PRINCIPLES OF FOREST ECONOMY. 305 



of the soil is invited, while by the sudden excessive offer of material followed by corresponding 

 decrease of supplies the market and prices are disturbed and the rational management (if existing) 

 of neighboring forest areas unfavorably influenced. 



Such disturbances leading to trade depressions, while in the end they are equalized by trade 

 booms, are never desirable, and especially not in an industry which requires such a long time to 

 gain an equilibrium. 



To be sure, the growing of wood crops, as in agriculture may be carried on in a small way 

 with a small wood capital, or else in a large way with a large wood capital, but it will be readily 

 seen that since the most useful, most necessary, and most valuable sizes of timber upon which the 

 lumber industry of the country is based requires not less than a century for their production, 

 this industry must finally be carried on by large capital, preferably by corporations, which have 

 in them the elements of perpetuity, and eventually by the Government. 



The present consumption, for instance, of the lumber industry in the United States may be 

 set at 40,000,000,000 feet B. M. annually, which corresponds to about 5,000,000,000 cubic feet of 

 log timber in the woods; the normal wood reserve, which under first-class management could be 

 expected to furnish such amounts continuously, would figure up to at least 1,000 billion cubic feet, 

 which would require 400,000,000 acres fully stocked in good condition to be constantly kept in 

 wood. 



Figuring the stumpage value somewhat like the present average rates at 2 cents per cubic 

 foot it appears that a capital of at least $20,000,000,000 would have to be tied up in the wood 

 capital which is capable of furnishing continuously the present requirements of our lumber 

 market. In this calculation we assume that our requirements for firewood and other forest prod- 

 ucts, not lumber and timber, can be satisfied by the inferior material remaining over after the 

 log timber has been taken out, which is not now the case. 



The experience of European nations has amply demonstrated that the small forest owner soon 

 tires of the burden of maintaining the wood capital; he reduces it by shortening the rotation 

 more and more, confining himself finally to the production of firewood and inferior sizes, and being 

 unable to acquire or employ the skill necessary to carry on a systematic forestry business, his 

 wood lots deteriorate more and more and play no role in the supplies for the lumber market which 

 are furnished by the State forests and the large landed proprietors, who can keep up well-stocked 

 areas of large enough size to pay for the employment of competent managers and skilled labor 

 and the maintenance of a business organization; who can leave the large wood capital intact, 

 which with the long rotation is necessary to produce sizable material, and who are satisfied with 

 the low but steady and safe interest which their capital produces. 

 H. Doc. 181 20 



