The first three sections were originally densely wooded—the great Atlantic forest region—but farms now occupy most of the arable portions; the fourth and seventh are forestless, if not treeless, while the fifth and sixth were more or less forested—the Pacific Coast region.
Floristically also, these topographic conditions are reflected, namely in the wide, north and south distribution of species, unimpeded by intervening mountain ranges, and in the change in composition from east to west. The two grand floristic divisions of the Atlantic and the Pacific forest, having but few species in common, are separated by the plains and prairies. The Atlantic forest is in the main composed of broadleaf trees with conifers intermixed, which latter only under the influence of soil conditions form pure stands, as in the extensive pineries of the South and North, and in the northern swamps and on southern mountain tops. The central region west of the Alleghanies exhibits little conifer growth in its composition, and is most widely turned to farm use. White Pine, hemlock and spruce are the important coniferous staples of the northern section, and a number of Yellow Pine species, with Bald Cypress and Red Cedar, are the valuable conifer species in the South. As regards valuable hardwoods, there is but little change from north to south.
The Pacific forest flora is almost entirely coniferous, but here also climatic conditions permit a distinction of two very different forest regions, the Rocky Mountain forest being mostly of rather inferior development, and the Sierra forest exhibiting the most magnificent tree growth in the world.
Nearly half the country is forestless, grassy prairie and plain, some 400 million acres being of the latter description, while open prairie and brush forest, or waste land occupies 600 million acres.
Within the forest region of the East some 250 million acres have been turned into farms, leaving still two-thirds of the area either under woods, or else wasted by fire. Although any reliable data regarding this acreage are wanting, the area of really productive woodland in this section may probably be set down as not exceeding 300 million acres, which would be nearly 40% of the total area, varying from 13% in the Central agricultural States to 50% in the Southern States; Maine, New Hampshire and Arkansas being most densely wooded, with over 60%. The Rocky Mountain and Sierra forests, each with 100 million acres, would bring the total productive woodland area to a round 500 million acres, or about 26% of the whole. (Later estimates including brushlands of doubtful productive capacity, increase this area to 550 million acres.)
It is almost idle to attempt an estimate of the timber still standing ready for the axe; not only are the data for such an estimate too scanty, but standards of what is considered merchantable change continuously and vitiate the value of such estimates. The writer’s own estimate, made some years ago, of 2,500 billion feet, which by others has been treated as authoritative and forming a basis for predicting the time of a timber famine, and which was lately sustained by an extensive official inquiry, must nevertheless be considered only as a reasonable guess, ventured for the purpose of accentuating the need of more conservative treatment of these exhaustible supplies, in comparison with the consumption which represents around 45 billion feet B.M., and altogether 23 billion cubic feet of forest-grown material, the ultimate value of all forest products reaching the stupendous sum of around 1,250 million dollars. And, as in other countries, this lavish consumption of forest growth, from five to fifteen times that of Europeans, has shown in the past a per capita increase of 30 per cent. for every decade.
The bulk of the standing timber is to be found along the Pacific Coast, in the Sierra, and in the Southern States with their extensive pineries; the Northern and Eastern sections are within measurable time of the end of their virgin supplies of saw timber. The practice of culling the most valuable species has changed the composition in the regeneration, making it inferior, and large areas have been rendered worthless by fires.
The loss by fire, the bane of American forests, as far as loss in material is concerned probably does not exceed 2 or 3 per cent. of the consumption, and may be valued at say 25 million dollars per annum. But the indirect damage to forest and soil, changing the composition, baring the soil, and exposing it to erosion and washing, turning fertile lands into wastes, and brooks and rivers into torrents, is incalculable.
There is no doubt that at the present rate of consumption the bulk of the virgin supplies will be used up in a measurable time, which will force a reduction in the use of wood materials; a more or less severe timber famine is bound to appear,—indeed, has begun to make its appearance; and all recuperative measures will not suffice to stave it off, although they may shorten the time of its duration.