The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-11-29
VIEW or RRoR2gER APRA4zcHzAN 'Nz4710N1AL

L 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 CON-
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 q
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
and near, while the supply is falling
short.
The Appalachian states contain
:ully half of the country's hard
wood supply. The fact that the
region is not one for farming has pre-
vented its 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-
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 or
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
wooden ware. All Of these would suf-
fer greatly and some would fail en-
tireiy upon the exhaustion of the
hardwood supply. Other industries,
such as the manufacture of asricultur-
al implements, freight and passenger
cars, boxes and crates, use immense
quantities of hardwood.
How intensely the whole country
would feel the loss of its hardwood
timber, to an ample supply of which it
has long been accustomed, can scarce
ly be realized. Without hardwood for
building purposes, as flooring, win
dows and doors, for railroad ties, for
the manufacture of furniture, cooper
age and vehicles, and for the varied
other uses to which it Is put, we
should be in sad straits indeed. A
general failure in crops may affect
Industrial conditions for few years
failure in the hardwood supply
would be blight upon ou-5 industries
through more than a generation.
We have about Is years supply of
hardwood lumber ready for cutting.
Three of the hardwood regions are the
Ohio valley, the Lake states and the
lower Mississippi valley, and these
have been largely turned into farms;
only the Appalachian mountains re-
main. The inevitable conclusion is
that there are lean years ahead. There
is sure to be gap between what we
now have and what may result from
action taken purposely to meet the
need. The present indication is that
in spite of the best we can do there
will be shortage of hardwoods run
ming through at least Is years. How
acute that shortage may become and
how serious check it will put upon
the industries concerned cannot be
foretold. That it will strike at the
very foundation of some of the coun-
try's most important industries is un-
questionable. This much is true be-
yond doubt, that we are dangerously
near a hardwood famine, and have
made no provision against it.
The substitution of other materials
for hardwood goes on apace, but so
does the increasing need for wood.
There seems to be but one practicable
solution, and that is to maintain per-
manently under proper system of
forestry sufficient area of hardwood
land to produce by growth the hard
wood timber which the nation re-
quires.
The land for this can be found only
In the Appalachian mountains.
Field estimates by counties show that