250. LARIS OCCIDENTALS WESTERN TAMARACK. 53 



trunk sometimes 6 or 8 ft. (2 m.) in diameter. It developes an open 

 pyramidal top of light green airy foliage, which in old forest grown 

 trees seems remarkably scant for the size of the trunk. The bark of 

 the younger trunks is thin, of a reddish brown color, and exfoliating 

 in thin irregular scales, while that of the older trunks is thick and 

 fissured into large scaly plates. 



HABITAT. The Western Tamarack is confined entirely to the basin 

 of the upper Columbia River, being most abundant and attaining its 

 greatest dimensions on the bottom lands of northern Montana and 

 Idaho. It ranges between the altitudes of two thousand and seven 

 thousand feet, from the western slopes of the continental divide in 

 northern Montana to the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains of 

 Washington and Oregon, as far south as Mt. Jefferson in Oregon, and 

 northward into southern British Columbia, to the head waters of the 

 Thompson River in about latitude 57 north. It is not entirely confined 

 to bottom lands, being found in abundance on dry slopes and benches, 

 though less developed than in the moist soil of the bottom lands. 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, 

 with few resin passages, very durable in contact with the soil, and 

 susceptible of a very smooth polish. It is of a rich orange-brown 

 color with thin brownish-white sap-wood. Specific Gravity, 0.7407; 

 Percentage of Ash. 0.09; Relative Approximate Fuel Valise, 0.7400; 

 Coefficient of Elasticity, 165810; Modulus of Rupture, 1227; Re- 

 sistance to Longitudinal Pressure, 689; Resistance to Indentation, 

 139; Weight of a Cubic Foot in Pounds, 46.16. 



USES. One of the most valuable of the coniferous trees of the 

 continent. The Western Larch produces hard and durable lumber of 

 excellent quality for the manufacture of furniture, doors, interior 

 finishing, etc. It is also highly valued for railway ties, fence pests, 

 etc. A sweetish substance, resembling dextrin in properties, exudes 

 in abundance from wounds in the trunk of this tree, and is gathered 

 and eaten by the Indians. 



