592 AMERICAN FOREST TREES 



ish-brown. This is said to be one of most quickly-decaying woods of the 

 western forests when logs are left lying in damp woods. The white alder 

 ought to be suitable for nearly every purpose for which red alder is used. 



MOUNTAIN ALDER (Alnus tcnuifolid) is too small to contribute much to the 

 lumber supply of the country, though it may yield fuel in some localities where there 

 is little else. Its range extends from Yukon territory to Lower California, a distance 

 of 4,000 miles, and it nearly touches both the torrid and frigid zones. It is found 

 from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific in the United States. Few trunks exceed 

 twenty-five feet in height or six inches in diameter; but the form is generally brush, 

 in tangled thickets along the courses of mountain streams, and on boggy slopes, up to 

 7,000 feet in altitude. The wood is light brown, and there are no reports showing its 

 use for any purpose except firewood. 



SITKA ALDER (Alnus silchcnsis) is one of the smallest of the aborescent species, 

 and in most instances it is a shrub a few feet high. At its best it is thirty feet high 

 and eight inches in diameter. It grows from Alaska to Oregon, and eastward to 

 Alberta and Montana. It is found in mountain regions 4,000 feet above the sea. The 

 wood is valuable for fuel only. This species was discovered about eighty years ago, 

 but was practically lost sight of until recently. Many persons saw it but supposed 

 it to be one of the other alders. 



LANCELEAF ALDER (Alnus acuminata) is a southwestern species, ranging 

 through southern New Mexico and southern Arizona and south 4,000 miles to Peru. 

 In the United States it ascends to altitudes of 4,000 or 6,000 feet where it fringes the 

 banks of streams, and flourishes in the bottoms of canyons. The largest trees are 

 thirty feet high and eight inches in diameter. Flowers open in February before the 

 appearance of the leaves. The seeds have small wings which are of little or no use. 



SEASIDE ALDER (Alnus maritimd) grows in Maryland, Delaware, and Okla- 

 homa, and the largest trunks are thirty feet high and five inches in diameter. It is 

 found on the banks of ponds and streams. The flowers appear in July, and the seeds 

 of last year's crop ripen at the same time. The wood is light , soft, and brown, heart 

 and sap being scarcely distinguishable. The wood is not used. 



The European Alder (Alnus glulinosa) has been naturalized in a few places in 

 the United States, and several varieties are distinguished in cultivation. A native 

 shrubby species (Alnus rugosa) is common in many parts of the eastern states. It is 

 not usually listed as a tree, being too small, but it is sometimes twenty-five feet high 

 and three or four inches in diameter. In Europe the charcoal made from alder is 

 considered excellent material for the manufacture of gun powder, and considerable 

 areas of alder in England are held in reserve against an emergency. It is probable 

 that the American alders would answer as well as the European species. 



