TITE 3IORXIXO OREGOXIAX, MONDAY, JAXTJAIIY 2.
TIMBER RESOURCES OF WEST KEY TO LONG PERIOD OF PROSPERITY f
Oregon Leads Nation With Stand of 444,000.000,000 Feet of Commercial Value Douglas Fir Shows Adaptability for Unusual Number of-Uses Large Bodies of Hemlock to Be Tapped Business Is Belter j
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PROSPERITY over a long period of
time active sawmill and logging
operations, employment fof many
thousands more men and an equable
climate. That Is what timber means
to Oregon! With tha forests of the
north depleted and with the southern
pine belt facing the prospect of ex
haustion in 10 to 15 years, saw-mill
operators of the United States have
their eyes on the great forests of the
west. For here Is found the last great
stand of timber of the nation. The lat
est estimates made by the forest serv
ice of the quantity of standing com
mercial timber In all forms of owner
ship give Oregon 444,000,000,000 feet
and Washington 801.000,000,000 feet
This recompilatlon of estimates has
been made In response to senate reso
lution 111 the Capper resolution
calling upon the secretary of agricul
ture for Information regarding the
amount of timber In the United States,
thfi. rate of depletion, etc. The In
vestigators were impressed by the In
consistencies In the various cruises
and the absence of reliable and de
tailed Information as to the amount
of timber in the several counties, the
amount of cut-over land, and Its con
dition and ultimate use. Some Inter
esting facts regarding the timber
supply of Oregon and Washington
we're brought out by this study.
In the Douglas fir region of west
ern Oregon and Washington there
were, before the -white settlement,
some 28,000,000 acres of forest land,
not all commercial timber, however.
About 80 per cent of this acreage of
timber has been devastated by fire,
so that the amount of timber avail
able is far below what it would have
been it every acre contained a normal
stand spared by fire. East of ths
Cascade range in Oregon and Wash
ington there were originally 20,000,
000 acres of forest, a minority of
which was commercial yellow pine.
About 2,250,000,000 feet of logs are
cut annually In Oregon and 5,600.000,
000 feet of logs in Washington, In
cluding cedar cut for shingle bolts.
This means the annual cutting of
over 100,000 acres of Oregon's timber
land and 160,000 acres of Washing
ton's. It Is estimated that 30,000,000,000
feet of logs have been cut In western
Oregon since logging operations be
gan in 1846. The acreage cut over is
placed at 880.C00. Eastern Oregon is
said to have lost 4.000,000.000 feet,
with 600,000 acres cut over. The esti
mate places the cut of western Wash
ington since 1846 at 90.000.000.000
feet, and the cut-over land at 2.350,
000 acres, hastern Wasincrton Is
shown to have lost 6,000,000,000 feet,
with 600.000 acres cut over.
A relatively small additional area
of virgin forest has been cut by set
tlers and the timber burned, to clear
the land for agricultural use.
The commercial matura forest acres
in western Oregon total 10,000,000; In
private ownership are .6.952.000 acres;
in state ownership. 48.0m. Indian
reservations, national parns and un
reserved public domains occupy 1,
000,000 acres and national forests
total 8,000,000 acres.
Eastern Oregon's total acreage is
placed at 8,775,000. Of this amount
3.345,000 are in private ownership;
30,000 In state ownership: 1,000,000 in
Indian reservations, national parks
and unreserved public domain; and
4,500,000 In national forests.
Western Washington hat 7,500.000
acres of commercial mature forest
acrs. In private ownership are
4,020,000 acres; In state ownership,
170,000; in Indian reservations, na
tional parks and unreserved public
domains, 180,000; and In national for
ests 2,500,000.
Eastern Washington's forest acres
aggregate 4,300,000, with the follow
ing divisions: 1,800,000 in national
forests; 600,000 in reservations, parks
and domains; 170,000, in state owner
ship and 1,830,000 in private owner
ship. The volume of merchantable tim
ber, log scale. In western Oregon Is
reported by the forest service to be
343,000,000,000 feet. Of.thls amount
85,500,000.000 feet are In'national for
ests; 45,000,000,000 in reservations,
parks and domains; ' l.SOOJioa. 000 in
state ownership, and-: 21V bilUon. in
private ownership.
Eastern Oregon has a total of 101,
000.000,000 feet. Private flwnerahlp
has 45.000.000,000; 30.000. 000 feet are
owned b ythe state; 111.000,000,00 feet
are In reservation, parks - aiiH do
mains, and 46.7 billions are in na
tional forests.
Western Washington haa 274.8 bil
lion feet. One hundred and seventy
one billion are under private owner
ship; 32.5 in-state ownership; 4.5 bil
lion in reservations, parks and do
mains, and 66.6 in national forests.
Te amount in eastern Washington
totals only 26.5 billion teit, with
14.5 billion in national forests; . three
billion In reservations, parks and do
mains; one billion in state owner
ship and eignt . billion in ' private
hands. .
