200 FOREST VALUATION 



are made with reluctance and suspicion, but once undertaken, 

 the imitative faculty, which plays so strong a part in human 

 affairs, may cause a very rapid extension of the substitution 

 and force producers of lumber to fight for the retention of trade 

 formerly theirs by right of original possession. 



In spite of the inroads which substitutes have made on 

 consumption of wood as the result of high prices and trade de- 

 velopments, there remain many uses for which wood is so pre- 

 eminently adapted, that the total consumption is almost certain 

 to increase in the future rather than to diminish. For railroad 

 ties, the resilience or elasticity of wood, which absorbs the shock 

 of traffic, combined with the small labor cost of track repairing, 

 and increased safety of travel, when compared with the sub- 

 stitutes so far employed, make it certain that the price of rail- 

 road ties will be much higher than at present before the railroads 

 discontinue the use of the wooden tie. 



A still more striking case is the use of wood for paper pulp. 

 Formerly confined largely to spruce and poplar, pulp is now 

 made from many hardwoods and from southern longleaf pine. 

 Paper can be made from many other materials, such as rags 

 or corn stalks, but the cost of assembling sufficient quantities 

 at the mill is greatly in favor of wood. 



The general effect of substitutes is to diminish the use of 

 cheap grades of wood, and to increase the supply available for 

 more important uses. This tendency is illustrated in the case 

 of fuel. Wood for domestic fuel is still used in enormous quan- 

 tities, but only at points near the source of supply. Its bulk 

 and weight prevent its transportation by freight for long dis- 

 tances to large centers of consumption. It is probably worth 

 as much, if not more, for this purpose in most localities than 

 it ever was. It would have been impossible for our forests to 

 supply enough fuel for the entire demands of modern industry. 

 The substitution of coal has relegated wood to the position of 

 a luxury for the fireplace in most large cities; has ruined the 

 markets for cordwood formerly existing in connection with cer- 

 tain manufacturing enterprises, and in some regions near such 

 factories has caused the value of woodlands to decline. Yet the 



