Pseudotsuga 823 



presented in 1861 by Mr. Edward Stamp. It is 159 feet high, about 12 feet being 

 underground, and is about 4^ feet in girth at ground-level. It weighed 4 tons 8 cwt, 

 and was about 250 years old. In the British Museum of Natural History there is a 

 section cut in 1885, 7 feet 7 inches in diameter, including bark, on which 533 annual 

 rings may be counted. There is also in the Timbers Museum at Kew a fine 

 section, 8 feet in diameter, cut from a tree on Puget Sound. 



A technical report on the strength, weight, and structural value of Douglas 

 timber is given by Hatt in U.S. Bureau of Forestry, Circular No. 32 (1904), from 

 which it appears that the possibility of obtaining long and large pieces, combined 

 with the exceptional strength and stiffness of the material, compared with its very 

 moderate weight, renders it an ideal timber for structural purposes, and durable on 

 exposure to weather. 



In a report on the Forest Products of the United States for 1906 (issued March 

 1908) 1 I find that this species now comes second in the quantity of timber produced, 

 being only surpassed by "yellow pine," under which heading are included all the 

 various pines of the south and east except white and Norway pine (P. Strobus and 

 P. resinosa). The quantity cut in 1906 was estimated at 5 billion feet, valued 

 at 70 million dollars, of which the state of Washington yielded 68.5 per cent, Oregon 

 27.2 per cent, and all the other states together less than 5 per cent. The increase 

 in production was very rapid in the last few years, and the average value had 

 increased from 8.67 dollars per 1000 in 1899 to 14.20 dollars in 1906. 



I am informed by Mr. R. S. Kellogg of the United States Forestry Bureau, 

 Washington, that on the Pacific coast all masts except the smallest, and on the east 

 coast the largest masts, are made of Douglas fir, which is transported overland from 

 the Pacific coast. 



It is the opinion of Lieut-Commander Williams of the Bureau of Construction 

 and Repair, U.S. Navy Dept., that there is practically no difference in the strength 

 of Douglas fir and long-leaf pine (P. palustris) ; the latter, however, is considerably 

 heavier. This appears to be now generally recognised by yacht - builders in 

 Europe who use Douglas fir in preference to any other timber for the masts of 

 racing yachts. 



A letter on the timber of this tree in Gardeners Chronicle, 1862, p. 452, gives 

 the results of experiments made at Cherbourg by M. Serres on twelve specimens 

 of squared mast timber sent from Vancouver, which showed that in strength it 

 was almost equal to Florida pitch pine, and stronger than Baltic or Canadian 

 pine. The weight of a compound mast made up of pitch pine in the centre and 

 Baltic or Canada pine on the outside was about 12,200 kilos., whilst a solid 

 mast of the same dimensions, made of Douglas fir, weighed only 8900 kilos. The 

 cost of material and workmanship of the latter was very much less. 



Mayr's comparison 2 of the wood as grown in various parts of Europe, with 

 that grown in America, and also with that of silver fir, spruce, and larch, is well 

 worth studying ; but the age of the trees was insufficient to make the comparison 

 conclusive. 



1 U.S. Dept. Agr. Forest Service Bull. 77. 2 Fremdland. Wald- u. Parkbdume, 399, 400 (1906). 



