THE FLORA OF SITKA, ALASKA 



valuable. It dominates the foresl from Dixon Entrance to 

 Prince Williams Sound. In the vicinity of Sitka it extends 

 from sea level to 2,500 feel elevation. It attains lai 

 Logs, six feet in diameter, are sometimes received by the saw- 

 mill at Sitka, but the average for the butl Logs probably would 

 be about four feet. Three of the larger standing trees near 

 the Experiment Station, as measured by the writer, were L9 



feet 2 inches, 18 feet 5 inches, and 16 feel 4 inches, res] tively, 



in circumference about six feet from the base. It furnishes 

 very good saw timber. The wood is Light, soft, from tine to 

 moderately coarse-grained. Its color is generally pale brown, 

 often with a fine tinge of red. It is a long-lived species and 

 the larger trots may be several centuries old. According to 

 Sudworth 3 this species may attain a diameter of 12 ft -t and an 

 age of probably 800 to 850 years. In addition to furnishing 

 nearly all the native Lumber used in the region of its occur- 

 rence there is a large probability that in course of time it will 

 furnish the basis for a wood pulp industry. 



In size and number of individuals the Western hemlock 

 (Tsuga heterophylla) is second only to the Sitka spruce. It 

 may dominate the forest locally. A mature tree which was 

 already dead measured 14 feet J inches in circumference, but 

 it was not possible to reach high enough to get clear of the 

 buttressed trunk. Close by a typically mature tree measured 

 10 feet 9 inches in circumference. The wood is rather light, 

 soft, fine-grained, pale yellowish brown with slightest tinge 

 of red. The bark is claimed to contain a larger percentage of 

 tannin than that of the Eastern hemlock (Tsuga can<i<l< ■ 

 It is our most shade-enduring tree and the young plants may 

 be found growing in the moss covering the earth, old trunks. 

 rocks, etc. 



Mountain or Black hemlock (Tsuga mert( i has com- 



paratively little value. It is really an Alpine tree and reaches 

 its greatest number of individuals at or above the limit reached 

 by the other conifers. Above 2,500 feet, it is the only tree 

 found and here it is usually Low and sprawling. Well grown 

 trees of moderate size occur in the forests, but the sp 

 comes rare as one approaches sea level. 



The third forest tree in point of importance is Ghamaecyparis 

 nootkatensis, locally called Yellow cedar, or simply cedar. It 



