8 CIRCULAR 21, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



large, and at present a heavy contributor to the needs of the United 

 States paper industry, is already giving so much concern that the 

 exportation of unmanufactured wood is subject to restrictions in 

 several Provinces. 



In the United States softwoods comprise two -thirds of the 13.000,- 

 000,000 cubic feet of large timber used annually, and more than 

 three-fourths of the sawed lumber. Nine-tenths of the paper con- 

 sumed in this country is made from softwoods. It is evident that 

 the United States, more than most countries, has reason for concern 

 regarding future softwood supplies. We now export about 2,000,- 

 000.000 board feet of softwood lumber annually, or about 7 per cent 

 of the amount cut. Almost as much is imported, however, so that 

 the net export is only about 1 per cent of the production. To meet 

 the present requirements the United States is cutting four times as 

 much conifer timber as grows each year. 



TEMPERATE ZONE HARDWOODS ARE ALSO DWINDLING 



Broad-leaved forests cover a little more than one-third of the total 

 forest area of the Temperate Zones, or nearly 1,900.000 square miles. 

 Like the conifers, the Temperate Zone hardwoods are confined 

 chiefly to the Northern Hemisphere, and to an even greater extent 

 than the softwoods they are located fairly close to consumers. In 

 general, the Temperate Zone hardwood forests have occupied and 

 still occupy in many cases the better soils or the more favorably 

 situated lands at comparatively .low elevations and latitudes. As 

 these lands support the densest populations, not only have the 

 forests been progressively destroyed to make room for cultivation, 

 but also from the earliest times they have been important sources of 

 fuel and timber for a large part of the world's peoples. 



The Temperate Zone hardwoods now supply slightly more than 

 two-fifths of the world's wood. They supply three-fifths of all the 

 firewood, and approximately one-fifth of the larger timber. Though 

 these woods are not so essential for many purposes, nor so widely 

 used for construction and common lumber as the softwoods, they 

 have many special uses for which softwoods are less satisfactory. 

 Their hardness, strength, elasticity, toughness, weight, color, grain, 

 texture, finishing qualities, or other properties make various hard- 

 woods especially desirable for furniture, vehicles, interior trim, 

 handles, staves. Voodenware and turned goods, and a multitude of 

 other products. 



The better class of timber comes chiefly from large old trees, the 

 supply of which has been depleted to an even greater extent than 

 that of softwoods. Moreover, the demand for firewood and other 

 small timber in the more accessible forests has generally kept ahead 

 of the growth of new timber. Most second-growth stands, there- 

 fore, are cut before the trees reach large size or contain much high- 

 grade material. 



Europe has extensive areas of hardwood forest, and even exports 

 special kinds, such as the oak of Poland and Slavonia. On the 

 whole, however, the consumption of hardwoods in Europe greatly 

 exceeds the production, so that there is a net annual importation of 

 something like 90,000.000 to 100,000,000 cubic feet. 



