Conelratutations

To Icrck Dionne crnd his associates on the Silver Anniversary oI The Calilornic Lumber Merchant. Our orgrcrnizcrtion wishes you many more yecrs oI continued success dent for its on,n needs from the Pacific Coast. large importations of lumber

And then came, slowly but surely, into the mentalities ,of the luml>er industry the understanding of the miracle 'of miracles-timber regrowth. And with that came the un'derstanding of things that came along rvith that miracle, such as selective logging, completely changed logging methods and equipment to protect future tree growth in the old cuttings, protection of the 1'oung trees frorn fires .and pestilence, scientific planning for future forests, tree farms, etc., etc.

Twenty-five years after the dire predictions above quoted with regard to Southern lumber, what do we find? In 1946 the South produced 9,474,000,0m feet of Pine and 4,961,000,000 feet of hardwoods, a total of about fourteen and .one-half billion feet of lumber.

And what about the West? The production of Western Pines totaled more than six billion feet in 1946, and 1947 will show still higher figures, a huge increase over prewar years. And the Western Pine experts tell us that they are growing more than four billion feet of Pine annually right now, and that this rate of growth will greatly increase as the old forests are harvested and young and fast-grorving {orests take their place. They think that the future production of Western Pine as well as the future regrorvth will be about five billion feet annually, giving them rvith their present stands of virgin timber as a ba,cklog, a perpetual supply of sau'mill fodder at that rate.

Then there is the Douglas fir regions, tvhich producecl in 1946, 6,253,000,000 feet of lumber. In that region also, re-growing timber and permanent supply for sarvmills is the thought that rides the crest of the wave, and the 26 million acres of commercial forest land is looked upon by practical men as one great tree farm. Timber authorities in the Northwest disagree widely as to the possibilities for regrorving timber, the more optimistic holding that they will eventually produce twenty billion feet of timber annually in Washington and Oregon; while even the conservatives think it will be possible to grow more than eight billion feet of commercial timber annually, enough to keep the mills all going at their present capacity, and leave enough over for plywood, shingle, and pulp requirements,

Then, there is Redwood. There still stands in the California Redrvood forests something over forty billion feet of commercial timber. For the past 25 years it has been cut at the rate of about 400,000,000 feet annually. Just as new forestry and logging methods came to Douglas Fir ancl Western Pine, so have they come to Reclwood, where the rvaste in logging has been enormously reduced, ancl where trees-for the 'futtrre are being in'telligently protecteel and grown. It is considered likely that if ever the Redwood strike ends the production of Redrvood lumber rvill increase. It might be fair to expect a production of half a billion {eet annually from now on. Already there are mills cutting second grorvth Redrn,ood. There is sufficient virgin timber to last for at least 80 years, without any regrowth. So it is fair to assume that, like Southern Pine, and Fir, and Western Pine, rve rvill alrvays have plenty of Redwood.

And so rve know now ihat u.e rvill always have a generous supply of lumber in this country. Not being a prophet or tlle seventh son of a seventh son, we shall not in this article attempt to say what the future will unfold. But it looks as though lumber yards will always have plenty of Iumber; and with improved methods, care, and equipment, it should be better lumber as the years roll on.

And it is all due to the miracle that happened when the lumber industry suddenly discovered to its huge amazement, that commercial timber CAN be regrown in practical fashion, and that mills CAN be perpetuated by intelligent planning. In the South the thing is a double miracle. There are hundreds of sawmills in Southern Pine today that are ass'ured of a permanent supply of timber, that were either cut out or preparing to cut out years and years back. Today their cut-over lands are commercial tree farms that furnish a fresh supply of sawlogs in cycles of from 7 to l0 years. There is no second-growth timber in suclr forests. It is all virgin timber, g.ro\,vn to order, a new crop every few years, and another crop growing rapidly all the time. A little more slowly but just as definitely rhe forests of the West are being replaced with young forests that rvill provide ample lumber for future generations.

The greatest champion of commercial timber growing in the entire lumber industry, is Q. T. Hardtner, of Urania, Louisiana, President of the Southern Pine Associatjon. Forty years ago Mr. Hardtner and his elder brother Henry were practicing on their lands in Louisiana all the things that the rest of the lumber industry has taken so .long to believe. For forty-five years they have been growing their own trees, and today they have a lot more timber back of their big mill than they had when they started. The other day, addressing a lumber cong'ress in Chicago, Mr. Hardtner remarked that the viewpoint of the sawmill man has entirely changed. His principal business formerlv r,vas making lumber. Now his principal business is grorving trees to make lumber from. And thus has the entire face of the industry changed.

Congrrcts From Severcrl Old Friends

"We take this opportunity to extend our best wishes to your publication." C. \il'. Cooper, Los Angeles.

"Best wishes for your anniversary number." T. J. Fox, President, John W. Fisher Lumber Co., Santa Monica.

"Our heartiest congratulations and good wishes for your continued success." H. A.. Brown, President, Woodhead Lumber Co., Los Angeles.

"It is a pleasure to add our congratulations to the many you will receive." J. F. Wright, Brey-Wright Lumber Co., Porterville.

"We do enjoy THE CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT." Associated Plywood Mills, Eugene, Oregon.

"We wish to congratulate you." Western Lumber Co., Fraser Mills, British Columbia.

"Congratulations on the quarter century of successful work." Tom Hogan, Flogan Lumber Co., OakIand.

hePe nbe rthy organization of California proudly joins the in rejoicing with lumbe r industry THE CALIFORNIA LUMBER MERCHANT yadrs ot on this very important bitthdav. 25 Y( useful service is something to 6e proud ot. Muv it |" long conUnue.