23 
absent, and the horseman makes his way through them with difficulty. 
Un the lowlands the Douglass spruce and the western arbor vitaj are 
the most abundant. Locally, the hemlock is common, and along the 
nvers the Northwestern cottonwood {Fopujus trichocarpa, T. & G.) 
stands thick and attains a large size. Along the smaller streams, and 
m swampy places, the Oregon ash {Fraxinus Oregana, Nutt.) and 
t le arborescent alder {Alnus rJwmbifolia, Nutt.,) occur in consider- 
able numbers and attain about equal size, /. e., a diameter of one foot 
. and a height of fifty or sixty feet. Scattered through this lowland 
•orest are the two common maples of the West {Acermacrophyllum, 
^ursh, and A. cirdnnatum, Pursh.) Of these, the first grows some- 
times to the height of eighty feet with a diameter of trunk of twelve 
1 j^f " inches, and on young plants the leaves sometimes attain a 
preadth of a foot or more. The vine-maple is a peculiar feature 
»n the forests of the Lower Columbia, Puget Sound and Vancouver's 
tsJand. It never becomes more than six inches in diameter and sev- 
T'^V'^""^^ usually spring from the same root. These are very 
Slender, droop, and, frequently reaching the ground, take root at the 
summit. Where these interlacing trunks are numerous they form a 
tnicket which is almost impenetrable. 
On the higher and more rocky portions of the country the West- 
3*1^ J^^^sam fir {Abies grandis, Lindl.) and its congeners A. nobili's, 
_indh and A. amabilis, Dougl, are locally numerous and attain great 
size /. e., reach a height of from one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
h h^^^*^' ^nd_ a_ trunk diameter of five to seven feet. With these, 
\vnich form a distinct sub-genus, are the omnipresent Douglass spruce, 
and Menzies spruce, formerly known as Abies Menziesii, Dougl., but 
now generally called A. Sikhensis, Carr. Still higher, and reaching 
the hne of perpetual snow, are Finus flexilis, James, var albicaiilis, 
m Tsuga Fationiaiia, Englm., the latter the most beautiful of all" 
oniters. Less common than the preceding conifers, but locally 
Dundant in the country bordering the Lower Columbia and Puget 
^und, are two cypresses {Chavuecyparis Lmvsoniaiia, Parlat., and C. 
^"/utkaensis, Spach.) Of these, the first, sometimes called the ginger pine, 
itTlK fragrance of its wood, is much admired and cultivated for 
s beauty and esteemed for the excellence of the lumber it furnishes. 
? r'^^KT '^^^ interesting to the botanist is the western yew ( Taxus brevi- 
in ff' , ^'■^' ^^^^^ *^ften forty to sixty feet in height growing sparingly 
nilie lower portions of Oregon and Washington. Three species of 
J niper are scattered over the dryer and more rocky parts of the 
j°""*'"y bordering the Columbia, ^'xz., Juniperus occidetitalis, Hook., 
/he foothills of the cascades, often an erect tree 40-50 feet in 
^ignt; J, Uta/iensis, Englm., low and spreading, in the interior; and 
y- communis^ L., generally distributed and closely resembling in foliage, 
"It and mode of growth, the eastern and European plant. 
Among the great conifers of the Pacific coast, two of the most 
a H^"l!^ and valuable, the sugar pine {Pinus Lambcrtiatia, Dougl.) 
nd the redwood {Sequoia sempervirens, Endl.) approach, and the 
"Tst reaches the line of the N. P. Railroad, though their habitat is 
ore southern, and both are important elements in the resources of 
"e country from which it will derive much of its business. Of these, 
