526 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFERS 



reddish, 1 in. or more thick, deeply furrowed into scaly ridges. 

 Young shoots slender, drooping at the tips, greyish, hairy with long 

 and short hairs intermixed. Winter buds minute, ovoid, greyish 

 brown. Leaves spreading, arranged in two ranks, the shorter 

 ones on the upper side of the shoot, narrowly oblong, 5— | in. long, 

 uniform in width, the margins with minute spine-like teeth, 

 grooved on the upper side, two ill-defined stomatic bands beneath. 

 Cones without stalks, ^1 in. long ; scales few, spatulate, nearly 

 twice as long as broad, margin entire, bevelled ; bracts small, 

 concealed, lozenge-shaped. >S'eerf-wing about threequarters the 

 length of the scale. 



Allied to T. canadensis, but differing in its unforked trunk, 

 spire-like leader, uniform width of leaf, and less clearly defined 

 stomatic lines. 



This beautiful conifer is a native of the W. Coast of N. 

 America, extending from S.W. Alaska, where it forms the greater 

 part of the coast forest, to British Columbia and N. California, 

 the finest trees being found in the coastal region of British 

 Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. It was introduced by Jeffrey 

 in 1851 and named Abies Albertiana in 1863 by Andrew Murray 

 in honour of the Prince Consort. 



Wood hard, tough, close-grained, durable, holds nails well, 

 and takes a good polish ; heartwood yellowish brown, sapwood 

 paler. Used for general carpentry and joinery work in buildings, 

 also for boxes, and extensively for railway sleepers, shingles, and 

 for paper pulp. The wood is superior to that of other American 

 hemlocks and the quantity available for cutting has been esti- 

 mated as 100 billion board ft. in the United States alone. 



The following results of tests on green material were obtained 

 by the U.S.A. Department of Agriculture^ : — 



Weight green (moisture 25 per cent., wood 75 per cent.), 31| lb. 

 per cubic ft. 



Tension, strength across the grain, 260 lb. per square in. 



Compression, strength across the grain at elastic limit, 350 lb, 

 per square in. 



Compression, crushing strength with the grain, 2,890 lb. per 

 square in. 



Shearing, strength with the grain, 810 lb. per square in. 



Bending, modulus of rupture (breaking strength), 6,100 lb. 

 per square in. 



Bending, modulus of elasticity (stiffness), 1,190,000 lb. per 

 square in. 



Hardness, weight required to half-imbed a 0-444 in. steel ball, 

 485 lb. 

 The demand for western hemlock is increasing and it can be 

 procured in square timber up to 24 in. side and upwards of 20 ft. 

 1 Catalogue, Empire Timber Exhib. (1920). 



