TIMBER GROWING IN THE LODGEPOLE PINE REGION 9 
stand shade than Douglas fir. Also, if the more valuable species are 
cut heavily, a practice common on private land, the inferior species 
tend to increase. A selective system of cutting that includes a heavy 
removal of inferior species works out more satisfactorily in pro- 
ducing valuable future crops. 
NATURAL AND OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING FOREST 
CULTURE 
SLOW RATE OF GROWTH 
Largely on account of the high altitude of the timbered portion 
of the region and the resulting short growing season, the rate of 
growth of the various species is generally slow. Rocky site and 
shallow soil are in many places, however, even more restrictive of 
growth. Another very important consideration in this connection 
is the abundant reproduction and consequent crowded condition pre- 
vailing in many stands, resulting at an early age in stagnation or 
slow growth. The low productivity of the land due to these various 
factors, together with the high logging costs in a region of rugged 
topography, make it difficult for timber to be grown here in compe- 
tition with that grown in other regions, such as the South and the 
Northwest, where it makes more rapid growth and requires a shorter 
rotation period. However, the prospective decreases in supply of 
timber from other sources, together with high freight charges, will 
tend to make the situation less acute and the practice of forestry by 
private owners more attractive in the future. The lodgepole pine 
region will not only have local markets to supply, but can assist 
in meeting the requirements of the Plains States to the east. 
VALUE OF THE TIMBERLANDS FOR VARIOUS USES 
DEMAND FOR TIMBER AND WOOD PRODUCTS 
Railroad ties, mine props, mine timbers, telephone poles, and lum- 
ber are the important timber products marketed in this region. (PL 
2.) More material is utilized for railroad ties than for other pur- 
poses because of the demands of the local and transcontinental rail- 
road lines and the fact that a large portion of the trees in an average 
stand are of tie size. 
Coal and metal mines insure a limited regional market for mine 
timbers and mine props, which freight charges make it impracticable 
to ship long distances. These products are obtained from tops of trees 
cut for railroad ties and saw logs, and also from entire trees of suit- 
able size. Small trees may well be put to this use if they are mature 
or if their removal is warranted as a thinning measure. But where 
a favorable market has caused owners to cut small trees for mine 
props regardless of rate of growth or condition, there is a loss not 
only in the future increment of the more thrifty trees, but also in the 
waste of other material which should instead have been salvaged in 
the form of thinnings or as by-products from other operations. The 
fact that markets for small material generally are insufficient to 
absorb anywhere near the amount that could be supplied from cut- 
tings made as improvement measures, makes this waste a particularly 
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