WESTEKN WHITE PINE. 59 



tana, Oregon, and Washington. The largest cut is credited to Idaho, 

 with Washington and Montana following. It grows in Oregon and 

 California, but comparatively small quantities are cut there. It is 

 found on the high parts of the Sierra Nevada Range, in some lo- 

 calities running up to altitudes of 10,000 feet or more, but the timber 

 which grows at that altitude is not usually of a quality suitable for 

 commercial purposes. The drain upon the forests of Idaho has in- 

 creased in recent years, and in 1908 the cut of this pine exceeded 

 the output of the year before by more than 36 million feet. Esti- 

 mates of the total available supply in the United States have not 

 been carefully made. The tree seldom grows in pure stands, though 

 sometimes it predominates over associated species. Usually, how- 

 ever, it forms a low per cent of the forest in which it is found. 

 Throughout the northern part of Idaho it makes the best growth of 

 all species, and produces the bulk of the merchantable timber. The 

 yield is greater also than that of any other tree. Mr. F. G. Rock- 

 well, of the Forest Service, reports that in 1910 he found fully 

 stocked stands of western white pine which contained over 130,000 

 feet b. m. per acre. The timber was all 140 years old, with an average 

 height of 130 feet. 



USES. 



Western white pine is f 3 most valuable species in Montana and 

 Idaho. It serves fairly well as a substitute for the white pine of 

 the east for a number of purposes. The western species is a little 

 heavier, has a slightly higher per cent ol ash, its fuel value is a little 

 more, its strength is a little less, but in stiffness it surpasses the 

 eastern white pine by 12 per cent. It is claimed that the eastern 

 wood surpasses the western in durability. 



The tree has been used within its range since the settlement of the 

 region began. Trunks of large size in Idaho were occasionally made 

 into split shakes or clapboards for roofing cabins and barns, but the 

 wood was not liked as well for that purpose as cedar, and was pressed 

 into use only when cedar was not to be had. 



Considerable quantities of western white pine have been employed 

 for mine timbers in that region, and in some localities it served as 

 fence material in building stock corrals and in inclosing pastures and 

 grain fields. Miners make use of it for stulls, lagging, flumes, water 

 tanks, sluice boxes, water pipes, rifle blocks, rockers, and guides for 

 stamp mills, for some of these purposes giving it preference over 

 other timbers. The chief demands for it, however, are in distant 

 markets, and comparatively small amounts are used in the region of 

 production. It is a substitute for the white pine, and for that 

 reason it seeks markets which the white pine of the East formerly 

 held. It is bought by planing mills and manufacturing establish- 



