EtfCALYPTtfS a?EEES. 16 



half a century, under existing circumstances, whereas 

 by that time the demand will be quadrupled. Mr. 

 Simmonds calculates the importation of wood into 

 France during 1865 at 154,000,000 francs, or about 

 £6,000,000, the ratio of import being at an increase, 

 notwithstanding that the forest area of that empire 

 was reduced, within a century, to one half — namely, 

 from one third, in the latter part of the last century — 

 to hardly more than one sixth now. But if the popu- 

 lation of Middle Europe consumed proportionately as 

 much native wood as the inhabitants of the United 

 States, then, in less- than half a century, no forest 

 whatever would be left in Europe. These conclu- 

 sions are borne out by the U. S. Commissioner of 

 Lands, the Hon. Jos. S. Wilson. In the States east 

 of the Mississippi, six billion cubic feet of wood were 

 consumed for timber and fuel in 1860, at a time when 

 no war laid hand on the forests. Hence, one million 

 of acres of forest-land must be cleared, in the Eastern 

 States of the Union, to find the wood for a years' local 

 requirements. The shipment of lumber, in one of the 

 latter years, from Chicago, was one billion four hun- 

 dred million cubic feet, besides two hundred and sev- 

 teen million laths, and nine hundred and twenty-eight 

 million shingles. In 1866, the products of the Cali- 

 fornia lumber trade were one hundred and ninety 

 million of cubic feet, and thirty-eight million shingles ; 

 in 1867, about two hundred million cubic feet. Que- 

 bec exports about one million of cubic feet since a long 

 period, annually, irrespective of home consumption. 

 In the Pacific States exists only a supply adequate to 

 the prospective wants of their people. The States 

 west of the Mississippi import already timber that 



