36 BULLETIN 1341, T7. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
modified food requirements a somewhat larger area may be devoted to the grow- 
ing of timber with full justice to the food requirements of our future population. 
They are strengthened in this belief by present conditions in the agricultural 
industry, in which in general the marginal lands are hardest hit. Four hundred 
seventy million acres may, however, be taken as a fairly close approximation of the 
area which will probably remain as forest land. 
This total does not include the forest lands of Alaska. While there are many 
millions of acres in interior Alaska a large part of which will unquestionably 
remain forest land, this report deals only with the forest lands now included in the 
Tongass and the Chugach National Forests in southeastern and southern Alaska, 
respectively. For those 5 million acres of forest lands may be added. 
Another important factor in the production of pulp wood and of other timber 
products is the distribution of forest lands in relation to population, and hence 
to wood requirements. Except for the treeless plains between the Mississippi 
and the Rocky Mountains the forest-land area is widely distributed. Seventy- 
five per cent of the total lies east of the Great Plains, in the territory which 
contains practically all of the larger cities and 79 per cent of our total population. 
Paper consumption increases with density of population, so that the East is 
now and will long continue to be the chief area of paper consumption. 
Our forest-land resource is still enormous in extent therefore, well distributed 
in accordance with population, and likely in the future to be at least equal to 
that of the present. One hundred and thirty-eight million acres is still covered 
with virgin timber, 250 million with volunteer second growth, and 81 million, 
devastated by logging and fire, lacks largely or altogether forest growth of any 
kind. 
HOW WE CAN SUPPLY REGIONAL PULP-WOOD REQUIREMENTS. 
The preceding discussion of national land and timber resources paves the way 
for a more detailed regional examination of pulp-wood possibilities. For a com- 
plete and satisfactory understanding and for specific answers to all pertinent 
questions the following data would be absolutely essential: 
(1) The size, character, and volume of the present timber stand, by species, 
and by States and regions. 
(2) The present drain, by species, States, and regions, the total drain, and 
separately the cut for different purposes; and losses from fire, insects, fungous 
diseases, and windfall. 
(3) Forest areas, by types and States. 
(4) The present growth, by species and forest types; and by States and regions; 
its character and rate. 
(5) Similarly, potential growth under forest management of varying intensity. 
Such ideal data are available for no one region, and much of it is unavailable 
for any region. The information outlined could be secured by no other means 
than an exhaustive timber survey such as has never been attempted. Lacking 
the results of a survey, the discussion is limited correspondingly, and for much 
of what is given no positive claim can be made of accuracy in detail. The gen- 
eral conclusions reached, however, are believed to be substantially con 
MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. 
The pulp mills of New York in 1<>2<) manufactured nearly 60 per cent of the 
total Bpruce-pulp-wood imports from Canada, and nearly 50 per cent of that 
pen. Pennsylvania mills purchased nearly 13 per cent and 20 per cent, 
respectively, of the imports of the same species. Since 7.'5 per cent of the spruce- 
»The grouping of th< States i^ thai followed in the report on -'< oato Resolution 311 and Is shown In Figure 24. 
