8 MISCELLANEOUS CIRCULAR NO. 61 



general uses, and the stands are mostly very accessible. It grows 

 at altitudes below the western white pine zone, and the heaviest 

 stands are found in the westcentral part of the State. It occurs in 

 more open stands with less brush than western white pine, and is, 

 therefore, much more easily protected from fire. 



Douglas fir commonly grows in mixture with yellow pine, western 

 white pine, larch, lodgepole pine, and to a small extent with other 

 species throughout all the mountains of Idaho. It is the most 

 widely distributed of all the timber species. Though of the same 

 species as the giant fir of the Pacific coast, in Idaho it reaches a less 

 remarkable development, It makes an excellent quality of dimen- 

 sion lumber, however, and is in favor with the railroads for ties. 

 (Fig. 4). 



Lodgepole pine is very generally distributed over the higher slopes 

 of practically all of the forests of the State. In northern Idaho 

 it is often found at lower altitudes as well. Athough it grows tall and 

 straight, ordinarily it does not reach a size sufficient to make it a 

 desirable saw-timber tree. It is, however, very generally used for 

 railroad ties, telephone poles, mine timbers, and log buildings. It is 

 also popular for use on the farms and ranches as fencing and for 

 other purposes. Lodgepole pine reseeds readily on burned- over 

 areas, and is, for that reason, of particular importance in maintain- 

 ing the forest cover for watershed protection. 



In some places larch forms a considerable percentage of the stand, 

 usually growing in mixture with western white pine. Douglas fir, and 

 hemlock. It differs from the other conifers in that it sheds its 

 foliage each year. Its wood is comparatively heavy and strong and 

 is used chiefly for dimension and structural timbers. 



Western red cedar is found almost entirely north of the Salmon 

 River and forms an important part of the stand from the Clearwater 

 Eiver northward. It often reaches great size. Owing to its form, 

 durability, light weight, and softness, cedar is very extensively used 

 for poles for telephone, telegraph, and power lines. For this use 

 it is probably the most valuable of all the species. It is also the most 

 important wood in the manufacture of shingles. 



White or grand fir is most abundant and reaches its best develop- 

 ment in the western white pine forests of northern Idaho. Its wood 

 is light and easily worked. It is well adapted to use for paper 

 pulp and constitutes about 60 per cent of the wood now being cut 

 for that purpose in northern Idaho. 



Western hemlock is another species found in north Idaho but not 

 in south Idaho. It always grows in mixture with white pine, Douglas 

 fir, and larch. One of its chief characteristics is its ability to repro- 

 duce under dense shade, and it is, therefore, inclined to # increase in 

 the denser forests. Keeping western hemlock in check thus con- 

 stitutes one of the forester's chief problems, for, owing to its high 

 percentage of defect, it is less desirable than almost any of the 

 other species with which it associates. For a long time it was re- 

 garded as useless and was not cut. On national forest sales operators 

 are required to take all merchantable hemlock, and stands are cut 

 quite heavily in order to remove the shade, which is favorable to its 

 reproduction and detrimental to the reproduction of western white 

 pine and other desirable species. Western hemlock makes satis- 



