12 



Of the hard wood*, more than half consist* of oaks, 

 which furnish 51.4 per cent of hard woods, and 12.8 per 

 cent of all lumber. Poplar supplies 3.2 per cent of all 

 lumber, and other species in still smaller proportion. 



The great lumber states are Wisconsin, with 10 per 

 cent of the product of the country; Michigan, with 9.6 

 percent; Minnesota, with 7.7 per cent; Pennsylvania, 

 with 6.3 per cent, and Washington, with 5.3 per cent. 

 These live states collectively cut nearly two-fifths of all 

 the lumber product of the country. The three states 

 on the northern Lakes, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minne- 

 sota, the three leading states in this industry, cut about 

 27 per cent of all. The three states on the Pacific coast, 

 Washington, Oregon, and California, which contain at 

 least one-third of the standing timber of the country, 

 cut only 9.5 per cent of its total lumber product, less 

 than Wisconsin and about the same as Michigan. The 

 states of the Southern pine belt cut 25.2 per cent, less 

 than those of the northern Lakes, although their area 

 is several times as great. 



The movement of the lumber industry in the country 

 in its broad outlines is set forth for the past fifty years 

 in the following table, showing the percentage of the 

 total production in the country which was contributed 

 by each of the four principal lumber regions at each 

 census: 



TABLE 5. PROPORTION OF TOTAL LUMBER PRODUCT 

 BY GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS. 



In 1850 the Northeastern states contributed consider- 

 ably more than half of the total lumber product of the 

 country. In 1860 and 1870 it had dropped to somewhat 

 more than a third; in 1880 to a fourth; and in 1900 it 

 was less than one-sixth of the total lumber product. The 

 Lake states, starting in 1850 with one-sixth of the lum- 

 ber product, increased their proportional output rap- 

 idly and continuously up to 1890, when, with the 

 growing scarcity of white pine, the industry commenced 

 to languish in this region, and in the last ten years 

 shows a substantial relative decrease. The Southern 

 states, starting with a little more than one-eighth of 

 the lumlx-r product of the country, increased in 1860 

 to about one-sixth. Then came the war, which of course 

 paralyzed the industry. We find these states starting 

 over again in 1870 with less than one-tenth of the coun- 

 try's production. From that time on the increase has 

 been steady and fairly rapid, and in 1900 these states 

 contributed one-fourth of the country's product. 



The three states of the Pacific coast have never been 



a large factor in production, the proportion prior to 1880 

 commonly ranging between 3 and -i per cent, excepting 

 about 1860, when, probably owing to the prosperity of 

 the California mines, the proportion ran up to over 6 

 per cent. Since 1880, however, the proportion has 

 increased, and in 1890 these states produced nearly one- 

 tenth of the country's product. It is probable that in 

 the future the proportional production from these 

 states will greatly increase. 



In the following table are presented the average value 

 of machinery, implements, etc., the average product, 

 average number of wage-earners and average wages 

 per establishment, and the average product and average 

 wages per wage-earner, for each state in 1900: 



TABLE 6. AVERAGES PER ESTABLISHMENT OF MA- 

 CHINERY, PRODUCT, WAGE-EARNERS AND WAGES; 

 AND AVERAGES PER WAGE-EARNER OF PRODUCT 

 AND WAGES; BY STATES: 1900. 



As a rule, the average value of machinery per estab- 

 lishment is greatest in the newest and most active lumber 

 regions, where are naturally the largest mills employing 



