the Northeast, and 2 percent to the South. This 
general pattern of distribution, which has_pre- 
vailed for more than 20 years, is due largely to 
the competitive position of the Montana industry 
in relation to South and west coast mills. 
Railroad Tie Production 
Cross ties constitute a sufficiently important part 
of the lumber output in Montana to warrant special 
mention. They have been a major item of wood 
use ever since railroads began to replace river 
steamers and covered wagons. As the transcontinen- 
tal lines headed westward across the Plains States 
during the latter part of the last century, the re- 
quirements for ties were tremendous. Even before 
the rails reached to Montana’s forest areas, ties were 
being hewn on the eastern slopes of the Rockies 
and driven down the Missouri and Yellowstone 
Rivers. Evidence of these early cuttings can still 
be seen in many of the remote areas of the Sun, 
Gallatin, and Yellowstone River drainages. 
It was not, however, until the midtwenties that 
cross ties became a big item of production in Mon- 
tana sawmills. Almost all of the ties cut in the 
earlier years were hewn by tie hacks, and as late as 
1925 about 900,000 hewn ties were. being cut 
annually. This was slightly more than 40 percent 
of the total tie output. The production pattern 
shifted rapidly, and by 1931 hewn ties made up 
about | percent of the total, all the rest coming 
from sawmills. The shift to sawed ties brought a 
concentration of tie production to the northwestern 
counties—Flathead, Lincoln, Lake, and Sanders. 
Here are located two tie concentration yards with 
preservation plants. Here also are large areas of 
larch and Douglas-fir, species which because of their 
strength and durability are preferred by the rail- 
roads. In recent years larch and Douglas-fir ties 
have constituted nearly one-fifth of the total saw- 
mill output in the State. 
Production of sawed ties has become a specialty 
trade for a number of small mills; portable equip- 
ment and crews of usually not over six to eight 
men are typical. Cutting from 2,500 to 12,000 ties 
per setting, these small mills move rapidly from one 
tract to another. In 1946 there were about 35 of 
them. Their operation has been notably unstable. 
Annual sawed-tie purchases from 1942 to 1947 
ranged from 42 million to 97 million board feet. 
The worst feature of such fluctuation is, of course, 
Forest Resources of Montana 
its adverse effect on the income of dependent 
communities. — 
In cutting ties, the outer part of the log is 
either tossed to the slab pile or sawed into boards. 
For each 1,000 board feet of ties sawn, it is possi- 
ble to cut nearly 250 board feet of lumber, com- 
monly referred to as side lumber. Tie sides from 
larger larch trees yield 40 percent in clear grades. 
The controlling factor as to whether side lumber 
is to be sawn is usually the market price of larch 
and fir boards. When the price is relatively low, 
tie sides go to the slab pile; when the price is 
good, side lumber is sawn. During most years the 
market has been so poor that much high-grade 
wood has been sold for fuel or left to rot in the 
woods. 
The Mine Timber Industry 
Approximately one-fifth of the output of Mon- 
tana’s sawmills is used by the mining industry in 
the form of heavy timbers, planking, lagging 
, or 
other lumber. 3 
In addition, some 3 million cubic 
feet of round and hewed material are used under- 
ground each year in the production of metal ore 
and coal. The mine timber industry has grown up 
to meet this need. 
In the early days of metal mining in Montana 
sawed mine timbers were used to a greater extent 
than at present (J). As the price of sawed timber 
increased, however, round timbers began to be 
used more. Unlike the hewn tie which has almost 
gone out of existence in this region, the round 
mine timber has stayed in favor because it has been 
the cheapest material for the job. Recently one 
company has been experimenting with slabbed 
stulls, that is, round stulls roughly squared to 
facilitate packaging and handling. 
Lodgepole pine was at one time the principal 
species used underground, because the forests in 
the vicinity of the metal and coal mines were 
principally of that species. According to Rapraeger 
(10), this situation changed about 1916 when the 
copper market of World War I created an unpre- 
cedented demand for mine timbers which local 
suppliers could not meet. It became necessary for 
some of the mining companies to reach out into 
the larch-Douglas-fir forest for timber. Since freight 
rates favorable and 
were two of the major 
mining companies owned extensive tracts of larch 
3) 
ro) 
