TIMBER SUPPLIES AND THE WAR 



Columns 2, 3, and 4 of this form are perhaps of 

 greatest interest at the present juncture, since some 

 important industries are dependent on the materials 

 they deal with being available. Column i includes 

 the bulk of the timber in general use by the building 

 and other trades employing wood. Approximately 

 one-half of the imports of 1913 are probably closed 

 for the present. In column 2 about three-fourths of 

 the pitwood imported came from Russia and France. 

 Supplies from these countries are unlikely to be 

 available for some months to come, probably at the 

 earliest well over a year, since no fresh fellings are 

 likely to be carried out till the men return from the 

 Colours.^ About three-fifths of the wood pulp (column 

 3) comes from Sweden and Norway. Whether this 

 material can be delivered must depend on North Sea 

 naval problems. The United States, Canada, and 

 Newfoundland should, in course of time, be able to 

 help us here. To the United States and Canada we 

 shall have to look for our supplies of oak, unless the 

 trade will be content to use the harder but finer 

 quality oak of these islands. As regards the £4,500,000 

 of wood manufactures, the present will be an excellent 

 opportunity to ascertain how many of these articles 

 we can produce in this country. In the foreign hard- 

 woods only one-sixteenth comes from Europe. The 

 command of the sea throughout the world should, 

 therefore, enable supplies of these commodities, of 



1 Since this was written the Board of Trade Returns for Sep- 

 tember 191 4 show that 240,000 tons of pitwood were imported that 

 month as against 600,000, the normal amount for the month. Tht 

 greater part came from France. 



