Article III. — Second Report on a Forestry Sun'ey of Illinois. The 

 Econmnics of Forestry in the State. By Herman H. Chapman, Pro- 

 fessor of Forest Management, Yale University School of Forestry, and 

 Robert B. Miller, Forester, Illinois State Natural Historj^ Survey. 



Foreword 



Although Illinois is known as a prairie state, yet originally over 40 

 per cent of its area was covered by virgin forests containing magnificent 

 stands of hardwoods. Now ranked as third in the importance of its 

 agricultural products with its forest area reduced to but S per cent of 

 the state's surface, and these remaining forests depleted by axe and fire, 

 the state is yet dependent to an enormous extent on the continuation of 

 abundant supplies of wood to support existing industries, furnish labor 

 and livelihood to her increasing urban population, keep down the cost 

 of living, and maintain the prosperity of the farmer, as well as those 

 engaged in mining, manufacturing, and transportation. To depict these 

 conditions, to determine the relative importance of wood in all its forms 

 in the present economic life of Illinois, and to indicate the lines on which 

 it may be possible to develop a sound and comprehensive policy of deal- 

 ing with this problem of future wood supply, is the purpose of this 

 report. 



Wood and the Industries of Illinois 



The state has an area of 56,665 square miles, of which 56,043 

 square miles, or 35,867,530 acres, is land area. Of this, 89.1 per cent 

 is included in farms and 76.1 per cent is actually devoted to crop pro- 

 duction. The state ranks third in value of agricultural products, being 

 exceeded only by Texas and Iowa. 



The population numbers 6,485,380, giving the state third rank, 

 following New York and Pennsylvania. There are 237,181 farms, 

 averaging 134.8 acres, and 16.9 per cent of the total population, or 

 1,090,736 persons, live upon these farms, while 68 per cent reside in 

 towns of 3500 or more inhabitants, and 3,095,137 persons, or nearly 48 

 per cent of the total population, live in Cook and DuPage counties alone. 

 The density of population on the farms alone does not exceed 20 ]ier 

 square mile, while the average density for the state as a whole, includ- 



