LUMBER - FOREST PRODUCT The manufacture of lumber constitutes by far the largest single use of the forest. Big and little, there are nearly 50,000 sawmills in the United States. The making of lumber and timber products gives employment to more labor than any other industry in the country; while, in the point of capital invested and value of output, the manufacture of these products ranks third in our great industries—surpassed only by meat packing and the foundry and machine shop industries.
According to the Census of 1910, which was by far the best canvass ever made of the industry, the total lumber production in 1909 was 44,509,761,000 board feet, by 48,112 mills. Arranged in the rank of production, the output of the States which cut over one billion feet each, and the number of mills in operation, were as indicated in Table 106.
Table 106 Number and Output of Sawmills in the United States(Census of 1910) No. of Million States Sawmills Board Feet Washington 1,143 3,863 Louisiana 658 3,552 Mississippi 1,795 2,673 North Carolina 3,307 2,178 Arkansas 2,060 2,111 Virginia 3,511 2,102 Texas 719 2,099 Wisconsin 1,251 2,025 Oregon 696 1,899 Michigan 1,323 1,890 Alabama 2,188 1,691 Minnesota 745 1,562 West Virginia 1,524 1,473 Pennsylvania 3,054 1,463 Georgia 2,083 1,342 Tennessee 2,643 1,224 Florida 491 1,202 California 305 1,144 Maine 1,243 1,112 Other States 7,383 8,005 Total 48,112 44,510 As nearly as can be estimated, the present annual lumber cut from the leading species of timber, and the States in which each is chiefly manufactured are indicated in Table 107.
Table 107 Annual Lumber Production in the United States Million Per Species Bd. Ft. Cent Most Largely Produced ii Yellow Pine 16,000 35.9 La., Miss., Tex., N. C., Ala.
Ark., Va., Fla., Ga., S. C Douglas Fir 6,000 13.5 Wash., Ore., Cal.
Oak 4,400 9.9 W. Va., Tenn., Ky., Va.
Ark., Ohio Northern Pine 3,000 6.7 Minn., Wis., Me., N. H.
Mich.
Eastern Hemlock 2,500 5.6 Wis., Mich., Pa., W. Va.
Western Yellow Pine 1,400 3.1 Cal., Ida., Wash., Ore.
Maple 1,200 2.7 Mich., Wis., Pa., N. Y.
Eastern Spruce 1,100 2.5 Me., W. Va., N. H., Vt.
Cypress 1,100 2.5 La., Fla., Ga., Ark.
Yellow Poplar.. 800 1.8 W. Va., Tenn., Ky., Va.
N. C.
Red Gum. 800 1.8 Ark., Miss., Tenn., La.
Chestnut 660 1.4 W.Va., Pa., Va., Conn., N.0 Redwood 525 1.2 California Beech 475 1.1 Mich., Ind., Pa., Ohio, N Y., W. Va.
Birch 425 1.0 Wis., Mich., Me., Vt., N. Y.
Western White Pine 400 .9 Ida., Wash., Mont.
Basswood 375 .8 Wis., Mich., W. Va., N. Y.
Cottonwood 350 .8 Miss., Ark., La., Mo.
Elm 325 .7 Mich., Wis., Ohio, Ind., Mo Western Larch 300 .7 Mont., Ida., Wash.
Western Spruce 300 .7 Wash., Ore., Col.
Western Hemlock 300 .7 Wash., Ore., Ida.
Hickory 300 .7 Ark., Tenn., Ky., Ohio, Ind Ash 275 .6 Ohio, Ark., Ind., Tenn., Wis Western Cedar 250 .6 Wash., Ida., Ore., Cal.
White Fir 140 .3 Cal., Ore., Ida.
Sugar Pine 140 .3 California Tupelo 140 .3 La., N. C., Ala., Va.
Tamarack 125 .3 Minn., Wis., Mich.
Eastern Cedar... 125 .3 Tenn., Va., Mich., Ala.
Balsam Fir 100 .2 Me., Minn., Vt., Mich.
Sycamore 55 .1 Mo., Ind., Ark.; Tenn.
Walnut 45 Ohio, Ind., Ky., Ill., Mo.
Cherry 25' W. Va., Penn., N. Y., Ohio Buckeye 20 Tenn., W. Va., N. C., Ky.
Willow 20 Mississippi Noble Fir 17 Oregon Magnolia 10 Louisiana Locust 6 Va., Penn., N. C.
Red Fir 6 California Butternut 3 Tex., Ind., Wis.
Cucumber 3 > .2 W. Va., Va.
Dogwood 3 Tenn., N. C.
Red Alder 3 Ore., Wash.
Persimmon 3 Tenn., Miss., Ark.
Hack berry 2 Ill., Mo., Ind., La.
Alpine Fir 2 Rocky Mt. region Silverbell Tennessee Other Woods 71 Total 44,550 100 The quantity of lumber produced in the four leading regions since 1850 is shown graphically in Fig. 12 (page 320).