EXHAUSTION OF THE FOREST. 



265 



words every person in the U. S.. is using five times as mucli wood as 

 he would use if lie lived in Europe. It is estimated that on an average 

 each person in this eountrj' uses annually the product of 25 acres of 

 forest. The country as a ivliolc, cuts every year, hctween tliree and 

 four tirrirs more wood ttian all the forests grow in the meantime. By 

 contrast, the principal countries of Europe, cut just the annual 

 growth, while Paissia, Sweden and Japan, cut less than the growth. 

 In other words, the 2,800,000,000,000 feet B.M. of the stumpage of 

 the United States is a capital which is constantly drawn upon, 

 whereas, the 944,700,000,000 board feet of tlie foi-est of the German 



LuTnbcT pToductioTi h'^ Reoion^. 



•Southern States 

 fhcitic states 



north Atlantic Stote3~ 

 Lake States 

 Central Statis 



/focfly tlountcm ■5t'oJii~ 



Fiir. 115. Southern States include: Virtrinia, Nortli Carolina, Souih Carolina, 

 Georgia. Florida, Alabama. Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Okla- 

 homa. 



Pacific States include: Washing-ton, Oregon and California. 



North Atlantic States include: New Eng-land, Ncvv Yorlc, Pt-nns^'l vania, New 

 Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. 



Lake States Include: Michig-an, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. 



Central States include: Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, 

 Illinois, and Missouri. 



Roclfy Mountain States include: Montana, Idaho, Wyoiiiing, Nevada, Utah, 

 Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. 



Emi^ire is a capital which is luitouched hut protluces annuany 300 

 board feet per acre. 



One striking evidence of the decrease of the timber supply is the 

 shifting of its sources. Once the northeastern States produced over 

 half of the lumber product. They reached their relative maximum 

 in 1870 when they producefl 36 per cent. At tJiat time the T.ake 

 States produced about 24 per cent. By 1890 the Lake States came to 

 their maximum of 36 per cent. Today the southern States are near 

 tlieir mnxi'mum with 41 per cent., but tlie center will soon shift to 

 the Pacific States. Their product rose from less than 10 per cent, of 

 the whole in 1900 to 17 per cent, in 1908, Figs. 115 and 116. When 

 that virgin forest has been cut off, there will be no new region to 

 exploit; whereas, heretofore, when a region was exhausted, the lum- 

 bermen have always had a new one to which to move. At the annual 



