Montpelier examiner., 1908-10-16
CENSUS OF STANDING TlMsERs.
Great Work Taken up by the Ma.
tionaI Conservation Commission.

Washington.-The National conser.
walton commission has caused the
first comprehensive attempt at cen.
sus OF the standing timber in the
United States ever undertaken. The
forest service has for several years
been eager to take such a census, and
the bureau of the census has expres-
sed its willingness to cooperate, but
funds have never been available. The
conservation commission, however,
needs the information to help COM
plete Its inventory of the country's
natural resources, which it will in
clude in its report to the president,
and since that report is to be submit
ted on the first of next year. 1t needs
the information at once. In conse-
quence the work on the census has
been started with a rush and is now
under full headway.
1t may be a slight exaggeration to
speak of census of timber for of
course 1t is impossible to count the
individual trees in the fortests; even
the most ambitious plans of the for
est service and the bureau of the CEN
sus did not contemplate that. But a
trained man can with great accuracy
cruise" a tract of forest and esti-
mate the number of board feet it con-
tains. Large portions of the forests
OF the country, including practically
all the national forests, have been
estimated at various times, but these
figures have never been brought to-
gether and no organized effort has
ever been made to gather them into
cne total, nor to supply the deficien.
cies where hitherto no estimate have
been made.
AS result, the guesses as to the
amount of standing timber in the
United States, range all the way from
S22,682 million to 1000 billion board
feet, difference of more than a tril-
lion feet In the estimates of the best
qualified authorities in the country.
In the opinion of the forest service,
the most carefully prepared estimates
yet made are those by Henry Can
nett, published by the twelfth census
In 1900. These placed the total
stumpage at 1890 billion board feet.
Mr.. Gannett, it SO happens. has been
chosen by the president to compile
ell the information gathered for the
commission, and with his previous ac-
quaintance with the subject of for
estry, he is at work now enlarging
the knowledge of forest areas at pre-
sent available
The Importance of this census lies
largely in the fact that it will give
an accurate basis for computing how
long our timber supplies will last.
Through the cooperation of the for
est service and the census bureau the
country's annual consumption of
wood is known with tolerable accur-
acy, although even here there are
some discrepancies, because a large
amount of wood is used for posts.
fuel. and domestic purposes, for which
no satisfactory data have vet been
collected. But the consensus OF opin-
ion among those equipped to Judge
Is that the present annual. consump-
ton is about 100 billion board feet,
or something more than that. One
leading authority has placed It as
high as $50 billion board feet.
Assuming stumpage of 1.40O bill
lion feet, an annual use of 100 billion
feet, and neglecting growth in the
calculation, the exhausting of our
timber supply is indicated in IA years.
Assuming the same use and stand.
with an annual growth of 40 billion
feet, we have a supply for % years.
Assuming an annual use of $50 billion
feet, the first supposition becomes 9
years, and the second 13 years, AS
suming stand Of 1000 billion feet,
a use of 100 billion feet, and neglect.
ing growth, we have 90 years sup
ply. Assuming the same conditions,
with an annual growth of 40 billion
feet, we have 33 years supply. With
an annual use of $50 billion feet,
these estimates become, respectively,
IS and Is years.
1t is apparent from these computa-
tions why the national conservation
commission considers the census of
timber so essential to the prepara-
tion of its inventory.