THE SUITABILITY OF AMERICAN WOODS FOR PAPER PULP 3 
Over 80 per cent of all pulp wood in the United States is consumed 
in mills situated in the New England, Lake, and Middle Atlantic 
States. The stand of spruce, fir, and hemlock in this territory is 
estimated at 3 per cent of the total timber stand of the United States 
and at about 27 per cent of the total stand of the species mentioned. 
As a result of these conditions, pulp wood is now being trans- 
ported by land and water to many mills over distances of from 500 to 
1,000 miles. Imports from the Dominion of Canada are very large. 
In 1922 Maine depended on Canada for 13 per cent of her spruce, 
New Hampshire for 35, New York for 64, Pennsylvania for 99, and 
Michigan for 33 per cent. In addition, 53 per cent of the poplar 
used by United States mills was imported from Canada. On account 
of the limited supply and the increased influence of the transpor- 
tation factor, the average cost of spruce pulp wood f. o. b. mill in the 
Northeastern States in 1922 was between $15 and $28 a cord, depend- 
ing on whether it was rough, peeled, or rossed. 
With steadily rising pulp wood costs the less efficient mills, with- 
out their own timber supply, will eventually be forced out of business. 
It is only by improvement in operation, in processes, in the handling 
of timber lands, and by the use of other species, that even the better- 
equipped and managed of the present mills can continue to operate. 
The use of hemlock by the Wisconsin mills is an example of what can 
be done with wood once considered unsuitable for pulp. 
The necessity for the older mills to turn to other species and to 
grow their own pulp wood is indicated by United States Department 
of Agriculture Bulletin 1241, "How the United States Can Meet Its 
Present and Future Pulp-wood Requirements." It is there stated 
that because pulp wood use is confined so largely to a small group of 
species, over one-half of the 9,148,000 cords required to manufac- 
ture the United States paper requirements in 1922 were imported as 
pulp wood, pulp, or paper. Many States are forced to rely upon 
wood from without their boundaries. In New England and the 
Lake States, where much of the industry is concentrated, imports of 
pulp wood and wood pulp are being relied upon to a greater and 
greater extent to maintain production levels. Throughout the pulp 
and paper manufacturing regions there are insufficient forest re- 
sources to maintain production for an extended period without an 
intensive program of timber growing, the elimination of waste, a 
general tightening up in the manufacturing processes, and the exten- 
sive use of other than commonly used species for pulp wood. 
A study of the distribution of the stand of timber in the United 
States by species will indicate the supply of pulp wood available for 
existing mills and what could be added by the use of additional 
species. Table 2 shows such distribution as accurately as it can be 
ascertained with the information at present available. 
