IO WOOD-USING INDUSTRIES 



methods of manufacture and uses of wood. The information sought 

 was : kinds of wood used ; the quantity required annually ; the cost at 

 the factory : the specific uses of each kind ; size and grade of lumber ; 

 whether the raw material was grown in Virginia, or States nearby, or 

 at a distance, and what efforts had been made to utilize waste material. 

 Aside from the general interest which naturally pertains to a 

 study of this character, supplying, as it -does, information which no 

 other report has given, it will prove practical and valuable in many ways. 

 It should stimulate trade by bringing together buyer and seller, as it 

 shows the kinds of wood the manufacturers desire to buy and offers 

 valuable suggestions to the large timber owners, to the farmers with 

 a few scattered trees, and to the sawmill men where to sell their ma- 

 terial. Mention is made also of the many advantages which the State 

 offers wood-using industries to locate within her borders. The uses of 

 woods which heretofore have been of little commercial value are pointed 

 out and the qualities which commend them for other uses are discussed. 

 To the manufacturer who finds home-grown material difficult to secure, 

 this report points out other States whose forests will most likely sup- 

 ply his need. The merchant's attention is called to products which 

 wood-using industries of Virginia have to sell and the people of the 

 State are shown the necessity of Virginia taking steps looking to the 

 improvement and perpetuation of her forests by adopting an intelli- 

 gent forest policy. 



AN IMPORTANT POINT 



Forest policies do no t receive the popular support they should 

 because the results are not immediate. State legislatures are prone 

 to regard recommendations for adopting forestry as academic instead 

 of practical. This report brings the subject close to the business men- 

 of the State, and points out conditions, which, if taken advantage of, 

 will secure greater industrial prosperity, and if neglected, will probably 

 result in loss and commercial depression. 



Virginia's sawmills produced, according to the last decennial 

 census, more than 2,100,000,000 feet of lumber. The figures of this 

 report show (see Table No. 2) that the wood using ^industries 

 further manufactured about 450,000,000 feet of homegrown wood, 

 or only a little more than one-quarter of the cut. This means that the 

 difference, 1,550,000,000 feet, except for the rough lumber needed to 

 supply the State, is shipped away to meet the demands of, and to be 

 manufactured by, the industries of other States. If the industries of 

 Virginia are not taking advantage bf the excellent geographical 

 location of their State in being close to markets and of their valuable 