Oregon's moat valuable timber re
source is its large stand of Douglas
fir. This timber, sometimes called
Douglas spruce.-, yellow fir, reft fir.
Oregon pine or Washington fir, is the
most abundant and the largest tree in
Oregon and Washington. It forms
the major part of the dens stand of
timber found on the western slope of
the Cascade mountains. Its range
varies in altitude from sea level to
about 6000 feet. In soil to Its liking
rt ordinarily reaches 180 to 196 feet
In height and SH to 6 feet in dlam-
.eter. Trees more than 200 feet tall
and from 8 to 10 feet in diameter are
frequently found. ' '
It is expected that with the decline
of the southern pine cut the produc
tion of Douglas fir arid other species
will be materially increased. At pres
ent more lumber is cut from Douglas
fir each year' than from any other
species. Much valuable information
and useful statistics on production
have been furnished by C. W. Gould of
et fee?-, SLrJrf.s-ojo ft
the United States forest service-, with
headquarters In Portland. Mr. Gould
gives the following as the Douglas
fir production for Oregon In the last
few years: 1913, 2. 098, 000. W0 feet;
1914, 1.819.000.000 feet; 1915, 1.690.
000.000 rect; 191, 2.22J,000.000 feet;
1917, 2.685.000,000 feet; 1918, 2,710,
000,000 feet. , .,
. "The "wood of 'Douglas .fir varies
considerably in character and color
from fairly soft, fine-grained. In old
slow-growth trees, to hard, coarse
grained, reddish-brown In fast-grW-ing
timber," saysfMr. Gould. '"The
wood s is strong, tough, resilient,
straight-grained, resinous arid com
paratively light: When slash sawed
it offers' an attractive grain. It also
holds nails firmly and is fairly dur
able in contact with soil."
It has been estimated that about
60 per cent of the annual lumber cut
In" the United States is remanufac-
tured at woodworking plants for ar
ticles such as furniture, boxes and
the like. The fact that DouglM fir
enters 37 separate plants of this char
acter shows the adaptability of this
Western wood for many purposes. For
lonir structural timbers as used In
boat buijaing. bridge work, Douglas'
fir-has no superior. It la used exten
sively In manufacture of sash, doors,
blinds And general mill work; boxeB,
crates, car building, furniture, wagon
parts, wooden ware, farm impleiflpnts,
tanks, silos, ships, boats, fixtures,
caskets, refrigerators, ehade and map
iVllers. paving blocks, cross-arms,
trunk's, machine construction. Wood
pipe, pulleys, foundry appliances, sad
dletrees' and many other- articles.
Douglas fir Is used also for making
cooperage, pulp and paper, veneer,
cross ties, posts, poles'lnd piling.
Resistance of Iif o abraislon makes
it a superior wood for flooring. U
snMiiniiimmmiHHiiMmiiiimHiKiiHiiinimiiiitmmiHmiMMtiim
TIMBER STAND IS SHOWN BY SPECIES.
mmmiiiHHftmimi
Species
West. West. East. Kant.
Ore. Wash. Ore. Wash.
Pouglas fir 25
Western yellow plna 7
Western hemlock 23
Western red cedar 12
Sitka spruce
Others 22
.Totals.
...... 841
169
60
32
18
277
13
66
23
loT
8
13
1
1
26
Less than 1,000.000,000 feet.
hfJ:i?? 7jTte, hfJirfA ?jomsj? Z'fS-f of 1s-rc?&s'.
cola) attains a height of SO to 10o)
strength for its weight maxes it val
uable for heivy construction work
such as beams, columns and a large
percentage of the normal production
is sold for tin purpose.
Western hemlock readies a height
of 125 to 1s0 feej and Is two to five
feet In diameter. 'Lnlike Douglas
fir, western hemlock Is known by its
true name." sa'cl Mr. Gould. -Tills
fact has caused western hemlock to
suffer from hc prejudice, because Its
name Immediately recalls the inferior
qualities of Us eastern relative, Uic
eastern hemlock. It has been sold as
Alaska pine to come markets. He
cause of this prejudice it has been
necessary for western hemlock manu
facturers to ell It with Pouglas fir.
The grading rules permit 10 to 15 per
cent of wes'.crn hemlock In filling
certain gradsj of Douglas fir."
Larger quantities of western hem-'
lock will be opened up as the ex
ploitation of Dougliis fir Increases
for hemlock Is found on higher slopes
than Douglas fir. Figures showing
hemlock production in Oregon 'are
11914, 46.192.000 feet; 1916, 61.963.000
feet; 1916, 70.014.000 feet: 1917, 49.-
479.000 feet; 1918. 68.159.000 feet.
Western hemlock Is hard, straight
grained, and has a decided reddlsn
brown tinge. It Is non-resinous "and
when dry Is odorieHs. It is used in
ths wood-using Industries, ships and
boat building, boxes, crates, cooper
age, fixtures, furniture, sash, doors,
blinds, veneer, etc.
