1 903 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



461 



slight rainfall in the summer months, 

 there is a growing disposition to apply 

 water artificially to the land during the 

 periods of drouth. More than one-half 

 of the irrigated acreage in western 

 Washington is reported for the valley of 

 the Dungeness River, a region of rich 

 and deep soil producing remarkable 



yields. In 1902 there were reported for 

 western Washington 94 irrigated farms, 

 having an irrigated area of 1,025 acres. 

 Sixteen irrigation systems were in opera- 

 tion. These represented a construction 

 cost of $11,245, or an average of $10.97 

 per acre irrigated. There were 17 miles 

 of main ditches. 



FOREIGN TRADE IN FOREST PRODUCTS. 



IMPORTS EXCEED THE EXPORTS, THOUGH 

 RECENT STATISTICS INDICATE THAT THIS 

 CONDITION SOON MAY BE REVERSED. 



THE United States is so generally 

 considered a producer of forest 

 products that it will possibly surprise 

 many persons to know that during the 

 calendar year just past the imports of 

 forest products exceeded the exports by 

 more than $10,000,000. The total value 

 of importations amounted in 1902 to 

 about $60,000,000, or 6.6 per cent of the 

 total, while the exports were valued at 

 about $50,000,000, or 3.6 per cent of all 

 goods sent out. While the exports are 

 now exceeded by the imports, it seems 

 to be indicated by the trend of trade in 

 the past few years that this condition 

 will be reversed, though there can be no 

 diminution in our imports, for they are 

 composed for the greater part of pro- 

 ducts which cannot be found in the 

 United States. For example, the prin- 

 cipal item among the imports conies 

 from the various gums from which rub- 

 ber is made, and last year they were im- 

 ported to the value of $25,000,000, or 

 nearly one-half of the total. Ordinary 

 lumber, to the value of nearly $20,- 

 000,000, came next in importance, and 

 of this the common sawed lumber, most 

 of which came from Canada, was worth 

 $12,000,000. Round timber was also 

 received from Canada, and various cabi- 

 net woods, such as mahogany, most of 

 which came from Mexico, Nicaragua, 

 and Cuba, were worth more than 

 $3,000,000. Then there were dye- 

 woods, chief among which was logwood, 

 and various gums used in the arts and 

 industries, including camphor, shellac, 

 and $1,000,000 worth of chicle, which 



forms the basis for the chewing gum 

 annually used by the American girl. 

 Wood pulp, most of which came from 

 Canada, was worth $2,000,000, and cork 

 from Portugal and Spain amounted to 

 almost that much. The rest of the im- 

 ports included cinchona bark, from 

 which quinine is made, and various 

 other products used in medicines, as 

 well as some vegetable ivory, natural 

 palm leaves, charcoal, hemlock bark, 

 naval stores, such as tar, pitch, and 

 turpentine, and other miscellaneous 

 things in quantities too small to be 

 specially classified. 



Of exports from this country, the prin- 

 cipal item comes from ordinary boards, 

 deals, and planks, of which nearly 

 1,000,000,000 feet were shipped, the 

 value being $17, 000,000. Joists, scant- 

 ling, staves, headings, shocks, shingles, 

 and other lumber exported were worth 

 about $10,000,000, and round, hewed, 

 and sawed timber exported was worth 

 about the same. Naval stores, such as 

 turpentine, rosin, tar, and pitch, most 

 of which went to the United Kingdom, 

 were valued at $12,000,000. Wood 

 pulp exports amounted to $740,000 

 worth, and were marketed almost en- 

 tirely in two countries the United 

 Kingdom and Belgium. Most of the 

 tan bark sent abroad during the year 

 went to Japan. 



Two countries Brazil and Canada- 

 stand out conspicuously among those 

 which furnish forest products to the 

 United States. Generally Brazil is in 

 the lead in value of imports, but last 



