2 BULLETIN 758, U, S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
PULPWOOD CONSUMPTION AND WOOD-PULP PRODUCTION, 1917. 
A total consumption in 1917 of 5,480,075 cords ' of pulpwood was 
reported by 241 establishments, an increase of 251,517 cords, or 5 
per cent, over the estimated total consumption in 1916. The im- 
ported spruce and aspen formed 14 per cent of the quantity used in 
1917, in comparison with 15 per cent for the year before. 
The production of wood pulp totaled 3,509,939 tons—an increase 
of 74,938 tons, or 2 per cent, over the 1916 reported total output. 
The quantity manufactured by the mechanical process was 1,535,953 
tons, by the sulphite process 1,451,757 tons, by the soda process 
437,430 tons, and by the sulphate process 84,799 tons. The quan- 
tity of mechanical pulp produced was 2 per cent, that of soda pulp 
13 per cent, and that of sulphate pulp 15 per cent more than in 1916. 
The output of sulphite pulp was 1 per cent under that of the previous 
year. 
The production of pulp was increased by the manufacturers under 
industrial conditions that were in reality conducive to decreased 
production. Not only did the cost of practically every material, 
inclusive of pulpwood, advance, but grave and discouraging prob- 
lems were met with in securing and holding an adequate supply of 
labor, in procuring fuel for operation of plants, and in the transpor- 
tation of both the raw and finished product. War enlarged rather 
than diminished the demand for pulp for ordinary purposes and at 
the same time developed additional uses for pulp and paper. Imports 
of wood pulp were practically as great as for the preceding year, 
despite the fact that total receipts from overseas were lighter because 
of war-time shipping conditions. 
PULPWOOD CONSUMPTION. 
In Table 1 are presented the figures on the consumption of pulp- 
wood, by each kind of wood used, for four calendar years, 1909, 1914, 
1916, and 1917. The use of both domestic and imported spruce 
shows a decline in 1917 from 1916, attributable perhaps to the more 
restricted supply available and to the possibilities attached to the 
cheaper species. Some of the less important species, such as balsam 
fir, yellow pine, tamarack, and the group of hardwoods—beech, 
birch, chestnut, and maple—were consumed in considerably greater 
quantity than during the previous year. Taken as a whole the 
figures for 1917 do not indicate any marked or significant changes, 
other than those referred to, from the statistics for 1916. While the 
consumption figures for the entire country are greater for 1917 than 
for 1916, decreases, which are mostly slight in character, are re- 
vealed (see Table 5) in individual State totals. In New York the 
1 Cord=128 cubic feet. 
