196 Forestry Quarterly. 



tions in the Lake States, in the Southern States and in the States 

 of the Pacific Coast. 



The lumber business has gone through several stages of de- 

 velopment. Like everything else, it has proceeded along the 

 easiest and most natural lines. Up to 1897 it w^as not considered 

 more profitable than the majority of manufacturing industries; 

 indeed, not as profitable as the average. Up to that time the 

 views of our fathers still prevailed to the effect that the forests 

 should be cut as rapidly as possible in order that the land might 

 be opened for settlement. With the prosperity and expansion 

 of the nation, which began in 1898, the consumption of lumber 

 increased beyond all precedent, and continued in a large way up 

 to the close of 1907, when it was checked by the panic. During 

 the ten years from 1898 to 1907 the abnormal demand for lumber 

 was at times beyond the ability of the mills to supply. This re- 

 sulted in the development of new fields of timber in the South 

 and West, gave a value to many kinds of timber which had been 

 previously considered almost worthless, and stimulated the build- 

 ing of many new mills. This exploitation and development of 

 the lumber industry did not cease until the producing capacity far 

 exceeded all reasonably possible demands for lumber. With the 

 increased wealth of the people the demand for lumber increased 

 per capita. From 1900 to 1908 the increase in population was 

 estimated at 22 per cent., while the increase in the consumption of 

 lumber was 65 per cent. The consumption of lumber per capita 

 has been figured as 360 feet in 1890; in 1900 it was 460 feet, and 

 on the basis of the census of 1910, it was practically 500 feet. 

 Answering to the laws of supply and demand, the price of lumber 

 advanced considerably during the period between 1898 and 1907. 

 It was during these years that the public generally first came to 

 realize that the timber resources of this nation are not inex- 

 haustible. This realization marked the second stage in the de- 

 velopment of the lumber industry in this country. It, together 

 with the extraordinary demand for lumber, caused the value of 

 standing timber to advance sharply. In 1890, Northern pine 

 stumpage, the estimates of which included only the very best 

 white pine, was sold for from 75 cents to $4.00 per thousand 

 feet, depending upon its location and character. To-day it sells 

 from $6.00 to $14.00 per thousand feet, and the estimates cover 

 everything on the land, including white and Norway pine, tama- 



