DIVISION OP FORESTRY. 155 



Tliere is also to be added an item requiring yearly a considerable 

 amount of wood for a use to wliicli no other civilized nation puts its 

 forests. I refer to the 10,000,000 acres or so of woodland burnt over 

 every year, intentionally and unintentionally, by wliicli a large 

 amount of timber is killed or made useless; and, what is worse, not 

 only is the young growth destroyed by these fires, but the capacity of 

 the soil for'tree-growth is diminished, as they destroy the beneficial 

 physical qualities of the leaf -mold; and if occurring on recent clear- 

 ings, inferior kinds of timber, capable of thriving under the altered 

 conditions, occupy the ground and diminish the value of the area. 



The present reckless method of turpentine-orcharding also deteri- 

 orates large quantities of timber unnecessarily. 



The wasteful methods which are employed in lumbering, especially 

 by the tie-cutter,* often avoidable without financial loss to the lum- 

 berer, hasten the reduction of visible supplies. 



What amount of forest products will be required by tlie country by 

 the next centennial it is idle to attempt to compute; that it must in- 

 crease with the growing population and development is self-e\ddent, 

 and that, too, in spite of substitutes for wood in many branches of 

 industry, f 



AREA REQUIRED. 



So far we have lived upon our forest resources without consider- 

 ing whether we w"ere using up the interest or the capital. 



Assuming that we shall need a continuous supply of only the 

 20,000,000,000 cubic feet computed above, it would be of interestto 

 ask what area in forest will be required to furnish the amount contin- 

 uously. 



With our present knowledge there is no possibility of calculating 

 the average yearly growth that can be expected -upon the entire pres- 

 ent forest area of the United States. While I am inclined to think 

 that the capacities of the soil, climate, and indigenous species of our 

 country are greater than those of Europe, yet in their present con- 

 dition our forests do not compare favorably in regard to annual yield 

 with the well-cared-for and well-stocked continental forest areas. 



The average yearly accretion per acre in German forests has been 

 computed at 50 cubic feet, or on every 100 cubic feet of standing tim- 

 ber 2.3 cubic feet of new wood yearly. Applying these figures to our 

 present requirements, and assuming as close a use of material as is 

 the European practice, it would appear that an area of not less than 

 400,000,000 acres must be kept in well-stocked forest to give us a con- 

 tinual supply for our present needs. 



We are nearing therefore, (if we have not yet reached), the time 

 when increased drain means a sc[uandering of capital, and a time when 

 regard to the husbanding and the careful management of our forests is 

 required for the purpose merely of furnishing ravr material. This fact 

 will appear still more clearly if we inquire into the supply of certain 



* It is computed that in the California redwood forests to produce a raihroad-tie 

 worth 35 cents timber to tlie value of .$ 1.87 is wasted. 



f It is significant to note that other nations are aware of our deplorable condition 

 in regard to future forest supplies. The Government of Bavaria last year sent an 

 expert forester to study the timbers of the United States, who explained the pur- 

 pose of his mission in these words: " In fifty years you will have to import your 

 timber, and as you will probably have a preference for American kinds, we shall 

 now begin to giow them, in order to be ready to send them to you at the proper 

 time." 



