8 



BULLETIN 1003, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



will probably average close to 6,000 feet an acre. Conservative 

 estimates for the area would be 10,000,000 acres, and for the total 

 stand, 50,000,000,000 feet. 



There is much wastage in butt logs, due to " pitchiness " resulting 

 from fire scars and natural causes. Fires tend to make the stumps 

 more resinous and to increase the number of those sufficiently " fat " 

 to serve for purposes of distillation. It has been the experience of 

 an Idaho lumber company that some of these " pitchy " butts occur 

 in all the western yellow-pine timber. They state that these pitchy 

 butts are more prevalent in the northern section of Idaho, but that 

 this territory and the Baker, Oregon (Blue Mountain), territory pro- 



/.O ./ .2 .3 4 .J .6 .7.3.3 20J.2J4-.J.0 .7.3 .3 &?./.'.(? .4 .30 .7.0' WM. 

 /* ' /VtfS -2.3 4- .J~.0 7.8 .& to./ ?.3 4- tf.C 7.8.9 Z'Corfs 



FIG. 2. Yellow-pine stumpage in 6 western States. A, volume of tree (thousand board 

 feet) ; B, volume of stumpage (cords) ; C, difference between diameter breast high and 

 diameter stump high (inches). 



duce less " pitchy " lumber than any other yellow-pine section that 

 has come under their observation. 



From this it would seem that the question of " pitchy " butts is 

 important, and should not be ignored by those who attempt to de- 

 termine the amount of resinous wood to be obtained from any lo- 

 cality. Since 25 per cent of the butt logs from the Blue Mountain 

 region bear more or less pitch, and a wastage in " pitchy " butts 

 trimmed off of from 4 to 5 cords a day is reported by one company, 

 this constitutes a very important source of valuable wood for dis- 

 tillation purposes. Samples sent to the University of Idaho com- 

 pared favorably with the best stumpwood in yield of products. The 



