FOREST CONDITIONS. 339 



The productive forest area of the western coun- 

 try may be stated as not exceeding 14 per cent. 

 For the whole country the woodland area according 

 to the United States Chief Geographer, whose dis- 

 cussions on these questions contain many misstate- 

 ments and misconceptions, represents 37 per cent ; 

 according to the writer's conception of what may be 

 considered forest area, it is not much over 26 per 

 cent. This acreage of round 500 million acres 

 under proper management would barely be capable 

 of supplying continuously the present annual wood 

 consumption of the people of the United States, 

 which, as we have seen on page 51, amounts to 

 about 25,000 million cubic feet; while we esti- 

 mated that the virgin supplies still standing may 

 be able to satisfy the present consumption for 

 perhaps 40 to 50 years. 



The immediate inauguration of conservative 

 treatment, of recuperative measures, and of proper 

 economies in the use of wood may, therefore, be 

 able to avert serious discomforts to be expected 

 from a shortage in wood supplies, provided there 

 be no increase in consumption, or perhaps even 

 a proportionate reduction, as the population in- 

 creases, which as we have seen in Chapter II. is 

 possible. So far the census statistics record an 

 increase of wood consumption, in values at least, 

 of a round 30 per cent for every decade, and hence 

 the economies, as well as the conservative and 

 recuperative treatment, should be begun now. 



