Timber Resources and Wood-Using Industries of State of Idaho 



The state of Idaho is distinctly a lumbering, 

 mining and agricultural state. The lumbering and 

 mining regions are confined mostly to the north- 

 ern and central portions of the state, while horti- 

 culture and agriculture are the pursuits in the 

 southern part. Idaho has a population of about 

 325,594 people and is one of the least densly popu- 

 lated states of the country. The natural environ- 

 ment of the state and its small population pre- 

 cludes at this time an extensive development of 

 manufacturing industries. The manufacture of 

 lumber is by far the most important of the 

 industries represented here. 



It is estimated that the stand of timber in Idaho 

 approximates 129 billions of board feet. Of this 

 amount 71 billion feet are within the National 

 Forests, 8 billion on other government lands, and 

 50 billion are privately owned. It is the privately 

 owned timber which furnishes the great bulk of 

 the lumber output of the state, although govern- 

 ment timber is coming into the market more and 

 more each year through sales from the National 

 Forests by the Forest Service. 



As a rule privately owned timber is immediately 

 accessible to the mills, while the greater quan- 

 tities of government stumpage lie in more 'in- 

 accessible mountainous regions. 



It is the purpose of this report to present data 

 regarding the industries of the state which further 

 manufacture sawmill and woods products into fin- 

 ished articles of general use, made wholly or in 

 part of wood, and to correlate data concerning 

 like industries to show the present uses of various 

 species of wood and their suitability for different 

 manufactured products. The Bureau of the Cen- 

 sus, United States Department of Commerce and 

 Labor, annually compiles statistics of the produc- 

 tion and consumption of lumber and other forest 

 products which are not included in this study. 



The following table contained previously ob- 

 tained statistics from the lumber industry of the 

 state : 



Lumber Cut of Idaho for Various Years. 



745.984.000|645.800.000|518.625.000| IS.S \ 24.5 | 1.9 | l.B | 1.6 



Idaho ranked twenty-first of all the states in 

 lumber output in 1910. Over 229 active sawmills 

 are represented in the cut reported for that year. 

 In addition to lumber, Idaho mills produced 84,- 

 134,000 lath and 60,425,000 shingles during 1910. 

 The state's lumber cut in 1910 is shown below by 

 species: Feet. 



Western yellow pine 280,533,000 



Western white pine 232,442,000 



Western larch 100,512,000 



Douglas fir 62,793,000 



Western red cedar 38,831,000 



White fir 25,266,000 



Western hemlock 3,423,000 



Lodgepole pine 934,000 



Engelmann spruce 842,000 



Cottonwood 408,000 



Total 745,984,000 



In addition to lumber, lath and shingles, Idaho's 

 forests furnish large quantities of poles, piling 

 and posts, mine timbers, hewed ties and other 

 forms of forest products not reported by the cen- 

 sus or included in subsequent statistics of this 

 report. Northern Idaho is one of the largest pole 

 producing regions of the country, and Western red 

 cedar poles produced here are distributed through- 

 out the United States. The longest poles of the 

 country are obtainable in this region. 



The principal woods of the state, namely, West- 

 ern yellow pine and Western white pine, are em- 

 ployed in greater quantities than other woods by 

 secondary wood consuming industries operating 

 within the state. 



The species of timber on National Forests are 

 practically the same as those on private lands. 

 Western yellow pine, white pine, Douglas fir, 

 larch, spruce and lodgepole form the bulk of the 

 stands of timber. Owing to the absence of hard- 

 woods, no substitutes from the National Forests 

 are available to replace the species already in use. 

 The timber on the National Forests is sold 

 wherever it is old and mature under regular con- 

 tracts in which the operator removes the timber 

 as he pays for it at a stipulated price per thou- 

 sand feet, determined upon competitive bidding. 



