CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 219 



British Columbia. The name has probably been given to it by those 

 who originally wished to introduce it as a competitor with pitch pine, 

 or, in other words, for trade purposes, a motive which is responsible for 

 many of the incorrect names which are given to different timbers. 

 According to Elwes and Henry, " it is known in the European, South 

 African, and Australian markets as Oregon pine or Oregon fir, on the 

 Pacific Coast of North America ^ as red or yellow fir, in Utah, Idaho, and 

 Colorado as red pine, and in California is sometimes incorrectly called 

 spruce or hemlock." It would therefore be preferable to use the term 

 " Douglas fir," under which name it is cultivated in Great Britain. 



The discovery has been made that two American species were known 

 under the name of Douglas fir, and to both these, new specific names 

 have been given. However, inasmuch as the commercial timber may be 

 derived from one or both of these, the original specific name has been 

 retained here : viz. Pseudotsuga Douglasii. 



In its native American forests the Douglas fir is one of the most 

 magnificent of the trees of the world. Writing in The Hardwood Record 

 with reference to Douglas firs in the United States, Gibson makes the 

 following statement : " The largest are 300 feet high, occasionally more, 

 and from 8 to 10 feet in diameter. The average among the Rocky 

 Mountains is from 80 to 100 feet high and 2 to 4 in diameter. The 

 amount of timber yielded by one tree may be reaUsed from the experience 

 of Dr. Watney (of ' Buckholt,' Pangboume), who was present at the 

 felling of one in Washington Territory, U.S.A. The height of the trunk 

 was 250 feet and that to the lowest bough was 157 feet. The following 

 were the diameters at different heights above the ground : 83 inches 

 at 7 feet, 65 inches at 37 feet, 52 inches at 107 feet, and 32 at 191 feet. 

 The trunk was sawn off at a height of 7 feet above the ground (where it 

 showed 420 annual rings) and 184 feet of its length yielded 21,905 feet 

 of boards, and with the slabs and planks 23,503 feet converted, equalling 

 1958^ feet cube. It took nine railway trucks to convey the timber from 

 London to Pangbourne. The timber contained practically no sap, very few 

 shakes, but some of the planks contained dead knots. Large sections of 

 the trunks (exceeding 7 feet in diameter) are familiar in England to 

 those who visit Kew Gardens and the Natural History Museum, South 

 Kensington." The Douglas fir flagstaff formerly at Kew Gardens, which 

 was presented by the Government of British Columbia in 1861, was well 

 known. It was 159 feet in length, and measured i foot 8 inches in 

 diameter at the base and 5 inches in diameter at the small end. This 

 is now surpassed by the new flagstaff which has been erected this year 

 (19 19). It was, like the former one, presented by the Government of 



^ In North America the timber is known under a great multipUcity of local 

 names. 



