128 IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES 



necessary articles in market. These are demand and sup- 

 ply. This is so well understood that no demonstration of 

 its truth is needed. What, then, will be the probable de- 

 mand for forest products fifty to seventy-five years from 

 now ? Is it likely to be less, the same, or greater than now ? 

 It is hardly conceivable that it will be less, or even the 

 same, and the probabilities are that it will be greater, for 

 there is room in our vast domain for a large increase of 

 population, and statistics show that our population is now 

 more than five times greater than it was seventy years ago. 

 Of course it must not be claimed that such a rate of in- 

 crease will continue for long in the future ; but it is cer- 

 tainly within the bounds of reasonable probability to assume 

 that our population will, in seventy-five years, be nearly 

 twice what it now is. This would bring a greatly increased 

 demand for forest products, even if the amount consumed 

 per capita should be lessened by one third, which is hardly 

 probable. From this it will be safe to conclude that there 

 will be an increase of demand here at home, and under no 

 conceivable conditions or circumstances can we expect that 

 the demand will lessen in foreign countries so that we can 

 draw a supply from them, for it will naturally increase' 

 there too ; and that increase of demand will assuredly cause 

 an increase in price unless the supply is sufficient to meet it. 

 If the demand is to be greater, will the supply be ample? 

 With every European country, except Norway and Russia, 

 consuming more than their forests produce, with only India 

 and Japan, in Asiatic countries, having an ample supply, 

 and in North America only Canada possessing more than 

 its own needs demand, and the latter compelled to give 

 the mother country any surplus she may possess, and 

 with our own country consuming her forest products more 

 than three times faster than they grow, what right have we 

 to conclude that the supply will, in the future, equal the 

 demand? The awful fact is, that the whole civilized world 

 is confronted with a disastrous timber famine in the near 

 future. 



