22 



TIMBER DEPLETION, PRICES, EXPORTS, AND OWNERSHIP. 



CYPRESS REGIONS. 



Cypress has probably passed its maximum production, and 

 but a short time remains during which it can occupy a place of 

 importance in the lumber industry. 



The value of cypress for house building and fencing was early 

 recognized by settlers in the South. Under the colonial rule of 

 the Spanish and French traffic in shingles and cypress lumber 

 with the West Indies was of great importance. Great quanti- 

 ties were used for the hogsheads and barrels of the sugar and 

 molasses trade. After the opening of the southern pine forests 

 the general use of cypress as the principal material for house 

 construction, except for shingles, fell off, and the recent de- 

 mands from distant markets date from the falling off of the 

 white pine supply of the North. 



Until recent years only the largest and best trees nearest to 

 streams and shallow canals in which they could be floated were 

 cut. Utilization was therefore very incomplete. With the in- 

 troduction of the pull boat in the nineties and finally the expen- 

 sive steam skidder systems, and a better understanding of the 

 value of the wood, no stands remained inaccessible. 



The cypress cut reached 495 million board feet in 1900; by 

 1909 it was 955 million ; and in 1913 it exceeded 1 billion feet. 

 It has fallen off since, with a reported cut in 1918 of only 578 

 million. Lumbering is followed by practically no second growth, 

 so that with the completion of present operations the cypress 

 industry ends. 



In 1909 the Bureau of Corporations estimated the total stand 

 of cypress at 40 billion feet. The best available figures to-day 

 place the total at 22,921 million feet, and the totals for Lou- 

 isiana and Florida, which furnish the bulk of the cut, at ap- 

 proximately 13,000 million. If the annual cut during the next 

 few years be placed at approximately 700 million feet, with 

 the additional large and unknown amount used annually in the 

 rough for piling, poles, and the like, it is evident that without 

 growth in the remaining stands and on cut-over lands the supply 

 in sight in the present producing centers, Louisiana and Florida, 

 can not last more than 15 years. A largely diminished yearly 

 production will be experienced much sooner. Well-informed 

 lumbermen place the duration of the important commercial cut 

 at no longer than 10 years. 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. 



The Rocky Mountain region includes Montana, Idaho, Wyo- 

 ming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and 

 western South Dakota." It is a region with wide differences in 

 character and density of timber growth, in production and con- 

 sumption of lumber, and in the probable future development and 

 life of the lumber industry. Thus western Montana and Idaho, 

 because of the heavy stands of white pine, larch, and yellow 

 pine, might properly be considered part of the Pacific coast 

 region ; while Utah and Nevada, with their open forests, have 

 entirely different economic problems to meet as far as the 

 timber supply is concerned. Similarly, Arizona and New 

 Mexico are practically an economic unit by themselves; Colo- 

 rado and Wyoming form another economic unit, and South 

 Dakota still another. Therefore in considering the present 

 timber situation and the future outlook for the mountain 

 region as a whole, the different sections of the region should 

 be kept in mind. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE LUMBER INDUSTRY. 



The development of the lumber industry began in the early 

 fifties, chiefly to supply the mines. Even now mining is the 

 heaviest consumer of wood in several sections. After 1900 the 



" That part of the Kaniksu National Forest In Washington is in- 

 cluded in the Rocky Mountain region, while those parts of the Eldorado, 

 Inyo, Mono, and Tahoe National Forests in Nevada are included in the 

 Pacific coast region. 



lumber industry assumed more than a local character and began 

 to ship lumber to the Mississippi Valley and eastern markets. 

 The region is still short of the development which it will reach 

 in lumber manufacture. It has shown a steady Increase for the 

 last 20 years, and the present cut amounts to about 5 per cent 

 of the entire production of lumber in the country. 



Western Montana and Idaho, because of the heavy stand of 

 western white pine, larch, cedar, and yellow pine, is the most 

 important section from the standpoint of timber supplies. 

 Within these two States is 75 per cent of the entire stand of 

 the highly prized western white pine. Wyoming, with its dense 

 and extensive stands of lodgepole pine, is an important source 

 of material for railroad ties. Colorado, more than half of 

 whose timber is Engelmann spruce and which has also extensive 

 lodgepole pine stands, is an important tie and lumber-producing 

 center for the central Rockies. Western South Dakota, with 

 Its valuable yellow pine stands, is the center of lumber produc- 

 tion for the State and the adjoining treeless region. Northern 

 Arizona and New Mexico, with large open yellow pine forests, 

 supply much of the lumber used in the Southwest and ship 

 some to the North and East. 



ORIGINAL AND PRESENT STAND. 



The original forest area of about 64 million acres has now 

 been reduced by about 3 million acres. This reduction is chiefly 

 in Montana and Idaho, where much of the early logging was 

 on agricultural lands. The present stand of saw timber is 

 about 223 billion feet, or 10 per cent of the entire stand in 

 the countrj. Practically all of it is softwoods. The stand Is 

 very unevenly distributed. Nearly 60 per cent, or 130 billion 

 feet, is in Montana and Idaho ; 18 per cent, or 39 billion feet, 

 is in Arizona and New Mexico ; 11 per cent, or over 25 billion 

 feet, is in Colorado ; and the remainder Is distributed in smaller 

 quantities among the other States of the region. 



THE ANNUAL DRAIN UPON THE FOREST. 



The annual cut of saw timber is about li billion board feet, 

 besides at least half a billion feet for ties, posts, poles, and 

 fuel wood, making the total annual cut about 2 billion feet. 

 This, also, Is unevenly distributed. Montana and Idaho to- 

 gether have an annual lumber cut of over 1 billion feet; Colo- 

 rado, Wyoming, and South Dakota together produce not over 

 150 million feet; and some 170 million feet is cut in Arizona 

 and New Mexico. Besides the cut there Is a loss of saw timber 

 through fire. Insects, and disease. In Idaho and Montana, 

 where fires are most destructive, the annual loss from fire has 

 recently averaged about 1,100 million board feet. The annual 

 loss due to insects and diseases in these two States is estimated 

 at about 100 million feet. For the entire region the loss from 

 fire, insects, and disease I§ at least IJ billion feet. The total 

 annual drain upon the forests Is about Si billion feet, two- 

 thirds of which falls upon Montana and Idaho. 



ANNUAL GROWTH. 



The annual growth In the Rocky Mountains is estimated at 

 461 million board feet of saw timber and 264 million cubic feet 

 in the form of immature stands (equivalent to about 528 million 

 board feet), which makes a total of nearly 365 million cubic 

 feet (equivalent to about 989 million board feet), or 21.5 cubic 

 feet per acre per year on the growing area. Most of the growth 

 is in Montana and Idaho. 



CUT COMPARED WITH GROWTH. 



Considering saw timber alone, the annual drain is about 

 seven times the growth. If we compare the cut of all forest 

 products with the entire growth in cubic feet, the cut and 

 devastation is two and one-half times the growth. 



