220 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TEERITORIES. 



sume that we will only double it. As a general rule, in a new country 

 the consumption of timber increases in about double the ratio of popu- 

 lation. Thus while the increase of population of the United States from 

 1850 to 1860 was 35.59 i^er cent., the increase of the consumption of 

 lumber was 03.09 per cent. Upon this basis and rule, the whole availa- 

 ble lumber of our State will be consumed and destroyed in twenty years 

 instead of fortj'. AYe must also take into consideration in this connec- 

 tion the fact that we are now just entering upon an era of active public 

 improvements, all requiring the use of heavy timber and lumber. The 

 building of railroads, bridges, warehouses, wharves, factories, bulk- 

 heads, and the timbering of mines, will j)robably consume ten times as 

 much lumber vrithin the next twenty years as has been consumed for 

 these purposes in the past twenty years. The building and equipping 

 of railroads may be considered a new and special element in the in- 

 creased consumption of lumber, as this business in our State lias really 

 but just commenced. One of the worst features of the settlement of 

 new countries by Americans is the useless and criminal destruction of 

 timber. In our State this reckless and improvident habit has been in- 

 dulged in to an unprecedented extent. Thousands upon thousands of 

 the noblest and most valuable of our forest-trees in the Sierra Nevada 

 districts have been destroyed, without scarcely an object or purpose, 

 certainly with no adequate benefit to the destroyer or any one else. 

 This practice cannot be condemned in too severe terms ; it cannot be 

 punished with too severe penalties. 



" South of California, on the Pacific coast, there is but very little tim- 

 ber or wood of any description. The Pacific South American States 

 are, in fact, dependent on us, and the coast States north of us, for nearly 

 all their lumber. They have been drawing heavily from these sources 

 to rebuikl their wharves and public works destroyed by the earthquakes 

 of 1808. On the north, Oregon, British possessions, and Alaska are 

 generally well timbered. We have, for the past five years, been obtain- 

 ing large quantities of lumber from these countries, and now that the 

 Central Pacific Eailroad has advanced the freight on lumber from our 

 own mountains fifty per cent, over former prices, our trade in this direc- 

 tion will still increase. 



" While these countries contain a large supi)ly of very excellent tim- 

 ber, this supply is by no means exhaustless. At this time almost the 

 whole world is drawing its supply- of heavy timber from the Northern 

 Pacific coast. England, France, Australia, China, Japan, South Amer- 

 ica, Mexico, and Sandwich Islands are all, more or less, engaged in 

 securing their wants for ship-building and other heavy works from these 

 valuable forests. With the heavy drafts on these countries, added to 

 their home consumption, it is not probable that the supply will holdout 

 much longer than that of our own State. 



" In the above statements aud estimates, we have only taken into 

 account such timber as is fitted for building and for lumber for general 

 purposes. As to hard wood, lit for wheelwright purposes and agricul- 

 tural and other machinery, we may say there is none of it on this coast. 

 We have always either imported the machinery or the material to make 

 it of from the Atlantic States. For ornamental work we have a limited 

 supply, the California laurel being very superior. 



"After what has been said above, we hardlj^ need to comment on the 

 scarcity of timber in the State for the general purposes of fuel. Taking 

 all the agricultural counties in the State together, including the cities 

 and towns within them, and considering the probable increase of popu- 

 lation, it is very doubtful whether, under i>reseut management, they 



