THE SPECIES. 27 



The bark of the lodgepole is thin and scaly, except sometimes at 

 the base of older trees where it breaks up into rectangular blocks. 

 The wood is highly resinous, but not very durable. It is used to 

 some extent for railroad ties, mine timbers, and telephone poles, and 

 where treated with wood-preserving agencies serves these purposes 

 well. It is not as a rule manufactured into lumber. 



The western white pine (Pinws monticola) is found only in the 

 somewhat narrow range from the British possessions south on the 

 west slope of the Rocky Mountains into Montana and Idaho and in 

 the Cascade Mountains into California. Its range in Montana is 

 confined to the western end of the State, where it seeks the better 

 watered localities, either along stream bottoms, where it reaches its 

 best development, or on the windward sides of the mountains where 

 the precipitation is abundant. A tree less sensitive to shade than the 

 others, it contends well with other species in its earlier years, grows 

 rapidly in height, and overtops its rivals. Its seeds are provided with 

 ample wings and are scattered far, though in rate of reproduction it 

 is much behind the lodgepole and yellow species. It is much subject 

 to disease and pests, and is easily injured by fire. These characteris- 

 tics combine with other factors to limit its distribution. 



This species may be recognized by its leaves alone. These are five 

 in each cluster, 3 or 4 inches long, very slender, and of a pale green 

 color. The twigs are smooth, and the bracts are shed early. The 

 cones are nearly cylindrical, 8 to 10 inches long, and about 1J inches 

 in thickness. The scales of the cone are large, rather thin, and light 

 brown in color. In its earlier years the tree has a smooth, light- 

 colored bark, but with age this changes to a darker gray, broken up 

 into small rectangular areas. 



This is the most valuable of the forest trees of Montana and Idaho. 

 White pine lumber, owing to its soft, even grain, clear color, strength, 

 and desirability for many purposes, has a high commercial value. 

 The best forests of this species are found in northern Idaho. 



The whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis] in its general range extends 

 from Canada southward to Wyoming in the Rocky Mountains and to 

 southern California through the Cascade Range and the Sierras. It 

 is a tree of the higher altitudes, being found in Montana usually 

 above 5,000 feet, and from there up to the timber line, where it be- 

 comes reduced in the bleaker situations to straggling and decrepit 

 forms. In the more sheltered places where sufficient soil moisture 

 is available it grows to a diameter of 4 or 5 feet, though usually much 

 smaller, and may reach a height of about 60 feet. In places it forms 

 pure forests, but often occurs in mixture with fir and spruce. 



The form of the tree is characteristic. Its branches have a strong 

 upward curvature, which gives the crown of the tree a candelabrum- 



