AMERICAN FOREST TREES 87 



summer cells broad, occupying fully half the width of the annual 

 growth, very resinous, dark-colored, conspicuous resin passages few, 

 obscure; medullary rays few, thin; color, light bright red, the thin sap- 

 wood nearly white." The wood is described by Sud worth: "Clear, 

 reddish brown, heavy, and fine grained; commercially valuable; very 

 durable in an unprotected state, differing greatly in this respect from 

 the wood of the eastern larch." 



The seasoning of western larch has given lumbermen much 

 trouble. It checks badly and splinters rise from the surface of boards. 

 It is generally admitted that this is the most serious obstacle in the way 

 of securing wide utilization for the wood. The structure of the annual 

 ring is reason for believing that there is slight adhesion between the 

 springwood and that of the late season. Checks are very numerous 

 parallel with the growth rings, and splinters part from the board along the 

 same lines. Standing timber is frequently windshaken, and the cracks 

 follow the rings. 



All of this is presumptive evidence that the principle defect of 

 larch is a lack of adhesion between the early and the late wood. If that 

 is correct, it is a fundamental defect in the growing tree, and is inherent 

 in the wood. No artificial treatment can wholly remove it. It should 

 not be considered impossible, however, to devise methods of seasoning 

 which would not accentuate the weaknesses natural to the wood. 



The form of the larch's trunk is perfect, from the lumberman's 

 viewpoint, and its size is all that could be desired. It is amply able to 

 perpetuate its species, though it consumes a great deal of time in the 

 process. Abundant crops of seeds are borne, but only once in several 

 years. It rarely bears seeds as early as its twenty-fifth year, and gener- 

 ally not until it passes forty; but its fruitful period is long, extending 

 over several centuries. The seeds retain their vitality moderately well, 

 which is an important consideration in view of the tree's habit of opening 

 and closing its cones alternately as the weather happens to be damp 

 or dry. The dispersion of seeds extends over a considerable part of the 

 season, and the changing winds scatter them in all directions. Many 

 seeds fall on the snow in winter to be let down on the damp ground 

 ready to germinate during the early spring. The best germination 

 occurs on mineral soil, and this is often found in areas recently bared by 

 fire. Lodgepole pine contends also for this ground; but the race be- 

 tween the two species is not swift after the process of scattering seeds 

 has been completed; for both are of growth so exceedingly slow that a 

 hundred years will scarcely tell which is gaining. In the long run, 

 however, the larch outstrips the pine and becomes a larger tree. If 

 both start at the same time, and there is not room for both, the pine 



