140 FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



But few people are aware that the forest product of this State for 1907 

 was worth $5,800,000 on the stump, or $24,000,000 at the mill. 



This indicates that there is still left within the State a large quantity 

 of forest and timber. It also should be interpreted as meaning that there 

 is profit in the proper management of forest lands. It means that large 

 amounts of money are derived from lands which are so remote or sterile as 

 to be unsuited for agricultural pursuits, and should be utilized for growing 

 wood crops. But when we take one and one-fourth billion feet of lumber 

 in a year from our forests in this State we are cutting more than we can 

 produce without reducing the forest area. It is difficult at present to state 

 just how many acres of forest land there are in this State, or what the 

 annual growth amounts to per acre. But any one who gives this matter 

 serious thought will see that we are cutting far more than the annual growth, 

 and this must soon produce a timber famine. 



The various demands for wood products are numerous and extensive, 

 and probably timber can be used by this generation to as great an advantage 

 as it can by the next; but cutting more timber than grows cannot go on 

 long without exhausting the supply. 



This leads to a careful consideration as to the best plan to be pursued. 

 We must bear in mind that trees of merchantable sizes are not produced 

 in a decade, and, therefore, in order to provide for the future, prompt action 

 is necessary. 



We have large areas of idle land so remote or unfit for farming pur- 

 poses that they should be growing wood crops. We must have lumber for 

 a thousand purposes ; the present demand is greater than the annual growth ; 

 and so our forests are being rapidly exhausted ; the prices of stumpage and 

 timber are advancing rapidly, and will be higher as the supply is reduced. 

 These are matters requiring serious consideration on the part of every 

 citizen in the State. We should attack this problem the same as a manu- 

 facturer would under similar circumstances, i. t\, increase our production 

 by increasing the forests, or bring them into a state of higher prpductivity. 



This means forestry. Forestry is growing wood crops the same as an 

 agriculturist raises food crops. We must give our woodlands and forests 

 careful attention the same as our farms. \i Nature does not scatter the 

 seeds for a new crop, or sow the kinds of tree seeds that we wish, we must 

 plant these areas with small seedling trees. Reforesting work has been 



