The Northeastern States reached their relative maximum in 1870 

 and the Lake States in 1890. The Southern States are undoubtedly 

 near their maximum to-day, with about 35 per cent of the total 

 lumber product, and the time of ascendancy of the Pacific States 

 is rapidly approaching. Since the census of 1900 the product of 

 the Pacific States has risen from less than 10 per cent of the hnnber 

 output of the country to 20 per cent. There will be no more shifting- 

 after the Pacific States take first place, since there is no new region 

 of virgin timber to turn to. 



The shifting of the chief sources of supply has, of course, been 

 accompanied by a change in the kinds of lumber produced. There 

 was a time when white pine alone constituted one-half of the total 

 quantity. In 1900 this species furnished but 21.5 per cent, and in 

 1904 only 15 per cent of the lumber cut. On the other hand, Douglas 

 fir is credited with 5 per cent in 1900 and IB per cent in 1905. 



FOREST RESOURCES. 



The great demand made upon the forests nnturally leads to the 

 question: How much, timber is now standing in the United States 

 and how long will it last at the present rate of cutting ? 



The general distribution and character of the original forests of 

 the United States are shown by fig. 1. A glance at this discloses that 

 five groups of States embrace the naturally timbered areas of the 

 country — the Northeastern States, the Southern States, the Lake 

 States, the Rocky Mountain States, and the Pacific States. Of these, 

 the two groups last mentioned are occupied by forests in which prac- 

 tically all the timber- producing trees are coniferous, the first three 

 by both conifers and hardwoods. The earliest attack was upon the 

 white pine of the Northeast, the original stand of which is almost 

 entirely cut out. The present stand in the Northeastern States is 

 mainly spruce, second-growth white pine, hemlock, and hardwoods. 

 _ The Southern States produce essentially four types of forest, 

 which may broadly be said to divide the land among them accord- 

 ing to elevation above sea level. The swamp forests of the Atlantic 

 and Gulf coasts and the bottom lands of the rivers furnish cypress 

 and hardwoods. The remainder of the coastal plain from Virginia 

 to Texas was originally covered w^ith " southern " or " yellow " pine — 

 the trade name under which the lumber of several pines is now 

 marketed. The plateau which encircles the Appalachian range and 

 the loAver parts of the mountain region itself support a pure hard- 

 wood forest, Avhile the higher ridges are occupied b}^ conifers — 

 mainly spruce, white pine, and hemlock. 



The Lake States still contain much hardwood forest in their south- 

 ern portions. In the north the coniferous forest includes, besides the 

 rapidly dwindling pine, considerable tamarack, cedar, and hemlock. 



[Cir. 97] 



