918 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



Efforts to bridge this gap might be made in three ways : (1) by re- 

 ducing our consumption of timber, (2) by importing timber from 

 abroad, (3) by growing new forests at home. 



NO PRACTICABLE DECREASE IN WOOD CONSUMPTION CAN PREVENT A TIMBER SHORTAGE 



Our abundant use of high-grade timber has been one of the greatest 

 f.iCtors in our prosperity, and has given us important advantages over 

 the nations with which we must compete. At the same time we have 

 been careless and wasteful in our use of wood, and our per capita con- 

 sumption is very high. There will be, therefore, no great suffering, 

 if we get along with somewhat less. 



Our per capita consumption, in fact, is growing less, as would nat- 

 urally follow when supplies are fast decreasing, population is fast 

 increasing, and costs rising toward prohibitive levels. But there is a 

 limit beyond which we cannot safely reduce our use of wood. 



Industrial Europe has a per capita consumption of 150 board feet, 

 has found itself short of high-grade timber, and has been forced to 

 supplement domestic supplies with constantly increasing imports. We 

 have been using some 350 board feet per capita. But within 50 years 

 our lumber cut must drop far below 30 billion feet — less than 150 feet 

 per capita in a population of ^200,000,000 (as ours will be then), or 

 less than the amount which Europe has already found to be inadequate. 

 To its timber supply Europe has become adjusted during the course of 

 many centuries; we cannot expect to adjust ourselves to a reduction to 

 the European level without suffering tremendous punishment through 

 the dislocation of our industries and the disturbance of our habits of 

 hfe. 



Even though we substitute other materials for wood in every prac- 

 ticable case, even though we bend every effort to reduce our consump- 

 tion, we shall, nevertheless and very shortly, need more wood than we 

 can get. 



Our population increases faster than the shrinking in per capita con- 

 sumption, so that the total of our timber consumption tends to in- 

 crease. It will continue to grow with our population, save as inferior 

 quality and intolerable prices prohibit the generous use of forest 

 products. And that means widespread suffering among our people. 



DEPENDENCE UPON IMPORTED TIMBER SUPPLIES IS FUTILE 



The bulk of the world is today so inadequately supplied with timber 

 as to be industrially handicapped. Except the United States, the in- 

 dustrial nations are all importing timber. Europe, with a fourth of its 



