n acres. The Chief of
Forest Investigations of the United States Department of Agriculture
(Letter of Oct. 11, 1919) places the total forest acreage of both Brazil
and Canada ahead of the United States. In the case of Brazil no figures
are available showing what portion of the 988 million acres of total
area is commercially available. Canada with a total forest acreage of
800 million acres has less timber commercially available than the United
States with a total forest area of 500 million acres.

The iron ore reserves of the world are estimated at 91,000 million tons
("Iron Ores," Edwin C. Eckel. McGraw Hill Book Co., 1914, pp. 392-3). Of
this amount 51,000 millions are placed in Asia and Africa; 12,000
million tons in Europe, and 14,800 million tons in North America. The
United States alone is credited with 4,260 million tons or about 5 per
cent of the world's supply. The United States Geological Survey
(_Bulletin_ 666v) estimates the supply of the United States at 7,550
million tons; the supply in Newfoundland, Mexico and Cuba as 7,000
million tons, and that in South America as 8,000 million tons as against
12,000 million tons for Europe. This estimate would give the United
States alone 8 per cent of the iron ore of the world. It would give
North America 15 per cent and the Western Hemisphere 25 per cent, as
against 15 per cent for Europe.

Iron ore furnishes the material out of which industrial civilization is
constructed. Until recently the source of industrial power has been
coal. Even to-day petroleum and water play a relatively unimportant
role. Coal still holds the field.

The United States alone contains 3,838,657 million tons--more than half
of the total coal reserves of the world. ("Coal Resources of the World."
Compiled by the Executive Committee, International Geological Congress,
1913, Vol. I, p. XVIII ff.) North America is credited with 5,073,431
million tons or over two-thirds of the world's total coal reserves
(7,397,553 millions of tons). The coal reserve of Europe is 784,190
million tons or about one-fifth of the coal reserves of the United
States alone.

Figures showing the amount of productive land and of timber may be
verified. Those dealing with iron ore and coal in the ground are mere
estimates and should be treated as such. At the same time they give a
rough idea of the economic situation. Of all the essential
resources,--land, timber, iron, copper, coal, petroleum and
water-power,--the Un