302 



FOREST PRODUCTS 



price in the form of lumber. The total available supply of cypress, more- 

 over, is rapidly decreasing and it is becoming more difficult to cut it in 

 suitable sizes for poles. Cypress poles are only cut in the Southern 

 States, chiefly in the cypress districts of Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana 

 and Mississippi. 



The use of Douglas fir poles is rapidly increasing in the Northwest, 

 where they are largely cut. In 1906 only 9601 Douglas fir poles were 

 cut; in 1910 over 56,oc«d were cut. Western red cedar poles, which are 

 produced in the same region, are much superior for pole purposes, espe- 



Photograph by U. S. Forest Service. 



Fig. 81.— Peeling western red cedar poles in the Priest River Valley, Kaniksu National 



Forest, Idaho. 



cially in the properties of durability and light weight, so it is not likely 

 that fir poles will be extensively called into greater demand in the future 

 except for local purposes. 



Tamarack poles are largely cut in the swamps of the Lake States. 

 They grow to good pole sizes, are straight and well shaped and are 

 durable, but they are much heavier for shipment than northern white 

 cedar, which grows in the same districts. 



