194 Forestry Quarterly. 



purposes in cofistruction work, only limited quantities are cut 

 on account of the large amount of defect found in large trees. 

 It is an excellent wood for uses wherein wearing qualities are 

 required, such as for flooring, since it has a fine even grain and 

 tends to become case-hardened after being sawn. It is much 

 stronger than spruce and therefore good for heavy timbers, the 

 only fault being its tendency to dry rot when left for any great 

 length of time and thus to become useless. It has a decided 

 tendency to split which prevents its use for thin lumber. An- 

 other fault found in this species, is the tendency of freshly cut 

 lumber to warp and curl. This is not a serious objection how- 

 ever, since it may be prevented by proper care in the yard and 

 by being well fastened wherever used. 



Some millmen consider hemlock superior to either spruce or 

 red cedar for mouldings and casings and other interior finish- 

 It does not shrink so readily as spruce and will not shrink and 

 swell to any great extent with the varying conditions of moist- 

 ure. 



Hemlock is considered much better for fuel than spruce al- 

 though the latter species is generally cut on account of its larger 

 size and the relatively easier task of getting trees having sound 

 easy-splitting wood. It is desirable to have the hemlock used 

 for cord-wood or other similar purposes, in order that the 

 spruce may be utilized as far as possible for saw timber, and 

 it is expected that the increase in the stumpage price for spruce 

 cordwood will bring about more extensive use of the inferior 

 species for fuel. 



Hemlock is used principally for piling at the present time, it 

 being considered superior to spruce for that purpose in that it is 

 more resistant to the shipworm. Trees of suitable size for piling 

 seldom contain the defects that are so prevalent in large over- 

 mature trees, and long straight piles can be secured in almost 

 any quantity desired at a comparatively low cost. The largest 

 portion of piling used in the future by local concerns, will be 

 hemlock and aside from its use in connection with the pulp 

 business, piling will be its most important product along the 

 coast. 



The western hemlock of southeastern Alaska is expected to 

 reach its highest commercial importance in the manufacture of 

 paper pulp. Although no tests have been made with locally 



