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WHAT WE HAVE. 
Our forests now cover 550,000,000 acres, or about one-fourth 
of the United States. The original forests covered not less than 
850.000. 000 acres. 
Forests publicly owned contain one-fifth of all timber standing. 
Forests privately owned contain at least four-fifths of the standing 
timber. The timber privately owned is not only four times that 
publicly owned, but it is generally more valuable. 
Forestry is now practiced on 70 per cent, of the forests publicly 
owned and on less than 1 per cent, of the forests privately owned, 
or on only 18 per cent, of the total area of forests. 
WHAT IS PRODUCED. 
The yearly growth of wood in our forests does not average 
more than 12 cubic feet per acre. This gives a total yearly growth 
of less than 7,000,000,000 cubic feet. 
Nearly all our native commercial trees grow much faster than 
those of Europe. We already grow post timber in twenty to 
thirty years, mine timber in twenty-five to thirtv-hve years, tie 
timber in thirty-five to forty years, and saw, timlier in thirty to 
seventy-five years. 
We have 200,000,000 acres of mature forests, in which yearly 
growth is balanced by decay ; 250,000,000 acres partly cut over or 
burned over, but restocking naturally with enough young growth 
to produce a merchantable crop ; and 100,000,000 acres cut over 
and burned over, upon which young growth is either wholly 
lacking or too scanty to make merchantable timber. 
WHAT IS USED. 
We take from our forests yearly, including waste in logging 
and in manufacture, 23,000,000,000 cubic feet of wood. 
We use each year 100,000,000 cords of firewood, 40,000,000 
board feet of lumber, more than 1,000,000,000 posts, poles, and 
fence rails, 118,000,000 hewn ties, 1,500,000,000 staves, over 133,- 
000,000 sets of heading, nearly 500,000.000 barrel hoops, 3,000,000 
cords of native pulp wood, 165,000,000 cubic feet of round mine 
timbers, and 1,250,000 cords of wood for distillation. 
WHAT IS WASTED. 
Since 1870 forest fires have each year destroyed an average of 
fifty lives and $50,000,000 worth of timber. Not less than 
50.000. 000 acres of forest are burned over yearly. The young 
growth destroyed by fire is worth far more than the merchant- 
able timber burned. 
One-fourth of the standing timber is left or otherwise lost in 
logging. The boxing of longleaf pine for turpentine has de- 
