82 



It should be emphasized that nothing but the production of large 

 quantities of cheap timber of small sizes will solve the problem of supply 

 for coal-mining. It is only to a very small degree a question of treating 

 or preserving timbers to prolong their life. Legs and bars which remain 

 in place more than two or three years may be treated profitably, but the 

 entire consumption of these sizes constitutes but 7.8 per cent of total 

 'requirements, exclusive of lumber. Ties, constituting 13.65 per cent, 

 might be treated to advantage. Btit the props, caps, and riprap, or 78.54 

 per cent of consumption, would seldom warrant the expense of preser- 

 vation. If about two years of use is secured, they can then be aban- 

 doned. The substitution of metal, concrete, or other mineral supports 

 for such temporary entries presents a problem of expense which will 

 seriously handicap all mines which can not continue to secure cheap 

 timber. 



If the growth of timber is placed at the low average of 40 cubic 

 feet per acre annually, it would still require less than 500,000 acres of 

 woodland to furnish a perpetual supply of mining timbers for this in- 

 dustry. The mining companies own 799,060 acres, or 60 per cent more 

 land than they need to produce their own supplies. Owing to the small 

 sizes of the average prop or tie, these supplies can be grown in a shorter 

 period than for any other use except fence posts or fuel. Depending 

 on the soil and species, props may be grown in from 15 to 30 years. In 

 actual practice, lands devoted to the growing of timber should produce 

 nearly twice this yield, or one cord per acre. But instead of being cut 

 clear for small mine-timbers, these should be obtained as thinnings made 

 to release the better trees in order to permit the latter to grow into sizes 

 suitable for legs, bars, or saw-timber. Props can also be cut from the 

 tops of trees used for these higher purposes. Under such intensive 

 forest management it will be possible to furnish Illinois coal mines with 

 a perpetual supply of timber for all purposes from the equivalent of 

 400,000 acres, by utilizing only the thinnings and by-products or cord- 

 wood and tops grown in raising higher-priced timber. It is probable 

 that most companies will fail to improve this opportunity as long as they 

 can continue to obtain their supplies by purchase through middlemen or 

 contractors, preferring this method to the assumption of the enterprise 

 of forestry as a side-issue to their main undertaking. Woodland owners 

 in Illinois are probably assured of a continuous market for mining tiinbei 

 at constantly increasing prices, due to this lack of foresight of the opera- 

 tors in providing for their future needs. 