The study upon which this report is based was 

 undertaken by the Forest Service, United States 

 Department of Agriculture, the work being done 

 under the direction of J. B. Knapp, Assistant Dis- 

 trict Forester, Portland, Oregon. The statistics 

 were compiled from data collected in the summer 

 of 1911, covering a period of one year from Janu- 

 ary i to December 31, 1910, inclusive. 



Detailed information can be obtained through any 

 authorized forest officer. 



Planing Mill Products. 



In Idaho, sawmills generally operate planing 

 mills which are employed in remanufacturing 

 rough lumber into many forms for final use. 

 These planing mill products include surfaced di- 

 mension and lumber of all forms; flooring, siding, 

 rustic, finish, ceiling, shop and factory lumber, 

 dressed and matched stock, O. G. stock and bat- 

 tens, tank stock, finish and mouldings. Fully 25 

 per cent of the lumber cut of the state passes 

 through some form of further manufacture after 

 leaving the sawmill proper. 



The nature of the milling operations and the 

 common practice of mixing species makes it im- 

 possible to obtain authentic statistics on the 

 amount of the various kinds of wood remanufac- 

 tured into specific forms at planing mills. 



Planing Mill Products by Species. 

 Western Yellow Pine (Pinus ponderosa). 



The texture and general quality of this wood 

 make it highly serviceable for many of the com- 

 mon planing mill products. Thick finish from 1^4 

 to 2 inches, inch finish, siding, flooring, factory 

 plank or shop common, factory selects, thick com- 

 mon lumber, common boards, shiplap, grooved 

 roofing and dressed and matched (D. & M.), di- 

 mension, fencing, and lath are the principal pro- 

 ducts into which western yellow pine is separated 

 when it leaves the yard or planer. Many of these 

 products are shipped in the rough as they come 

 from the sawmill, but the bulk of the material is 

 run through the planer and either surfaced or 

 remanufactured into some of the finished forms. 

 This renders possible a closer grading and at the 

 same time by lightening the weight assists con- 

 siderably in reducing freight charges. The grades 

 into which western yellow pine as well as western 

 white pine are separated as the lumber comes 

 from the" saw are : 



A Select, C Select, 



B Select, D Select. 



Factory or shop lumber: 



No. 1 Common, 



No. 2 Common, 



No. 3 Common, 



No. 4 Common, 



No. 5 Common. 



The first five grades called "selects" yield the 

 largest part of the profit in lumber manufacture. 

 Numbers 4 and 5 common scarcely pay for the 

 cost of production, and many mills do not attempt 

 to save them. When putting through the planing 

 mill or sorting for final disposition these grades 

 are redistributed into those classes above named 

 for which they are best suited or for which the 

 demand calls. Shiplap, grooved roofing, dressed 

 and matched material (fencing, drop siding and 

 poorer classes of flooring), dimension timbers and 

 common lumber come from the "common" grades, 

 while the other and higher classes of products 

 usually come from the "select" grades. Other 

 classes and grades are manufactured in smaller 

 quantities and require less amounts of shaping or 

 further mechanical effort. 



The wood is well suited for flooring, although 

 considerably softer than its chief competitors, 

 Douglas fir and western larch, or even than the 

 yellow pines of the South. Its even grain and 

 wearing properties commend its use for flooring 

 and it does not shrink or warp greatly after 

 proper seasoning. 



The wood is very serviceable for drop siding, 

 and is inferior only to white pine or western red 

 cedar for bevel siding. Its light weight, ease of 

 working, lack of pitch, suitable grain and ability 

 to hold its shape and to hold paint make western 

 yellow pine one of the favorite woods for siding. 

 Douglas fir drop siding, manufactured by coast 

 mills, is the chief competitor in Idaho markets. 



As a finishing wood, for window and door cas- 

 ings and baseboards it readily meets a big de- 

 mand, especially when it is to be painted. Its 

 grain figures do not enhance its value for finish 



when it is desired to stain the wood, in which 

 case it gives place to western larch and Douglas 

 fir. Its resistance to warping and checking com- 

 mend it for paneling and general finish, especially 

 when enamel paints are used. 



