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Red Gum 



ITS HISTOBY, STAND AND CUT 



The i>eoi'li> of the United States are beginning to take inven- 

 tories of natural resources. Formerly that was not done, because 

 it was uustomary to consider that all-bountiful nature would go 

 on forever supplying the necessities if not the luxuries of life 

 to the fortunate inhabitants of this country. People are begin- 

 ning to learn better. They now understand that a natural re- 

 source may be compared to a checking account in a bank : it must be 

 taken care of or it will not last in- 

 definitely. 



Timber belongs in that class, and 

 red gum may be given special con- 

 sideration because it has reached a 

 prominent place in the country's 

 industries. That position has been 

 attained quite recently. The oaks, 

 pines, yellow poplar, walnut, and 

 many other woods ^ere well known 

 long before the general public had 

 heard of red gum: but when once 

 it had attracted attention its cap- 

 ture of a large market quickly fol- 

 lowed. Inquiries are frequently 

 made as to the length of time the 

 jum supply will last. The answer 

 • lepends upon the available quan- 

 tity, and the rate of cutting. 



The range of red gum begins in 

 the Northeast in Connecticut, and 

 follows a fairly straight line south- 

 westerly to Missouri, and from 

 there the boundary of its range 

 veers sharply toward the south to 

 Trinity river, Texas. This tree is 

 found in all the states south and 

 southeast of that line; that is, in 

 the southern states. The largest 

 stands are in the lower Mississippi 

 valley. Estimates based on statis- 

 tics collected by the Bureau of Cor- 

 porations place the total stand of 

 this wood in the United States at 

 about 50,000.000,000 feet, board 

 measure. In amount it is equal to 

 about one-fourth of all the oaks in 

 the country; two and a half times 

 the hickory: three times the ash: 

 one-fifth more than cypress; nearly 

 three times the maple; many times 

 the elm; and except the oaks, it 

 exceeds in amount any other hard- 

 wood, or group of hardwoods in the 

 United States. In fact, it is esti- 

 mated that one-eighth of all the 

 hardwoods of this country is red 

 :jum. It is, therefore, apparent that 

 it is a timb>?r of great importance. 



The next question is how much is cut annually; for, if the avail- 

 able quantity is known, the rate of cutting will determine the 

 probable time it will last. The figures on lumber output, compiled 

 by the Bureau of the Census and the Forest Ser\nce, give the 

 following cut of this wood by states. 



Tf-nn.sst-./ G8,27G.000 



>llssuurl 59,230.000 



Kentucky 22,246.000 



.South Carolina 15.117.000 



North Carolina 12,.'i96.000 



iDdiana 12.206.000 



.Alabama 10.816.000 



Texas io.r.09.000 



\'irL'inia Hi.445.00o 



West Virginia l'.2ii2.iXKi 



Maryland l.SSO.OOO 



Oklaboma 1.34T.00O 



Ohio 1.092.000 



Pennsylvania 880.000 



Florida 737.000 



New Jersey .353.000 



Delaware 274.000 



Total 582.967.000 



The above is the red gum lumber 

 output. It is by no means the whole 

 'iemand for this timber. Veneer 

 manufacturers cut 133,175,000 feet, 

 log scale, a year and the makers of 

 slack cooperage produce 416,000,000 

 red gum staves. A considerable 

 quantity goes into railroad ties, and 

 other articles. It is safe to say 

 that the total cut of red gum for all 

 purposes at present does not fall 

 short of 1,000,000,000 feet a year. 



This enormous drain will not ex- 

 haust the supply now available in 

 less than half a century. By that 

 time stands now yonng will be al- 

 most; ready to cut. if the growing 

 trees are given a chance. 



Ked gum is sold in all the lead- 

 ing markets of the United States. 

 I omplete figures showing the quan- 

 tity going into all the states an- 

 nually are not available, but as far 

 as they are to be had they are given 

 in tlie table which follows. All are 

 government figures except those for 

 West Virginia which were supplied 

 for the State Geological Survey, by 

 A. B. Brooks: 



AxxiAL USK OF Red Gim by Stjites 

 Stale Fe<?t B. M. 



lUiuois 121.794.5S0 



Arkansas 100.186.000 



Missouri 95.064.00O 



Kentucky 65.500.000 



Tennessee .50.027.000 



\ iririnia 31..594.290 



N rth Carolina 26.tS7:f.0OO 



Texas 24.994.000 



Michigan 21.404.000 



Alabama IS.666.000 



Mississippi 15.942.000 



Ix>uisiana 1,5.193.000 



Iowa 4.845.000 



Wisconsin 3.497.000 



Maryland 3.133.000 



West Virginia 1.950.000 



FOREST GROWTn OF KED GUM 



Florida 



\'ermont 



lallfornia 



New Hampshire 



.Maine 



Massachusetts . . 



992.000 

 238.000 

 237.000 

 142.000 

 58.000 

 45.000 



CiT OF Red Gcm by States is 1911 



State Feet B. M. 



Arkansas 195.828.000 



Mis.sissippi 103.186.000 



State Feet B. M. 



Illinois 5,209.000 



Georgia 3.120.000 



Total 602.374.870 



Red gum is a wood entirely different from black gum and tupelo. 

 These three trees are generally spoken of commercially as being 

 closely linked but there is no justification for such an assumption 

 either from a botanical or a lumberman's standpoint. Nether black 

 gum nor tupelo gum commands anywhere near the important position 

 of re<l gum. Its nearest relative among the trees of this coimtry is 

 the small and worthless witchharel. If they were human beings 

 they would be rated as first cousins. Good trees, as well as worthy 

 people, sometimes have very shabby relations. 



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