FOREST POLICY. 



In the western and northern section the virgin hardwoods 

 have been removed. 



Along the upper course of the rivers the primeval forest 

 is frequently intact. Prime walnut, cherry, yellow poplar and 

 white oak occur here in large quantities. At the headwaters of 

 the Green Briar and Cheat Rivers a large and commercially im- 

 portant belt of white pine is found, and, adjoining it to the north, 

 a long belt of splendid spruce. (Spruce stumpage said to aver- 

 age 25,000 feet b. m. to the acre.) 



4. Forest ownership: 221 lumber firms own 506,000 acres, 

 of 5,200 feet b. m. average stumpage. 



5. Use of timber: Logging and log transportation in the 

 primeval woods of the mountains is extremely difficult, owing to 

 the character of the rivers, the lack of snow and the high ex- 

 pense of railroading in a broken country. 929 mills represent 

 an average investment of $S,700. Logs on stump are worth $2.36; 

 at mill, $6.59. The output of the mills was valued in 



1870 $ 1,500,000 



1880 2,400,000 



1890 5,500,000 



1900 10,600,000 



The cut in 1900 consisted of: — 



Hemlock 91,000,000 feet b. m. 



Spruce 94,000,000 feet b. m. 



Yellow pine 18,000,000 feet b. m. 



White pine 5,000,000 feet b. m. 



Walnut 150,000 feet b. m. 



Poplar 193,000,000 feet b. m. 



White oak 353,000,000 feet b. m. 



Ash, birch, chestnut 25,000,000 feet b. m. 



The cooperage materials produced were worth $400,000, and 

 the furniture, wagon, etc., stock, $580,000. 



Leather industry: 46 tanneries produce annually $3,200,000 

 worth of leather and consume 8,445 cords of hemlock bark, worth 

 $50,000; 69,286 cords of chestnut oak bark, worth $305,000; in ad- 

 dition to 394 barrels of bark extract. 



Paper and pulp industry: There are 6 mills yielding an out- 

 put worth $527,000. They consume 5,729 cords of home-grown 



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