74 AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



but it readily receives preservative treatment. In height it ranges from 

 fifty to one hundred feet. 



The government's estimate of the stand of lodgepole pine in the 

 United States in 1909 placed it at 90,000,000,000 feet. That makes 

 it seventh in quantity among the timber trees of this country, those 

 above it being Douglas fir, the southern yellow pines (considered as 

 one), western yellow pine, redwood, western hemlock, and the red 

 cedar of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. 



Lodgepole pine has been long and widely used as a ranch timber in 

 the Far West, serving for poles and rails in fences, for sheds, barns, cor- 

 rals, pens, and small bridges. Where it could be had at all, it was gener- 

 ally plentiful. Stock ranges high among the mountains frequently de- 

 pend almost solely upon lodgepole pine for necessary timber. 



Mine operators find it a valuable resource. As props it is cheap, 

 substantial, and convenient in many parts of Colorado, New Mexico, 

 Wyoming, and Montana. A large proportion of this timber which is 

 cut for mining purposes has been standing dead from fire injury many 

 years, and is thoroughly seasoned and very light. It is in excellent 

 condition for receiving preservative treatment. 



Sawmills do not list lodgepole pine separately in reports of lumber 

 cut, and it is impossible to determine what the annual supply from 

 the species is. It is well known that the quantity made into lumber 

 in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho is large. Its chief market 

 is among the newly established agricultural communities in those states. 

 They use it for fruit and vegetable shipping boxes, fencing plank, 

 pickets, and plastering lath. 



Railroads buy half a million lodgepole pine crossties yearly. 

 When creosoted, they resist decay many years. Lodgepole pine has 

 been a tie material since the first railroads entered the region, and 

 while by no means the best, it promises to fill a much more important 

 place in the future than in the past. It is an ideal fence post material 

 as far as size and form are concerned, and with preservative treatment 

 it is bound to attain a high place. It is claimed that treated posts will 

 last twenty years, and that puts them on a par with the cedars. 



In Colorado and Wyoming much lodgepole was formerly burned for 

 charcoal to supply the furnaces which smelted ore and the blacksmith 

 shops of the region. This is done now less than formerly, since railroad 

 building has made coal and coke accessible. 



In one respect, lodgepole pine is to the western mountains what 

 loblolly pine is to the flat country of the south Atlantic and other south- 

 ern states. It is aggressive, and takes possession of vacant ground. 

 Although the wood is not as valuable as loblolly, it is useful, and has 



