PINACE.E 527 



long, whilst it is also procurable as deals and planks up to 32 ft. in 

 length, for railway sleepers, and other sizes as desired. It is shipped 

 from Vancouver and other British Columbian ports and from the 

 Western United States, In addition to its value as lumber, it is 

 used extensively for pulping for paper manufacture. The quantity 

 of hemlock wood used in the United States for paper manufacture 

 during 1916 amounted to 760,226 cords. Of this amount 647,738 

 cords were manufactured by the sulphite process, 84,116 cords 

 by the mechanical process and the remainder by the sulphate 

 process. These figures probably include wood of three species, 

 T. Alhertiana, T. canadensis and T. Pattoniana. Hemlock takes 

 second place to spruce in the quantity consumed by paper 

 manufacture. The tenacious properties of hemlock wood enable 

 it to hold nails well, hence its peculiar value as a box-wood. In 

 1912 the United States of America used 203,526,091 board ft. 

 for this purpose and in 1916 the amount increased to 1,690,000,000 

 board ft.^ Hemlock railway ties (sleepers) in 1911 were manu- 

 factured to the number of 3,686,000. In 1905 Kellogg compiled 

 a Ust of mine timbers for the U.S.A. Government. This shows 

 that the annual use of hemlock for the purpose amounted to 

 4,155,800 cords of round and 60,802,000 board ft. of sawn timber. 

 Hemlock wood is used for fuel in many places. Its relative 

 fuel value per unit value of dry wood is 61 against 100 for hickory, 

 and 1| cords of western hemlock is regarded as being the equiva- 

 lent of 1 ton of coal. 



Hemlock bark is generally rich in tannin and the bark of the 

 American species is used very extensively in the tanning industry. 

 Western hemlock is richer in tannin than the eastern American 

 species, the figures being given as 10-12 per cent, and 8-10 per 

 cent, respectively. Hemlock bark is stated to supply about 

 two-thirds of the requirements of tanneries in W.N. America. 

 Broken and ground bark for tanning purposes may be seen in the 

 Kew Museums. An interesting exhibit at Kew is that of " bread " 

 made by the N. American Indians in times of scarcity from the 

 inner bark of the western hemlock. It forms a reddish brown, 

 fibrous, unappetising mass. A resinous -looking extract used in 

 medicine, and haUbut hooks made from roots are other interesting 

 examples of the uses of hemlock. 



Western hemlock is a favourite decorative tree in Britain, 

 where it gives excellent results from the South of England to the 

 Scottish Highlands. Its value for this purpose hes in its graceful 

 habit and spire -like crown, the branches being made up of in- 

 numerable branchlets which are Ughter and more graceful than 

 those of pine, spruce or fir. It is sometimes planted under forest 

 conditions in Britain, but there are no plantations old enough 



1 Nelson, Courtlandt Brown, Forest Products, their Manufacture and Use, 251 

 (1919). 



