574 THE FORESTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Stevens connty, which is broken and mountainous, with the exception of the narrow valleys and occasional) 

 small prairies, is covered with a heavy, open forest growth. The most valuable trees of the forests of this county 

 are the red iir, the yellow pine (Pinm jjondcroftft), the white pine (Pinus monticola), the larch (Larix f>cci(lentalis) r 

 and the red cedar. 



The forests of Spokane county are confined to the spurs and ridges of the extreme eastern part of the county, 

 and consist of the yellow pine, red fir, and larch of small size and inferior quality. 



The forests of Yakima county cover about one half of its area, being confined to the eastern slope of the 

 Cascade range. The forests covering the eastern slopes of these mountains are only surpassed in density and 

 value by those extending over their western flanks. The yellow pine occupies the lowest slopes with an open 

 growth of large trees. Above the pine the red fir is the prevailing tree. This at a greater elevation is succeeded 

 by hemlock and larch, with which are mingled fine bodies of spruce (Picca Enfjetmanni) and hemlock, while th& 

 forest growth below the timber-line consists of firs, pines, and mountain hemlock. 



The western portion of Rlikitat county is covered with heavy forest growth, similar in composition nnd density 

 to that of Yakima. 



Walla Walla county is destitute of timber except in the extreme southeastern corner, where the spurs of the 

 mountains are thinly covered with a sparse growth of yellow pine and larch. 



Columbia county is without forest except along the ridges and summit of the Bine mountains, which are- 

 covered with yellow pine, larch, and, above 5,000 feet elevation, with a continuous growth of lodge-pole pine 

 (Pimm Murrayana). 



Whitman county is destitute of forest except in the extreme southeastern corner, where there is a scattered 

 growth of small yellow pine. 



An estimate of the actual amount of timber standing in the territory is not possible with the existing knowledge 

 of the country, and none has been attempted. The quantity of merchantable timber, however, standing in western 

 Washington territory is enormous ; a yield of 200,000 feet of lumber to the acre is not at all exceptional, while over 

 fully 20,000 square miles a yield of 2."), 000 feet to the acre might be expected ; such estimates certainly would not 

 exaggerate, the productive capacity of these noble forests. 



The forests of Washington territory, especially in the more thickly .-ettled portions west of the Cascade- 

 mountains, have long suffered from destructive fires. The injury inflicted by such fires is proportionately less, 

 however, in the hnmid coast region than east of the mountains, where the dryness of the climate prevents the 

 reproduction of the forest once destroyed. West of the mountains young trees of the species of the original forest, 

 and especially the red fir, soon densely cover the burned surface and grow with astonishing rapidity and vigor. It 

 seems reasonably certain, therefore, that, whatever may be the fate of the forests which now cover western 

 Washington territory and Oregon, they will be succeeded by forests of similar composition, and that this whole 

 region, ill adapted in soil and topography to agriculture, will retain a permanent forest covering long after the 

 other great forests of the continent have disappeared. 



During the census year 37,910 acres of woodland were destroyed by fire, with an estimated loss of $713,200. 

 These fires were set by Indians, by whites in clearing land, by hunters, prospectors, etc. 



The forests bordering the shores of Pnget sound, the strait of Jnan de Fuca, and the lower Columbia river 

 have been culled of their best trees for a distance inland of 1 or 2 miles to supply the important lumber- 

 manufacturing interests of this part of the territory. The product of western Washington territory during the 

 census year was 153,98(5,000 feet of lumber, 6,550.000 laths, 910,000 shingles, and 23,000,000 staves by far the 

 largest part being manufactured in the mills located on the waters of Puget sound. 



The first saw-mill built upon Puget sound was erected in 1851. It was a small water-power mill, with a daily 

 capacity of about 1,000 feet. Two years later a similar mill was erected at Seattle, with a daily capacity of from 

 8,000 to 10,000 leet. 



The centers of manufactnres now are Port Gamble, Port Madison, Port Blakely, Port Discovery, Seabeck, 

 Utsaladdy, Tacoma, and Seattle. At the last-named place there is a large establishment manufacturing sugar-barrel 

 staves from cottonwood for the San Francisco market. 



The lumber manufactured upon Puget sound is largely shipped to San Francisco and directly to China, 

 Australia, New Zealand, and Mexican and South American Pacific ports. 



The population of the, southeastern part of the territory is principally supplied with lumber, largely coarse 

 yellow pine of inferior quality, cut on the Blue mountains in small portable mills, and delivered at Dayton, in 

 Walla Walla county, by a flurne several miles in length. No statistics, however, have been received of the amount 

 of lumber manufactured in this county. 



The methods adopted by the lumbermen of western Washington territory are wasteful in the extreme. Loggers 

 cut only timber growing within a mile or a mile and a half of shores accessible to good booming or shipping points, 

 or which will yield not less than 30.000 feet of lumber to the acre. Only trees are cut which will produce at least 

 three logs 24 feet long, with a minimum diameter of 30 inches. Trees are cut not less than 12 and often 20 

 feet from the ground, in order that the labor of cutting through the thick bark and enlarged base may be avoided, 

 while 40 or 50 feet of the top of the tree are entirely wasted. 



