134 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the sapwood is narrow, and nearly white. The wood 

 has a spicy odor, and, when polished, takes on a beautiful 

 soft glossy finish. Durability is the quality that has made 

 this wood famous. Oliver Wendell Holmes knew the 

 qualities of cedar in general when he wrote : 



"... the fair cedar, fallen before the breeze, 



Lies self embalmed amidst the mouldering trees." 



These lines seem especially to apply to western red 

 cedar, trees that fell centuries before Columbus discov- 

 ered America still lie in the forest as sound at heart 

 as ever. 



The worst enemy of western red cedar is fire. The 

 bark of trees of all ages is so extremely thin that they 



are easily killed by fire, and even a light ground fire 

 causes scars through which the powder worms enter 

 and bore through living cedars, as they sometimes do 

 in dead ones. 



The giant Arborvitae far exceeds our native eastern 

 species both in beauty and rapidity of growth. It has 

 been planted in England to some extent for ornamental 

 purposes, where it grows well and forms a handsome 

 tree. In the northeastern United States the Pacific Coast 

 form does not thrive, and only trees grown from Mon- 

 tana or Idaho seed should be planted. Trees from 

 Pacific Coast seed will grow in sections of the south- 

 eastern states where moisture and soil conditions are 

 favorable. 



Commercial Uses of Western Red Cedar 



By H. P. Wyckoff 



GO into any State in the Union North, East, South 

 or West, and you will find on the homes of the 

 most magnificent dwellings, the humblest cot- 

 tages and the whole range between, the Red Cedar shin- 

 gle. Nature, in her own good way, has given to the 

 world a wood so perfectly adapted to be made into a 

 covering that it has been universally adopted, and the 

 man in New York, Florida, California, Washington, the 

 Dakotas, Iowa or any other State in the Union, when he 

 is ready to build, will draw on the old cedar tree. 



Its commercial range in the United States may be 



THE FAMOUS RED CEDAR SHINGLES 



"centage of red cedar is used for shingles, the wood being 



purpose. There is a market for each and every grade of 



divided into two regions: The "Inland Empire" region 

 of western Montana, northern Idaho, and eastern Wash- 

 ington; and the west coast region of western Washing- 

 ton and northwestern Oregon. It ranges from south- 

 eastern Alaska to northern California, and eastward 

 through southeastern British Columbia and northern 

 Washington to northern Idaho and Montana. 



In Alaska it is confined to the islands and the ocean 

 side of the coast ranges from sea level to 3,000 feet. In 

 British Columbia it occurs on the islands and extends 

 along the Coast ranges up to 2,400 feet, also occurring 



along the slopes of the south- 

 ern Gold and Selkirk Moun- 

 tains, and on the west side of 

 the Continental Divide up to 

 6,000 feet. In the United 

 States the species occurs abun- 

 dantly in the forests of the 

 Olympic Mountains, coast 

 ranges, and west slopes of the 

 Cascades, but here rarely ex- 

 tends above 4,000 feet. On 

 the east slope of the Cascades 

 and in the northeastern part of 

 Washington it is less abun- 

 dant, and here is found chiefly 

 between altitudes of 1,500 and 

 4,500 feet. In Oregon it in- 

 habits both sides of the Coast 

 ranges and the west side of the 

 Cascades only, reaching from 

 sea level to 5,000 feet, and in 

 one instance to even 7,000 feet. 

 In California it is not common, 

 and is confined to the sea side 

 of the coast ranges within the 

 fog belt. In northern Idaho it 



peculiarly adaptable for this i ,.-r i it t. -jr_ 



this shingle. is plentiful in the humid for- 



! 



