The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-06-30
OUR WOOD CONSUMPTION.


Statistics have been compiled by
the forest service which show for the
first time precisely how the lumber
produced in the country is utilized.
About As billion feet OF lumber of all
kinds is the annual production in the
United States; Of this nearly % BILL
lion feet, board measure. are further
manufactured, the other portion re-
naming for rough construction lum-
Der and for similar purposes. This
is exclusive of material which
reaches. its final use in the form of
fuel, railroad ties. posts, pulpwood.
Icooperage, wood distillates. and the
barks and extracts demanded by the
tanning industry.
The work Of collecting and COM
piling the figures extended over a
period and was carried
out state by state; but as one full
year was made the basis Of statis-
tics in each state the total is fair
average of the use OF lumber In
further manufacture In the whole
country. Between so end 60 per
cent OF the lumber produced is sub
ject to further manufacture. In pre-
pairing the figures in this way, how
ever, il should be remembered that
considerable material reaches shops
and factories in the form of logs,
bolts, and billets without HAVING
passed through sawmiils, and while
this material is included In these
statistics this fact should be remem-
bered in comparing statistics with
those of lumber production.
Nearly or quite 100 different woods
are used in this country under their
own names, while an unknown num-
Der find their way to shops and fac
tories without being identified or
separately listed, except under gen.
eral names. In quantity the soft
woods, the needIeIeaf or coniferous
trees, are most important, but there
is greater number Of species among
the hardwoods, or broadleaf trees.
Yellow pine comes first with more
than billion feet, followed by white
pine with 3 billion, and Douglass FIR
with little more than 2 billion. 1t
should be understood, however, that
the term yellow pine" includes sew
eral species the three most import
ant OF which are Ionfleaf, shortleaf
and IobioiIy Oak. including all spe-
cies, has nearly 2 billion feet, and is
the most important hardwood. Maple
comes next.
Dogvood comes about halfway
down the list with more than mil.
lion board feet, and OF those species
mentioned Turkish boxwood comes
last, with less than 30 thousand feet,
followed by many others too insig-
nificant to list but making a total of
all kinds OF more than million feet
OF the native species, laurel, holly
and yucca fall very near the foot OF
the list In relative quantities used.
Fifty-fve principal Industries use
wood as raw material. Their relative
Importance Is hard to indicate, be-
cause quantity is not In all cases
criterion Of value of an industry TO
the community in which It is situat-
ed, nor to the country as a whole.
More than one-balf Of the total con-
sumption consists of planning mill
products, the largest items Of which
are flooring, siding, ceiling, and fin
ishing. The next industry, in point
of quantity Of wood used. Is the manu-
facture of boxes and crates Nearly
four times as much wood is demand
ed by makers OF boxes and crates
as by the builders OF steam and cleo
trio cars, which come next, and five
fold the amount that goes into furni-
ture, which in turn leads vehicle man.
ufacture. Vehicles demand surpris-
ingly large supplies Of wood, and
much of it must be of high class in