Lumbering is still an important industry in the United States. It formerly was much more important because of the greater extent of the wooded areas. The early settlers in the United States wasted a wealth of timber. In order to get their fields cleared, they cut the woods, rolled the logs into heaps, and burned what would now be millions of dollars worth of lumber. Much of our timber has been used for fuel. In the populated districts of the United States coal has taken the place of wood for this purpose. Our timber is now used largely for making furniture, barrels, railroad ties, pulp from which paper is made, excelsior, etc. The United States is still rich in forests, but these are being cut without the proper thought for the future. It is estimated that there are nearly 500,000,000 acres of the United States still in woods. Three-fourths of Maine is timbered;

but this state is not so rich in its lumber products as it was formerly. Our greatest lumbering areas of to-day are in the states of Washington and Oregon, and in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The scene will give you an idea of the extent of the lumber industry in the northern forests of Maine. Aroostook County covers the entire northern end of the state. Although this county is famous throughout the country for the potatoes it grows, it is still largely forested. Its white pine, spruce, fir, and hemlock are especially valuable for making pulp for paper. The annual production of pulp from the state of Maine is worth more than $20,000,000. The logs seen here have been hauled from the woods to this stream. They are then rolled into the water and floated down stream to a sawmill.