Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-11-04
TIMBER SUPPLY
OF UNITED STATES
Cutting it at Rate Of 500 Feet
Board Measure Annually
for Each Person.

WASHINGTON, ID. c., Nov. A.
I'VE are now cutting timber from
the forests Of thdp United States at
the rate of 500 feet board measure
a year for every man, woman, and |
child. In Europe they use only so
board fee.''
Few statements could be made |
which would better convince the
average man that this country leads
the world in the demand for tim
Der. 1t is made by Treadwell Cleve-
land, Jr., in circular which treats
of the conservation of the forests,
soil, water and all the other great
natural resources, which has just
been published by the United States
forest service. In speaking further
of the consumption of timber in this
country, Mr.. Cleveland says:
"At this rate, in less than 80
years all our remaining virgin tim
Der will be cut. Meantime, the
forests which have been cut over are
generally in bad way for want of
care; they will produce only inferior
second growth. We are clearly over
the verge OF timber famine.
This is not due to necessity, for
the forests are one of the renewable
resources. Rightly used, they go on
producing crop after crop indefinitely.
The countries of Europe know this,
and Japan knows it; and their for
ests are becoming with time not less,
but more productive. We probably
still possess sufficient forest land to
grow wood enough at home to sup
ply our needs. If We are not blind,
or willfuny wasteful, we may yet pre-
serve our forest independence and,
with it, the fourth of our great in
dustries.
Present wastes in lumber produc-
ton are enormous. Take the case
of yellow pine, which now heads the
list in the volume an annual cut.
In 1907 1t is estimated that only
one-half of all the yellow pine cut
during the season was used, and
that the other half, amounting to
s, 1000, 900 cords, was wasted. Such
waste is typical. Mr.. r. A. Long,
in his address on Forest Conserva-
ton at the Conference OF Cover
nors last spring, pointed out that 20
per cent of the yellow pine was
simply left in the woods waste
which represents the timber grow
: ing on 100000 acres.
THE rest Of the waste takes place
: at the mill. OF course, 1t would
! never do to speak Of the material re
iected at the mill as waste unless
this material could be turned to use
by some better and more thorough
> form of utilization. But in many
cases We know, and in many Other
cases we have excellent reasons te
believe. that most. II not all. OF this
material could be used with profit
= II Is simply a question of intelligent
> investigation and. more than all. o.
4 having the will to economic.
But there are other ways to con
serve the forests besides cutting II
half the present waste of forest pro
. ducts. The forests can be made Il
produce three or four times a
RAPIDLY as they do at present. Thi
is true Of both the virgin forests AM
the cut-oYer lands. Virgin forest
are aften fully stocked with first
class timber, but this stock has bee
o laid In very slowly. on account o
Ie the wasteful competition which !
> carried on constantly between tn
j; rival trees. Then. too. in the virgil
il forests there are very many tree
which occupy space which, II hel