402 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



size. The age of those of which I counted the rings, and which would be about the 

 same age as the one photographed, was 330 to 350 years, these trees showing no 

 signs of decay. The bark in dense forest is very thin for such large trees, some- 

 times only 2 to 3 inches thick, and though in older and more isolated trees it attains 

 a much greater thickness, as much as 9 to 15 inches near the ground, it struck me 

 as not being so thick and rugged as the bark of old European larch. 



The undergrowth in the forest was not dense, and was composed of Berberis 

 aquifolium, Cornus canadensis, LinncEa borealis, Symphoricarpus, Thalidrum, with 

 violets, strawberries, and in some places that lovely little orchid Calypso boreale. 

 There were abundant seedlings of larch and Douglas fir springing up wherever there 

 was enough light and moisture, but in the drier parts of the forest pine only was 

 seen. The young cones were already formed on 29th May, and I came ajvay with 

 the impression that though this tree may not rival the European or Japanese larches 

 in rapidity of growth, it will be valuable in the mountains of Central Europe and will 

 probably succeed on the better soils of England and Scotland. 



With regard to the timber of the western larch, Prof. Sargent says that " it 

 surpasses that of all other American conifers in hardness and strength, it is very 

 durable, beautifully coloured, and free from knots ; it is adapted to all sorts of 

 construction, and beautiful furniture can be made from it. No other American wood, 

 however, is so little known." Through the kindness of Mr. K. Ross I was able to 

 bring back from the St. Louis Exhibition a door and frame made from this wood 

 which fully bears out Sargent's high opinion of it. 



Until a few years ago the timber of the western larch was invariably called 

 tamarack, and was of no great commercial importance. The use of this name, which 

 is properly applied to Larix americana, the timber of which is little esteemed, proved 

 prejudicial to the reputation of the western larch in the eastern states. Of late years 

 the timber merchants of Idaho and Montana insist on the use of the term larch ; 

 and large quantities of this lumber are now being exported even as far east as 

 New York. Coarse grades are used for joints, beams, and railway ties. Finer 

 grades are sawn into planks, used for flooring, and are converted into materials for 

 indoor finish, as ceiling, laths, mouldings, panelling, etc. The timber is remarkably 

 free from knots, and is variable in colour, being often nearly white, though it is 

 asually reddish in tint. (H. J. E.) 



