The daily sentinel., 1908-10-06
TAKING A CENSUS
OF ALL THE TREES

The National Conservation Com
mission has caused the first compre-
hensive attempt at a census of the
standing timber in the United States
ever undertaken. The forest service
has for several years been eager to
take such a census, and the bureau
of the census has expressed its will
ingness to cooperate, but funds have
never been available. The Conser-
vation Commission, however, needs
the information to help complete its
inventory of the country's natural
resources, which it will include in it's
report to the President, and since that
report is to be submitted on the first
of next year, ii needs the information
at once. In consequence the work
on the census has been started with
a rush and is now under full head
way.
1t may be a slight exaggeration to
speak of a census of timber. for of
course 1t is impossible to count the
individual trees in the forests; even
the most ambitious plans of the forest
service and the bureau of census did
not contemplate that. But a trained
man can with great accuracy "cruise"
tract of forest and estimate the
number of board feet 1t contains.
Large portions of the forests of the
| country, including practically all the
national forests, have been estimated
| at various times. but these figures
have never been brought together and
no organized effort has ever been
made to gather them into one total,
nor to supply the deficiencies where
hitherto no estimates have been
| made.
AS a result, the guesses as to the
Of Htaf Il tftAnh In . ha
United States, range all the way from
S22,6S2 million to 1000 billion
| board feet-a difference of more than
a trillion feet in the estimates of the
| best qualified authorities in the
country.
In the opinion of the forest service.
| the most carefully prepared estimates
| yet made are those by Henry Gan
| nett, published by the Twelfth Cen
| sus in 1900. These placed the total
stumpage at $50 billion board feet.
Mr.. Gannett. it so happens, has been
chosen by the President to compile
all the information gathered for the
commission. and with his previous
acquaintance with the subject of for
estry he is at work now enlarging
| the knowledge of forest areas at pres
ent available.
The Importance of this census lies
| largely in the fact that it will give
an accurate basis for computing how
| long our timber supplies will last.
| Through the cooperation of the for
est service and the census bureau the
| countrys annual consumption of
wood is known with tolerable accur-
acy, although even here there are
some discrepancies. because a large
amount of wood is used for posts.
| fuel and domestic purposes, for
which no satisfactory data have yet
| been collected. But the concensus of
opinion among those equipped to
judge is that the present annual con-
sumption is about 100 billion board
feet, or something more than that.
One leading authority has placed it
as high as $50 billion board feet.
Assuming a stumpage of 1, 400 bill
lion feet, an annual use of 90 billion
feet. and neglecting growth in the
calculation, the exhaustion of our
timber supply is indicated in IA
years. Assuming the same use and
stand, with an annual growth of 40
billion feet, we have a supply for q
years. Assuming an annual use of
$50 billion feet, the first supposition
becomes 8 years. and the second IL |
years. Assuming a stand of 1000 |
billion feet, a use of 100 billion feet |
and neglecting growth, we have 20 |
years supply. Assuming the same |
conditions, with an annual growth |
of 40 billion feet, we have 33 years |
supply. With an annual use of $50 |
billion feet those estimates become. |
respectively, 13 and Is years.
1t is apparent from these compu-
tations why the National Conserva-