26B 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



fallen off 36.5 per cent. Yellow poplar, which 

 in 1S99 ranked second among the hardwoods 

 of the country, fell off 37.9 per cent. Elm, the 

 great standard in slack cooperage, went down 

 50.8 per cent. 



Cottonwood and ash, used largely In many 

 industries, lost respectively 36.4 and 20.3 per 

 cent. Of the woods which show increases, 

 hickory and walnut are cut scatteringly over a 

 very large territory. 



The increases shown are probably In large 

 part, if not entirely, due to more complete fig- 

 ures in 1906 than in 1899. Other woods which 

 show increases are those which up to a few 

 years ago were considered inferior and had no 

 market value. Only within the past seven 

 years have maple, red gum. birch, beech and 

 tupelo begun to replace the better woods, such 

 as oak, poplar, elm and ash. When the interior 

 substitutes are gone there will be nothing with 

 which to replace them. 



While we know the hardwood supply is rap- 

 idly running down, it is unfortunate that we 

 cannot tell how long the supply will last. The 

 hardwood which annually goes into the manu- 

 facture of lumber is approximately 7 1/3 bil- 

 lion feet. Other uses, such as railroad ties, 

 poles, piles, fence posts, fuel and the vast 

 amount of waste bring the figure to at least 

 35 billion feet. By the largest estimate our 

 supply of standing hardwoods does not exceed 

 400 billion feet. This means a sixteen years- 

 supply. 



How intensely the whole country would feel 

 the loss of a great resource like hardwood tim- 

 ber was merely indicated by the injurious 

 effects of the anthracite coal strike a few 

 years ago. Many of our great industries such 

 as furniture, vehicle and cooperage manufac- 

 ture depend absolutely upon hardwood. These 

 industries will suffer when the hardwood sup- 

 ply is exhausted. Not only will they suffer, 

 the whole country will suffer for want of their 

 products. Our present national forests furnish 

 no hardwood timber because hardwoods grow 

 only in the east. 



There have been in the United States four 

 great hardwood centers, the Ohio valley, the 

 lake states, the lower Mississippi valley and 

 the Appalachian states. The Ohio valley in 

 the past has been the main center of produc- 

 tion. Even as late as 1899 the states of Ohio. 

 Illinois and Indiana produced 25 per cent of 

 the hardwood. In 1906 they produced only 14 

 per cent; both the statos "f ^hlo and Indiana 



fell off over 50 r-r • ' '-ne reached a 



(lucers. 

 lablishments 

 ^ will largely 



.«udden end as 

 Their many 

 which are now 

 exhaust their 

 few years 



Th. 



vas 



hav 



farming, for win 1 wen 



adapted. 



The three lake states furnished less hard- 

 wood lumber in 1906 than they did in 1S99. 

 Inquestionably their maximum production has 

 been reached and their decline is likely to be 

 filmost as rapid as that of Ohio and Indiana 

 because of the nearness of many wood-using 

 Industries, which will make heavy demands 

 upon their supplies. The hardwood lands of 

 the lake states are for the most part agricul- 

 tural lands, and they are rapidly being cleared 

 for the production of grain, grasses and 

 potatoes. 



Th« same Is true of the lower Mississippi 

 valley. The hardwoods occupy the richest 

 agricultural land, which almost as fast as 

 the timber Is cut is being turned into farms. 

 Present indications are that the swamp land, 

 notable for the production of hardwoods, will 

 within a few years be drained and cleared for 

 agriculture. 



This leaves but one other hardwood region, 

 the Appalachian mountains. The Appalachians 

 differ fundamentally from the other regions 



because they are not of agricultural value; 

 Iheir main usefulness is for timber production. 

 In 1906 they produced 48 per cent of the hard- 

 woods of the country. 



It is clear that they must be counted upon 

 for even a much larger proportion in the 

 future. Although they bear hemlock, pine and 

 spruce in quantity, it is in the production of 

 hardwoods that the Appalachians have their 

 chief value. It is to them that the hardwood- 

 using industries must look for future supplies, 

 and even with the Appalachians the country 

 has only a sixteen years' supply now available 

 for the ax. 



The southern Appalachian region contains a 

 timbered area of over 58 million acres. Includ- 

 ing the mountains of Pennsylvania, New York 

 and New England, it Is safe to estimate the 

 Appalachian area as covering 75 million acres, 

 primarily adapted to hardwood timber. 



Only a small part of this 12 per cent to 15 

 per cent is covered by virgin growth. The re- 

 mainder has been cut over and some of It has 

 been cleared. 



Throughout the Appalacnlan region the 

 forest has suffered incalculable damage by 

 fire, which over most of the region still burns 

 without hindrance. Every year millions of 

 young trees, the hope of the future crop, are 

 killed and the humus, the great storehouse of 

 fertility and moisture, is consumed over 

 thousands of acres. 



Through mismanagement a great part of 

 the young timber has been destroyed. Much 

 that remains is damaged by fire, insects or 

 fungi. Over the whole area the average growth 

 Is very little, probably not more than ten cubic 

 feet per acre annually. 



The inevitable conclusion Is that there are 

 lean years close ahead In the use of hardwood 

 timber. There is sure to be a gap between the 

 supply which exists and the supply which will 

 have to be provided. How large that gap will 

 be depends upon how soon and how effectively 

 we begin to make provision for the future 

 supply. 



