The Ketchikan miner., 1908-10-24
THE LUMBER CUT OF 1907.
 flames l. Doyle.

implied by the bureau of the census md the forest service showed the largest total ever reported in the United States. exceeding by over seven per cent. the cut reported for 1906, until then the record year. The figures themselves disclose some in- seresting facts.
 In 1907, aS, $50 mills made returns and their production was over forty
 billion feet..of lumber. This is be- lieved to include 95 per cent. of the actual cut. In 1906. 22. S9S mills re- ported about thirty-seyen and a half billie I, g.. Si ce, according to these
 figures g per cent more mills report ed last year than the year before. while the increaSe in production was only little over seven per cent, it might be thought that the amount actually manufactured must have been greater in the earlier year. This,
 however, would be a too nasty in-
 ference, for it is almost wholly among mills of small individual output that the gain in the number of establish menss reporting has been made.
 A classification of the returns by states and regions throws additional information on the situation. Indi- vidual change, as for example. the remarkable rise of Texas from eighth 70 third place among the lumber pro- ducing states, are no doubt accounted for principally by a greater accuracy of the 1907 figures: but in the major ity of cases the advance and declines eau be traced to specific influences. Before the year closed. the general business depression was severely felt in the lumber industry. It was not, however, the most important cause in the falling of in general produc- tion of the year when the falling of
 occurred. for decline in production took place only in certain regions. The south is the greatest region of activity ID lumber production. Yel- low pine. the most important wood. forming thirty eight per cent. of the entire cut of the country. The cut of yellow pine reported shows an in- crease of thirteen per cent. over that of 1905. h the early part of the year
 many of the southern mills cut so heavily that in spite of the curtailed output which followed the business dissur bance later, the total was great CT than ever before. But in both the lake states and the nor sh west small CT cut was reported than for 1905. increased.
 In the lake states the falling of evil denced the waning of the supply of white pine. Michigan, which for many years led all the states in lum- her production, and then gave way to Wisconsin, sank in 1907 from fourth to seventh place, while Wisconsin went from third to fifth place. Min nesota. as late as 1905 held fourth place last year went from seventh to ninth. IL was not until the latter part of the 9O's that the south dis placed this group of states as the most important source of lum Der supply. Since southern pine is abundant ID all the Atlantic coast states, from leh Carolinas to Texas, the region as a 1hole will doubtless maintain its lead ing position for some years in spite of the fact that at the present rate the bulk of the timber will be gone in another decade. In totals of produc- lion by individual states, the leader ship has since 1905 been held by the state of Washington. The figures of production show that during 1907 Washington fell of decidedly from the huge cut of 1905, while it's sister state Oregon. is credited with slight increase in its total. Tn the early part of the year. Washington suffered from car shortage, and at the end the combined effects of business dis turbance and higher freight rates had brought the ind ustry almost to paral- ysis. Oregon kept up it's cut because of it's larger proportion of coast-wise and foreign trade. The two states to- geiher produced more lumber than any other two states Of the Union.
 It is T striking fact that though Iumbe prices have been steadily ad yanced during the last half century, he per capita of consumption of lum Der uas also been going up. In 1850. according to the best figures obtain aDle, the average consumption to each person was 25O feet, in 19O0 460 feet and in 1907, 4sJ feet. This illustrates what has been found true the world over that with industrial progress. the demand for lumber becomes great CT and greater.