THE DOUGLAS FIR. 8S.8 



To what extent the Douglas fir ma}' be considered storm firm 

 in Europe will depend on further experience ;, in Scotland 

 many trees only 30 years old, grown in fairly crowded 

 plantations, have been throwai. In exposed localities the 

 leading shoots suffer to an excessive extent. 



German foresters seem to consider the Douglas fir to be a 

 moderately light demanding species. The author is more 

 inclined to class it as a moderate shade bearer, standing near 

 spruce, or still nearer the Himalayan deodar. 



h. Sliape and Developmeni. 



The Douglas fir develops a straight undivided stem, except 

 that in some localities the first 6 feet from the ground are 

 curved. Grown in the open the crown covers the whole stem 

 and comes down almost to the ground; the stems of such trees 

 are very tapering. If grown in crowded woods in its natural 

 home, the lowest portion of the stem is exceptionally stout ; 

 the crown forms a sharp cone confined to the upper half of 

 the stem, w^iilst the bole is described as of a remarkably 

 cylindrical shape, at least as much as that of the European 

 silver fir. A regular wood* which the author examined in 

 1888 was 32 years old ; in this all the trees were excessively 

 tapering, giving a form factor t of *39 for timber only (over 

 3 inches diameter at the thin end). Since then the form 

 factor has risen to "tt-l. 



The growth of the Douglas fir is exceedingly fast. At the 

 same time it varies enormously according to climate and soil. 

 According to Mayr, a wood 80 years old and grown under the 

 most favourable conditions showed an average height of about 

 133 feet, or an average annual height growth of nearly 20 inches. 

 The Taymount plantation shows an average height growth of 

 about 22 inches. 



In Montana, according to Mayr, the Douglas fir shoM'S a 

 height growth of about 10 inches on an annual average, or 



* Taymount. on the estate of the Earl of Mansfield. Scotland ; area = 8 acres, 

 t For " Form Factor" see Volume III. 



