WOOD-USING INDUSTRIES OF MONTANA INCLUDE A BROAD RANGE OF UTILITY 



The study upon which this report is based was 

 undertaken by the Forest Service, United States 

 Department of Agriculture. The statistics were 

 compiled from data collected in the summer o: 

 1911, covering a period of one year from January 

 1 to December 31, 1910, inclusive. 



Preface 



Lumbering, mining and agriculture are the 

 principal industries of Montana. Lumbering and 

 mining are confined to the western mountainous 

 section of the state, while the fertile valleys in 

 this region and the plains of Eastern Montana 

 furnish agricultural crops and grazing for sheep, 

 cattle and horses. The towns of Missoula, Kalis- 

 pell, Hamilton, St. Regis and Libby are the most 

 important lumber distributing centers. Montana 

 produces more copper than any state in the Union. 

 Butte, the principal city, is the largest metal min- 

 ing camp in the world, and here immense quan- 

 tities of timber are consumed in developing the 

 mines. 



Montana's standing timber approximates 65,- 

 600,000,000 feet, board measure; of this, 21,800,- 

 000,000 feet are privately owned, the National For- 

 ests contain about 39,500,000,000 feet, and the stand 

 on other government lands, including Indian and 

 military reservations approximates 5,800,000,000 

 feet. 



While the cut of lumber in Montana is com- 

 paratively small, the state yields a large output 

 in proportion to its population, which in 1910 was 

 376,053 persons. Montana ranked twenty-eighth 

 in the list of states arranged in the order of 

 their lumber cut. 



Table 1 shows the lumber cut of the state for 

 1908. 1909 and 1910: 



TABLE I. 



-Decrease. 



In 1910, 140 active mills reported the lumber cut; 

 in 1909, 180 mills were operating, and in 1908, 

 173 mills reported. 



The lumber cut of Montana in 1910 was made 

 up of ten species and each contributed the fol- 

 lowing amounts of sawed lumber: 



Species. Cut M Feet. 



Western yellow pine 135,817 



Western larch 99,283 



Douglas fir 53,070 



White fir 13,589 



Engelmann spruce 10,273 



Western white pine 3,090 



Lodgepole pine 2,380 



Black hemlock 1,201 



Black cottonwood 260 



Western red cedar 126 



Total 319,089 



In addition to lumber, the mills of this state 

 produced 40,876,000 lath and 533,000 shingles. 



Statistics on the amount of wood consumed in 

 the form of mine timbers, poles, railway ties, fence 

 posts, fuel and for other purposes not subsequently 

 mentioned in this report, are not available. Large 

 quantities of lodgepole pine, western larch, Doug- 

 las fir, western yellow pine, Engelmann spruce, 

 and small quantities of other species were used 

 in working the mines of the state and for poles, 

 railway ties and construction work, firewood and 

 general purposes. 



The mines at Butte, Montana, annually consume 

 approximately 70,000,000 feet of lumber, 240,000 

 stulls, averaging 9 inches in diameter and from 14 

 to 16 feet long, and 150,000 lagging poles 3 inches 

 in diameter and from 12 to 16 feet long. It is esti- 

 mated that there are 1,624,000,000 board feet of 

 sawed timber, stulls and lagging underground in 

 the mines of the Butte camp, divided as follows: 

 Sawed lumber, 1,500,000.000 board feet; 2,500,000 

 stulls containing 100,000,000 board feet, and 2,000,- 

 000 lag poles containing 24,000,000 board feet. 



Commercial Woods of Montana 



Western Yellow Pine 



Western yellow pine grows in all states west 

 of the Great Plains. In Montana it reaches its 

 best development in the Bitterroot and St. Regis 

 valleys. The wood is soft, has a straight even 

 grain, and works well under a cutting edge In 

 color it is light yellow, often almost white. West- 

 ern yellow pine lumber shrinks and warps com- 

 paratively little in seasoning. The wood is resin- 



ous, but when properly dried little difficulty is ex- 

 perienced from exuding resin. In 1910 over one- 

 third of the lumber cut of Montana was made up 

 of western yellow pine. 



