MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



LUMBER OUTPUT 



SHOWS DECREASE 



According to figures compiled by E. D. 

 Cowles, the lumber statistician, of the Saginaw 

 Valley, the output of lumber in Michigan in 

 1907 was 1,743,584,870 feet. There was also 

 produced 326,696,560 pieces of lath and 625,- 

 311,950 shingles. The lumber output shows a 

 decrease of 100,000,000 feet as compared with 

 1906. Mr. Cowles says: 



While white pine timber has largely disap- 

 peared in the forests of Michigan by the deci- 

 mating action of the ax and saw, there is still 

 some pine left and the vast areas of hardwood 

 and hemlock are giving way to the demands 

 of man for merchantable products. Lumber- 

 ing was inaugurated in Michigan away back 

 in 1816 but on a primitive scale for thirty 

 years or more, the output being just sufficient 

 to meet the demands of settlers. Some head- 

 way had been accomplished as early as 1836 

 but the business stagnation immediately fol- 

 lowing gave it a setback and it was a decade 

 later before it began to assume proportions 

 of commercial magnitude. Thence on it 

 steadily increased. As far back as 1874 the 

 production of lumber in the state totaled 2,866,- 

 351,027 feet, and in 1875 the output was 2,691,- 

 965,388 feet. After that date it increased. Ten 

 years later the figures show an output of 

 3,578,138,732 feet, and the high water mark was 

 reached in 1888 when the output was 4,292,192,- 

 914 feet. The decline has been gradual. Until 

 within about twenty years last past the prod- 

 uct of the state was almost exclusively white 

 pine and norway, not enough hardwood being 

 cut in the early days to cut any figure iri the 

 compilation of statistics. The output by dis- 

 tricts follows: 



Saginaw river mills Pine, 22,349,939 feet; 

 hemlock, 36,177,158 feet; hardwood, 59,210,662 

 feet; total 117,737,759 feet. 



Lake Huron shore mills Pine, 24,358,969 

 feet; hemlock, 86,647,289 feet; hardwood, 56,- 

 342,240 feet; total, 167,348,498 feet. 



Michigan Central, Mackinaw division, mills 

 Pine, 43,048,519 feet; hemlock, 57,297,836 

 feet; hardwood, 44,430,258 feet; total, 144,776,- 

 613 feet. 



Pere Marquette railroad mills Pine, 2,800,- 

 000 feet; hemlock, 24,250,000 feet; hardwood, 

 33,200,000 feet; total, 60,250,000 feet. 



Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad mills 

 Pine, 4,500,000 feet; hemlock, 60,500,000 feet; 

 hardwood, 120,000,000 feet; total, 185,000,000 

 feet. 



Manistee mills Pine, 17,000,000 feet; hem- 

 lock, 53,473,000 feet; hardwood, 47,066,000 feet; 

 total, 117,539,000 feet. 



Ludington mills Pine, 3,100,000 feet; hem- 

 lock. 13,445,000 feet; hardwood, 27,800,000 feet; 

 total, 44,345,000 feet. 



Muskegon mills Pine, 34,316,000 feet; hem- 

 lock, 8,240,000 feet; hardwood, 5,608,000 feet; 

 total, 48,160,000 feet. 



Green Bay (Mich.) mills Pine, 75,757,000 

 feet; hemlock, 109,754,000 feet; hardwood, 84,- 

 500.000 feet; total, 278,011,000 feet. 



Upper Michigan and miscellaneous mills 

 Pine, 125,000,000 feet; hemlock, 251,537,000; 

 hardwood, 211,876,000 feet; total, 580,413,000 

 feet. 



Total Pine, 352,230,427 feet; hemlock, 701,- 

 1,743,584,870 feet. 



The detailed figures of the lath and shingle 

 output follow: 



Lath, Pieces. Shingles. 



Sag. river mills 18,917,000 689,450 



L. Huron shore mills.. 32,683,410 84,170,250 

 M. C., Mack, div., mills. 24,696,150 35,828,250 



P. M. R. R. mills 5,250,000 43,500,01,.) 



G. R. & I. R. R. mills.. 16,500,000 44,000,000 



Manistee mills 8,700,000 56,900,000 



Ludington mills 2,500,000 20,150,000 



White Pine Timber, Chippewa Indian Reservation, Minnesota. 



(Courtesy Forestry and Irrigation.) 



Muskegon mills 2,000,000 11,874,000 



Gr'n Bay shore (Mich.) 



mills 95,837,000 86,617,000 



U. P. and Misc. mills. .119,613,000 241,583,000 



Total 326,696,560 625,311,950 



The lumber output of the state makes these 



interesting comparisons: 



Year. Feet. 



1874 2,866,351,027 



1885 3,578,138,732 



1887 4,162,317,778 



1888 4,292,198,914 



1898 2,158,343,122 



1900 2,369,000,000 



1901 1,998,347,000 



1902 1,846,104,970 



1903 1,945,373,036 



1904 1,669,547,749 



1905 1,793,310,111 



1906 . . . 1,820,250,000 



1907 1,743,584,870 



In 1874 there was produced in the state 



1,383,870,000 shingles, and the high water mark 

 was reached in 1886, the output that year 

 reaching the total of 2,989,124,232 shingles. 

 Of late years there has been a steady decline. 



In 1905 the output totaled 900,917,000, and 

 in 1906 it reached 889,500,000. The trade was 

 much better in 1907 than for the immediate 

 preceding years. Of late Pacific coast shin- 

 gles have been put into the eastern market at 

 a price that made it a hardship to manufacture 

 and handle the Michigan product at a profit. 



Until within a comparatively recent period 

 shingles were manufactured mostly of. pine, 

 but cedar has taken the place of pine the last 

 few years. 



The production of lath in 1907 shows an 

 increase compared with a number of preced- 

 ing years. There was an active demand last 

 year for this commodity and prices were good. 

 The production of white pine lath has fallen 



off and large quantities of hemlock lath are 

 now being manufactured in the state and bring 

 prices that would have caused the white pine 

 manufacturer twenty-five years ago to open 

 his eyes. The output in 1906 was 209,750,000 

 pieces; in 1905 it was 203,065,000 pieces. 



The lumber trade was exceptionally pros- 

 perous during the first nine months of 1907. 

 Prices reached the highest altitude in years 

 and everything sold up to the saw until early 

 in October, when the money panic struck the 

 country and the volume of business dropped 

 thirty per cent. 



Trade has not yet recovered from the shock, 

 but during the present month it has manifest- 

 ed material improvement. There is some 

 movement and considerable inquiry and prices 

 of pine have not been materially shaded owing 

 to the scarcity of that commodity. Hemlock 

 has sold on and hardwood is a little easier 

 except for certain grades which are limited in 

 quantity. 



It is conservatively estimated that the cut 

 of Michigan mills the current year will fall at 

 least thirty per cent below those of last year, 

 and possibly this estimate is a little close. 

 When the operators made their figures early 

 in the winter their estimate was sixty per cent 

 of the output of last year, but it is found that 

 the estimates are inclined to slightly overrun. 



Some idea of the enormous extent of the 

 lumber industry in the state is furnished in 

 the figures showing a production from 1885 to 

 1907 inclusive of $1,757,930,337 feet of lumber 

 and 38,075,320,587 shingles. 



Estimates of Lake Superior railroad men as 

 to the total movement of pulpwood during the 

 present season vary. Some place it as high as 

 9,000 cars, and others as low as 7,000 cars. In 

 any event, the total runs much heavier than 

 last year, although the movement was com- 

 pleted in a much shorter space of time owing 

 to advantageous conditions. 



