THE WOELD'S FOEEST SUPPLY 
23 
time the supply of timber for pulpwood would last in the 
United States was twenty-one years ; opinions in different 
districts varied from thirteen to twenty years. Even now 
large quantities of timber for their pulp manufactories are 
brought from Canada. 
Of the quantity of timber cut in any country only a pro- 
portion comes into use for merchantable timber, and this 
is especially noticeable in Canada and the States. The 
waste in conversion is enormous ; much of this is unavoid- 
able, but a great deal is doubtless due to the profusion of 
material, which could be, and with waning supplies doubt- 
less will be, much decreased. It has been stated that to 
produce a railway sleeper worth 35 cents out of some of 
the Californian trees, timber equal to five times this amount 
in value is wasted; 70 to 74 j)er cent, of loblolly pine is 
wasted in producing sleepers in Texas, one reason of this 
waste being that a large proportion of the American railway 
sleepers are hewn and not sawn ; in the conversion of red 
cedar (J. virginiana) for pencils nearly 70 per cent, is waste. 
With the facts as stated it is some comfort to know that 
the Government officials of the United States consider that 
the timber cut has now nearly if not quite reached its 
maximum. The damage done by fire in the States has 
been estimated at ^£5,000,000 per annum, and probably 
10,000,000 acres of forest are destroyed. 
The same drain is being made on the forests of Canada, 
Sweden, Norway, and Kussia, although to some extent 
at present Eussia's enormous resources compared with its 
output and its population place her in a more favourable 
position than the others. The world's timber supplies are 
being used up in a reckless manner. 
Afforestation. — It is true that almost without exception 
the Governments of all countries possessing forests have 
