HALF OF EACH TREE LOST 



HALF, or more than half, of 

 each tree is lost in the various 

 stages of manufacture leading 

 to the finished commodities 

 made from it, is the conclusion reached 

 in a report on the wood-using industries 

 of New \ork State by John T. Harris, 

 of the United States Forest Service, in 

 cooperation with the New York State 

 College of Forestry at Syracuse and 

 published by that institution. This con- 

 clusion emphasizes the finding that 

 closer utilization of the forest products 

 is today the greatest problem of the 

 wood-using industries and is of vital 

 importance. 



Fifty years ago, when New York led 

 all States in the production of lumber, 

 the report says the problem of waste 

 was almost unknown. At that time the 

 one aim of the superintendent of a 

 plant was to increase the daily output. 

 Today, New York has dropped to 

 twenty-third place among the lumber 

 producing States, and there is increas- 

 ing need for more efficient consumption 

 of wood material going through the 

 factory. The rapid decline of New 

 York as a leader in lumber production 

 has been accompanied by a relative in- 

 crease in the demand for forest prod- 

 ucts. While her annual lumber pro- 

 duction is at present over 25,000,000 

 feet her own forests and woodlots con- 

 tribute less than one-third of the raw 

 material consumed by her factories. 



No problems before the State are 

 more important than the study of 

 closer utilization of forest products, 

 care of the forests, forest lire protec- 

 tion, and reforestation. Of the 34.- 

 000,000 acres in the State, 22.000,000 

 are included in farms and of this, only 

 15,000.000 acres are actually in crops. 

 This means that 7.000,000 acres of 

 farms are idle ; and it is estimated that 

 less than half of the 12,000,000 acres 

 outside of farms, contains merchant- 

 able timber. To obtain the most use 

 from all land whatsoever, it is reliably 

 estimated that between 12,000.000 and 

 438 



11,000,000 acres in the State must 

 eventually be devoted entirely to for- 

 ests. Such an area is greater than that 

 of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and 

 Rhode Island combined, and is equal 

 (.0 all that part of New York north of 

 ihe New York Central Line. 



Improved forest conditions in this 

 large area would mean an enormous 

 saving to the State. Transportation of 

 raw material from the extreme South- 

 ern States, from Canada, and from the 

 West to supply factories in a forest 

 State results of course in duplication 

 and adds to the cost of forest products. 

 Last year there were sent out through 

 the ports of New York State over 

 $15,000,000 for wood to be used in 

 local New York industries. Practically 

 all of the orders for this imported ma- 

 terial should ultimately be cancelled. 

 Twelve million acres or more of forest 

 lands in this State should produce all 

 of the 1,754,519,217 feet consumed by 

 the home wood users. If New York 

 will adopt a sound forest policy she can 

 eventually take her former rank as one 

 of the first States in the production of 

 forest products and supply nearly all 

 of the raw material needed by her fac- 

 tories. 



The rapid increase in manufacturing 

 in New York has made an abnormal 

 demand for forest products and a con- 

 sequent influx of timber from Canada, 

 from the Lake States, and from the 

 southern pine region. Douglas fir also 

 has been shipped entirely across the 

 continent for buildings, bridges, car 

 construction and ship masts. Millions 

 of feet of cypress are shipped all the 

 way from the Gulf States to build tanks 

 and silos ; red gum from the lower 

 Mississippi Valley is shipped in for in- 

 terior finish, taking the places formerly 

 occupied by home-grown oaks, maples 

 and birches ; practically all of the better 

 grades of white pine used in the State 

 comes from the Ottawa River District 

 in Canada and from the Lake States. 

 The Pacific Coast is called upon to 



