White Fir in Klamath Basin. 



357 



There are several good reasons for the present status of White 

 fir. Of these probably the strongest is the fact that, of the lum- 

 ber from this species which has been put upon the market, a 

 considerable proportion has been very defective. This is due, 

 perhaps, to the elifort to secure close utilization in logging, which 

 forces cull logs to the mill. After drying, much of this cull lum- 

 ber while possessing a fair appearance is so lacking in strength as 

 to be practically worthless. Of course this lumber must be got- 

 ten rid of and it goes to the consumer on its "face" rather than 

 on its merits, resulting in the establishing of a bad reputation for 

 White fir lumber in general. 



It is admitted by millmen that some White fir lumber is of 

 excellent quality. A close study of cull logs with special regard 

 to the quality of the finished lumber to be produced will no doubt 

 greatly reduce the proportion of defective material to be marketed 

 and raise the general standard of quality, so that White fir will 

 eventually secure its just rating in the lumber trade. 



The idea has been prevalent among loggers that practically 

 all White fir timber is more or less rotten. That this is a 

 wrong impression is proven by actual operations which show 

 a large proportion of sound timber. That this proportion can 

 be considerably increased by proper management there is little 

 question. The fact that White fir is very rarely damaged by 

 mistletoe or by bark beetles should not be overlooked in com- 

 paring it with Yellow pine. 



Another point which may be commonly overlooked but which, 

 nevertheless, tends strongly to discredit White fir, is the fact that 

 it is associated with the relatively valuable Yellow pine. It is 

 only natural that the value of any species in a mixture should be 

 measured by that of the most valuable. It may not, however, give 

 a true value to the inferior species- 



In considering the economic future of White fir it is safe to 

 assume that its market value will increase in at least the same 

 ratio as that of its associates. Logging and manufacturing costs 

 will increase to some extent but the greater part of the increase 

 in the lumber value will be taken up in a higher stumpage value. 

 White fir is at present a little used, and not widely known species, 

 and it is quite probable that new uses for it may be found and 

 a market of its own developed. As the price of other lumber 

 increases, inferior species such as this will be substituted and 



