magnificent softwood forests, can the country look 

 to an increasing cut; but even here there are already 

 local evidences of depletion, warnings that the con- 

 clusion of the story will be the same as that of other 

 regions and in far less time than has Hen estimated. 

 Hardwood depletion and the migration of centers 

 of production has followed along much the same 

 line, although regional boundaries have been much 

 less distinct. Cutting began early in New England 

 and along the Atlantic coast, spread slowly to the 

 westward through New York and Pennsylvania as 

 local supplies were cut out, and became important in 

 Ohio and the Middle Atlantic States after water and 

 rail transportation was developed. From here it 

 spread north into the Lake States and south into 

 Kentucky and Tennessee and the southern Appalach- 

 ian Mountains. The stands of these various regions 

 have been successively depleted. In. New England 

 and New' York, aside from second growth, largely 

 in farm wood lots, there remain only the stands of 

 hardwoods in the North. The commercial cut of the 

 Middle Western States is almost a thing of the past. 

 That of the Lake States has fallen off materially, as 

 has also even that of the southern Appalachians. 

 The end of the cut in the Appalachian States is 

 pretty definitely in sight. The only reserve of im- 

 portance is the southern Mississippi Valley, and 

 even here it is doubtful if future production will 

 for any length of time materially exceed the average 

 output of the last few years. 



32 



