12 



Though a hasty glance at Table 4 might make it appear that the sup- 

 ply of timber is actually increasing, since some of the later estimates 

 are the larger, and in several instances much more timber has been 

 cut from certain regions than Avas estimated as existing in 1880, this 

 inference would be altogether wrong. Many of the early estimates 

 were based wholly upon inadequate data, and also did not include a 

 great deal of timber that is now considered merchantable. As the 

 timber in any region becomes scarcer the minimum cutting limit is 

 constantly lowered, and timber is taken which was formerly rejected. 

 In Xew England, for example, 6 inches is now a common cutting- 

 diameter for white pine, while in some localities on the Pacific coast 

 nothing below 18 inches is cut. 



No one who is at all familiar with the situation doubts for an 

 instant that we are rapidly using up our forest capital. In fact, it 

 is unquestionably safe to say that our present annual consumption of 

 wood in all forms is from three to four times as great as the annual 

 increment of our forests. Even by accepting the highest estimate 

 of the amount of timber standing we postpone for only a few years 

 the time when there must be a great curtailment in the use of wood 

 if the present methods of forest exploitation are continued. Every 

 indication points to the fact that under present conditions the maxi- 

 mum annual yield of forest products for the country as a whole has 

 been reached, and that in a comparatively short time there will be a 

 marked decrease in the total output, as there is now in several items. 

 Neither is there any great supply of timber to turn to outside of the 

 United States. With the exception of importations of small quan- 

 tities of high-class woods like mahogany, the only j)romising source 

 is Canada ; but most of the timber there will be required at home. 

 Even now Douglas fir is bringing higher prices in Canadian than 

 in American markets. The course of prices of white pine, yellow 

 poplar, and hemlock since 1887 and of j^ellow pine since 1894 is 

 shown in fig. 2. The quotations are for the first of each year. 



FOREST OWXERSHIP. 



In view of conditions which undeniably exist it becomes of the 

 utmost importance that vigorous steps be taken to insure a future 

 suppl}^ of timber. The most liberal estimate Avhich has been made of 

 the wooded area of the United States — that of the Geological Sur- 

 vey — place it at 700 million acres, while other careful estimators 

 have placed the forest area as low as 500 million acres. Table 7 

 gives the wooded area of each State according to the Geological ^ur- 

 ve3^ together with the area of National Forests, or Federal forest 

 reserves, that of State forest reserves, and that of the private or un- 

 reserved public forests. The latter item was determined by deduct- 

 ing the area of State or Xatiorial Forests in each State from the 



[Cir. 97] 



