i6 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



Douglas Fir. 



PKCudulniiijn tai-ifulia — Bi'ltton. 



The rnxigv of growth of this great tree 



is through the Kocky Mountain region of the 



United States and along the Pacific Coast 



northward into central British Columbia. 



It is known by various confusing nanie.^, 

 among them red fir, in Oregon, Washington, 

 Idaho, Utah, Montana and Colo 

 rado; Pouglas spruce, in Californi;i. 

 Colorado and Montana ; Douglas fir, 

 in Utah, Oregon and Colorado; yel- 

 low fir, in Oregon, Montana, Idaho 

 and Washington; spruce and fir, in 

 Montana; Oregon pine, in Califor 

 nia, Washington and Oregon; red 

 pine, in Utah, Idaho and Colorado; 

 Puget Sound pine, in Washington; 

 and in some sections as Douglas- 

 tree and cork - barked Douglas 

 spruce. Many varieties of Pseudo- 

 tsuga toj^ifolia are distinguished in 

 cultivation. 



The tree i.s known commercially 

 in both eastern and western mar- 

 kets by a number of the above 

 names, principally Douglas spruce 

 and Oregon pine, but timber owners 

 and manufacturers of the wood now 

 seem to prefer the name Douglas 

 fir, so that it is rapidly becoming 

 the established and specific term as 

 applied to lumber of this variety. 



The tree is pyramidal or flat- 

 topped, reaching a height of from 

 150 to 300 feet, the trunk form- 

 ing a magnificent straight shaft in 

 the forest, but branching out to 

 form a broad-based pyramid when 

 growing in the open. The brandies 

 9re slender and long, somewhat 

 crowded and drooping. 



The leaves are straight, blunt at 

 the apex, yellowish green, from 1 

 to liA inches in length. They are 

 shed in the eighth year. The flow- 

 ers are cone-like, the staminate are 

 orange, the pistillate red. The fruit 

 of Douglas fir is a long-stemmed 

 cone, 2 to 4 inches long, having 

 very thin scales. 



The bark of the tree is thick and 

 deeply furrowed, the irregular ridges 

 coated with reddish scales. It is 

 sometimes used for tanning. 



Douglas fir reaches its maximum 

 development in ■western Washington and Ore- 

 gon, particularly between the Cascade Moun- 

 tains and the Pacific Ocean. The tree is a 

 very beautiful one, with its bright, drooping 

 foliage, handsome cones and exquisitely 

 straight, round shaft. In referring to it, 

 Rogers says: "He who vfould see for him- 

 self the most magnificent forests this conti- 

 nent holds today -niust go to the redwoods 

 of California. When these groves have awed 



SIXTV-i IITH I'AI'UR. 



him witli tlio tremendous bulk of timlicr they 

 can yield in a single acre, let him move up 

 the coast to where the moist Japan current 

 breathes upon the evergreen forests of the 

 Cascade's western slope. There are giant 

 cedars and firs and hemlocks; and dominat- 

 ing all of them is the Douglas fir. The trees 

 make a very even growth and stand together 



TYl'li AL rnUKST GROWTII DOUGLAS FIR, 

 OREGON. 



as' closely as the stalks in a well-tilled field 

 of grain. Excluding other kinds, they stand 

 with heads together, making the forest dark 

 as night below. Far up the Alaskan coast 

 the tree extends, and eastward across moun- 

 tain ranges, where it mingles with yellow 

 ])ines in sunny, open forests, where the trees 

 have opportunity to show' the grace of their 

 pendant limbs and the beauty of their ruddy 

 cones adorned with pale green bracts. ' ' 



The Douglas fir is the fastest-growing ever- 

 green tree, and is therefore a favorite with 

 nurserymen. Large quantities of seed are 

 sent abroad, particularly to Europe, where 

 the tree is grown both for timber and for 

 ornament. Its seed will produce a good 

 percentage of strong, healthy shoots, and 

 they are easily transplanted. Seed gathered 

 in the Kockies will do well if plant- 

 ed in the East and North, but that 

 from the Pacific Coast plain will 

 not weather the change of climate. 

 Planted in sheltered regions of Kan- 

 sas and Nebraska, Douglas fir 

 usually thrives well. 



The heartwood of this tree is light 

 reddish or yellowish, the sapwood 

 nearly white. The grain varies from 

 four or five rings per inch in small 

 trees or in heartwood, to a fine, even 

 grain with perhaps forty rings to 

 the inch. They are usually well 

 marked, the summer wood showing 

 dense and dark, the spring much 

 softer. The wide-ringed wood is 

 somewhat spongy. Owing to the 

 ilifference in the texture of alter- 

 nate rings and to the long, regular 

 fiber, the wood splits easily, partic- 

 ularly when dry. However, for this 

 very reason, it is pleasing for inside 

 finish and panel effects, when slash- 

 sawn, since the porous spring wood 

 readily absorbs stains, and the dense 

 summer rings are little affected; 

 :niy desired shade may be produced. 

 The Douglas fir is used extensive- 

 ly in ship-building. Every great 

 sliip yard in the world contains 

 quantities of spars made from it; 

 it is also used widely for piles of 

 wharves, and in fact in every loca- 

 tion where heavy timbers of great 

 ihirability, hardness and toughness 

 are required. In its best grades it is 

 the strongest of the large American 

 conifers. It is cut into every form 

 of lumber, from these rough timbers 

 to fine-grained, clear stock for floor- 

 ing. 



In the Cascade region forests are 

 frequently found which yield from 

 .50,000 to 100,000 board feet to the 

 acre, and trees will average five or 

 six feet in diameter of bole, and 

 stand straight and towering for 300 

 Thus it is possible to obtain exception- 

 ally large and long pieces; sticks 24 inches 

 sijuare and up to 100 feet long are regularly 

 listed among merchantable grades. The wood 

 is fairly durable when exposed to the weather 

 These features make Douglas fir an ideal 

 structural timber. Small trees ranging from 

 one to three feet in diameter are unequaled 

 for spars, because of the straightness and 

 slight taper of trunk and the great lengths 



feet. 



