DISTILLATION OF STUMP WOOD. 19 



The sample collected at Coeur d'Alene Lake was from " rich " stumps 

 on a 20 to 30 acre tract near Mica Bay, not yet brought under culti- 

 vation. Stumps of the quality represented by the sample do not 

 occur in commercial quantities in the Coeur d'Alene Lake region. 



SOUTH IDAHO REGION. 



The wooded country throughout the South Idaho region is prac- 

 tically undeveloped and without railroads. The forests remain un- 

 touched, except in a few places where small-scale logging operations 

 have been carried on to supply local mills. The timber resources are 

 now being opened up for extensive logging operations to supply a 

 mill of about 200,000 feet daily capacity at Barber, some 6 miles 

 out from Boise. 



Working out from this company's logging camp, about 35 miles 

 northeast of Boise, a hasty survey was made of an area which had 

 been cut over in places 7 or 8 years before the company had taken 

 over the land or timber rights. Although the timber throughout this 

 region is largely yellow pine, few of the stumps appeared pitchy 

 enough to be considered " rich." Fully 50 per cent were unsound 

 and therefore worthless for distillation purposes. The stand of yel- 

 low-pine trees or stumps 24 inches or more in diameter is estimated 

 as not exceeding an average of 10 an acre. The actual count for 

 several 1-acre plots, taken to represent a close stand, was 20, 22, and 

 18 trees, respectively. Three 1-acre plots taken to represent a stand 

 of medium density ran 10, 6, and 9 trees an acre. Toward the other 

 extreme the stand diminished to where, on the higher ridges, no yel- 

 low pine was encountered. 



According to one of the company's cruisers, the whole of the Boise- 

 Payette pine belt is very much like the land traversed, and an esti- 

 mate of 10 yellow-pine trees, over 24 inches in diameter, an acre is 

 liberal. 



Of the total number of yellow-pine stumps on a given area in the 

 old cuttings perhaps 1 out of 25, or not to exceed 5 per cent, may be 

 considered as belonging to the " rich " or " pitchy " class, probably 

 40 to 50 per cent are of " medium " quality, and the remainder of a 

 quality from which it was not considered worth while to take a 

 sample. Four samples were taken: (a) One from old cuttings to 

 represent the "rich." or "pitchy," stumps; (b) one of "medium" 

 quality, from the old cuttings; (c) one from green stumps from 

 which the tree had been felled within a month of the time the stumps 

 were shot ; and (d) one of green " bull-pine " stumps. Samples c and 

 d, included because they were the stumps and logs from freshly 

 fallen trees, though containing no well-defined heartwood, had an 

 abundant exudation of what appeared to be gum on the freshly cut 



