, takes DO account of the
demands which developing country
makes. But the East has not enough
saw timber of its own to last fifteen
years. In point offact the East is al
ready drawing so heavily upon the
| Northwest for lumber that the rail
roads have trouble to handle the traffic.
The position which Douglas fir holds
illustrates the Vests rapid progress to-
ward becoming the principal source of
supply of saw timber, and the falling
off i'll the production of Eastern States
which formerly held first place.
Douglas fir now ranks second only to
yellow pine in total cut, and yields
about one-halfas much lumber. Never
before has it outranked white pine,
which for many years stood first, and
later second. just as white pine had
to give way to southern yellow pine,
this in its turn will be superseded by
Douglas fir, which is also known as
red fir and Oregon pine. 1t is found
nowhere east of the Rocky Mountains,
and by far the greatest quantity of it is
in Oregon and Washington.
The passing of the white pine of the
Lake States is emphasized by the statis-
tics gathered by the census, which in
1870, 1880. and 1890 showed Michigan
the leading State in total production Of
lumber. In the census of 1900 Wiscon.
sin had passed to first place, with Mich.
igan second and Minnesota third. This
relative position was not changed un.
til 1904, when Washington appeared al
the top of the column and Louisiana
was third, with Wisconsin second and
Minnesota and Michigan fourth and
fifth, Louisian now takes second place
while Wisconsin goes down from
second to third and Minnesota from
fourth to seventh. Mississippi and
Arkansas have moved up to fifth and
sixth places, while Michigan goes &c
fourth.
New York, in 1850, led all the States
in the production of lumber. Pennsyl
vania rose to first place ten years later
and New York dropped to second. In
the period following.the civil war the
rapid extension of railroads brought
into market the great white pine forests
of the Lake States, and the chief source
of supply moved thither Michigan
first, then Wisconsin, went to the front
When Washington supplanted the
latter the leadership had crossed the
continent. In fifty years it passed
from an Atlantic to a Pacific Coast
State.
The holding of first rank in produc
ton by State does not locate tho
country's chief source of supply
Washington now stands first among
the States, yet the South is supplying