Sitka spruce trees are tall and
straight. They are often 160 to 180
feet high and 3VJ to six feet in diame
ter, though diameters of eight to nine
feet are often found. A large quan
tlty of Sitka spruce Is found In Curry
county, Oregon. Production of this
species was Increased materially In
1918, Iue to needa of the government
aircraft. Spruce is used for boxes -and
building purposes. Production for
Oregon follows: 1914, 63,488.000 feet
1916. 65.827.000 feet; 1916, 96.245.000
feet: 1917, 120.647,000 feet. 1918, 216,-
138.000 feet.
Sitka spruce is noted for its nail-
holding capacity. Its lack of odor
Or taste makes It superior. Some of
Its uses are for sash, doors, blinds
boxes, crates, car work, furniture
novelties, agricultural implements,
sounding boards, piano keys, parts of
musical Instruments, tanks, ladders.
Vhlps, kitchen cabinets, airplanes and
electrical equipment.
Western yellow pine Is commonly
called yellow pine, bull pine, western
soft pine and white pln, but the of
ficial term Is western yellow pine,"
said Mr. Uould. "The tres reach a
hfclght of 125 to 140 feet, and are from
Six to seven feet around."
Western yellow pine production In
Oregon In 1914 was 210.000.000 feet;
In 1915, 189.000.000 feet; 1816. 399.000.-
000 feet; 1917. 469,000.000 feet; 1918.
438.000.000 feet.
The wood varies from a pale lemon
to orange brown or reddish yellow
It Is light, fine-grained and very
slightly resinous. The largest use
probably Is for boxes for shipping
fruits and vegetables. Western yellow
pine Is an Ideal wood for sash, doors,
blinds, columns and interior wood
work. It nails well and does not split
readily.
Western white pine (pinus Monti
feet and a dliimeter of 2H to 3Va fc.'t.
It appears chiefly in Idaho and Jlun-i
tana. sSid only to a slight extt-nt In'
the state of Oregon.. I'rol uct inn in'
Oregon In 1918 wiis 2.322.000 ft-et.
"Western red cedar has a Htand of
approximately 15.000. OHO feet In Ore-
goii. Its consumption is in two gen
eral classes Ioks and bolts. Ltolts ar
worked Into shingles, (some ions are
us.id for that purpose, too. edar's
besl known line is for shingles. About
78 per cent of all shingles made In the
United States In 1918 came from red
cedar In Oregon and Washington. Red
cedar lumber production In Oregon is
1914. 4.000.000 feet; 1915. 6.000.000
feet: 1916. 6.926.000 feet. 1917, 11.489.-
000 -feet; 1913, 10.054.000 feet.
The shingle cut follows: 1915. 336,
652.000 pieces: 1916. 471.762.000 pieces;
1917, 617.652.000 pieces: 1918, 272.665.-.
AnA "
Oregon took second place for lum-J
her production in 190. among the
states of the Union, according to f'K-
urea complied by the forest service. j
Her production was 3.317.000.000 feet,
which was a gain of 29 per cent over
the previous year. .
Washington led all Btates in the'
Union with a cut of 5. 625. 000. 000 feet )
The figures showed that the sawmill
center of the country is gradually'
moving westward. j
The lumber of the United States
as a whole in 1920 was 33.798. 800. 000
feet, whloh was 2.2 per cent less
than In 1919 and 27 per cent less than
the peak In 1907. The average price
of lumber at the mill increaed to
$.18.43 a thousand feet, which Is e.
rise of 150 per cent since 1910. .
The asKreicalc value of the cut'
was $1,129,000,000. These were tbe
highest annual values ever recorded,
but do not indicate present condition!
In the Industry. They reflect the ex
tremely high peak In the post-war.
lumber prices which was passed in
the first quarter of 1920.
These were the principal statistics
obtained by the forest services 1920
canvass of American sawmills. Tht"
figures ere baeed on reports fronr
16.978 active mills out of 23,243 esti
mated to have been -In operation. Sev-
eral thousand mills cutting less than
tkO.000 feet were not tabulated, but"
allowance was made for their cut.
The figures show that the states
which increased their cut are all in
the raeific coast group and the Rocky
mountains. Oregon, In taking secon:
place, nosed out Louisiana. Califor
nia won fifth place. In 1920 the Tu-
clflc coast and Rocky mountain dls-
tflrt produced 35.6 per cent of the
country's cut.
Coast sawmills favorably situiitedv
have developed large curgo buslniss.
The latter part of 1921 was markedj
by a considerable Improvement In the
lumber Industry. A strong demand
for Jap squares gave an Impetus to
tuts ni: ii.iijr,
One of the features of the Industryy
is the small sawmill. Many of these
plants are In operation all over th
state's timbered areas, and In some
cases are run as side lines to other
businesses. The small mills claim.
several advantages, among them be
ing the ability to close down when i
business Is dull without paying large
Bums ia overhead