94 SURVEYS OF FOREST RESERVES. 



spring from it are steep, and the whole slope of the eastern half of the 

 reserve is abrupt, as its hard granites and syenites would naturally 

 imply. The Pend Oreille range on the west is composed of softer schist, 

 its slopes are gentler, its soil richer, and its forests denser and more 

 valuable than those of the eastern range. 



The rainfall of the reserve is probably not less than 60 inches per 

 annum. At altitudes of 7,000 feet snow sometimes lies to a depth of 20 

 feet, and tlie climate as a whole is exceedingly moist. Frost may occur 

 at any season, and the raising of any crop except hay is therefore a pre- 

 carious undertaking. Climatically this reserve is admirably suited to 

 the production of forests, but, except for the small area in the Pend 

 Oreille watershed, to very little else. 



THIC FOREST. 



In its natural state the forest of the reserve is a dense and extremely 

 productive one, composed almost entirely of commercially valuable 

 coniferous trees. 



Three forest types are represented upon the half million acres which 

 include nearly all of the productive forest lands: First, the lowest in 

 altitude, the yellow pine-Douglas fir type, of which the characteristic 

 tree is the western yellow pine, and the most important, commercially 

 and numerically, the Douglas fir. This type covers an area of about 

 60,000 acres. 



Second, the white pine-larch type, of which the white pine (silver 

 pine) is the most valuable species commercially and the richest 

 in mature trees. The western larch, of which by far the greatest part 

 of the young growth of the reserve consists, is here the tree of the 

 future, and will hereafter give its greatest forest value to this area. 

 The forest which it helps to characterize covers about 480,000 acres 

 and lies midway between the lower and the upper types. The latter is 

 the alpine type. It includes the higher and more exposed portions of 

 the mountains and covers about 60,000 acres. . 



The following tables, which exhibit the present resources of the 

 reserve in timber, are summaries of extremely careful detailed estimates 

 prepared on the ground by Mr. Lieberg. I regard them as both con- 

 servative and reliable. 



standing timber and its atumpage value. 



Logs, 1,900,000,000 feet/at 50 cents per M $950 000 



Ties, 2,720, 000,000 feet, at $1 per M 2 72o' 000 



Poles, 210,000,000feet, at 50 cents per M ' 105,' 000 



Total 3,775,000 



Ties are here estimated at 20 feet per tie, and valued at 2 cents each ; 

 telegraph poles at 100 feet per pole, and 5 cents each. 



Value of timber, now standing, when manufactured. 



Logs, 1,900,000,000 feet, at $10 per M $19 ooo 000 



Ties, 136,000,000 feet, at 20 cents per tie 27*200' 000 



Poles, 2,100,000 feet, at 25 cents per pole .525' 000 



Total 46,725,000 



The present merchantable value of the forest consists, first, in its 

 great supply of ripe trees of white pine (silver pine) ; second, in its old 

 larch; then in its Douglas fir, chiefly valuable, like the larch, for rail- 

 road ties; next, in yellow pine; and lastly, in western cedar, chiefly 



