134 AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



spruce's characteristic root system is shallow; but on mountain sides 

 where soil is dry, roots penetrate deep in search of moisture. 



The wood of this spruce varies greatly in color, but it is usually a 

 very pale brown, with the faintest tinge of red. It is a little heavier than 

 white pine, considerably weaker, and with less elasticity. The size of 

 the trunks, with their freedom from limbs, insures a high percentage of 

 clear lumber when Sitka spruce is manufactured. The tree grows 

 slowly, the annual rings are narrow, and the bands of summer growth 

 are comparatively broad, to which fact the rather dark color of the 

 wood of the spruce is due. 



Sitka spruce is an important source of lumber. The total cut in 

 Washington, Oregon, and California in 1910 was about 255,000,000 feet. 

 It is below red spruce in quantity of sawmill cut, but above all other 

 spruces in the United States. The people of the Pacific coast use much 

 of it at home, but large quantities are shipped to markets in eastern 

 states, and some to foreign countries. Nearly 4,000,000 feet were 

 bought by Illinois manufacturers in 1909, in addition to what was used 

 rough in the state. The commodities manufactured of this spruce in 

 Illinois indicate with a fair degree of accuracy the uses made of the wood 

 in most parts of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and 

 north of the Ohio river and the Potomac. Among articles so manu- 

 factured in Illinois are playground apparatus, porch and stair balus- 

 ters, doors, blinds, sash and frames, poultry brooders, sounding 

 boards for pianos and other musical instruments, parts of mandolins 

 and guitars, pipes for organs, cornice brackets, store and office fronts, 

 decking and spars for boats, wagon beds and windmill wheel slats, 

 refrigerators and cold storage rooms, ironing boards and other 

 wooden ware. 



Twenty times as much Sitka spruce is made into finished com- 

 modities in Washington as in Illinois. That is to be expected, since 

 Washington is the home of the tree and the center of supply. A partial 

 list of its uses in that state will show that the wood is liked at home. 

 Douglas fir was the only wood bought in larger amounts by Washington 

 manufacturers. They made 55,429,000 feet of it into boxes, and 

 coopers employed 12,000,000 more. The next largest users were 

 pulpmills, while 2,000,000 feet went into sounding boards, many of 

 which were for shipment abroad. Other users were basket makers, and 

 the manufacturers of furniture, fixtures, finish, caskets, veneer, trunks, 

 pulleys, vehicles, boats, and patterns. Sitka spruce decays quickly 

 when exposed to rain and weather. 



Sitka spruce can be depended upon for the future. Though it 

 grows slowly it may be expected to keep growing. Its range lies in 