The present indications are that, in spite 

 of the best we can do, there will be a shortiige 

 of hardwoods running through at least fifteen 

 years. How acute that shortage may become 

 and how serious a check it will put upon the 

 industries concerned cannot now be foretold. 

 That it will strike at the ver>- foundation of 

 some of the country's most important indus- 

 tries is unquestionable. This much is true 

 beyond doubt — that the hardwood timber 

 famine is upon us and we have made no pro- 

 vision against it. 



Studies of the forest conditions in the south- 

 ern Appalachians show that these lands, where 

 they have been under protection for some 

 time, are capable of producing an average of 

 fifty cubic feet of wood per acre annually. 

 Kven taking the production of forty cubic 

 feet, this means for the area of 75 mil- 

 lion acres a possible annual production 

 of about 3.000.000,000 cubic feet, which is about 

 equal to the present consumption of hardwood 

 timber for all purposes. Since the Appalachians 

 at present supply only 48 per cent of our hard- 

 woods and since other regions will continue 

 to furnish some, it is likely that the proportion 

 from the Appalachians will never exceed 75 

 per cent. 



This allows a margin of safely 25 per cent 

 If we assume that there will be no Increase 

 over the present rate of consumption. 



If the Appalachian forests are taken soon 

 cnoiiKh. and rightly handled, they will eventually 

 produce continually three-fourths of the hard- 

 wood supply of the country, and do It without 

 exhausting the forests. In fact, It can be done 

 In such a way as to Improve the forest. 



Our experience will doubtless be the same In 

 this respect as that of Germany. In Saxony, 

 the cut, which represents only the growth, in- 

 creased 55 per cent during the period from l.i'JO 



to 1904, bringing the annual yield to 03 cubic 

 feet per acre. Prussia shows a still more pro- ' 

 nounccd increase. In 1830 the ont was only 20 

 cubic feet per acre, and in 1865 had only in- 

 creased to 24 cubic feet. But in 1890. owing to 

 proper management. It had risen to 52. and in 

 1904 to 65 cubic feet. These results came 

 largely from non-agricultural lands, sandy plains, 

 swamps and rough mountain slopes, and from 

 forests which had been mismanaged much the 

 same as ours. Under right management an 

 equal Increase m!^' be expected from Appalachiau 

 forests. 



To this increase of yield we must look to meet 

 the increase which is certain to come In de- 

 mand. 



rennsylvania has Increased its state forest re- 

 serves during the year 1907, and thus far in 

 1!MP8. from 170.000 to 775.000 acres. 



It maintains an academy at Mont Alto, where 

 young men are educated to become foresters, and 

 as soon as they arc educated they are assigned 

 to stations on the reserves. During the last 

 year ten graduates have been put In charge of 

 definite areas. The Forest Reserve holdings of 

 Pennsylvania are being gradually enlarged. There 

 Is probably under contract at the present time 

 for purchase nearly 100,000 additional acres. 



I'rom Michigan we learn that the result from 

 Forest Service in the way of timber growth, 

 planting, and In matters connected with the 

 nursery, have been fairly satisfactory, but as 

 yet Michigan tas done but little that is of prac- 

 tical value. The government has reserved from 

 homestead and sale all the government lauds In 

 the northern half of the lower peninsiil i 

 Michigan, also about 40,000 acres of aj i 

 tural college land which was set aside for i< 

 ry purposes by the last Michigan leglslatur. 

 The Forest Commission of New York staii 

 since 1901 been planting seedling trees t"i 

 purpose of reforesting waste lands in the i 

 reserve. Since then plantations have been mail.- 

 each year in the Adiiondacks. Over 500.000 

 seedling trees were planted In 1902, and about 

 450,000 in 1904. These plantations were nr.uW 

 at various places, the largest one In Fr.n 

 county on burned-over and denuded lands. ' 

 erous species only were used on these v 

 tlons. 



The Scotch pine and while pine plant, 

 these plantations arc In a very satlsf.i 

 condition, having reached an average heii: 

 from five to eight feet. 



The only plantation of hardwoods und' i 

 as j-et was made In 1904. The land s^ 

 for this purpose was a grassy field com 

 seventy acres, situated on Canoe point, ' 

 lower end of Grindstone island, St. Lnv» 

 river. The species planted consisted of r..! 

 pin oak, chestnut, black locust, black « 

 white ash and hickory, about SO.OOh 

 lings Id all being planted, mostly oak. 

 one-third of these plants were destroyed •!' 

 the next winter by field mice, which, buriowms; 

 under the snow, gnawed the bark away or cut ' 

 off the stem completely. When the damage was 

 dl-scovered measures were taken to poison the 

 mice, and large quantities of corn meal mixed 

 with strychnine were distributed over the field. ' 

 The plants which escaped injury are now alive ' 

 and doing well. 



The state of Connecticut appropriates $1,000 

 a year for buying and Improving land. These 

 forests are small, the chief object being to fur- 

 nish examples of good forest methods to r"'' 



• owners in that region. They have thro, 

 —one of 1,100 acres In Portland. 300 «• 

 Union, and 14(1 acres In Sunbury. Besid. - 

 tracts, the Connecticut experiment station Ikw 

 carried on extensive forest planting experiments 

 on an area of sand plain land In Windsor. 



An effort will be made to secure from the next 

 legislature an appropriation of $10,000 for the 

 purpose of acquiring at least one tract In each 

 county of the state. They have an efflrlent 

 forest flro warden system, consisting of about 

 400 men OS town and district wardens nil over ; 