Western Larch 



Western larch is the most abundant timber in 

 Montana, The heaviest stands are located in 

 the northwestern part of the state in the vicinity 

 of Kalispell. The texture of the wood renders 

 it less adaptable to general mill work than western 

 yellow pine or western white pine, but on account 

 of its comparative hardness it is preferred locallj 

 as a flooring material. The swelled butts common 

 in western larch trees and the frequency of wind 

 shakes cause considerable waste in logging opera- 

 tions, since it is common practice to "butt off" and 

 discard the lower portion of the trunk. On this 

 account the timber cuts a low proportion of up- 

 pers. 



Douglas Fir 



The Douglas fir cut in Montana does not furnish 

 as high a quality of lumber as that grown in Ore- 

 gon and Washington. The better quality of Mon- 

 tana Douglas Fir is used for flooring and finish, 

 but most of it is used as rough lumber for con- 

 struction purposes. 



White Fir 



White fir is found in small quantities in mix- 

 ture with other species in the mountains of West- 

 ern Montana. It is cut occasionally in logging 

 other timber and manufactured into common 

 boards and house framing, but contributes only 

 about ten per cent of the total cut of lumber in the 

 state. 



The wood is light in weight, soft and generally 

 coarse grained, white or light brown in color and 

 straight grained. It is practically free from pitch, 

 works well with cutting tools and has prospects 

 as a pulp wood. 



Engelmann Spruce 



Engelmann spruce finds its' best development in 

 Northern Montana and Idaho. It forms extensive 

 stands at high elevations, but has been little ex- 

 ploited thus far. In dense stands a straight, 

 slender, clear trunk is formed, which is admirable 

 for lumber manufacture. 



The wood is pale reddish yellow in color, light 

 in weight, straight and close grained, but 

 not strong or durable. It is practically odorless 

 and contains no pitch. It furnishes less than 

 10 per cent of the lumber sawed in the state 

 at the present time, and is manufactured prin- 

 cipally Into boards. 



Western White Pine 



The quantity of western white pine manufac- 

 tured in Montana sawmills is small compared 

 with the amount of this species manufactured 

 in Idaho, where the largest stands of this 

 species are found. The wood is generally manu- 

 factured into shop lumber and plain surfaced forms 

 for supplying wood-working plants in Montana 

 and elsewhere throughout the United States. 

 Western white pine is one of the finest soft woods 

 known to this country, and because of its high 

 value it is not employed where the cheaper woods 

 will serve. 



The wood is almost free from resin and is fine 

 grained and soft. It can be easily dried and has 

 little tendency to shrink or warp. In color it is 

 white or light yellow. It is neither strong nor 

 stiff as compared with Douglas fir or western yel- 

 low pine, and is very light in weight. For pur- 

 poses where a light, soft, even-grained wood with 

 little tendency to shrink or warp is required, the 

 white pine of Montana and Idaho is the equal of 

 the white pine of the Northeast and the Lake 

 States, which has for so long supplied the demands 

 of Eastern manufacturers. 



Lodgepole Pine 



While lodgepole pine contributes little to the 

 lumber cut of the state, this wood is probably the 

 most important in its general uses. The species 

 is found in quantities throughout the forested reg- 

 ions of Montana and is extensively employed for 

 posts, poles, firewood and in the many mines. It 

 is sawed into rough building material. This wood 

 has excellent prospects of becoming highly ser- 

 viceable as a pulp wood for use by the sulphite 

 and mechanical processes of manufacture. 



Lodgepole pine is slightly resinous and is not 

 durable without preservative treatment, especially 

 when in contact with the soil. It is fairly heavy 

 in weight, close, straight grained and easily 

 worked. In color it varies from light yellow to 

 pale brown. The taper of the tree and its strength 

 recommend it for poles, provided the butts are 

 given a preservative treatment. 



Black Hemlock 



Black hemlock is found in small quantities at 

 high elevations in Western Montana and is re- 

 ported as contributing only 1,201,000 board feet 



or less than one-half of one per cent of the lum- 

 ber cut in the state in 1910. 



It is a very fine grained wood, soft, not strong 

 and pale brown or red in color. It is manufactured 

 principally into common building lumber. It is 

 not greatly dissimilar to the western hemlock of 

 the coast and could readily be substituted for that 

 species in many products. 



