have been cut, burnt and neglected until they produce practically nothing. The United States is cutting what timber remains more than four times faster than it is being reproduced. In addition to the actual timber shortage, the forests remaining are so far from the wood-using industries that the distance to markets often makes the shipping of needed supplies either unduly costly and uncertairu>r altogether impracticable.
Of the 48 states, 30 produce less wood than they use. These include by far the larger part of the agriculture, industries, wealth and population of the nation. They are Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
to the conclusion that little relief from timber shortage can be found in the importation of forest products from other lands. Because the United States must have wood, and because it cannot be secured abroad, it must be grown at home.
Government Action, -The largest and most effective organiza- tion engaged in providing future supph'es of timber is the U.S. Forest Service. Most of its personnel is employed in caring for the national forests, which in 1920 included 156,632,053 ac., as against 153,933,700 ac. a year before. Roughly, they contain one-fifth of the actual timber land in the United States. There are 152 national forests, of an average area of 1,000,000 ac., each
FOREST REG/OMS BY STATE GROUPS J/VO PRINCIPAL S/HV-T/MSEff SECT/O/VS
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MAINLY
NON-FORESTEC
PLAINS OR
TV -CENTRAL
(NOT INCLUDED IN TABLES)
SfCT/ONS /HOIC*T0 Bf SH/IOCO AREAS
AREA AND STAND BY REGIONS
REGIONS
TOTAL FUROTAMA (MILLION ACRES)
STAND Of
SAW TIMBER
BILLION BO.rr)
I -NEW ENGLAND
- 7
-V9
H -MIDDLE ATLANTIC
ze 7
44-9
m - LAKE
57 t
1 10 1
IV -CENTRAL
50 7
14-4 1
V -SOUTH ATLANTIC AND EAST GULF
99
1.7
VI -LOWER MISSISSIPPI
78 9
2802
JZir-ROCKT MOUNTAIN
CO fl
23 I
vm-f*ciFic COAST
57 6
114-1
TOTAL
V43 5
2ZI-4-.9
/ NOffTHEAST
2 LAKE STATES
3 SOUTHERN APPALACHf/IM fM/TOM/OOOS
4 SOUTHERN f/NE
5 LOWE/f M/SS/SSfff/ H/lffOIVOOaS *f/0 CPPffESS
6 ffOCffy MOt/MT/l/M
7 f NLA NO EMf//?E
a /ACfF/c COAST r//?
S CAL/FOffN/A P//VE
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
The merchantable timber remaining in the United States is estimated at 2,215,000,000,000 board-feet. About one-half of it is in Washington, Oregon and California, and over 60 % W. of the great plains. Concentration of ownership has kept pace with forest destruction, and half the privately owned timber in the United States is held by 250 owners. The depletion of resources is not limited to saw-timber. Since 1909 the country has ceased to be self-supporting in newsprint and other paper, and in 1919 the production of naval stores had fallen off 50% from that of 1899, the first year of satis- factory statistics. Shortages in other forest products are developing also. Since wood is the most generally useful of all materials, and since the shortage and high price of wood affect all industries and all people, its supply has become one of the country's chief economic problems. The 137,000,000 ac. of remaining virgin forest is being cut at the rate of 5,500,000 ac. a year, and at that rate will be ex- hausted in 25 years. The 81,000,000 ac. of devastated, unproductive forest land is being added to at the rate of 3,000,000 ac. annually. Since three-fourths of the standing timber is virgin timber and since four-fifths of the forest supplies are in private hands, the first and most necessary step is to stop the devastation of privately held timber lands. The next most necessary step and both are indispensable is the stopping of forest fires. A careful study of the kinds and quantities of forest products available throughout the world leads
in charge of a forest supervisor. The annual gross receipts in money to the Government from them are almost $5,000,000.
During the year ending June 30 1920, 597,563 ac. of forest land were cruised, 6,719 ac. planted, 13,222 timber sales involving 1,294,- 233,000 board-feet of timber made, and 31,301 grazing permits issued for 2,035,432 head of cattle and 7,280,584 sheep, in addition to other live stock. The receipts and expenditures for the national forests during 1910-20 were:
Receipts
Expenditures
1910
$2,041,181.22
$2,791,275.62
1911
1,968,993.42
3-395,730.77
1912
2,109,256.91
3,433,285.36
1913
2,391,920.85
3,396,762.44
1914
2,437,710-21
3,337,048.83
1915
2,481,469.35
3,261,455.16
1916
2,823,540.71
3,427,140.41
1917
3,457,028.41
3,868,562.60
1918
3,574,930.07
4,265,367.00
1919
4,358,414.86
4,286,747.00
1920
4,793,482.28
4,554,861.00
It is interesting to note that in 1919 and 1920 the national forests were self-supporting. They are well handled and efficiently protected, and their management has gradually won for them the enthu-
