“Was it?” asked Taylor doubtfully.
“It was. You take your map and see how much area has been cut already, and how much remains. That'll open your eyes. And remember all that has been done by crude methods for a relatively small demand. The demand increases as the country grows and methods improve. It would not surprise me if some day thirty or forty millions would constitute an average cut. [*] 'Michigan pine exhaustless!'—those fellows make me sick!”
* At the present day some firms cut as high as 150,000,000
feet.
“Sounds a little more reasonable,” said Taylor slowly.
“It'll sound a lot more reasonable in five or ten years,” insisted Orde, “and then you'll see the big men rushing out into that Oregon and California country. But now a man can get practically the pick of the coast. There are only a few big concerns out there.”
“Why is it that no one—”
“Because,” Orde cut him short, “the big things are for the fellow who can see far enough ahead.”
“What kind of a proposition have you?” asked Taylor after a pause.
“I can get ten thousand acres at an average price of eight dollars an acre,” replied Orde.
“Acres? What does that mean in timber?”