The daily sentinel., 1907-07-27
A RECORD YEAR IN
THE TIMBER OUTPUT
How the National Forests Will Part
Iy Offset the Coming Shortage.

How the Natlonal fOfeSts VIII iart-
Iy Offset the Coming Shortage.
The production of lumber, lath and
shingles i'm the United States in 1906
was the largest ever recorded. A
census bulletin recently issued gives
81 1-2 billion feet as the actual cut
of the 1900 mills which made re-
ports. This is seven billion feet more
than the cut reported in 1905.
These figures at first seem to point
TO n very alarming eonclusion-thatl
the country had in the last year cut
more than 23 per cent more lumber
than in 1905, in the face of the fast
waning supply. The difference is,
however, chiefly due to the fact that
Fl 900 concerns have reported their
cuts as against less than 10000 a
year ago. The gain is the result of
responses from the smaller mills.
made because the. rank and file Of
the lumbermen now appreciate that
these returns are important to the
trade. and that their value depends
upon everybody helping to make them
as complete as possible.
II the returns were complete they
would probably show a cut of forty
billion feet for lumber alone. The
cut of lumber forms perhaps 40 per
cent Of the total timber consumption
for all purposes. The figures are
alarming enough, taken in connec-
tion with our available supply of
wood. The total amount of mer-
chantable timber in the United States
is believed to be less than 1000 bill
lion feet. II the demand could be
kept stationary, and no timber were
burned up by forest fires, We should
have twenty years from now only
what our forests would have grown
in the interval.
Ihfee-fourths of the population of
the country is east of the Mississippi
bat more than half of the timber
supply is west of 1t. The west has
In its forests material to last it for
nearly fifty years if its per capita
consumption is no greater than that
of the country at large and If 1t can
hold itself down to the same annual
4 total. This, however, takes no ac-
&c une of the demands which a devel-
opihg country makes. But the east
las lot enough saw timber of its
own TO last fifteen years. In point
I OF fact the east Is already drawing
so heavily upon the northwest for
! lumber that the railroads have trou-
BILE tu handle the traffic. The posi-
/ tion which Douglas fir holds illus
trates the VESTS rapid progress to-
ward becoming the principal source of
supply of saw timber and the falling
of in the production of eastern states
/ which formerly held first place.
Douglas fir now ranks second only to
yellow pine in total cut, and yields
about one-half as much lumber. Nev-
er before has it outranked white pine.
which for many years stood first, and
later second. Just as white pine had
! to give way to southern yellow pine,
1 this in its turn will be superseded by
l Douglas fir, which is also known as
1 red fir and Oregon pine. 1t is found
nowhere east of the Rocky mountains
1 and by far the greatest quantity of
il ia il Oregon and Washington.
The passing of the white pine of
the lake states Is emphasized by the
statistics gathered by the census
which in 1870. 1880, and 1890
showed Michigan the leading state
in total production of lumber. In
the census of 1900 Wisconsin had
passed to first place, with Michigan
secoro and Minnesota third. This rel
ativc position was not changed until
/ 1904, when Washington appeared at
the tor of the column and Louisiana
was third. with Wisconsin second
and Minnesota and Michigan fourth
ond place, whilesWisconsin goes down
from second to third and Minnesota
from fourth to seventh. Mississippi
and Arkansas have moved up to fifth
, and sixth places, while Michigan goes
to fourth.
New York in 1850, led all the
states in the production of lumber
! Pennsylvania rose to first place ten
years later, and New York dropped
4 to second. In the period following
the civil war the rapid extension of
/ railroads brought into market the
great white pine forests of the lake
states, and the chief source of supply
moved thither. Michigan first. then
Wisconsin, went to the front. W'hcr
Washington supplanted the latter the
leadership has crossed the conti-
nent. In fifty years it passed from
an Atlantic to a Pacific coast state.
The holding of first rank in pro-
duction by state does not locate the
country's chief source of supply.
Washington now stands first among
the states, yet the south is supplying
more lumber than the west. But the
magnificent yellow pine forests of
the south are being rapidly cut and
marketed, just as was done with the
white pine forests of Michigan and
Minnesota during the thirty years fol-
lowing 1870. But the Pacific coast
Will soon be the chief source of sup
ply.
The policy of the government in
creating national forests in the west
taken in connection with the favor
able climatic and typographical condi-
tons for the growth of trees, in
sures a future supply which will be
greatly to the VESTS advantage.