Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1920-12-23
FORESTS VANISH
IN LAKE STATES
GLOOMY REPORT MADE TO THE
SENATE ON WISCONSIN, MICH
IeAN AND MINNESOTA.
LUMBER PRODUCTION FALLS
White Pine Nearly All Gone and the
Quality Also Declines-tIemIoci< and
Hardwood Timber Are Now Being
Cut Rapidly.
By JAMES ?. HoRNApAY.

BY JAMES p. HoRNApAY.
! WashingtOn.-Ou of a total orig.
inal forest area Of approximately 112,-
100000 acres, the lake states now have
little, if any, more than 100000
acres; an original white-pine stand
estimated at not less than $4,000, OOO,-
GOO board feet has been reduced to s.
OOO,000O00 board feet; the stand of
| timber suitable for lumber is being
cut more than three times as rapidly
| as it is grown; in another decade the
| per capita consumption of lumber in
the lake states must either fall from
! 300 to nearly 200 board feet per year,
or nearly One-third of the lumber
needed for home use must be import
ed. These are the outstanding facts
regarding the lake states contained
in report on timber conditions of the
country made to the United States
senate by the forest service.
Wisconsin, Michigan and Mime
sofa, which in 1899 were the three
leading states in point of lumber pro-
ductiOn, had in 1918 fallen to eighth,
| thirteenth and eleventh places, respec-
lively. Wisconsin now produces less
white pine than the secOnd-grOwth cut
of either Maine or New Hampshire
and Michigan, which from 1870 to
! 1895 produced more lumber than any
other state in the Union, actually cuts
less than half as much white pine as
Massachusetts.
Quantity and Quality Decline.
The peak of lumber production in
the lake states was passed in 1892,
when the reported output was little
more than S,9O0OO0,OOO board feet
largely white pine, according to the
report. In 1918 the cut had fallen to
1902, 100000 board feet, of which only
80 per cent was white pine. AS the
cut dwindled, white pine lumber went
| down both in quality and quantity;
and Norway and jack pine, and even
| tNmarack, we're admitted as lower
| grades of northern pine lumber"
The fine old timber which gave white
pine its reputation Is now nearly all
| gone. In Minnesota two-thirds or more
j of the cut is box lumber. Only small
scattered remnants of the old-growth
white pine forests remain in Wiscon-
sin and upper Michigan while in low
er Michigan the most widely known
tract covers about 100 acres,
AS the higher grades of white pine
became scarce, hemlock, which was
once considered worthless, began to
compete with the lower grades of pine
that were introduced. Hardwoods
also began TO be in demand and their
utilization has now progressed to a
point where they are cut not only for
lumber but for such other purposes as
chemical distillation, charcoal, etc.
The depletion of commercial timber
has proceeded furthest in the lower
peninsula of Michigan, where proba-
bly, not much over half million acres
of hardwOods and hemlOck remain, the
report states. Out of hundreds OF
large sawmilIs that once operated In
that section, there were in 1919 only
about 45 that cut one million board
feet apiece. Within five years there
viii hardly be half a dozen large mills
left.
In Wisconsin and the upper penin-
sula of Michigan the situation is bet
ter. 1t is estimated that there are
about 100000 acres of cumberland in
upper Michigan and 100000 in Wis
cOnsin, with total merchantable
stand of at least $4,000 100000 feet.
All things considered, it is doubt
full If there will be any appreci-
able amount Of timber left in conn
mercial holdings in Wisconsin at the
end of 20 years. In upper Michigan
the stand will last considerably longer.
Conditions in Minnesota.
In Minnesota, timber conditions diff
fer widely from those in Wisconsin
and Michigan. in that 81 per cent OF
the cut in 1918 was white pine, while
in Wisconsin SO per cent of the cut
was hardwoOds and hemlOck. The
Minnesota state forester recently es-
timated that there were 11,45O, 100000
board feet of soft woods in the state.
OF this amount Al per cent is white
and Norway pine, 171s per cent is
Jack pine. "a per cent is spruce bal
sam and cedar, and 175S per cent is
tamarack. The tamarack, which has
been widely used for hewed ties, has
practically been killed by the larch
sawfy and must be salvaged soon, IL
at all. The pine forests Of Minnesota,
the report points out, have been thor
oughly culled Of their best material,
and the production now runs heavily
to box lumber.
1t is estimated that the lumber cut
Of the lake states for the next Eve
and ten years from the commercial
tracts will be about as follows:
Present annual cut $500, 100000
Estimated cut, 1925 20, 400 OO, 600
Estimated cut, 1880. -. 4 500 OOO. COO
II is pointed out that. as the cut
from the commercial stands decreases,
the cut from farm wOodlOts, cutoyer
areas, etc, may be expected to In
crease in proportion to the total cut,
though not in actual amount.