Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-09
LUMBER SUPPLY DECREASING
Falling Off Of Seven Billion Feet in
Total Production.
WASHINGTON STILL AT HEAD
Michigan f. Dropping Back in Annual
output of Forests-Ash Most
widely Distributed Of
Any Variety.

0From a staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Nov. &-(Special)-A
decrease Of over 1000. 900. 900 feet. or 1L5
per cent, in the production Of lumber for
1908 will be shown in a census bulletin
which will be issued shortly. The state Of
Washington, which has ranked first in
lumber production for several years, still
held this place for the year, though the
cut of the state of Louisiana is almost as
large.
In recent years the production in Mich
igan has been decreasing steadily, falling
In 1907 below the 1900, 100000 mark for the
first time In nearly forty years. Since
1880, however, Michigan has probably cut
nearly 100. 0OO, 0OO, 1000 feet Of lumber, a pro-
duction which has not been approached by
any other state.
In the opinion of the experts of the cen
sus bureau. the reduction I'm the output OF
lumber is a result OF the business depres-
sion. The quantity Of lumber produced in
1903 was less than that for any other year
shown in the statistics of the bureau, ex-
cept that of 1905. In this case, however,
the recorded cut. as given in the bulletin
of the forest product, which was prepared
by the forest service and only covered the
output OF the larger mills and is known to
be materially less than the real produc-
ton of the year.
There has been a gradual increase in the
price Of lumber at the mill from 1900 to 1907
with a reduction for the year 1905. The
average value of lumber per thousand feet
was $11.14 in 1900, S12.76 in 1904, $146O In 1905,
1864 in 1906, S16.56 in 1907 and $15.S7 in 1908.
Ohio valley i'm Lead.
The Ohio valley is not regarded generally
as a great lumber producing district, yet
It leads in the output of hardwood. Hard
mood ie a small nronnrffpp of the ma nfitV
produced in the country, but its value per
thousand feet plays an important part in
estimating the total valuation of forest
products. Oak Is still the chief hardwood
The production of oak lumber has beer
steadily falling off for a number Of years
but it still maintains its place as the CHIEF
OF the hardwoods. In 1908 it was less by
947, 249. 900 feet, or 25 per cent, than the GU
Of 1907. Kentucky leads West Virgins
slightly in the production for the. year, the
output of Kentucky being a little over
1OO,OO more feet than hat Of West Vir'
ginia. Ohio Is sixth, while Indiana Is
eighth in the amount produced.
It is especially noteworthy, says the bull
letin. that Michigan in 1903, a state which
for so many years was far in the lead in
white pine production. was surpassed by
three New England states, which were
commonly supposed to have been cut out
long ago. The New England states have,
of course, little original timber left, but
the second growth Of white pine has been
so great that the relative Importance of
these states in white pine production in
creases as the virgin supply in the Lake
states nears exhaustion. The total output
in the Lake states in 1903 was 1,7SO, 4O3,OCO
feet or only BIZ per cent of the cut in
1900, but little more than 20 per cent of
the cut in these states in 1890 when the
highest point in the white pine lumber pro-
duction in this section was reached.
Ash Leads for Territory.
One of the most widely distributed
woods, according to the bulletin, is ash. 1t
is found in thlrty-seven states of the union,
but Michigan, despite its declining lumber
industry, led in 1908 i'm the production of
ash, with Arkansas second, Ohio third and
Indiana fourth.
Walnut lumber is so valuable that a
very small portion of it is used in this
country. 1t brings a higher price abroad
than il does in the domestic market and
as a result most Of it is exported to
Europe in the log, so that the reports on
it's production are incomplete. AS far as
known, Indiana leads in the production
Of this valuable wood, with Ohio second.