162 A ppendia 
under exacting conditions. But no matter how distinctive and 
how numerous the qualifications might be, if the wood were so 
scarce or so costly as to be unobtainable or nearly so, it could 
not be deemed useful in a broad sense of the word. Therefore, 
the rating must depend not only upon the capacity to perform 
service, but the physical presence or availability of the species. 
For example, hickory and black walnut have qualifications 
which rendered them exceedingly useful so long as they were 
obtainable in quantity; but now that they are scarce and diffi- 
cult to obtain, their use, and consequently their usefulness, has 
greatly diminished. 
The following classification is based upon both these princi- 
ples. The number of articles made from each species was 
counted and adopted as the index of its qualities. This number 
was then multiplied by the per cent of the wood consumption 
of the State supplied by that species. The products of these 
multiplications were then arranged in order of size, giving 
the following list in order of usefulness: 
Approximate Relative Utility of Species 
Liating Rating 
Species : factor Species factor 
he Witibe “pinte. o 3c. 20h oe BED pV Oy presierst. ....-.¢. ae 1.5 
2 Eland: sMaples 2 yetectere = \e:-.> 1A: PIM WAS abe: bs. ose cancer 1.3 
ay Sprices= (ae; Aver ee es 6.573) Red. cum; 228). 2 Bee ee eA 
Ae BITCH A ap hie.. APR eeaciee: 32:5) as Hemiloelk, 14-7. « s.r 8 
Di WIGe = OBKiia: teyarcrousysusievone 32.0 | 15. (Chestnus. 1.2: -(. 25 een 6 
6. Southern yellow pine. .. 2.7 16. Mahogany ............. 3 
ip. BABSWOOO 3.15, crore tere lo\< 223) “Vie Doulas, fir®.. 2)... ereeeere 7) 
Se DODIOllY PIE het. cnt se Lee) 18. Bb i. oe 2 
GrrBeechi sts: 5 secre eee IS A9Redi: oaks... nick ieee al 
ip: Yellow poplar. 235 cigs 1.7 20. Black walnut. . 3. 22m ai! 
No doubt this list is subject to criticism in some respects. 
Usefulness is a quality which can not be precisely rated by 
mathematics or conventional means, especially where it is 
impossible to take cognizance of all the facts which should 
have a part in the conclusion. Yet in the lack of a better, the 
list above will serve as a fairly reliable guide in appraising the 
service performed by these species. Out of the twenty species 
listed, thirteen, including the first five, are the natural product 
of New York’s splendid forest soils. 
