The Florida agriculturist., 1907-05-29

A Department Devoted to Rural Affairs and Comments
on Current EVENTS
Edited by W. E. abor.'

may broadly be said to divide the
land among them according to ele-
walton above sea level The swamp
forests of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts
and the bottom lands of the rivers
furnish cypress and harowoods. The
remainder of the coastal plain from
Virginia to Texas was originally COW
cred with ""Southern" or "yellow"
pine the trade name under which
the lumber Of several pines is now
marketed The plateau which encir-
cles the Appalachian range and the
! lower parts of the mountain region
itself support pure hardwood forest,
while the higher ridges are occupied
by conifers mainly spruce, white
pine, and hemlock.
The stumpage estimate Of the
Southern states, as given in the
American Lumberman for September
23,1oo5 is zoo,ooo,ooo board feet. This
from 1850 to 1905. The estimate for
Florida for 1906 of yellow pine is
given by Long as 1o,5oo,ooo board
feet
The amount of private and uhre-
served public forest in the state is
given at 24,I28,ooo acres, stad1ng fifth
IN the test of states, Texas leading
with 100000 acres. We usually
think Of Oregon and Washington as
being heavily tinnbered states, but
neither reach 2o,ooo,ooo acres. Mime
sofa stands second, with 32,587,ooo
acres. Our state has no state or
national forests, while its total wood
ed area is set down at 24,128,ooo acres.
The total Of private and unreserved
public forests in the United States
on this continent is given as $685.
5II acres, while the total of national
and state forests equals Fl per cent
of the total wooded area, being I46,-
806,I06 acres. The report has the
following concluding paragraphs:
"No one who is at all familiar with
the situation doubts for an instant
that we are rapidly USING up our
forest capital. In fact, it is unques-
t1onably safe to say that Our present
annual consumption Of wood in all
forms is from three to four
times as great as the annual increment
of our forests. Even by accepting
the highest estimate Of the amount
of timber standing we postpone for
only few years the time when there
must be a great curtailment in the
use of wood if the present methods
Of forest exploitation are continued.
Every indication points to the fact
that under present conditions the
maximum annual yield of forest pro-
ducts for the country as a whole has
been reached, and that in compara
lively short time there will be marked
decrease in the total output, as there
is now in several items. The average
age of the trees which are being felled
for lumber this year is not less than
$50 years. The lumberman could not
sed with the prospect of unequaled
longevity, since such long invest
ments are improbable for private
capital. In consequence there arises
the need that the state and national
governments, which do not need to
look for so high rate of interest as
the private investor and which are
concerned with the promotion of the
general welfare, should assume the
responsibility of providing a future
supply of timber
The forest area of the United States
is sufficient, if rightly managed, to
produce eventually timber enough to
supply every legitimate need. There
is no reason why it should not some
day be brought up to the point of
yielding an annual increment of more
than 30 cubic feet per acre, which, as
previously said, would supply the
quantity Of timber now consumed,
4 4