The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-11-05
TIMBER BEING
GUT RAPIDLY
1T is NOW GOING AT THE RATE
OF 500 BOARD FEET MEASURE
A YEAR FOR EVERY MAN, wo.
MAN AND CHILD.

I've are now cutting timber from
the forests of the 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 feet"
Few statements could be made
which would better convince the ave-
age man that this country leads the
world in the demand for timber. 1t
is made by Treadwell Cleveland, Jr.,
in a circular which treats of the con-
servation of the forests, soil. water.
and all the other great natural re-
sources, which has just been publish
ed by the United States Forest Serv-
ice. In speaking further of the con-
sumption of timber in this country,
Mr.. Cleveland says:
AT this rate, in less than thirty
years all our remaining virgin timber
will be cut. Meantime, the forests
which have been cut over are general
~ in a bad way for want of care;
they will produce only inferior second
growth. We are clearly over the
verge of a 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 1t; and their forests
are becoming with time not less, but
more, productive. We probably still
possess sufficient forest land 10 grow
wood enough at home to supply our
own needs. II we are not blind, or
wilfully wasteful, we may yet pre-
serve Our forest independence and.
with it, the fourth Of our great indus
tries.
Present wastes in lumber produc-
ton are enormous. Take the case of
yellow pine, which now heads the
list in the volume Of annual cut. In
1907 it is. estimated that only one>haf
of all the yellow pine cut during the
season Was used, and that the other
half amounting to 5000, 600 cords,
was wasted. Such waste is typical
Mr.. K. A. Long, in his address on
Forest Conservation at the confer
ence of governors last spring, pointed
out that 20 per cent OF the yellow pine
was simply left In the woods-a waste
which represents the timber growing
on 800. 900 acres
"The rest of the waste takes place
at the mill. OF course, il would never
do to speak of the material rejected
at the mill as waste unless this mate
rial 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 reason to believe, that
most, if not all, of this material could
be used with profit. 1t is simply a
question of intelligent investigation
and, more than all, of having the will
10 economic.
But there are other ways to con-
serve the forests besides cutting II
half the present waste of foerst pro-
duets. The forests can be made TO
produce three or four times as rapid
~ "a they do at present. This is true
OF botn the virgin forests aud the cut
over lands. Virgin forests are Often
fully stocked with first-class timber,
but this stock has been laid in very
slowly, on account-of~ the waSteful
competition which is carried on con-
stantly between the rival trees. Then,
too, in the virgin forests there are
many trees which have reached matur-
fly and stopped growing, and these
occupy space which, if held by young
er trees, would be laying in a new
stock constantly. A. regards the cut
FoveF Land, severe cutting, followed by
fire, has checked growth - seriously
that in most cases reproduction 3
both poor and slow, while i'll many 9TH
err cases there is no true forest re-
production al all at present. and there
is but little hope for the future