Current Literature. 165 



is estimated at 7,800,000 cords, or 488,000,000 feet of lumber, and 

 5,168,000 cords of wood, with a total stumpage value of $7,468,- 

 000. The average annual cut is given as 26,000,000 feet of lum- 

 ber; 401,700 ties; 20,600 poles and piles; and 235,500 cords of 

 wood, with a total stumpage value of $418,696. 



Mr. Hawes discusses in detail the local market conditions of 

 Litchfield county showing that there is a constant demand for 

 ties, poles and piles, and that the many small factories use large 

 quantities of home-grown lumber. It is, however, only in the 

 vicinity of the larger towns and industrial centers which con- 

 sume considerable quantities of cordwood, that it is possible to 

 make improvement thinnings profitable. This is a large factor 

 in preventing the increased use of systematic forestry methods 

 in handling the woodlands of the county and to a considerable 

 extent throughout the state. At present thousands of cords are 

 wasted annually in the country towns for want of a profitable 

 market. 



For New Haven county, Mr. Hawley answers the question : 

 "Can the present rate of cutting be continued indefinitely without 

 exhausting the wood supplies of the county?" He estimates the 

 annual cut for 1906-7 as 120,000 cords; the annual average 

 growth as 70,000 cords ; and the present stand of merchantable 

 timber as 1,200,000 cords. The conclusion is obvious that the 

 local supply of merchantable timber will be practically exhausted 

 in twenty years if the present cut and growth are maintained, 

 and although a large amount of standing timber would remain, 

 it would not be of the most profitable size for cutting. 



As the demands for wood are increasing throughout the 

 country, and the prospect of a reduced output from the chief 

 timber regions is certain in the near future, the local supply is 

 bound to be more and more heavily drawn upon. Hence the 

 annual cut for the county must necessarily show a tendency to 

 increase during the next twenty years. As Mr. Hawley points 

 out, the exhaustion of the local timber supply can only be pre- 

 vented by increasing the annual growth of the forest lands. His 

 recommendations to this end include more intelligent treatment 

 of already existing woodlands, planting of open and partially 

 stocked lands, and protection of all against fire and grazing. He 

 further states that fire protection is the most essential at present. 



