The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-05-13

growth, and it is probable that the
Nations wood requirements will in
crease as the population grows.
The forest lands of the United
States represent one of the country's
greatest natural resources, and II
properly managed for the production
of a permanent timber crop, RI cir
value in the contribution of God to
construction and industry, in the
maintenance of communities and
support of wage-earners, and in the
protection of watersheds could
hardly be estimated in terms OF
dollars,
The United States is now the lead
ing lumber-producing country of the
world, and the lumber and wood gro
ducts industry is one of the principal
industries of this country. Censns
figures show that lumber and its
manufacture ranks third in the num-
Der of wage-earners, and seventh in
the value of products among all the
industrial groups of the country.
1t is exceeded only by the textile
and iron and steel industries in num-
Der of wage-earners. In power
utilization, the lumber and forest
products industry is second only to
iron and steel, using about $780,
900 horsepower. In 1925, there
We're 100000 persons engaged in
the lumber and forest products in
dustry in .-.s country, and the an
nual production of the lumber group
of industries is valued at more than
three billions of dollars.
With the virgin forest area of the
Uniteu States reduced to but little
more than one-siXth what is origin
ally was, however, this enormous in
dustry and the many other indu slries
and activities which depend to more
or less extent upon its products, will
have to look to reforestation ana
scientific management of the forests
ON a permanent production basis if
1t is to be maintained indefinitely,
forest experts declare The original
forest area of the United States is
estimated at 822,000,00O acres or
about two-fifths of the entire land
area. The present forest area is put
at 470.0O0,000 acres, of which only
125, 100000 acres remains as virgin
fores+t. while some 250,000,000 acres
of cut and burned-over lands are
now producing second-growtn,
good deal of which is scattered and
of inferior quality.
The forest regions are chiefly in
three broad belts. One extends prac-
tically over the whole region be-
tween the Atlantic Coast and the
Mississippi River; the second extends
eastward from the Pacific across the
Sierra and Cascade Mountains; and
the third along the Rocky Mountain
system from Canada to Mexico The
virgin northeastern forest once COM
prised 150,OO0,OOO acres, largely of
white pine, red spruce, hemlock and
other conifers, with an admixture of
beech, birch and hard maple. The
pine and spruce have been heavily
drawn upon, and the second growth
which has come in has inclined to
aspen and other hardwoods in stead
of to the more valuable softwood
trees, as result of destructive lrm-
bering methods and fire, which did
not give the white pine and spruce
a proper chance to produce. About
one-third of this original area also
has been permanently withdrawn
from forest and converted to .gri-
cultural land while fires have made
some 100000 acres nonproduc-
tive at present.
In the Central and Middle Alan
tic States the forests are mainly
hardwood. More than 90 Fer cent
of the original forest area has been
cleared fo- farms and there lenlalns
relatively little virgin timber IN any
part of that region
The Southern forests are now the
main source of forest products in
the East, and the last reserve of
hardwood. Originally the Southern
forests contained 250,000,0O0 acres,