i6 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Philadelphia Hardwood Conference. 



A conference of minor association and exchange interests on the 

 subject of the consideration of inspection rules of the National Hard- 

 wood Lumber Association was held at Philadelphia on September 24. 

 A part of the gathering of delegates present unmistakably had a 

 right in a conference of that sort, but the opinion of quite a portion 

 should certainly have no weight in hardwood inspection matters, from 

 the fact that they had no interest in hardwood inspection affairs. 



The proceedings of the meeting as supplied by one of its officers 

 is printed in this issue of the Record, but from a perusal of it noth- 

 ing can be deduced save that a part of those present were not satis- 

 fied with the current rules of hardwood inspection and a committee 

 was therefore appointed to report at a future meeting to determine 

 in what particular the rules were not pleasing. 



The attitude of this conference may very forcibly be epitomized by 

 the old English distit.-h: 



Lumber Fire Loss Increase. 



Lumber fire losses, especially in the West, continue increasingly 

 heavy, largely because of the long drought. Happily this period is 

 at an end and copious rains have fallen all over the Northwest and 

 a large portion of the South during the last few days. The losses 

 from fire have not only been the moderate ones in the woods but 

 have involved sawmills, lumber yards and various woodworking fac- 

 tories. 



The big feature of this recrudescence of fires just now is that 

 they have occurred promptly after the promulgation of the new 

 schedule by the Western Union, materially reducing rates on this 

 class of hazard, based somewhat on previous experience, and largely 

 on account of the strong competition forced upon them by the lumber 

 insurance companies. 



Critics of the change allege that the past five years have lieen 

 unusually wet, or normal seasons, upon which it would be unfair to 

 base a general average which would be offset by the past year of 

 drought. It is to be hoped that the fire loss in lumber risks is only 

 temporary, and that the good work so largely attributable to the 

 lumber fire insurance companies will not be lost to insurers, and that 

 the. recent losses will not affect the splendid record made during the 

 past few years by such concerns as the Lumber Underwriters of Kansas 

 City and the well-known New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Mans- 

 field companies. These lumber insurance companies have certainly 

 made an immense saving for the lumber trade, and the very fact 

 that rates have been forced lower with the old line companies during 

 such times as have recently prevaUed is a mighty good reason for 

 the average lumberman to give the lumber companies as liberal a 

 share of his business as they will accept. 



Forest Census. 



The National Conservation Commission has caused the first com- 

 prehensive attempt at a census of the standing timber in the United 

 States ever undertaken. The forest service has for several years been 

 eager to take such a census, and the bureau of the census has expressed 

 its willingness to cooperate, but funds have never been available. 

 The conservation commission, however, needs the information to help 

 complete its inventory of the country's natural resources, which it will 

 include in its report to the president, and since that report is to be 

 submitted on the first of next year, it needs the information at once. 

 In consequence, the work on the census has been started with a rush 

 and is now under full headway. 



It may be a slight exaggeration to speak of a census of timber, 

 for of course it is impossible to count the individual trees in the 

 forests; even the most ambitious plans of the forest service and the 

 bureau of the census did not contemplate that. But a trained man 

 can with great accuracy ''cruise" a tract of forest and estimate 

 the number of board feet it contains. Large portions of the forests 

 of the country, including practically all the national forests, have 

 been estimated at various times, but these figures have never been 



brought together and no organized effort has ever been made to 

 gather them into one total, nor to supply the deficiencies where 

 hitherto no estimates have been made. 



As a result, the guesses as to the amount of standing timber in 

 the United States range all the way from 822,682 million to 2,000 

 billion board feet — a difference of more than a trillion feet in the 

 estimates of the best qualified authorities in the country. 



In the opinion of the forest service, the most carefully prepared 

 estimates yet made are those by Henry Gannett, published by the 

 twelfth census in 1900. These placed the total stumpage at 1,390 

 billion board feet. Mr. Gannett, it so happens, has been chosen by 

 the president to compile all the information gathered fur the com- 

 mission, and with his previous acquaintance with the subject of 

 forestry, he is at work now enlarging the knowledge of forest areas 

 at present available. 



The importance of this census lies largely in the fact that it will 

 give an accurate basis for computing how long our timber supplies 

 will last. Through the cooperation of the forest service and the 

 census bureau the country's annual consumption of wood is known 

 with tolerable accuracy, although even here there are some discrep- 

 ancies, because a large amount of wood is used for posts, fuel and 

 domestic purposes for which no satisfactory data have yet been col- 

 lected. But the consensus of opinion among those equipped to judge 

 is that the present annual consumption is about 100 billion board 

 feet, or something more than that. One leading authority has placed 

 it as high as l.'iO billion board feet. 



Assuming a stumpage of 1,400 billion feet, an annual use of 100 

 billion feet, and neglecting growth in the calculation, the exhaustion 

 of our timber supply is indicated in 14 years, i^ssuming the same 

 use and stand, with an annual growth of 40 billion feet, we have 

 a supply for 23 years. Assuming an annual use of 150 billion feet, 

 the first supposition becomes 9 years, and the second 13 years. 

 Assuming a stand of 2,000 billion feet, a use of 100 billion feet, 

 and neglecting growth, we have 20 years' supply. Assuming the 

 same conditions, with an annual growth of 40 billion feet, we have 

 33 yeai's'- supply. With an annual use of 150 billion feet, these 

 estimates become, respectively, 13 and 18 years. 



It is apparent from these computations why the national conserva- 

 tion commission considers the census of timber so essential to the 

 preparation of its inventory. 



The chief difference between the methods now being employed by 

 the conservation commission and those the bureau of the census would 

 use are, that while the bureau would send out enumerators to make 

 personal visits to all parts of the country, the commission is aiming 

 at the same results through a tremendous amount of correspondence. 

 For instance, 3,100 letters have gone out to county clerks asking for 

 statements of forest areas in their counties. Seven thousand lum- 

 bermen and timberland owners have been asked to supply similar 

 information. In all nearly 150,000 letters have been sent. These 

 letters also ask for a wide variety of information beside the area 

 and capacity of forests. They touch upon all phases not only of 

 the lumbering and milling industries, but of all others which are 

 even indirectly dependent upon the use of wood. The purpose of 

 the commission is not merely to learn how much wood is growing 

 now, but how long it may be expected to last and how the supply 

 may be prolonged by economy. 



All government departments and bureaus which have any infor- 

 mation about forests, as well as many large corporations, such as 

 land grant railroads which hold big forest tracts in some states and 

 have cruised them carefully, have turned it over to Mr. Gannett. 



The forest service naturally has the largest fund of information, 

 and it is gathering more constantly, either independently or with the 

 help of the census bureau. The departments of war, the interior 

 and commerce and labor can turn over the amounts of timber 

 standing on military, lighthouse and other reservations. The bureau 

 of -corporations of the department of commerce and labor has sent 

 out an extensive schedule of inquiries to its special agents which, it 

 is hoped, will add to the present information concerning the manu- 

 facture of wood. All the states of the Union are cooperating and 

 will furnis)i stiitistifs I'nncprning shito forest lands. 



