GENERAL 



RATE OF CONSUMPTION 



In 1880 the annual consumption of lumber in this country was 

 only 18,000,000,000 bd. ft.; now it is about 40,000,000,000 bd. ft. The 

 present supply, at the present rate of consumption, but without allowing 

 for the increase in population, will last about seventy years. (Increment 

 in American forests is only about one-third of that in Europe, and in addi- 

 tion we have about 200,000,000 acres of virgin timber where decay offsets 



APPROXIMATE ANNUAL CONSUMPTION OF LUMBER AND WOOD PRODUCTS 

 IN THE UNITED STATES 1 



1 Board feet of lumber have been converted to cubic feet at the rate of 12 bd. ft. =i cu. ft., round 

 material at 6 bd. ft. = i cu. ft., cords to bd. ft. generally at 500 bd. ft. = i cord, and cords to cubic feet 

 at i cord =90 cu. ft. For other conversion factors see tables ir Chapter I and various other chapters 

 relating to subject. 



1 It is obvious that certain forms of forest products could not be actually converted into bd ft., for 

 example, fuelwood and pulp wood. The table is offered for the purpose of rough comparison The 

 amounts expressed in thousand bd. ft. in this column have not been converted to cubic feet except in 

 the case of lumber, veneers and excelsior. 



* This includes waste in logging such as tops, stumps and cull logs and waste in manufacturing 

 such as bark, kerf, slabs, trimming and edging, etc., but does not include waste by fire, insects, decay, 

 windfall, etc. 



