20 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



In every case the cutting of live timber Tinder sale, or for free use, 

 was allowed only after careful study on the ground which showed 

 that the timber applied for could be cut without injury to the forest 

 or the water supply, and indicated the best method of cutting to 

 insure another growth of timber and safeguard the permanent forest 

 cover. Applications for the i^urchase of reserve timber called for 

 detailed examinations during the year of over 100,000 acres. 



Only trees marked for removal by the forest ofEcers were allowed 

 to be cut. Contracts for the sale of timber stipulate that all brush 

 and debris caused by logging shall be piled in openings for burning, 

 and other precautions are taken to protect the forest from fires during 

 logging. Complete utilization of all merchantable parts of the trees 

 is enforced by requiring the cutting of Ioav stumps, the sawing of 

 logs well into the tops, and the use of all material of value for any 

 purpose. Forms of waste such as the use of thrifty trees for skid- 

 poles and corduroy and the destruction of promising young growth 

 by careless felling are prevented by close supervision. Payment for 

 timber sold is always required on the basis of the actual scale, and 

 scaling is always done by the forest officers. 



Small sales greatly ouhiumber?d large sales. Over 100 sales each 

 of less than 5,000,000 feet were made for every sale of more than that 

 amount. A marked improvement took place in the prompt consider- 

 ation of applications for the purchase of timber, especially in small 

 amounts. 



The largest sales ^^'ere made in the lodgepole pine forest of the 

 Rocky Mountains in Wyoming and Montana. Lodgepole pine 

 occurs at high altitudes and in inaccessible locations, and is very 

 largely within the forest reserves. The success with which it is 

 being treated chemically has created a great demand for lodgepole 

 pine ties by the railroads in the Northwest. This demand and the 

 increased value of timber of every description has made a strong 

 market for this tree, which but recently was considered valueless and 

 in many localities is still so regarded. The prices of lodgepole stump- 

 age ranged from $2 to $5 per thousand feet. 



Encouraging progress was made during the year in disposing of 

 dead and beetle-infested timber on the Black Hills Forest Reserve in 

 South Dakota. Sales A^'ere made to the amount of 73,000,000 board 

 feet, for which over $85,000 will be realized. The only way to con- 

 trol the beetle is to cut the infested trees while the insects are still 

 in them. A special eflcrt is being made to sell, before it decays, the 

 large amount of timber which has already been killed. 



In Colorado and Utah sales were largely confined to fire-killed 

 timber, of which there are vast amounts in the mineral districts. 

 The demand for dead timber comes largely from the mines, and from 

 operators of small sawmills, which supply towns and ranches located 

 away from the railroads. 



In Arizona and New Mexico, timber was mostly sold in small 

 quantities to mines and small mills. Twenty-five million board feet 

 Avere sold at from $2.50 to $3 stumpage on the San Francisco Moun- 

 tains Forest Reserve, where a very large amount of mature timber, 

 within easy reach of railroad transportation, can be cut without 

 injury to the forest. 



In the Pacific Coast States the demand for timber has been sup- 

 plied almost entirely from forests in the hands of private owners, and 

 sales from the reserves were small. 



