

hardwoods are available for replacing those now 

 imported from the East. 



Rough and surfaced lumber is employed by 

 manufacturers of fixtures. Practically all boards 

 and pieces are surfaced before final placing. Most 

 of the lumber is obtained in the form of boards 

 1 inch thick, of various lengths. Only high-grade 

 stock is purchased. 



Fixture woods are obtained in plank form gen- 

 erally surfaced on two sides. Various widths up 

 to 20 or -24 inches are employed and these are 

 from % to 2 inches thick. Clear lumber, or lum- 

 ber yielding large quantities of clear cuttings, 

 is demanded by the industry. 

 Boats. 



In the manufacture and repair of boats in this 

 state as large a variety of woods is used as in 

 more important industries. The center of con- 

 sumption of wood for boats is at Coeur d'Alene 

 on Lake Coeur d'Alene, which is one of the largest 

 bodies of water in Idaho and carries a large 

 amount of traffic. Farther to the north along the 

 Pend d'Oreille River and on the Priest and Pend 

 d'Oreille Lakes a few small boats are needed for 

 towing logs to the saw mills from logging opera- 

 tions in that vicinity. Douglas fir leads the list 

 in the amount consumed and serves for frames 

 and ribs, planking and for keels and decking 

 where cheap but strong, tough wood is needed. 



Larch is used for the same purpose as fir, and 

 compares favorably with it for these purposes. 



Wagons. 



The use of wood for wagons in Idaho is confined 

 to repair work rather than to actual construction. 

 It is cheaper to ship in the finished product than 

 to import from Eastern states the raw material 

 necessary in wagon construction. Woods suitable 

 for the principal parts of wagons do not grow in 

 the state. 



material is obtained out of the state, Eastern 

 Washington being the source of supply. 



Apportionment of Consumption by Industries. 



Table IX gives the quantity of wood used by 

 each industry, and cost data which indicate the 

 quality of material required by each. Boxes con- 

 sume 52.57 per cent of the wood employed by the 

 industries of Idaho, and the average cost of box 



Table VH Wagons. 



In repairing vehicles oak, Douglas fir, ash and 

 hickory are employed and all are imported into 

 the state. The hardwoods are obtained in the 

 Mississippi Valley and the Douglas fir from the 

 west coast of Oregon and Washington. The east- 

 ern hardwoods average $130 per thousand feet de- 

 livered to Idaho vehicle repairers, but as they are 

 essential in specific parts, they cannot be replaced 

 by any of the cheaper local woods. The entire 

 amount of wood consumed for wagons in Idaho, 

 5,000 feet, is not of great importance. 



Hickory, ash and oak used for vehicle repair 

 work are received either in the manufactured 

 Table V Boats. 



The western red cedar and Sitka spruce are used 

 for small row boats where light weight is an im- 

 portant factor, and for this reason these woods 

 are employed almost entirely for the lining of 

 such boats. They are likewise employed for in- 

 terior work and finish on larger boats. Sitka 

 spruce is also used for spars. 



Western white pine and western yellow pine are 

 used in small amounts for planking, lining and 

 decking. The higher priced imported woods, such 

 as eastern oak and mahogany, go into finish for 

 the better boats. Some of the oak is used for 

 keels and strakes where a strong, tough, bendable 

 wood serves best. 



While the manufacture of boats will never be 

 extensive because of the very local demand, the 

 industry will continue to be an outlet for some 

 part of the local woods. 



Rough and surfaced lumber in dimension and 

 plank form, and in large and small sizes, is em- 

 ployed in boat building. Dimension sizes are used 

 in framing, and thin boards for finish. 

 Furniture. 



No factories manufacturing furniture are repre- 

 sented in Idaho and the consumption of wood for 

 furniture is confined mostly to repair work. For 

 this purpose only 20,100 board feet of lumber are 

 consumed annually and of this amount one-half is 

 grown outside the state. 



Douglas fir brought from Oregon and Washing- 

 ton is the principal furniture wood, while the 

 native western yellow pine is second in impor- 

 tance. Of the higher priced eastern woods oak 

 is the only species used and this is employed 

 sparingly. Western white pine is approximately 

 equal to the western yellow pine In the amount 

 consumed for furniture. 



Due to the lack of suitable woods for high-class 

 furniture, the future of this industry in the state 

 must depend on the manufacture of a cheaper 

 class of goods in which western larch, Douglas 

 fir, western yellow pine and western white pine 

 can be used to advantage. 



