2 BULLETIN 111, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



THE REGION. 



The Douglas fir region includes practically all of Oregon and 

 Washington west of the Cascade Mountains and a large part of 

 British Columbia. The portion included in the west of Oregon and 

 Washington, which is the part particularly referred to in this pub- 

 lication, has a width of from YO to 170 miles and a length of 500 

 miles, embracing approximately 54,000 square miles, or an area as 

 large as the New England States with New Jersey added. 



The region varies greatly in its topographical makeup. In every 

 part of it there are valleys, rolling hills, high tablelands, rivers, lakes, 

 and mountains. A considerable proportion is mountainous, espe- 

 cially the timbered areas. 



AVliile great diversity is found in topographic features, similarity 

 in the timber, as to size and volume of stand, has resulted, speaking 

 generally, in the use of uniform logging methods. For this reason 

 it has not been necessary to any considerable extent to consider spe- 

 cial methods in connection with particular sections. 



Mild winters are characteristic, and logging may be continued 

 throughout practically the entire year. 



COMMERCIAL SPECIES. 



Douglas fir, the principal tree, is one of the most important Ameri- 

 can woods. It was early shipped to different parts of the world 

 for masts and spars, and was the first tree in the region to be manu- 

 factured into lumber on a large scale. It ranks second in the United 

 States in point of production, being very extensively used in the 

 building trades by the railroads in the form of car and bridge 

 material, ties, and piling, and by many manufacturing plants. As 

 a structural timber it is not surpassed, and for a long time it was 

 most widely used and known in this capacity. Originally covering, 

 in forests of great density and almost absolute purity, the greater 

 part of the foothills and lower slopes of the Cascade Mountains and 

 the Coast Range, it now comprises about TO per cent of the standing 

 timber in the region. It is a gigantic tree, under favorable condi- 

 tions having a diameter of from 3 to 6 feet. Trees 8 or 10 feet in 

 diameter are to be found. 



Western red cedar is one of the most durable woods grown in this 

 country. It was first utilized for shingles about 30 years ago, and now 

 supplies the bulk of the shingles manufactured in the United States. 

 In addition, it is extensively used for poles, piling, posts, and sid- 

 ing. Its commercial range in this region is roughly confined to 

 western Washington and northwestern Oregon. It forms about 

 10 per cent of the stand in the Puget Sound country and about 

 2 per cent in northwestern Oregon. In the region of its greatest 

 abundance and best growth it has a higher stumpage value than any 

 of the species with which it is commonly associated. 



