THE TIMBER SUPPLY. 



Appalachian States it is very large), and is between three and four 

 times as large as the average for the entire country. 



CAUSES OF THE ADVANCE IN PRICE. 



The causes of the advance in price, which are both general and 

 local, depend on these facts: In those States that formerly led all 

 others in the production of lumber the supply is either exhausted, and 

 there are practically no saw logs available for the mills, or the annual 

 cut has become relatively much less important, as in New York, Penn- 

 sylvania, and the Lake States. These changes are indicated in the 

 accompanying tabulated list (Table 2) : 



Table 2. — Relative rank of the eight States leading in the production of lumber since 1850. 



1850. 



1860. 



1870. 



1880. 



1890. 



| 



1900. 



1907. 



New York. 



Penn'lv'nia. 



Michigan. 



Michigan. 



Michigan. 



1 

 Wisconsin. 



Wash'ngt'n. 



Penn'lv'nia. 



New York. 



Penn'lv'nia. 



Penn'lv'nia. 



Wisconsin. 



Michigan. 



Louisiana. 



Maine. 



Michigan. 



New York. 



Wisconsin. 



Penn'lv'nia. 



Minnesota. 



Texas. 



Ohio. 



Maine. 



Wisconsin. 



New York. 



Minnesota. 



Penn'lv'nia. 



Mississippi. 



Indiana. 



Ohio. 



Indiana. 



Indiana. 



Indiana. 



Wash'ngt'n. 



Wisconsin. 



Michigan. 



Indiana. 



Maine. 



Ohio. 



Wash'ngt'n. 



Arkansas. 



Arkansas. 



Mas'chusetts. 



Wisconsin. 



Ohio. 



Maine. 



New York. 



, Ohio. 



Michigan. 



Illinois. 



California. 



Missouri. 



Minnesota. 



Ohio. 



Indiana. 



Penn'lv'nia. 



There has been a general realignment, due to partial exhaustion in 

 the older States. New York, which led in the cut of 1850, disap- 

 peared from the table of the eight leading States in 1900. Pennsyl- 

 vania, which was first in 1860, fell to eighth in 1907, a period of 

 forty-seven years. Michigan, which held sixth place, advanced to 

 first for two decades and has now declined to seventh (1907). Michi- 

 gan and Wisconsin, which together held the lead for forty years, have 

 now been surpassed by Washington, Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. 

 How long will the supply of the Pacific States and the Southwest meet 

 the now enormous and ever-growing demand? Nearly all of the 

 States shown in the preceding diagram are primarily agricultural, and 

 the land is used for farming after the forests are cut. But in the 

 mountain regions of the Appalachian system agriculture is necessarily 

 restricted and a forest crop returns. In the proper management of 

 this new crop lies the hope of the future. The demand of the country 

 has turned back already upon these mountain regions, and in New 

 England, where the population is dense and the market excellent, the 

 advance in timber prices has been sharpest. The purchase of exten- 

 sive tracts for future use by large companies has further restricted the 

 supply, particularly in New Hampshire. To this nonagricultural and 

 natural forest land the country must turn more and more in future. 

 Thirty-seven per cent of the State of New Hampshire, or about 3,300 

 square miles, has never been cleared for farms. There are besides 

 nearly 3,000 additional square miles (1,760,000 acres) which were 



[Cir. 168] 



