As a result of the war, European countries for several years can use 7,000,000,000 feet of lumber a year above their normal requirements.  For housing construction, England needs 2,000,000,000 feet a year more than normally; France, 1,500,000,000 feet; Italy, 1,750,000,000 feet; Belgium and Spain 750,000,000 feet apiece.  Even before the war, there was a great deficiency of timber in parts of Europe.  It amounted to 16,000,000,000 board feet a year and was supplied by Russia, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Austria-Hungary and a few other countries of western Europe.  If we can regulate cutting and replenish our forests as they deserve, there is a remarkable opportunity for us to build up a large and permanent export trade.

[Illustration:  Young white pine seeded from adjoining pine trees]

The Central and South American countries now have to depend on Canada, the United States and Sweden for most of their softwoods.  Unless they develop home forests by the practice of modern forestry, they will always be dependent on imported timber of this type.  South Africa and Egypt are both heavy importers of lumber.  Africa has large tropical forests but the timber is hard to get at and move.  China produces but little lumber and needs much.  She is developing into a heavy importing country.  Japan grows only about enough timber to supply her home needs.  Australia imports softwoods from the United States and Canada.  New Zealand is in the market for Douglas fir and hardwoods.

In the past, our export lumber business has been second only to that of Russia in total amount.  The value of the timber that we exported was larger than that of Russia because much of our timber that was sent abroad consisted of the best grades of material grown in this country.  In the future, we shall have to compete in the softwood export business with Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the various states of southeastern Europe which sell lumber.  In the hardwood business, we have only a limited number of rivals.  With the exception of a small section of eastern Europe, our hardwood forests are the finest in the Temperate Zone.  We export hickory, black walnut, yellow poplar, white and red oak even to Russia and Sweden, countries that are our keenest rivals in the softwood export business.

Europe wants export lumber from our eastern states because the transportation costs on such material are low.  She does not like to pay heavy costs of hauling timber from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic seaboard and then have it reshipped by water.