88 SURVEYS OF FOREST RESERVES. 



THE FOREST. 



Except the redwood belt of California, the Olymjjic forest is finer and 

 more productive than that of any other considerable division of the 

 United States, and may fairly be called magnificent. It is composed 

 almost exclusively of coniferous trees, towering often to a height of from 

 225 to 275 feet. The size of its members and the luxuriance of the 

 undergrowth give it an almost tropical appearance. Douglas flr (red 

 flr), western cedar, Sitka spruce, and western hemlock are its principal 

 trees. 



With the slight opportunity for investigation afforded by a short and 

 hurried trip it is impossible to reach an estimate of the volume of tim- 

 ber now standing in the Olympic forest, and it must suffice to say that 

 it amounts to many billions of feet. Individual acres bearing more 

 than 100,000 feet of lumber are common, while in the neghborhood of 

 Port Orescent one-quarter section which had been lumbered is known 

 to have yielded upward of 40,000 feet per acre of cedar alone. 



Lumbering within the boundaries of the reserve has attained no 

 importance, so far as I was able to learn. Enormous quantities of tim- 

 ber have passed into private hands around the edges of the peninsula, 

 and these supplies will be sufficient to meet all commercial demands for 

 several years to come. 



The Douglas flr (red fir), which is the most important timber tree of 

 this reserve, appears to depend for its distribution upon the action of 

 flre. So radical a statement, however, should be made only with the 

 proviso that further study will be required to confirm or disprove it. 

 The average dimensions of this tree are as follows: Height, 200 feet; 

 diameter, 6 feet; length of clear trunk, 100 feet. Fair-sized trees will 

 cut from three to five merchantable logs of 36 feet in length. A foot- 

 log across the Soleduck Eiver at Wineton, which was 26 inches in diam- 

 eter at the butt, 134 feet long, and 18 inches in diameter at the upper 

 end, will indicate the size reached even by young trees. 



The western cedar is here widely distributed through the lower por- 

 tions of the forest, but appears to prefer the iiatter an^. less well-drained 

 situations. Its reproduction within the forest is fairly good in places, 

 while young seedlings are of common occurrence in openings cleared by 

 flre. Its average dimensions are: Height, 175 feet; diameter, 6 feet; 

 length of clear trunk, 75 feet. Good-sized trees will cut from two to 

 three 36-foot logs. 



The Sitka spruce here reaches enormous dimensions. Diameters of 10 

 to 12 feet at 4 feet above the ground are common where this tree is abun- 

 dant, while the average dimensions are: Height, 175 feet; diameter, 5 

 feet; length of clear trunk, 100 feet. Fair-sized trees will cut from two 

 to four 36-foot logs. The spruce is highly prized for lumbering, and its 

 enormous size, great length and girtli of boll, and freedom from knots 

 make it an extremely valuable component of the forest, although in 

 numbers it falls behind the Douglas fir and hemlock. 



The western hemlock constitutes almost everywhere the bulk of the 

 forest. It occurs as undergrowth beneath the towering spruces, cedars, 

 and flrs, and in many situations grows almost pure over small areas. Its 

 average dimensions are: Height, 150 feet; diameter, 3 feet; length of 

 clear trunk, 75 feet. Its reproduction is extremely good and its growth 

 is moderately fast, but it is not as yet extensively used for lumbering. 

 Hereafter it may be expected to show marked commercial importance, 

 since its wood far exceeds in quality that of the eastern hemlock, which 

 has already a very extensive market. 



