THE WORLD'S FOREST SUPPLY 23 



time the supply of timber for pulpwood would last in the 

 United States was twenty-one years ; opinions in different 

 districts varied from thirteen to twenty years. Even now 

 large quantities of timber for their pulp manufactories are 

 brought from Canada. 



Of the quantity of timber cut in any country only a pro- 

 portion comes into use for merchantable timber, and this 

 is especially noticeable in Canada and the States. The 

 waste in conversion is enormous ; much of this is unavoid- 

 able, but a great deal is doubtless due to the profusion of 

 material, which could be, and with waning supplies doubt- 

 less will be, much decreased. It has been stated that to 

 produce a railway sleeper worth 35 cents out of some of 

 the Californian trees, timber equal to five times this amount 

 in value is wasted ; 70 to 74 per cent, of loblolly pine is 

 wasted in producing sleepers in Texas, one reason of this 

 waste being that a large proportion of the American railway 

 sleepers are hewn and not sawn ; in the conversion of red 

 cedar (J. virginiana) for pencils nearly 70 per cent, is waste. 



With the facts as stated it is some comfort to know that 

 the Government officials of the United States consider that 

 the timber cut has now nearly if not quite reached its 

 maximum. The damage done by fire in the States has 

 been estimated at 5,000,000 per annum, and probably 

 10,000,000 acres of forest are destroyed. 



The same drain is being made on the forests of Canada, 

 Sweden, Norway, and Kussia, although to some extent 

 at present Russia's enormous resources compared with its 

 output and its population place her in a more favourable 

 position than the others. The world's timber supplies are 

 being used up in a reckless manner. 



Afforestation. It is true that almost without exception 

 the Governments of all countries possessing forests have 



