22 F0EEST CONDITIONS IN LOUISIANA. 



Since 1905 Louisiana has been surpassed in lumber production only 

 by the State of Washington. The output of the latter State in 1909 

 exceeded that of Louisiana by only 311,000,000 feet. In 1899 the 

 leading lumber-producing States were Wisconsin, Michigan, and 

 Minnesota. In the course of 10 years these three States have dropped 

 to eighth, tenth, and twelfth place, respectively, while Washington, 

 Louisiana, and Mississippi have taken the lead. 



Since 1901 Louisiana has occupied first place in the yellow-pine 

 industry. In 1899 Georgia ranked first, while Louisiana occupied 

 seventh place. In 1909 the cut of Georgia was nearly as great as in 

 1899, but the cut of Louisiana was approximately three and a half 

 times greater than 10 years before. The average annual output of 

 yellow-pine mills in Louisiana is greater than that in any other 

 State except Florida, the 658 active mills in Louisiana producing 

 an average of 5,400,000 feet of lumber per year. In Virginia, on 

 the other hand, 3,511 active mills produce less than 500.000 feet each. 

 Louisiana has 109 and Washington 105 mills, each of which cuts over 

 10,000,000 board feet annually. Four mills in Louisiana each have 

 an average of over 50,000,000 feet. 



Table 5 shows the number of mills sawing yellow-pine lumber, 

 and the output in 1909 in each of the three groups of parishes for 

 which the estimates of standing timber were given. 



Table 5. — Output of yellow pine in different portions of Louisiana. 



Groups of parishes. 



Mills. 



Lumber 



output. 





Number. 

 119 

 198 

 188 



1,000 bd. ft. 



460,236 



950, 735 



1,325,785 



North of Red River 







Total for State 



505 



2, 736, 756 





The output of lumber in these different groups of parishes com- 

 pared with the amount of standing merchantable timber in the 

 same regions indicates the probable length of time which the virgin 

 pine forests will last. Based on the output for 1909, the yellow pine 

 of the group of parishes west of the Mississippi River and south of 

 the Eed River, for example, will be cut over in 29 years. This esti- 

 mate, of course, is based only on the timber at present merchantable, 

 and, in addition, assumes for each of the 29 years a cut equal to that 

 of 1909. That the annual production will continue at its present 

 figure, however, seems very doubtful, and the complete exhaustion 

 of the virgin stands may be long deferred. 



Louisiana furnishes nearly two-thirds of the country's output of 

 cypress. The State's output of oak and gum, on the other hand, 

 even with the vast forests of these species, forms only 1 and 2 per 



