Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-12-10
Is Summary Of Great Mass Of
Statistics and Represents
Six Months Work.
FOREST AREA OF COUNTRY
Covers About one-Half OF United
States, TWo-Thirds of What
1t Was Formerly.
Private Owners Must Supplement-
Work of Nation and States in
Policy OF Preservation.

Work of Nation and States in
Policy OF Preservation.
Washington, Dec Ex-senator Reed
Smoot. of Utah, chairman of the sec
ton of the national conservation COM
mission, submitted the inventory OF
forests at today's session of the com
SION The reading of this report,whci
went infinitely into the forest resources
of the United States aud offered
for the consideration OF the joint
conference certain recommendations
whereby the public domain OF this
country may be protected against
wastes, consumed practically all of
the morning session.
The first figures of the inventory OF
the forests of the United States which
the national conservation commission
has made We're presented to the con-
ference by Senator Smoot Of Utah,
chairman OF the section of forests of
the commission. Senator Shoots report
Is summary Of the great mass fsta-
tisticts which the first inventory rep
& tSclilS. Liz report represents SIX
months work on the part of the for
ests section and presents the most
striking figures of the forests inveIl-
tory.
In part the report is as follows:
WHAT FORESTS DO.
Next to our needs OF food and water
comes our need Of timber. Our indus
tries suhsisting wholly on mainly up
on wood. pay the wages of more than
one and one-half million men and wo-
men.
Forests not only grow timber. but
they hold the soil, and they conserve
streams for all useful purposes. How
far forests increase the rain is not
yet known. II is well known that they
check wind. and work against excess
Sive heat or5cold. That they make FOR
tine fiber. health, and happiness OF
each citizen and Of the nation, has
been known since history began.
The fish which live in forest waters
furnish each year twenty-onc million
dollars worth of food, and not less
than half as much is furnished by the
game which could not exist without
the forest.
WHAT WE HAVE.
Our forests now cover $40 million
acres or about one-fourth If the
United States. The original forests
covered not less than $50 million acres,
or nearly one-half
Forests publicly owned cover one
fourth of the total forest area. and
contain one-iifth of all timber stand
ing, FORESTS privately owned cover
three-fourths of the area, and contain
four-ffths of the standing timber The
lumber privately owned is not only four
times that publicly owned, but it is
generally more valuable.
fr,s =.
cent of the forests publicly owned ana
on less than one per cent of the forests
privately owned, or on only Is per cent
of the total forest area.
WHAT Is PRODUCED.
The yearly growth of wood in Our
forests does not average more than
- cubic feet per acre This gives
q total YEARLY growth OF less than
seven billion cubic feet,
WHAT. is Used.
We take yearly. including waste in
logging and in, manufacture. 2S bill
loon cubic feet of wood from oul,
forests.
We use each year no million cords
Of firewood, 10 billion feet of lumber.
more than a billion posts, poles. and
sence rails, lis million hewn ties, IT,
billion slaves. over 1873 million sets of
,onns , rrIis IVY 'li,'non barrel
,,oG lax ,,i;,,;a,, o,,i:; " na'lse pun
y me ,in'lars "a ~ IT. u iolliln
wood for distillation
WHAT IS WASTED
since 1870 forest H,es Ia 10 a.,,, go,
destroyed an average or 10 iivos 80,
% million dollars wnrtl, of tfn,i,,.,
Sot less than SO raillion sores Of ''eoi,.
st is burned over yearly.
one fourth of the stanlinr +;,,,,,,,.i
eft or otherwise lost in lnspinr i,hs
,oxing Of longleaf pine for t,,rncntsn-
ng has destroyed ona-fifth ar tbe fn,.-
SITS worked. The loss in the min i
rom one-third to two-thrids or ~.
imber sawed. The loss IL ths n,;,i
roduct, through seasoning ana t;tt;,,..
or use, is from enc. seyenth IL 80
ourth.
Only $50 feet OF lumber ar,, ,sa.a
Or each 1000 feet which stood in
crest.
WHERE WE STAND.
We take from our forests each year.
OF counting the loss by fire, 8 y times
heir yearly grOWth tn