Black Cottonwood 



Black cottonwood is of little importance to the 

 lumbering industry of Montana. However it 

 serves numerous secondary wood-using indus- 

 tries. Considerable quantities of this species 

 are found within the forests of the state growing 

 principally along the banks of streams. It is a 

 light, soft, non-odorous wood of light color, and 

 is admirably suited for boxes, butter tubs slack 

 cooperage, woodenware, excelsior and pulp 



The same species occurs in Western Oregon 

 and Washington, and until the accessible supply 

 was practically exhausted it was extensively used 

 by pulp mills in that region. 



Western Red Cedar 



Unlike the western red cedar of the coast this 

 species is of little importance to the lumbering in- 

 terests of Montana. A small amount is cut into 

 lumber products by local sawmills. Montana 

 wood-working plants depend more largely on the 

 cedar imported from the State of Washington 

 where the trees grow to much larger size The 

 small trees of Montana yield excellent pole and 

 post forms, and it is for these purposes that the 

 local cedar serves its best use. 



The wood is straight and rather coarse grained 

 light in weight and dark brown or almost red 

 in color. It is fairly strong and very durable in 

 contact with the soil or in exposed situations 



The western red cedar furnishes the standard 

 pole of the Western United States. The natural 

 taper of the tree and its durability, combined with 

 the reasonable strength of the wood, recommend 



. for this purpose. Its durability and easy split- 

 ting properties are its principal assets for use as 

 posts. While extensively used in the manufacture 



f shingles in Western Washington, the small size 

 of the trees occurring in Montana and the quality 

 of the wood prevent the development of the shingle 

 industry in that state. 



Wood-Using Industries 



Only a small quantity of products manufactured 

 wholly or in part from wood are used in the state 

 on account of its comparatively small population 

 With the exception of planing mills, the industries 

 in the state which manufacture articles from wood 

 e u e . W u' n number and generally small in size. 

 Ihe higher class of wood products such as furni- 

 ture, fixtures, vehicles and agricultural imple- 

 ments, are largely imported from other states. 

 Planing Mill Products 



Montana sawmills generally operate planing mills 

 for further manufacturing portions of the cut of 

 rough lumber. These planing mills consume a 

 considerably larger amount of wood than any of 

 the other wood-using industries, but the nature 

 of their products and the mixture of like forms 

 from different species prohibit an accurate com- 

 pilation of the amount of each species manufac- 

 tured into the different forms. The planing mill 

 products include flooring, siding, finish, ceiling 

 rustic, shop and factory lumber, all forms of 

 dressed or matched stock, battens, tank stock 

 molding and general mill work. Fully 25 per 

 cent of the lumber cut by sawmills is further 

 manufactured into planing mill products. 

 Boxes 



Five woods are used in the manufacture of boxes 

 and crates in Montana. All are soft woods and 

 the entire supply is grown within the state. Box 

 woods should be light and strong, hold nails well 

 and should be cheap. In general, the woods used 

 combine these requirements. The principal box 

 wood western yellow pine, supplies 82.79 per cent 

 of all of the wood consumed annually by Mon- 

 tana's box factories. This is an exceptionally 

 good box wood and is serviceable in the manufac- 

 ture of all forms of boxes. 



The boxes produced in the state are employed 

 largely for fruit and packing purposes. Some 

 butter boxes are made from western larch and 

 Engelmann spruce. The heavier packing boxes 

 and crates are generally made from western larch 

 or Doglas fir, while apple boxes are made from 

 all species, but principally from western yellow 

 pine and western white pine. Western white pine 

 and western yellow pine yield superior boxes for 

 the packing of high class articles. 



The average price per thousand of all species 

 delivered at box factories was $11.50. Douglas fir 

 with an average price of $17.7&, was the most 

 expensive wood used, while western yellow pine, 

 which furnished a preponderance of the demand 

 for box wood, costs less than any of the other 

 species and was delivered at an average price 

 of $10.67 per thousand feet. 



Montana planing mills produce large quantities 

 of lumber which is manufactured into box shooks 

 and shipped outside the state before being as- 

 sembled. These are not included in this report 



