4 2 



THE FORESTER. 



February, 



corresponds to the annual productivity of 

 about 12,375,000 acres of such well man- 

 aged and well kept forests as the Prussian 

 State forests. 



Germany, although it has 35,000,000 

 acres of forests excellently managed and 

 yielding an immense revenue, demands in- 

 creasingly greater quantities of wood, so 

 that for the last ten years the amount of 

 timber which it buys has doubled and its 

 value trebled. In 1898 the excess of im- 

 portation over exportation was equal to 

 317,700,000 cubic feet, or 24 per cent, of 

 its total consumption. 



France produces a surplus of cord wood 

 and small sized timber which it exports to 

 neighboring countries, chiefly to England. 

 But France is compelled to buy large sized 

 timber, and for the last five years the im- 

 ports have exceeded the exports by 105,- 

 900,000 cubic feet. This amount is equal 

 to half of the general productivity of all 

 French forests and 33 per cent, of its total 

 consumption. 



Belgium imports annually 63,540,000 

 cubic feet of timber more than it exports, 

 or 47 per cent, of its total consumption. 

 Holland imports annually 2 1, 1 So, 000 cubic 

 feet of timber wood, or 52 per cent, of its 

 total consumption, for which it pays more 

 than $3,000,000. Switzerland buys every 

 year abroad49,420,ooocubicfeet of timber, 

 or 35 per cent, of its total consumption, 

 worth nearly $3,000,000. The States of 

 Southern Europe, such as Spain, Italy, 

 Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and 

 Servia, whose industries are little devel- 

 oped, demand less timber than the 

 countries above-mentioned, but they buy 

 considerable quantities of wood every year. 



Summing up these figures it is seen that 

 a large portion of middle, western and 

 southern Europe, with a population of 

 215,000,000, requires annually about 1.23 

 to 1. 41 billion cubic feet of timber for 

 which is paid about $200,000,000. This 

 amount of timber corresponds approxi- 

 mately to what might be produced on 

 twenty-five to fifty million acres of forest 

 land. 



Who furnishes this timber? Austria- 

 Hungary produces annually 794,250,000 

 cubic feet of wood, a considerable portion 



of which is exported to other countries, 

 chiefly to Germany. Deducting the 

 amount of wood which is imported by 

 Austria-Hungary, its total supply of 

 timber to the world market in 1898 was 

 equal to 240,040,000 cubic feet. Although 

 the export of timber from Austria-Hungary 

 has been increasing during the last years, 

 there are reasons to think that the greatest 

 limit has been reached. 



The forests of Norway furnish a con- 

 siderable quantity of timber to the world 

 market. In 1S98, 70,600,000 cubic feet 

 of timber were sold in addition to 49,420,- 

 000 cubic feet in the shape of pulp, mak- 

 ing thus a total of 120,020,000 cubic feet. 

 The forests of Norway are being ex- 

 hausted, chiefly by clear cutting, which is 

 practiced since the pulp industry can util- 

 ize even small sized timber. The timber 

 supply of Sweden to the world market 

 amounts to 317,000,000 cubic feet of tim- 

 ber with 35,300,000 cubic feet of wood 

 additionally in the shape of cellulose. 



Russia furnishes considerable quantities 

 of timber, chiefly to England, Germany, 

 France, Belgium and Holland. In 1897 

 there were sent to these countries 257,- 

 690,000 cubic feet of wood ; in addition 

 Finland exported 158,850,000 cubic feet, 

 making a total of 416,540.000 cubic feet. 

 Besides the European countries just men- 

 tioned a considerable amount of timber is 

 exported also from Roumania, Bosnia and 

 Herzegovina. 



The forests of the United States, ac- 

 cording to M. Melard, are to a greater ex- 

 tent consumed, although the yearly exports 

 amount to 116,490,000 cubic feet, worth 

 about $20,000,000. This export is ap- 

 parently carried on at the expense of the 

 main wood capital, and, according to 

 Prof. B. E. Fernow, whom M. Melard 

 quotes as an authority, the present con- 

 sumption of wood within this country 

 itself is so great that the annual increment 

 of the existing forest-area is hardly able 

 to satisfy it. With an increase of popula- 

 tion and greater development of industries 

 it is reasonable to expect not only a diminu- 

 tion of exports from the United States, 

 but also an increase of imports of timber, 

 especially from Canada. 









