Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1909-09-24
TIMBER SUPPLY GOING.
What Of the timber supplyf

What of the timber supplyf
Every one who ever expects to own
a home is interested in this momen-
tous problem, asserts an exchange.
The forests are speedily disappearing
from the land, and nothing but care
full foresting will preserve the timber
of the American continent.
The land area of the United States
is a little less than 100000 square
miles. Of this area the best timber
experts believe that about 20 per cent
was originally wooded. The present
wooded area is 100000, or about
half the total area. But Of that
amount the present actual forest area
from which our timber supply must
be drawn is but 90 per cent of the
total area.
The Atlantic forest area, as the
wooded section east of the Mississippi
is known, comprises about three
fourths of the original wooded area of
the United States. The east front
of this forest extended from Maine
to Florida, stretching westward to and
beyond the Mississippi river, being in
dented on it's central division front by
the prairies of northern Illinois and
Iowa but comprising to the northwest
ward the Great Lakes system and end
ing only at the valley of the Red river.
Southwark it reached to eastern
Texas, covering in this direction all
the state of Arkansas, nearly all of
Missouri, large part of the Indian
territory, and presenting a forest front
from Florida to Galveston.
Much of this great region was of
small growth, but vast unbroken areas
were dense with the finest standing
timber then known to man. In the
northern part were great tracts OF
hardwoods, while the soft woods such
as pine abounded in the south.
Extending from the western border
of the original Atlantic forest to the
foothills of the Rockies is and has
been since prehistoric times a treelesl
belt from 400 to 500 miles wide, be
ginning far north of the Canadian
border and extending south to tbs
Mexican line. In this belt are five
states almost naked of trees and tota
treeless area region equal in area Il
one-half the great Atlantic forest. West
of this the growth in broad -leaved de
hardwoods is insignificant.
Two forest regions lie between thi
prairie and the Pacific ocean. Thes,
are called the Rocky mountain fores
and the Pacific coast forest. The for
mer comes over the international line al
a continuation of the forests of British
Columbia, covering the western thirt
of Montana and the northern half O
Idaho in fairly continuous growths
continuing thence southerly in dimin
ishing and broken belts and patche
along the highlands and valleys OF tn
Rocky mountains.
In this forest, in the higher altitude
and toward the south, variety Of pine
prevail, being generally of poorer quail
ity toward the higher and drier local.
ties. To the north they partake of tn
nature and habit of the Coast forest
gradually merging into it to the west
ward.
The Pacific coast forest, accordin
to Milton o. Nelson, a timber expert
in its density and average quantity 0
timber per acre is the greatest fores
on the face of the earth. Here are tn
oldest and largest trees in the worlC
| BAOWb w buSh CuOAHAOu
size that for many years the lumber il
dustry did little but nibble along tn
edges of it in the most easily worke
spots.
This forest runs south along the west
ern slopes of the Cascade and Coas
ranges, having a maximum density an
width in Washington and Oregon an
dwindling to small isolated mountai
areas in south central California. /
quantity the Douglas, or red fir,
almost equal to all other varieties con
bined. 1t is found chiefly in Washing
ton and Oregon. With this timber
also found white and western hemlocl
all growing to excellent merchantabl
size and quality.
laundering on a large scale is cor
Quoted chiefly in the coniferous Forest
The hardwoods have gone into consumI
ton mainly by way of the sawmil
What the original American forest wa