14 



FORESTS OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 



trunk is short, rapidly tapering, and bears wide-spreading branches 

 nearly to the ground. At high elevations the western white pine is 

 very short and stunted. 



Although the western white pine is not a common tree in the park, 

 it is often noticed on account of its abundance of slender, pendant 

 cones, 6 to 10 inches long. They mature every two years and shed 

 their seed early in September. The seed are provided with long 



FIG. 8. Western white pine (Finns monticola). 

 Diameter 24 inches, height 50 feet. 



wings and are often carried by the wind for a great distance from the 

 parent tree. 



The wood is light, soft, free from pitch, and the most valuable of 

 any of the pines of the Cascades. It is used for interior finish, pat- 

 tern making, and other purposes. The supply of this tree is so lim- 

 ited that it is not of great commercial importance in the Mount 

 Rainier region. 



