Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-07-17
THE TIMBER SUPPLY.
Three Times as Much Timber Used
Each Year as the Forest Grows.

EaSh Year as the Forest Grows.
Every person in the United States
is using over six times as much wood
as he would use if he were In Europe
The country as a whole consumes
every year between three and four
times more wood than all of the for
iests of the United States grow in the
meantime The average acre of for
est lays up store of only 10 cubic
feet annually, whereas it ought to be
laying up at least 80 cubic feet in or
der to furnish the products taken out
of it. Since 1880 more than 7O0,-
600 100000 feet of timber have been
cut for lumber alone, including So
000O00,000 feet of coniferous timber
in excess of the total coniferous
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 being consumed is far too lavish,
and that only one result can foilCv
unless steps are promptly taken 20
prevent waste in use and to increase
the growth rate of every acre of for
est in the United States This result
/ is timber famine. This country is
today in the same position with re-
| gard to forest resources as was Ger
many $50 years ago. During this
period of $50 years such German
states as Saxony md Prussia partic-
ularly the latter have applied a policy
lof government control and regulation
which has immensely increased the
productivity of their forests The
same policy viii achieve even better
results in the United States, because
we have the advantage of all the les
sons which Europe has learned and
paid for in the course of century of
theory and practice.
Lest it might be assumed that the
rapid and gaining depletion of Amer
lean forest resources is sufficiently
accounted for by the increase of pop
ulation, it is pointed out in thc circu-
lar that the increase in population
since 1880 is barely more than Lalf
the increase in lumber cut in the
same period Two areas supplying
timber have already reached and
passed their maximum production
the northeastern states in 1870 and
the lake states in 1890. Today the
southern states. which cut yellow pine
amounting to one-third the total an
nual lumber cut of the country, are
undoubtedly near their maximum. The
Pacific states will soon take the as
tendency The state of Washington
, within few years has come to the
front and now ranks first OF all in
diyidual states in volume of cut.
At present but one-fifth of the to-
tai forest area of the United States
is embraced in national forests. The
remaining four-fifths have already
passed or are most likely to pass into
private hands. The average age of
the trees felled for lumber this year
/ is not less than $50 years. In other
words, if he is to secure second
crop of trees of the same size. the
| lumberman or private forest owner
must wait, say. at least one hundred
years for the second crop to grow.
As rule, such longtime investments
as this waiting would involve do not
commend themselves to business
men who are accustomed to quick re-
turns. But the states and the nation
can look much farther ahead. The
larger, then, the area of national and
state control over woodlands. the
greater is the likelihood that the for
;ests of the country will be kept per-
manently productive.