EMERGENCY FUEL FROM THE FARM WOODLAND. 



SUPPLEMENTING THE COAL SUPPLY. 



BECAUSE OF THE HEAVY DEMAND FOR COAL, both for 

 commercial as well as domestic use, and because of the great 

 burden laid upon the Nation's transportation facilities and the 

 possible shortage of coal in certain sections of the country, the 

 demand should be relieved wherever feasible. Farmers frequently 

 are situated so they can profitably supply fuel from their woodlands 

 and thus relieve, to a considerable extent, the demand for coal. 



A maximum price for coal has been fixed by the Government. This 

 does not mean, however, that the railroads will be able to transport 

 all of the coal which the consumers may desire or want. Every 

 freight car is performing a heavy duty; and the fewer the cars that 

 are used for coal the greater will be the number available for carrying 

 other war commodities. 



Manufacturers, of course, can not substitute wood for coal: neither 

 can city people, because this would result in even greater railroad 

 congestion. Nor is it likely that in either the South or the West 

 the use of wood for fuel can be greatly increased. But in Maine. New 

 Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 

 New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. Michi- 

 gan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri it ought to be entirely 

 practicable in many cases to replace coal with wood for fuel. In 

 these 17 States is a rural population of about 20,000,000, which, it is 

 estimated, uses annually about 18,000,000 tons of coal. If, by sub- 

 stituting wood, one-quarter of the coal burned by farmers and one- 

 tenth of the coal burned in villages could be saved, the total saving 

 would amount to nearly 3,000,000 tons, or between 65,000 and 70,000 

 carloads. 



It is where team-hauled wood can be used in place of railroad- 

 hauled coal that the change should be made. Farmers who own 

 woodlands and people in villages who can purchase wood from nearby 

 farms are the ones in the best position to reduce their consumption 

 of coal. It is not expected substitution of wood for coal will be com- 

 plete or universal; formany purposes coal is much more convenient. 

 But for heating many kinds of buildings wood is the more convenient 



13891°— 17 (3) 



