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portant constituents of the forest are Tsuga heterophylla and 

 Thuja plicata. Among the most conspicuous shrubs in the rank, 

 luxuriant undergrowth are Echinopanax horridum, Acer cir- 

 cinatum, and Gaultheria Shallon. Seedlings of various trees 

 germinate everywhere on fallen logs; there is a wealth of ferns; 

 while rocks, ground, logs, and trees are covered with mosses. 



The ecological resemblance between this forest and certain 

 forests in the east, e. g., those of northwestern Connecticut, 

 is striking. Not only is there a similarity in their general aspect, 

 in the mesophytic nature of the undergrowth, etc., but the like- 

 ness is further emphasized when a detailed analysis of the flora 

 of the two is made. To be sure, the Douglas spruce is lacking in 

 the east, beech and chestnut in the west, but hemlock is present 

 in both places. Betiila lutea is absent from the western forest, 

 but Alnus oregana may be considered its ecological equivalent. 

 The eastern Acer pennsylvanicum finds its counterpart in the 

 western A . circinatum; Taxus canadensis of the east easily corre- 

 sponds to T. brevifolia of the west, Cormis Florida to C. NuUallii; 

 and so on. Moreover, many herbaceous species are common to 

 both, e. g. Lycopodiiim lucididum, Comics canadensis, Linnaea 

 horealis, and Chimaphila umbellata, while the species of Clintonia, 

 Trillium, Maianthemum, Tiarella, Oxalis, and other genera 

 characteristic of the eastern forest are closely paralleled by very 

 similar species here in this western forest. 



Proceeding upward from National Park Inn there is a gradual 

 change in the composition of the forest, until at an elevation of 

 4,500 feet it consists largely of Tsuga heterophylla, Chanicecyparis 

 nootkatensis , and various species of Abies. There is no distinct 

 timber-line on Mount Rainier. Camp of the Clouds, in the 

 Paradise Valley (altitude 5,550 feet), lies in the midst of a lovely 

 mountain park where scattered clumps of trees — mainly Abies 

 lasiocarpa — alternate with alpine meadows. The meadows below 

 the camp are a veritable garden, whose brilliant floral display 

 was. said by the Swiss members of the party to equal even that 

 of their own Alps. 



Returning to Tacoma, some of the party visited the "oak- 

 openings" in the neighborhood of Spanaway Lake, while others 



