210 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOJf AMKKK'AN FORKSTHV 



about three times that of the Central States but here the excess is very 

 largely in the softwood saw- timber trees. The saw- timber drain in the 

 South (in board feet) is also much higher than that in the Pacific-coast 

 region (fig. 13), but the difference is not so great as in the comparison 

 of drain for all classes of timber, because of the fact that saw timber 

 comprises a larger proportion of the total drain in the Pacific-coast 

 region. These facts further emphasize the important place which the 

 South holds in the forest affairs of the country, but they also show 

 that, in the relation of forest depletion to softwood timber stands, the 

 Pacific Coast is in a far more favorable position. 



TIMBER CUT 



The United States is by far the largest consumer of wood in the 

 world. Although imports of forest products into the United States 



New England 



Middle Atlantic.] 



Lake 



Central 



South 



Pacific Coast I 



N. Rocky Mt 



S. Rocky Mt 



2345 

 Billion Cubic Feet 



Saw -timber Trees 



Cordwood Trees 



FIGURE 14. Total timber cut on the forests of the United States by tree size and region. 



are larger, as a whole, than exports, both are comparatively small, so 

 that United States consumption (with the rather notable exception of 

 pulpwood) is closely reflected by the timber cut of the United States. 



The annual cut from saw-timber trees and from smaller trees in the 

 United States amounts to about one half and one sixth, respectively, 

 of the world's consumption. The combined United States cut of 

 14 % billion cubic feet (table 12) is about one third of the world con- 

 sumption. Three fourths of the world's saw- timber consumption and 

 half of the total wood consumption is softwood. In the United States 

 74 percent of the saw timber and 60 percent of the combined timber 

 cut is softwood. The per capita cut of the United States is estimated 

 to be 118 cubic feet, of which 89 cubic feet (445 board feet), or 75 

 percent, is from trees of saw- timber size. 



Table 13 shows the proportion of timber drain represented by the 

 most important commodities produced from saw timber and cordwood 

 trees separately and combined (figs. 14 and 15). 



