The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-11-19
Disappearing Rapidly and Be-
coming Expensive.
PRODUCT ONCE
Ruinous Policy Of Waste, the Cardinal
Evil Confronting American Forestry
commission--Eforts to Preserve This
Fine Hardwood.

The position which the United States
has held as lumber.producing nation
has. perhaps been due more TO white
pine than To any other wood. The tim
Der Of this valuable tree which has play
ei most important part In the material
development Of the nation Is fast dis
appearing and now Il Il asicostly a. the
finest American hardwoods.
Rev. Edward Everett Hale the chaplain
Of the Senate. who has always taken an
interest In forestry, deplores the passing
Of white pine as our foremost wood, and
tells how In his own lifetime he has
seen the day when the masts Of every
vessel that sailed the Seven Seas were
made from New England grown pine;
while to-day very little white pine -
cut in New England big enough to fur
niah good-sised spar. He tells also
70 illustrate the increasing cost Of the
wood. that he ordered a set Of books
shelves on which the cabinet maker made
q price. and then asked whether they
should be Of mahogany or white pine.
Tho white pine production has shifted
from New England 10 tho Lake States.
and Michigan was the leading lumber.
producing State for twenty yeass. from
1870 10 1890. with supremacy based on
white pine. In these two decades the
cut was 100 billions Of board feet. valued
at the point Of production. at not less
than two billions Of dollars, or nearly
half az much again as the value derived
from all the gold fields Of California
from their discovery In the late forties
iAtil the present. The rich forests Of
Michigan were once thought inexhaust.
ible and numbering continued in most
reckless manner for years. Suddenly
the people awoke to the fact that the
thonghtless destruction Of the trees mad
thrown 100000 OF acres on the dclin.
quent tax list. These white pine barrsas
point TO the terrible penalty Of wasting
the forest resources which should have
been the heritage Of all furture geacra.
tlons.
An idea OF the increasing scarcity OF
white pine timber IN given BY the New
York i. o. d. quotations. on basis cI
carload lots. "Upperss Of the best srade,
cost so7 to sll4 thousand board feet
and the selects or next lower grade
cost $79.5o. Men who are not yet mid
dleaged remember the time when these
grades could be purchased at SIS to Ss5
a thousand feet. The present quotations
On quartcred white oaks. which are $75
to $50 offer another basis OF compari-
son which indicates the condition Of the
market for white pine.
The best stands OF this timber now i'd
this country are in scattered sections in
Minnesota. New England, and parts Of
Idaho. The species In Idaho Is some.
times called silver pine. Some of the
ccantry's best white pine is touri on the
Indian reservations in Minnesota and
found in the States Of Wyoming, Mon
tana, Colorado, and one or two other
States. AT the present rate of cutting
the trees will soon be practically a thing
Of the past. The small stands in the Ma.
tion forests are inconsiderable, but they
will be managed with the greatest con
servatism by the Government through
the Forest Service, and through this me.
thod and practice Of reforestation it may
be hoped that the fine old tree will fun.
ish timber for other generations.