24 



TIMBER riNES OF THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES. 



undertake, hut for which the incaiis at the disposal of the Division of Fore.stry have never been 

 sullieicut. Ivvcn the aniount of annual eoMsiun|(tioii can only lie apjiroxiniated, jiartly because 

 the siu'cies are not always kept separate and partl\ because iuformutiou is not always readily 

 given by the operators or shippers. 



The statistics for Lon;,'leaf Pine can be nioie Tiearly aiiiiroxiniateil. for the majority of the mills 

 enj^a^red in its e.\i)loitation cut hardly any other timber; moreover, its {geographical limits are more 

 clearly defined, so that even the area of remaininp supplies is not entirely beyond our ken. 



When it comes to using such statistics for a prognostication as regards available sn])|)lies, 

 another ditliculty arises in the change of standards of material recognized as marketable and the 

 change of demand or use, and hence consumption, of any of the varieties. P>ut we can now safely 

 assume that the standard of size and quality, which was high when the census figures of ISSO were 



Fio. 7. — Din^am showing coraparntive progress of votumo growth in avcrago trcos. 



estimated and hence made them appear below the truth, has now sunk nearly to the lowest level, 

 any stick that can be placed on the mill down to lOineh and Sinch being lit material. There is 

 also no danger of any reduction in the cut for any reason except a temporary one due to such 

 general business depression as that experienced throughout the last two years. luciease of 

 consumption of Southern timber is bound to follow the imminent exhaustion of the pine supplies 

 of the North. And with the excei)tion of I'acilic (loast timbers, which, owing to theii' great 

 distance, have .so far made but little competition in lOasteru markets, no new undiscovered timber 

 resource will influence the cut of Southern pine. 



Venturing on the basis of the meager data furnished in tliis publication to make a guess at 

 the i)robable siii)[)ly and dennmd, we may with due reserve state that the amount of i)ine tin^ber 

 ready for lumber manufacture Standing in the South can not be above 250,()(»0,000,000 feet, and 



