Willmar tribune., 1907-12-04

A survey, ordered by the last United
States congress, of the Appalachian
mountain regions to determine the de-
STABILITY Of new national forest reser-
vations, has been practically COM
pleted by Mr.. William L. Hall, assist
ant forester, and he has just issued a
government pamphlet on the "Waning
Supply Of Hardwood' in this coun-
try, which brings forcibly to mind the
fact that we are face to face with
hardwood famine.
Mr.. Hall shows that the hardwood
cut is declining, and the most notable
shrinkage has been in the leading
hardwoods to which the public has
long been accustomed, such as oak,
yellow poplar, elm, cottonwood and
ash; at the same time the cut of less
known or less abundant woods, such
as maple, red gum, chestnut, birch and
tupelo, has increased. All possible
new hardwoods have been brought
into use, yet the total output has
shrunk by Is per cent.
An examination of the situation by
states is convincing as to two facts:
first, that the Ohio valley, the orig
inal center Of hardwood production, is
practically exhausted; second, that
the cutting is now widely distributed
in every state where there is even a
small growth of hardwood. We
are bringing the hardwood from far
/ vyh ho iC fo y
short.
The Appalachian states contain
fully half of the country's hard
wood supply. The fact that the
region is not one for farming has pre-
vented it's clearing hitherto. Hard
wood trees always mean good soil,
hence land from which hardwoods are
cut is usually turned into farms; but
profitable farming in the Appalachians
is found only in the valleys and on
the lower slopes. Again, the inacces
sibility Of the region has been a pro
lection to it's woods. In spite OF
these facts, some of the Appalachian
states have declined in their hard
wood cutting; and the plain truth is
that there as elsewhere, the hardwood
lumbermen are working upon the rem
nants of the total supply.
The question now Is, how long will
the supply last. Several great indus
tries use hardwood timber. mainly OF
almost exclusively for their raw mate
rial Notable in this list are the coop
erage, furniture and vehicle indus
tries, and the manufacturing of must
cal instruments, cofhns, and small
wooden ware. All of these would suf
fer greatly and some would fail en-
tirely upon the exhaustion Of thu
hardwood supply. Other industries
such as the manufacture of agricultur
al implements, freight and passenger
cars, boxes and crates, use immense
quantities of hardwood.
How intensely the whole countr,
would feel the loss Of its hardwood
timber, to an ample supply Of which i
has long been accustomed, can scarce
ly be realized. Without hardwood fo
building purposes, as flooring, win
dows> and doors, for railroad ties, fol
the manufacture of furniture, cooper
age and vehicles, and for the varied
other uses to which it is put, W.
should be In sad straits indeed. 4
general failure in crops may affec
industrial conditions for few years.
a failure in the hardwood suppl!
would be blight upon our industrie!
through more than a generation.
We have about Is years supply o
hardwood lumber ready for cutting
Three of the hardwood regions are tn,
Ohio valley, the Lake states and th'
lower Mississippi valley, and thes'
have been largely turned into farms
only the Appalachian mountains re
main. The inevitable conclusion il
that there are lean years ahead. Their
is sure to be gap between what W
now have and what may result from
action taken purposely to meet tn
need. The present indication is tha
in spite of the best we can do ther,
will be a shortage of hardwoods run
ming through at least Is years. How
acute that shortage may become an,
how serious check it will put upo1
the industries concerned cannot b
foretold. That it will strike at th,
very foundation of some of the coun
try's most important industries is uu
questionable. This much IL true be