CHAPTER XXIV 



THE WOOD CROP 



My prayers with this I used to charge 



A piece of land, not very large, 

 Wherein there should a garden be 

 A clear spring flowing ceaselessly, 

 And where, to crown the whole, there should 

 A patch be found of growing wood. 

 All this and more the gods have sent 

 And I am heartily content. HORACE 



359. The importance of the wood crop. Asia, North America, 

 Europe, and Australia have approximately 7,417,187 square 

 miles of forest lands, an area almost equal in extent to the total 

 land area of North America. The extent of forest lands in 

 South America and Africa is not known. Russia leads the 

 nations in the extent of her merchantable forests ; the United 

 States ranks second ; and Canada, third. The forest regions 

 of the temperate zones are the most productive of high-grade, 

 merchantable timber. The tropical regions produce a great 

 variety of timber, much of which is very heavy and hard. It 

 is valued highly for special purposes, but is not suitable for 

 general structural material. The forests of the United States 

 yield a higher grade of structural lumber than do the forests 

 of any other country. 



360. The forest industry. The forest industry at the present 

 time ranks next to the strictly agricultural industries in volume 

 and in the wealth produced. All great industries depend directly 



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