Only clear lumber, rough or surfaced one or 

 two sides, is employed for furniture repairs. Turn- 

 ing squares of Douglas fir 1 by ] inch, 2 by 2 

 inches, and 3 by 3 inches, in short lengths are 

 used in small quantities. Lumber with defects but 

 allowing reasonable amounts of short clear pieces 

 can be used. 



Table VI 



form or rough. Only rough lumber which is later 

 shaped for final use is reported in the table. This 

 is obtained in the form of thick plank of various 

 widths and lengths. Oak is used for reaches, 

 axles and gears: ash for wagon tongues and 

 felloes, and hickory serves general purposes. 

 Douglas fir is obtained in the form of dressed 

 boards and is employed for wagon beds, racks 

 and as thick stock for tongues. 



Miscellaneous. 



Under this heading are grouped the small in- 

 dustries that cannot conveniently be placed under 

 the major wood-using industries. Also in case 

 only one or two firms reported being engaged in 

 the manufacture of some commodity, it was neces- 

 sary to place them under this industry. 



Table VIII Miscellaneous. 



lumber is $13.40. Wagon repairs require the most 

 expensive woods at an average price of $114.40, 

 although they use only .03 of one per cent of all. 



The average cost of material for industries 

 grouped under miscellaneous is $19.07 per thou- 

 sand feet and material for this purpose constitutes 

 15.49 per cent of the wood consumed by industries 

 in the state. 



Apportionment of the Kinds of Wood. 



The building of boats in Idaho affords utiliza- 

 tion for eight different woods, as shown in Table X. 

 However, the total consumption for boat building 

 is only .32 of one per cent of all the woods used. 

 This industry employs a greater variety of woods 

 than any other. Four species are used for boxes, 

 and western yellow pine supplies 70 per cent of it. 

 Black cottonwood, the only hardwood used for 

 boxes, is not reported used by any other industry. 

 Only 2.6 per cent of the western white pine is 

 employed in the manufacture of boxes. Western 

 red cedar is used only for boat building, ash and 

 hickory for wagons alone, and applewood in small 

 amounts for pipe plugs. Fixtures consume 89.05 

 per cent of the eastern oak reported, while oak 

 also supplies material for cabinet work, boats, 

 furniture and wagons. 



Western white pine serves a larger number of 

 industries than any other wood and is the only 

 wood used for match blocks. Douglas fir furnishes 

 raw material for five industries, and 77.19 per cent 

 of it goes into fixtures. Practically all of the 

 Douglas fir used by Idaho industries is imported 

 from west of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon 

 and Washington. Western larch, the native soft- 

 wood most closely approximating Douglas fir in its 

 properties, finds a very limited use for boxes, 

 casing and framing, and for boats. The properties 

 of this wood should make it suitable for substitu- 

 tion for imported Douglas fir for fixtures, cabinet 

 work and other purposes. 



Summary of Average Prices. 



The summary reported in Table XI gives the 

 average f. o. b. cost of the woods apportioned to 



In the amount of wood consumed, this group is 

 well to the front, standing fourth on the list. 

 Western white pine and western yellow pine are 

 the two principal species used, white pine furnish- 

 ing 99.5 per cent and yellow pine the remainder. 

 A negligible amount of applewood is used for 

 novelties. 



industries given in Table X. The most costly 

 wood used in Idaho is the white oak employed 

 for furniture repairs at $203.30 per thousand feet. 

 Mahogany used in boat building costs $200 per 

 thousand, while eastern oak for millwork costs 

 $180, and for wagons $121.65. Eastern ash used 

 only for wagons costs $175, and hickory, likewise 



The low price per thousand paid for the material 

 used can be accounted for by the fact that the 

 material is purchased in log form and only par- 

 tially manufactured. About one-half of the 

 Turniture. 



employed only in wagon repair, costs the manu- 

 facturer $140 per thousand feet. The cheapest 

 wood reported by any industry is western larch 

 employed both in boat building and as sash and 

 coors and mill work, which is reported at $10 

 per thousand feet. Western yellow pine ranges 

 from $13.31 for boxes to $52.40 per thousand feet 

 for boat building. The highest price paid for 

 western white pine by the industries of the state 

 is $50 per thousand feet by cabinet makers. The 

 black cottonwood employed in box manufacture 

 costs $22 per thousand feet delivered at the fac- 

 tory. Douglas fir for wagon beds costs $50 per 

 thousand feet delivered, while for boat building 



