The Conservative *
THE FORESTS OF AMERICA.
[ An address by John P. Brown ,
Secretary of the Indiana Forestry Asso
ciation , before the Retail Lumber Deal
ers Association at Indianapolis , January
15 , 1901. ]
In a country so extensive as ours ,
having no forest policy , it is difficult to
determine our forest possessions. What
is the extent of our woodlands ? How
much is available for our Middle States'
markets ? How long may we expect to
continue the industries which are de
pendent upon wood ? Are there any
methods for perpetuating these indus
tries ?
Two Centuries of Clearing.
Two centuries of clearing , making of
homes and states , have greatly reduced
our original forests. The land area of
the- United States is 2,968,700 square
miles. The arid plains and treeless
prairies occupy 1,780,000 square miles ;
almost GO per cent of the total area.
The clearings of two hundred years ; the
cultivated farms of timbered states ; the
vast areas lumbered over ; and the fire
Rwept forests ; should all be deducted
from the 40 per cent originally tim
bered. Yet , the geological survey of the
United States estimates our present
forest area at 1,094,496 square miles ; 87
per cent of the total area. If this
authority is corract , we have consumed
less than 12 per cent of the original
forests.
"Is a Timber Famine Imminent , "
was the subject of an article in "The
Forum" for October , by the chief
geographer , Mr. Gannett , who places
the stand of timber in the East at 1,500 ,
board measure , per acre , 750 billion
feet. Since he classes the East as all
territory east of 103 ° west longitude ,
he vastly overcalculates the wooded
areas ; includes brush lands , abandoned
forms , large areas now under cultiva
tion , and makes no deduction for years
of clearing , nor for fires. I enter a
protest against the acceptance of such
estimates.
Erratic Methods Employed.
East of 108 ° west longitude , are
thirty-six states and two territories. Of
these six are prairie states ; five have
been partially examined by the geologi
cal survey , while in the remaining
twenty-five states , comprising 1,152,747
square miles. The estimates of forest
areas were taken from the census reports
of 1880. Since that census was taken
two decades of vigorous lumbering have
destroyed more than half the forests.
Thus the basis being so erratic , the
estimates are worthless and should not
be employed to form public opinion. In
Indiana and many other states the most
productive farms were forests twenty
years ago.
"The Forum" article claims that the
stand of timber in the United States is
1,880,000,000,000 feet and will last fifty
years. Such an extravagant statement
from a recognized authority has done
incredible injury by increasing the
apathy or indifference among all citizens
and especially congress.
East of 108 ° west longitude are
1,782,420 square miles , of which there
are in prairie 782,840 square miles , leav
ing 999,680 square miles which , at the
discovery of America , were forests. All
of our great agricultural states have
been taken from this area. As an ex
ample , Indiana is claimed to still possess
10,800 square miles of forest , 6,912,000
acres , at 1,500 feet per acre. More than
ten billion feet of walnut , oak , ash and
poplar , worth $500,000,000,000. Indiana
has not one-tenth that amount of forest.
There is not a state in the Union but
has been grossly overestimated.
A few scattering trees in a pasture lot
does not constitute a forest to be esti
mated at ' 1,600 feet per acre. " Timber
lands , cleared of all valuable trees and
turned over to the state , as no longer
worth paying taxes upon , as in Michigan
and elsewhere , should have been
omitted. Broken and mountainous
lands , partially covered with immature
brush , only here and there a tree , gives
a very erroneous conception of our re
sources when counted to swell the area
of a states' forest wealth.
\Vhat We Do Possess.
The forest commissioner of Maine
says : "While a large area exists , it is
not all virgin growth by any means. All
has been lumbered. Some townships
are nearly exhausted. It would convey
a much more intelligent idea to say 50
per cent is in forest growth. "
The New Hampshire forest commis
sioner reports : "The only forest with
which economic forestry will have to defer
for many years is that which clothes the
slopes of the White Mountains. " This
is less than one-fourth the state's area.
Much which has been classed as forest
consists of abandoned farms and
pasture.
The Massachusetts State Board of
Agriculture says : " 2,840 square miles
or 29 per cent are forest. "
The commissioner of forests of Penn
sylvania says : "Our white pine forests
are practically gone. A few years cut
ting of hemlock remains in the northern
part of the state. We cannot secure
enough of good white oak in the state
for railway ties , and the rook oak has
ceased to be available because so scatter
ing. Approximately twenty per cent of
the state has fairly good timber. "
In the Oarolinas , where the timber is
near enough to tide water for exporting
lumber , none will go to help the short
age of our northern markets. My
correspondents agree that there are only
between 9,000 and 10,000 square miles
of commercial timber in North Oarolina
or 19 per cent.
Throughout the mountain regions of
Kentucky ore large areas of rough land ,
* E5.
partly covered with brush , here and
there a red oak tree , the goo I timber
having been removed.
In the less accessible regions are tracts
of chestnut oak , chestnut , some white
oak and more or less .pine. Everything
that would float having been moved
down the streams. The valuable white
oak has been out for staves , while half a
hundred railways have for years had
agents gathering up cross-ties. From
8,000 to 10,000 square miles of com
mercial timber remain.
The best authorities in Tennessee
agree that only 10,000 square miles are
wooded. Dr. J. B. Killebrew writes :
"Nominally 24,000 square miles is the
wooded area , but it would be misleading
to suppose all this area to abound in
timber trees. More than half has been
denuded of its large trees. The state
will not go beyond 10,900 square miles
of timber. "
Arkansas oak has been shipped to
northern markets in increasing quanti
ties each year , since walnut ceased to be
a fashionable wood. At the same time
western railways have drawn largely
upon this state for ties and timbers.
The wood is not increasing to keep pace
with the consumption. Twenty to
twenty-five thousand square miles is a
large estimate of present supply.
Colorado's Disappearing Conifers.
The damage done by fires has been
beyond the ability of man to estimate.
The Colorado Forestry Association esti
mates the present stand at 5,000 square
miles , which my own observations
would confirm.
Pnget Sound forests all go to the
export trade. Transportation forbids its
shipment eastward to any great extent.
They will not fill the yards of our
Middle States. Vast losses by fire and
denudation by wasteful lumbering have
reduced the supply amazingly.
The same may be said of Oalifornias *
vanishing red wood. The timber of the
Rocky Mountain region will all be re
quired for local use in the mines and
building improvement I.
The president of the Wisconsin
Forestry Association writes : "Our pine
lands have been pretty well lumbered
over , so that from 180,000,000,000 feet of
forty years ago , we have probably now
less than 17,000,000,000 feet , and at the
present rate of lumbering this will soon
be exhausted.
"Many lumbering concerns have quit
the business or gone to other states.
The annual cut is 8,000,000,000 over
and above the annual increase in growth
which is not to exceed 200,000,000. "
The lumber situation is similar in
Michigan several million acres of once
finely timbered' pine lands , cleared of
its forests , sandy , non-agricultural soil ,
have been turned over to the state as
not worth paying taxes upon.
Indiana Situation.
Our state was formerly one of the best