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World Markets for American Lumber 



BY HC MAXWELL 



NINTH ARTICLE 



Editor's Note 



The Arab slave dealer, in search of human chattels, no longer threads the paths of Africa, as he had done for six 

 thousand years. That contineni: still contains 140,000,000 black people; its deserts, forests, rivers, swamps, lakes, 

 mountains, and plains are still there ; but the white man is now in charge. Europeans are the rulers of practically 

 every mile of Africa and the white man's civilization and progress are replacing the barbarism and stagnation which 

 blighted that continent during so many ages. The English, German, French, Portuguese, Italians, Belgians and Dutch 

 are the ruling classes there. Some of the black people are accepting civilization.; others that cannot accept it are disap- 

 pearing under the pressure of progress, much as the American Indians disappeared. Contrary to former opinion, much 

 of Africa is fit for the home of white men ; and the white men are taking possession. The transformation has been 

 rapid in recent years. Railroad trains now run over the routes cut by Livingstone, Stanley, Sparks, and Baker through 

 the jungles It'was not many years ago that Khartoum and Feshoda were so far beyond the white man's influence that 

 Chinese Gordon was left to his" fate because no succor could reach him. Now the spot where he was murdered is a 

 civilized city. Uganda was recently ruled bv witch doctors. It is now crossed by railroads. Where a few years ago 

 pigmies lived like badgers in holes', bacteriologists are now studying tropical diseases in well-equipped laboratories. 

 Where the wild Cameroons a generation ago were signaling their declarations of war by pounding on drums made of 

 hollow trees, the wireless station is now signaling a thousand miles. Thus Africa has passed and is passing from 

 darkness into light. The change will go forward with accelerated rapidity, and the field of trade and opportunity will 

 enlarge. 



Africa is second ia size of the five continents. Asia alone is 

 larger. Africa is the poorest in developed resources, but its poten- 

 tial wealth is very great. Nearly the whole of Africa lies in the 

 torrid zone. It is usually considered the type of all that is dry and 

 hot. The largest and most sterile desert in the world lies there, and 

 covers an area larger than the United States. 



The continent's total area is 11,500,000 square miles and one-half 

 of it is classed desert. Yet all parts of the deserts are not alike. 

 Some portions are no worse than some of the plateau regions of the 

 United States where water can not be had for irrigation; but 

 other portions are such complete wastes that they support no living 

 thing, either plant or animal. The chief desert is known as the 

 Sahara. Until the camel was introduced by Arabs about 1,300 

 years ago it is said that it ■was physically impossible for human 

 beings to reach or cross some portions of the desert; but the camel 

 (properly called "the ship of the desert") has enabled men to 

 reach practically all parts of the Sahara. 



Various places, some of considerable extent, have been discovered 

 in various parts of the desert area, where water rises to the surface 

 if wells are bored, and these situations are fertile and produce 

 enormously. The first artesian wells in the world were bored by 

 the French in the Sahara desert. 



These facts would be of no special interest to lumber exporters 

 were it not for the fact that possibilities exist for developing a 

 market for lumber in the very depths of the greatest desert on 

 earth. The French have already penetrated long distances into the 

 inhospitable wastes and have opened the way for railroads and trade, 

 though as yet it is only a beginning. The Italians have now secured 

 a foothold iu Tripoli, by driving out the unprogressive Turks, and 

 they may be expected to follow the example of the French and 

 develop the waste places wherever possible. The English are already 

 working round through Egypt and the Soudan, and will open the way 

 from the south into the Sahara. No remarkable development is 

 likely, but it should surprise no one if railroads square across the 

 Sahara are buDt before many years; and then the American exporter 

 can ship lumber to Timbucktu, if he wants to do so. From the 

 north, railroads have already penetrated some distance into the 

 desert. 



There is not enough timber in the northern half of Africa to 

 supply even the small local demand. Egypt has a few planted trees, 

 and the mountain ranges south of the Mediterranean coast produce 

 some forests. Those mountains were heavily timbered two thou- 

 sand years ago, under the Eoman dominion, but the modern Arab 

 would rather have five goats than five hundred acres of timber, and 

 io many localities in recent centuries the hUls have been deliberately 

 stripped of their forests to make indifferent goat pastures. 

 East Ateica 



The eastern coast of Africa is 4,000 miles long, crossing the whole 

 torrid zone. It contains no timber of importance, though some of 

 the kinds are valuable. African cedar, suitable for lead pencils, is 

 reported some distance inland, but precise information concerning 

 the quality is not available. Some of the best ebony on the market 

 comes from East Africa, but not in large amounts. The Egyptians 

 —16— 



cut ebony there 5,000 years ago and carried it in ships across the 

 Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the whole length of the R«d 

 Sea. It was used by furniture .makers and one of the pieces of 

 furniture has survived till the present time. The Egyptians pro- 

 cured locust wood in the same region and samples of it have survived. 

 But there probably never was enough timber in all that long stretch 

 of coast to tempt a modern lumberman, and there certainly is not 

 enough now. There are many thickets but the growth is scrub. 



It is in that region, particularly in the Portuguese East Africa 

 possessions, that some of the best markets for American forest 

 products are found, as will be shown in the statistics below. De- 

 velopment is fairly rapid there, considering the vastness of the 

 country and the utter lack of progress on the part of the natives 

 until they come under the influence of Europeans. They are now 

 building long lines of railroads connecting the coast with the 

 interior. Timbers for trestles, bridges, platforms, warehouses, sta- 

 tions and other necessary work connected with railroads will call for 

 more material from America. The "Cape to Cairo" railroad, which 

 already covers half of the distance between the extreme southern and 

 extreme northern regions of Africa, runs nearly parallel with the 

 eastern coast of Africa the whole distance. 



The European war aflfects the whole region. The railroad from 

 Oape Town to Cairo lies on the land of the belligerents every mUe 

 of the way. German East Africa is wedged in between British pos- 

 sessions on the north and British and Portuguese on the south. De- 

 velopment may be hindered on account of the war, but there should 

 be in that region a permanent market for American lumber, fur- 

 niture and vehicles. 



South Africa 



South Africa belongs to the British, German and Portuguese. 

 It is the most highly developed part of the continent, except Egypt 

 and portions of the Mediterranean coast westward. It is the best 

 market iu Africa at present for American forest products. The 

 war has greatly upset business there, but that can be only tem- 

 porary, and greatly increased trade should follow within a short 

 time. The country has so little timber that even railroad cross- 

 ties are imported from Australia and India. Thus far none of the 

 business has com.e to the United States. Our trade with South 

 Africa consists chiefly of structural timber, lumber and manufac- 

 tured forest products like furniture, cooperage, woodenware and 

 vehicles. 



Some writers on South Africa, who content themselves with speak- 

 ing in general terms, mention forests of large area; but when their 

 statements are pinned down to facts and investigated, the forests 

 largely disappear. There is much thorny brush, some of it barely 

 high enough to hide a galloping Hottentot, but timber trees are 

 few. Some of the brush land, which was formerly thought worth- 

 less, has been fenced and is now used as ostrich farms, much as 

 our western mountain forests serve as sheep ranges. 



James Bryce's book, "Impressions of South Africa," removes 

 some of the popular misunderstanding regarding the forest resources 

 of that region. He found few trees more than fifty feet high, and 

 they are usually far apart, deformed and thorny. The forests, if 



