They remained near the Corn Belt until the virgin hardwood forests of the Middle West were practically exhausted.

The furniture industry is now largely dependent on what hardwoods are left in the remote sections of the Southern Appalachians and the lower Mississippi Valley.

When these limited supplies are used up, there will be very little more old-growth timber in the country for them to use.
The furniture, veneer, handle, vehicle, automobile and agricultural implement industries all are in competition for hardwood timber.

The furniture industry uses 1,250,000,000 feet of high-grade hardwood lumber annually.

Production of timber of this type for furniture has decreased as much as 50 per cent.
during the past few years.