WESTERN LARCH 221 



A winged insect, commonly known as a " saw-fly," has 

 recently attacked the Tamarack in the northern portions 

 of its range and is doing much damage, in many cases de- 

 stroying large numbers of trees. There is no known remedy. 



WESTERN LARCH : Larix occidentalis 



IN this we have a tree of much more economic import- 

 ance than the Eastern species, notwithstanding its com- 

 paratively restricted area. Its natural range is on the west- 

 ern slope of the Rocky Mountains and the eastern slopes 

 of the Cascade Range, and from northern Montana, Idaho, 

 and Washington as far south as southern Oregon. It is 

 said to be in varying abundance over much of the forested 

 area of Oregon. In its natural domain it is able to adapt 

 itself to varying situations, running from moist, low, and 

 even wet ground up to dry hill- and mountain-sides. As far 

 as known, it has absolutely failed to encourage any belief 

 that its cultivation may prove a success anywhere in the 

 United States outside of its chosen habitat, although it is 

 reported as doing well in Europe. It attains a magnificent 

 growth, however, on the dry mountain slopes of its natural 

 home. It is seldom found less than two thousand or more 

 .than seven thousand feet from sea level. 



The tree frequently reaches a height of over two hun- 

 dred feet, with a diameter of six or seven feet in moist 

 ground, but on dry mountain-sides it seldom reaches those 

 figures. Unfortunately the tree is of slow growth. The 

 leaves closely resemble those of the Eastern Tamarack, 

 though a trifle longer, and are shed annually. While the 

 bark of the Eastern Tamarack is thin, that on old West- 

 ern trees is frequently six inches thick from the base to 

 twenty or thirty feet above the ground. Like nearly all 

 conifers, it is light-demanding, and when grown crowded, 

 sends up a slightly tapering, straight stem, free of limbs 

 to a height, occasionally, of one hundred feet, with a nar- 

 row, short, pyramidal crown running to a sharp point. It is 



