TJte Forest Bef/lon of Xorthera Idaho — Leiherr/. 1)1' 



branches, very hard and sharply pointed, extendiiiiy in all directions,, 

 remind one of the quills of the porcupine. 



Abies nobilis, Lindl., and Abies grandis, LindL, were common 

 firs, forming the greater part of the forest at certain elevations,, 

 growing very tall but of no great thickness. 



The largest fir, and with the exception of Thuya gigantea, 

 Nutt., the largest tree seen, was Pseudotsaga, Duglasii, Carr- 

 Usually the trees of this species grew scattered, but occasionally 

 they formed large groves. These trees were of truly magnificent 

 proportions, their trunks standing like huge pillars, straight as ar- 

 rows, and perfectly cylindrical, free from branches, and towering 

 from 250 to 300 feet in height, where they terminate in a short 

 crown of branches . Many of these trees povssessed a peculiar- 

 mode of growth. Starting from the ground with an enormous 

 trunk, sometimes twenty feet in diameter, at from three to six 

 feet from its base, it would divide into two or three perfect 

 trunks, equal in height and size. It is safe to assume that nowhere- 

 in the temperate zone can be found so great quantity of timber 

 on an acre of ground as in forests composed of this tree. 



Pinus Lambertiana, Dougl., the so-called sugar pine, was a 

 marked feature in the forest growth at two to three thousand feet 

 elevation. The wood of this tree more nearly resembles our 

 Pinus Strobus, L., or white pine, than any other of the Pacific 

 slope. It grows to a great height, the trunk seldom exceeding 

 four or five feet in diameter. This species of pine is usually the 

 first to cover districts swept by forest fires, at this elevation. The 

 young growth in such places is almost wholly made up of this 

 species, and as close together as canes in a cane-brake. 



Marshy places were generally covered with Pinus contorta, 

 Dougl., a tree of no value either for fuel or timber, and of an un- 

 sightly appearance by reason of its branches being covered by a 

 multitude of small, black, persistent coftes. 



In the valleys occasional groves of Thuya gigantea, Nutt.,. 

 were seen, of which the wood closely resembles its eastern relative. 

 The size, however, is very much greater, a diameter of ten feet at 

 the base, being quite common. Two other species of conifers,. 

 Picea Sitchensis, Carr., and var. pendula, and doubtfully Picea 

 pungens, Engelmann, complete the list of the more noticeable 

 members of this family. 



