84 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



LUMBER MILL AT FAIRBANKS IN THE INTERIOR OF ALASKA WHICH CUTS TIMBER FOR LOCAL USE. 



THE FORESTS IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY SUFFER GREATLY FROM FIRES. THOSE ON THE COAST 



ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE BURNED BECAUSE OF THE MORE MOIST ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS. 



over and in which the demand for 

 lumber for manufacturing and other 

 purposes far exceeds the local production 

 and the area west of the Mississippi 

 River and east of the Rocky Mountains, 

 including Texas, Colorado, Kansas, 

 Nebraska and the Dakotas which have 

 only limited supplies in restricted sec- 

 tions. 



The value of the eastern states as a 

 market for outside lumber is shown by 

 the fact that seven states tributary to 

 New York and Philadelphia consume 

 about six billion feet of lumber in excess 

 of the local production, and the area 

 within a radius of one hundred miles of 

 New York consumes as much lumber 

 as the territory comprised in an area 

 within a radius of fifteen hundred miles 

 from Seattle. 



The territory west of the Mississippi 

 river is the fighting ground of the 

 yellow pine and Douglas fir trade with 

 some competition in the north from 

 white pine products. West of Denver 

 the Pacific coast products have but 

 little competition but east to the 

 Missouri river the competition grows 

 more keen as the freight haul from the 

 West increases. Beyond this point the 

 territory is given over chiefly to southern 

 yellow pine and to white pine. 



Freight rates are the dominating 



factor in determining the territory in 

 which a product can be sold profitably. 

 As illustrating this the rates for Douglas 

 fir from Washington and on southern 

 yellow pine from the South may be 

 cited. The all-rail rate on fir products 

 is 75 cents per 100 pounds from the 

 Pacific Coast to New York, which 

 on flooring, per thousand board feet, 

 amounts to approximately $15, on 

 dimension and common boards from 

 $18. to $19.50, on timbers, not green 

 about $22.50, and on rough green 

 lumber and timbers about $24.75. The 

 all-rail rate from points in Louisiana 

 which ship yellow pine lumber to the 

 same point as that mentioned for fir is 

 35 cents per 100 pounds, which is 

 approximately $7.75 per thousand board 

 feet for longleaf pine flooring, $9.50 on 

 dimension and common boards, and 

 $15.75 on heavy timbers. 



This gives the yellow pine manu- 

 facturers an advantage in freight rate 

 alone of $7.25 on flooring, from $8.50 

 to $10. on dimension and common 

 boards, and $9 on timbers. This handi- 

 cap for fir timber is so great that only 

 a very limited amount of the better 

 grades can now be sent by the all-rail 

 route. 



Within the last year or tw r o a very 

 limited quantity of fir lumber has found 



