208 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



As indicated in table 10 and figure 12, cutting accounts for 89 

 percent of the total, fire for 5 percent, and disease, insects, etc., for 

 6 percent. Seventy percent of the total drain is represented by the 

 59 billion board feet (11 K billion cubic feet) that comes out of saw- 

 timber trees (table 11 and figure 11), of which 55 billion board feet 

 is taken by the annual timber cut. 



The total drain on saw timber is about five times, and on total 

 timber volume nearly twice, the estimated current annual growth. 

 It may be correctly inferred from this that the forest resources of 

 this country are being seriously depleted. The national situation, 

 however, is a complex of regional situations which vary widely as 

 to the relation between drain and growth. An adequate understand- 



New England--. 

 Middle Atlantic 



Lake 



Central 



South 



Pacific Coast. _. 

 N. Rocky Mt. -__ 

 S. Rocky Mt 



2345 

 Billion Cubic Feet 



Timber Cut 



Timber Losses from 

 Destructive Agencies 



FIGURE 12. Total drain on the commercial forests of the United States by regions. 



ing of the matter can be had only by a more detailed consideration 

 of this complex, such as is given in other pages of this section. 



TABLE 11. Total timber cut or destroyed each year in the commercial forests of the 



United States, by regions 1 



1 Combined average annual drain; cutting, 1925 to 1929, inclusive; fire losses, 1925 to 1929, inclusive: insects, 

 disease, drought, wind, naval stores operations, etc., 1920 to 1929, inclusive. For definitions, explanations, 

 and general make-up of this table see footnotes in subsequent timber-loss tables and also refer to text. 



