A FEW STATISTICS 293 



and their forests are becoming with time not less, but 

 more, productive. We probably still possess suf- 

 ficient forest land to grow wood enough at home to 

 supply our own needs. If we are not blind, or wil- 

 fully wasteful, we may yet preserve our forest 

 independence and, with it, the fourth of our great 

 industries. 



Present wastes in lumber production are enor- 

 mous. Take the case of yellow pine, which now 

 heads the list in the volume of annual cut. In 1907 

 it is estimated that only one-half of all the yellow 

 pine cut during the season was used, and that the 

 other half, amounting to 8,000,000 cords, was wasted. 

 Such waste is typical. Mr. R. A. Long, in his 

 address on " Forest Conservation" at the Conference 

 on the Conservation of Natural Resources, pointed 

 out that 20 per cent, of the yellow pine was simply 

 left in the woods a waste which represents the 

 timber growing on 300,000 acres. 



The rest of the waste takes place at the mill. Of 

 course, it would never do to speak of the material 

 rejected at the mill as waste unless this material could 

 be turned to use by some better and more thorough 

 form of utilization. But in many cases we know, 

 and in many other cases we have excellent reason to 

 believe, that most, if not all, of this material could 

 be used with profit. It is simply a question of intel- 

 ligent investigation and, more than all, of having 

 the will to economize. 



