Show LUMBER EXPORTING possibilities by the adoption of practical forestry methods the united states in the next halt half century without depleting the standing timber supply could meet all domestic demands for lumber and could export from froin twenty to twenty five billion feet annually says an article in the may alay commerce monthly published by the national bank of commerce in new york at present according to the magazine the timber supply of the world outside of the tropics ia 13 being used more rapidly than it is being renewed by growth the forest lands of the world are estimated to amount to about acres or about 24 per cent of the worlds total land area this estimate does not include the forest areas of china korea and the larger part of south america and africa for which even fair approximations are not available the united states with about acres under forest has 2826 billion feet of merchantable timber and its cut which in 1918 amounted to 32 billion feet is several times that of any other country before the war russia was the principal cipal source of imported lumber for western european countries the article continues with russia largely out of the worlds lumber market says commerce monthly the united states and other lumber exporting countries have an unusually good opportunity to export to western europe and other lumber importing regions it if it proves desirable at the present time to develop an export business bustnes the united unite states will undoubtedly be able to build up a foreign trade in lumber larger than her former foreign trade which fell off heavily when the war began however tile the united states to increase her exports of southern yellow pine before the pine laud land best suited to producing timber is placed on a permanent productive basis is a policy open to question although russia and siberia will pro ably some day prove to be the keenest competitors of the american lumber industry the scandinavian countries including finland are the only countries outside canada which can at present offer lucli muc competition to the united states in the international lumber market canada will wil always be a competitor of the united states but on account of her smaller production cannot export on as large a scale as the united states the other regions of the lb world are lacking in lumber cutting develop soft so ment and do not contain the common woods which are the chief staple timber product of international trade |