For shop and factory lumber the western yel- 

 low pine is in great demand for sash and door 

 stock, cabinet work, furniture parts and general 

 finishing and manufacturing purposes. Its even 

 grain, smooth finish, easy working properties and 

 resistance to warping and checking enhance its 

 value for uses of the trades. In its general service- 

 ability for secondary manufacturing plants requir- 

 ing soft woods it is exceeded among its associated 

 species by western white pine (Pinus monticola), 

 for which it is often mistaken and substituted. 



Common lumber of western yellow pine is often 

 manufactured in planing mills for use as tank 

 stock, step plank and box lumber. Large quan- 

 tities of surfaced lumber are consumed for box 

 manufacture within or without the state. Lumber 

 consumed in the actual manufacture of boxes in 

 the state is listed in a subsequent part of this 

 report. 



Western White Pine (Pinus monticola). 

 The western white pine is in many ways the 

 equal of the eastern white pine, the superior soft 

 wood of the United States. It is serviceable for 

 planing mill products, more particularly shop 

 lumber and plain surfaced forms which are later 

 to be remanufactured into finished products by 

 woodworking plants. Sash and door stock of 

 western white pine has no superior in its own 

 region and in this form large amounts of the wood 

 are consumed by factories throughout the United 

 States. The wood is too valuable for general work 

 and as common lumber forms; it is in demand for 

 cabinet work, furniture, drawing boards, patterns 

 and numerous other similar uses. 



The wood is almost free from pitch, is white or 

 light yellow in color, fine grained and soft. It does 

 not shrink after thorough seasoning, retains its 

 manufactured form permanently, is very light in 

 weight and is neither strong nor stiff when com- 

 pared with western yellow pine, Douglas fir or 

 larch, the other common species in the regions 

 of its growth. 



Western Larch (Larix occidentalis). 

 The western larch and Douglas fir occurring in 

 the state of Idaho are rather inferior commercial 

 woods when compared with the highly valuable 

 and widely used white and yellow pines. The 

 two species have many qualities in common and 

 are often utilized for the same purposes, so that 

 they are mixed in manufacture and are not sepa- 

 rated when placed on the market. Larch, however, 

 yields a larger percentage of clears and therefore 

 most of the products made from the select grades 

 are of that species and are sold as larch. The 

 most important of these products are flooring and 

 finish. Larch is particularly suited for these uses 

 because of the fineness and beauty of its grain, 

 its hardness and the small amount of pitch it con- 

 tains. Its even and uniform grain and hardness 

 cause larch flooring to be particularly serviceable. 

 For these uses larch is quite the equal of Coast 

 Douglas fir. Larch is also used for ceiling, 

 beveled and drop siding and some other purposes. 

 Its qualities recommend it for practically the 

 same uses throughout as those to which Coast 

 Douglas fir is put, although the presence of other 

 better-known woods have hitherto prevented its 

 extensive utilization for high-grade products. The 

 bulk of the species is cut into timbers, dimension 

 and common lumber, for structural purposes, since 

 the stiffness, strength, hardness and other qual- 

 ities of the wood eminently adapt it for that class 

 of work. 



Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia). 

 Because of its smaller size and absence of clear 

 length the Douglas fir manufactured by Idaho mills 

 is inferior to the same species which forms the 

 principal output of west coast mills, the quantity 

 of high grade material, called "clears" on the 

 Coast and "selects" in the Inland Empire, being 

 a very small percent. A small amount of fir fin- 

 ish and similar products is manufactured along 

 with the larch, but probably 98 per cent of the 

 rough fir lumber from the saw mills is used in the 

 rough or surfaced state in structural forms. Most 

 of it is made into timbers and dimension stuff, 

 although the larger part of the common grades 

 of boards used locally are of this species or of 

 larch. Douglas fir is most highly prized for min- 

 ing timbers and railway cross ties, for which uses 

 larch is considered as second choice. 



