The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-01-08
90 UcTINIATED THAT TIMBER
> III RE EXHAUSTED IN A
GENERATION OR TWO.
WHAT is CUT EACH YEAR

of Lumber Has Been DouDleu
c;nce 1900 and Is Expected to
Go Still Higher. Some Wood
Sold by the Pound.
r,o production of lumber, lath and
,,nalas in the United States in 1906
SUI the largest ever recorded. A
"@s .,s bulletin recently issued gives
c s0o 100000 feet as the actual cut
a., tho $1,000 mills which made re-
s This is 7,OO0,OO0,OOO feet
po' aa than the cut reported in 1905.
Tbese figures seem to point to the
lesion that the country in the
rear cut more than % per cent.
49," lumber than in 1905 in the
Daoo Of the fast-waning supply. The
',eoronce is. however, chiefly due
tho fact that $1,000 concerns re-
ortad as against less than $4,000 a
year ago. a
mbo cain is the result of respon-
from the smaller mills, made be-
go the rank and file of the lum-
tornen now appreciate that these re-
+mrrs are important to the trade,
ona that their value depends upon
everybody helping to make them as
complete as possible
30 +bo returns we're complete they
. vonld probably show a cut OF 4o'-
ana 100000 feet for lumber alone
Tho emf of lumber forms perhaps ~
nor cent of the total timber consump-
tion These figures are alarming
ononob taken in connection with our
available supply of wood.
Supply of Timber Left.
Tho total amount of merchandise
4;r,hor in the United States is be-
,iovod to be less than 2,000,OoO,OO0,-
ooo feet If the demand could be
1ort stationary, and no timber were
hnrned HID by forest fires, we should
bovo twenty years from now only
what our forests would have grown
in the interval.
Three-fourths of the population OF
+bo country is east of the Mississippi
\ INIT more than half of the TIMBER
supply is west of it. The west mas
in its forests material to last it for
nearly fifty years if it's per capita
consumption is no greater than that
of the country at large, and II 1t
ran hold itself down to the same
annual total.
This. however, takes no account
Of the demands which developing
S country makes. But the east mas
NOT enough saw timber of its own
to last fifteen years. In point OF
fact the east is already drawing so
heavily upon the northwest for luin-
Der that the railroads have trouDle
to handle the traffic.
The position which Douglas nj
holds illustrates the vests rapid
progress toward becoming the prln-
cipal source of supply of saw TIM
Der and the falling off in the produc-
ton of eastern states which former
ly held first place. Douglas fir now
ranks second only to yellow pine in
total cut and yields about one-hall
as much lumber.
Red Fir in the Land.
Never before has it outranked
white pine, which for many years
stood first, and later second. Just
as white pine had to give way tc
southern yellow pine this in It's
turn will be superseded by Douglas
fir, which is also known as red III
and Oregon pine. 1t is found no
where east of the Rocky Mountains
and by far the greatest quantity OF
it is in Oregon and Washington.
The passing of the white pine o.
the lake states is emphasized by the
statistics gathered by the census
which in 1870, 1880 and 1885,
showed Michigan the leading state
in total production of lumber. II
the census of 1900 Wisconsin hac
passed to first place, with Michigan
second and Minnesota third.
This relative position was no
changed until 1904, when Washing
ton appeared at the top of the col
umn and Louisiana was third, Wis
S c0nsin second and Minnesota ant
Michigan fourth and fifth. louisa
ma now takes second place, while
Wisconsin goes down from second II