FORESTRY BUREAU. 



145 



LUMBER STATISTICS. 



Reliable data concerning the timber now standing in California, Ore- 

 gon, and Washington are not obtainable, and approximations even are 

 unsatisfactory. 



The product of the year 1882, exclusive of railroad ties, telegraph 

 poles, and fuel, was as follows : 



Nine-tenths of the product of Washington are from the region of Puget 

 Sound. Comparatively but little of this large amount finds its way to 

 the Eastern States. Extensive shipments, however, are made to foreign 

 countries. 



Full reports received from seventy of the ninety-one counties of the 

 State, being well distributed, furnish sufficient data for the compilation 

 of a very satisfactory abstract. 



With the exception of about twenty-five counties forming a group, 

 the entire State was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, 

 and the estimate, made up from the reports, places the area in original 

 forests at 75 to 80 per cent., the growth being principally oak, hard 

 maple, beech, ash, elm, walnut, cherry, poplar, hickory, hackberry, 

 sycamore, buckeye, and other inferior varieties. About 55 per cent, of 

 the original area in forests has been cleared, principally for opening up 

 lands for agricultural purposes. In early days the object of the farmers 

 and settlers being to get rid of the timber in the most speedy way pos- 

 sible, it was burned, and millions of dollars worth of the very best tim- 

 ber was thus destroyed. 



The cutting of timber has been for lumber, staves, fuel, fencing, and 

 other domestic and manufacturing purposes and for railroad ties, and 

 has well-nigh stripped the forests of the most valuable timber; what 

 remains is mostly of an inferior quality generally, only fit for fuel and 

 fencing, and as in the old adage of locking the stable-door after the 

 thief has stolen the horse, so with the forests, after the best and most 

 valuable timber has been cut off and the land almost denuded of forests, 

 the people begin to realize their importance and benefit and begin to 

 use more discretion and economy and give more attention to their preser- 

 vation. 



The forests of young wood growing naturally will, in a measure, sup- 

 ply that which has been removed, for where land has been cut over and 

 left unmolested a new growth springs up and grows rapidly. The area 

 of this new growth is about 15 per cent, of the original clearing. 



The climatic influences and changes by denudation or reinvestiture are 

 observable. The denuding decreases the rainfall and water supply, in- 

 creases extremes of heat and cold, while the reinvestiture has the oppo- 

 site effect. Especially is this observable in the belt or group of coun- 

 ties having the smallest area of forests originally, and where more at- 

 tention has been given to their promotion. There are several instances 

 reported, where groves of timber have come into existence, in which 

 springs of water have burst forth and flow on unceasingly where none 

 had ever been known before, and others entirely drying out where the 

 timber had been cut away and the land left bare. 



In many portions of the State the planting of forest trees is receiving 

 attention and the interest is growing. The planting of locust trees for 



Feet. 



California 



Oregon 



Washington 



1,001,330, 000 

 283,248, 000 

 724, 214, 000 



INDIANA. 



10 A— '84 



