STAT£ HORTICULTURAL SOCIETV. 



87 



Placed in tabular form for the reader's eye, the amount and per- 

 centage of woodland in the districts is as follows : 



These statistics probably understate the amount of acres in wood- 

 land. As 1 ha\'e noticed nt-arly ten millions of acres are unaccounted 

 for. It is probable that out- million of these are in woodland. In the 

 case of Franklin, Johnson, and ])ro])ably other counties tliere were great 

 omissions made by the census takers, and it is not likely that the count 

 was often if ever in excess. On the other hand no doubt much of the 

 so called woodland had little valuable timber upon it. Much of it was, 

 no doubt, either young and small or the refuse left by the woodman. 

 Much of it never was and never will be of value as sawed lumber but 

 may answer for firewood and posts, and the coarser uses of the farm. 



But these figures show our weak side as well as our strength. From 

 the Galena on the northwest around to Champaign on the east there is 

 but seven per cent, of timbered land. This is not made good by the 

 twenty per cent, along the Illinois, Mississippi, and Wabash. 



It is only when 1 come down into Egypt and to the proper ground 

 of this report that I find timber still to spare ; and now that a half- 

 do/en new railroads are rushing out the great trunks of white oak, and 

 the nicely cut and sawn i>lanks, timl)er, laths, and heading of tulip 

 wood, 1 know that the end of good lumber is not far off, even along 

 the Grand Chain. 



As exhibiting the forest wants and resources of the different coun- 

 ties of the State, I submit a table giving the number of acres of wood- 

 land to the square mile in each county of the State : 



