Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1907-12-03

mountain regions 10 determine the oe-
STABILITY OF new national forest rescr'
vations. has been practically CON-
picted by Mr.. william l.. Hall. assist
ant forester. and he has Just issued .
government pamphlet on the waning
Supply Of Hardwood" In this coun-
try. which brings forcibly 20 mind the
fact that we are face to face with q
hardwood famine.
Mr.. Hall shows that the hardwood
cut IL 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 anc
ash; at the same time the cut OF less
known or less abundant woods. such
as maple. red gum. chestnut. birch ana
tupelo. has increased. All possible
new hardwoods have been brought
into use. yet the total output has
shrunk by rs per cent.
An examination OF the situation by
states Is convincing as to two facts;
first. that the Ohio valley. the orig
inaI center OF hardwood production. IL
practically exhausted: second. that
the cutting Is now widely distributed
In every state where there IL even
small growth of hardwood. We
are bringing the hardwood from far
and near, while the supply Is falling
short.
The Appalachian states contain
fully 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 Appaischians
is found only In the valleys and on
the lower slopes. Again. the inacces'
sibIlIty Of the region has been a pro-
lection TO IFS woods. In spite OF
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
iumbermen are working upon the rem.
nants OF the totalssupply.
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
cal instruments. coiiins. and small
wooden ware. All OF these would SUI.
fer greatly and some would fall en-
tirely upon the exhaustion Of the
hardwood supply. Other industries.
such as the manufacture Of agricultur.
al implements. freight and passenger
cars. boxes and crates. use immense
quantities Of hardwood.
How intensely the whole country
would feel the loss OF It's hardwood
timber, TO an ample supply OF which IL
has long been accustomed. can scarce
" be realized. without hardwood for
building purposes. ~ nooring. win.
'dows and doors, for railroad ties. for
the manufacture Of furniture. cooper.
age and vehicles. and for the varied
other uses to which Il Is put. We
should be In sad straits indeed. A
general failure In crops may Affect
industrial conditions for 4 few years--
. failure IN the hardwood supply
would be . blight upon our industries
through more than 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 d
that there are lean years ahead. Thcrs
Is sure TO be a gap besween what We
now have and what may result from
action taken purposely TO meet TIT
need. The present indication Is thai
I'm spite OF the best we can do Their,
will be a shortage OF hardwoods run
ming through at least rs years. How
acute that shortage may become ant
how serious check II win put upor
the industries Concerned cannot b
forctold, That Il win strike at thu
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 hav'
made no provision against H.
The substitution of other materiall
for hardwood goes on apace. but 81
does the increasing need for wood
There seems to be but one PRACTICABLE
solution, and that Is TO maintain per
manently under proper system o
forestry a 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 onl,
I'm the Appalachian mountains
Field estimates BY counties show tina