IMPORTANT FOREST TREES AND THEIR USES 49 



Belt until the virgin hardwood forests of the 

 Middle West were practically exhausted. The 

 furniture industry is now largely dependent on 

 what hardwoods are left in the remote sections of 

 the Southern Appalachians and the lower Missis- 

 sippi Valley. When these limited supplies are 

 used up, there will be very little more old-growth 

 timber in the country for them to use. 



The furniture, veneer, handle, vehicle, auto- 

 mobile and agricultural implement industries all 

 are in competition for hardwood timber. The 

 furniture industry uses 1,250,000,000 feet of high- 

 grade hardwood lumber annually. Production 

 of timber of this type for furniture has decreased 

 as much as 50 per cent, during the past few years. 

 It is now difficult for the furniture factories and 

 veneer plants to secure enough raw materials. 

 Facilities for drying the green lumber arti- 

 ficially are few. It used to be that the hardwood 

 lumber was seasoned for six to nine months be- 

 fore being sold. Furniture dealers now have to 

 buy the material green from the sawmills. Com- 

 petition has become so keen that buyers pay high 

 prices. They must have the material to keep 

 their plants running and to supply their trade. 



The veneer industry provides furniture man- 



4 



