1918] BRIEFER ARTICLES 361 
It is the commonest tree in sphagnum in the Puget Sound region, indi- 
viduals varying in size from 6 m. down to mere seedlings being common 
in nearly every sphagnum area examined. Many of the specimens, how- 
ever, have some dead branches, commonly near the top. The trunks of 
the larger specimens show the distinctly conical form common in trees 
growing in sphagnum, indicating that the stunting in height is greater 
than that of the diameter near the base. 
The Douglas fir is seldom found in sphagnum in the Puget Sound 
region, although it is the most abundant tree in the bordering forests. 
It is the lowest of the 5 species in the ratio of its growth in both diameter 
and height in sphagnum to that in other habitats. The largest specimens 
found in sphagnum are 2m. high. Seedlings are not abundant. In so 
far as any conclusions can be based on these data, the western hemlock 
grows best in sphagnum and the Douglas fir poorest. 
The other three conifers mentioned are intermediate between these 
two. Seedlings of giant cedar are abundant and a few trees reach a 
height of 5m. The two species of pine mentioned are found in but few 
sphagnum areas, but occasionally an area is found in which one or the 
other of these species has succeeded far better than any other conifer. 
The Sitka spruce is a common constituent of Puget Sound forests in many 
places, but has been seen by the writer in only one sphagnum area. 
The trees growing in sphagnum in the Puget Sound region are all 
erect, none being prostrated by bog conditions. That the conifers, at 
least, are well rooted in sphagnum is indicated by the fact that none of 
them are found uprooted by wind, although exposed specimens of the 
same species but little larger are commonly uprooted in other soils. 
The only deciduous trees found by the writer in sphagnum in the 
Puget Sound region are red alder (Alnus oregana), bog willow (Salix 
myrtilloides), western dogwood (Cornus occidentalis), and the peat bog 
birch (Betula glandulosa). Even these are rare, and all of them except 
the first are so small as to be considered shrubs rather than trees. 
In the forested portions of the Alaska coast some conifers are found 
in sphagnum. The ones most commonly found are lodge pole pine, 
Alaska cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), and Sitka spruce. These 
grow poorly in sphagnum. They are much distorted and are frequently 
sprawlingly prostrate, although they maintain their erect position and 
show much better growth in the neighboring forest on ordinary soil. 
Along the south coast of the Alaska peninsula, where the sphagnum 
occurs in the forestless regions, deciduous trees and shrubs are often 
found in sphagnum. They are usually much stunted and in a great many 
