212 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



LUMBER 



Lumber stands out as by far the most important single commodity 

 into which the timber cut of this country enters. It accounts annually 

 for 70 percent (38 billion board feet) of the saw- timber cut, and for 



^ l-_ ^'^-r \N EW ENGLAND 



1869 '79 



'99 '09 



'19 



1929 



FIGURE 16. Lumber production in the United States by regions 1869-1929. 



about 50 percent (7 billion cubic feet) of the total cut. About four 

 fifths of this huge lumber production is softwood (table 13). 



The fact that lumber has long been our most important timber 

 product is significant. It points to production of saw-timber as 

 the major object of forest management. This, in turn, means 

 long-rotation ages with all that that implies in complexities of 



