340 FOREST PRODUCTS 



SOURCES OF SUPPLY 



As noted above, the farmers' woodlot and small scattered holdings 

 are the principal sources of fuel wood at the present time. Slab wood 

 and other refuse from sawmills are used, to a considerable extent, in and 

 near towns in which sawmills are located. Many areas that have been 

 recently logged over are now being culled for fuel wood; choppers and 

 in some cases, gasoline-driven cut-off saws being introduced to lower the 

 cost of production. In the East, refuse from logging operations and 

 sawmills are being sent to market in box cars up to distances of 300 miles. 



Wood is probably relied upon for fuel purposes more in the South 

 and in the Far West than in any other sections, due both to the cheap and 

 abundant supply of wood and the comparative remoteness of an avail- 

 able supply of coal. In the central prairie region very little wood is 

 used, due to the lack of native timber in that section. Coal is used to a 

 very large extent. 



In an investigation carried on by the office of Farm Management in 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture covering 950 families living on farms 

 in all parts of this country and with an average of 4.8 persons per family, 

 the average annual consumption of wood per person was 2 cords or 9.6 

 cords per family. It was also shown that on the average farm the value 

 of wood fuel is more than twice as much as the value of coal fuel used. 



In the Northeast, the oaks, maples, hickories, birches, beech, chest- 

 nut and other heavy hardwoods are largely relied upon for fuel purposes. 



In the South, the southern pines, chiefly longleaf pine, is used almost 

 entirely for fuel purposes. In some sections, hardwood such as oaks, 

 hickories, ash and a few others are used, but the resinous hard pine is 

 much preferred. 



In the Rocky Mountain region, Douglas fir and western yellow pine 

 are relied upon very largely for fuel. Lodgepole pine and Engelmann 

 spruce are used to a limited extent, but they are very inferior for fuel 

 purposes. Sage brush, greasewood and mesquite are also used in the 

 treeless and desert regions of the southern Rocky Mountain region. 



In California, the live oaks, western yellow pine and Douglas fir are 

 the principal woods used for fuel. In southern California and to a 

 limited extent in other sections, eucalyptus is relied upon very largely 

 for fuel. In the Northwest, Douglas fir, western larch and hemlock, 

 furnish most of the wood fuel. 



It is estimated that about 4,000,000,000 cu. ft. of mill waste furnishes 



