The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1911-10-26
NATIONAL FOREST NEWS
Administration Offices Moved
Back to Newport From Coolin-
New Sale to Fidelity Lumber Co.

The administration offices of the Kan
iksu National Forest, which were located
at Coolin, Idaho. on Priest Lake, during
the forest fire danger season, have been
moved back to Newport, and the office
force is again located in the rooms on
the second floor of the Reid block.
& During the past summer the work of
extending the telephone system has been
rushed, About 100 miles of phone line
were built, line being constructed from
Coolin to Metaline Falls via Sullivan
Lake, connection with the Interstate
Telephone &C. being secured at Metallne
Falls. A mile of submarine cable was
laid in Priest Lake, and IA miles of line
built from Coolin to the head of Priest
Lake.
Fifty miles of trail have been built and
seven ran sels' cabins constr ucted al
various points within the forest.
During the summer an investigation
was made of the jackpine flats south OF
Priest Lake, to determine whether the
land in question was suitable for agrl-
cultural purposes and should be opened
for entry. This land covers about a
township. Prof. Lapham, inspector Of
surveys for the Bureau of Soils of the
Forest Service, spent three weeks on this
examination, taking samples of the soil
and making borings to determine the
character of the subsoil. The report of
Prof. Lapham has not yet been made
public and his conclusions in the matter
are not known.
During the past week the Fidelity
Lumber Co. made application for the
purchase of an additional eight million
feet of white pine in the West Branch
county. This latest application in
cudes some timber partly damaged by
the big fire of August, 1910. The COM
pany has procured a cutting permit and
will start logging at once without the
necessity Of waiting for the consumma-
ton of the sale.
This week Supervisor Millar held a
civil service examination of applicants
for positions as rangers. Those taking
the examination were Fred Miles, of
Newport; Chas. d. Evans, of Long Lake.
Wash. Albert Nee, James S. Jensen
and w. A. Trowbridge, of Spokane.
An experimental station has been es-
tablished at the Benton Ranger station,
half way between Priest River and
Coolin, where experiments will be con-
Quoted by special men for the purpose
of ascertaining the best means of repro
ducing stands of timber. The Kaniksu
National Forest was chosen for the con-
Quoting of the experiment station on
white pine because it is a representative
white pine forest, one of the most valu-
able of tim bers. The exact location of
the station was chosen because access
was afforded to variety of slopes and
sites. The weather will be accurately
recorded at three points in the vicinity
of the station, one on level. one on a
northerly slope and one on a south
westerly slope.
Natural reproduction will be studied
and artificial reproduction tried out on
logged-off areas in that vicinity. A
small greenhouse will be built for the
purpose of termination and other tests.
Twenty thousand bushels of white
pine cones, collected for the purposes OF
replanting trees in the national forest
reserves, have been collected this fall on
the Kaniksu reserve. 1t is estimated
that the pine cones will produce about
$4,000 pounds of seed. force of be-
tween Is and 100 men have been kept
busy the past six weeks collecting the
cones, the most of which were secured
on the West Branch.
For the taking OF the seed from the
cone bins have been built on the hill
tops. and the house formerly occupied as
a ranger station, on section %, at West
Branch, will be used in which to bake
the cones and make them shell out the
seeds. A heat of between 100 and l35
degrees is used to loosen the seeds from
the cones, and the cones are then put
through a huge drum, which action
completes the work of separation. The
ranger station on the West Branch will
have a new house in place OF it's old one,
which is to be used for the heating OF
the cones.
The white pine seed will be distrlb.
uted from the Kaniksu reserve to yari-
Gus parts of the United States where the
seed is needed to replant forest areas.