54 DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 1425, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
utilized to the greatest possible degree by yard practice which will 
afford maximum air movement in both the yard and the lumber 
pile. The following improvements in the general regional practice 
are suggested : 
Yard congestion should be relieved by wider alleys and wider 
spacing between piles at the side. 
Drainage and vegetation in the yard should receive proper atten- 
tion. 
Higher foundations are essential. 
The use of narrower piles should be thoroughly considered. 
All stock should be piled one layer to the course. 
The 8/4 special crosser might well be the standard for the region, 
as well ag three crossers on 16-foot and shorter stock and four on 
stock of greater lengths. 
A wider spacing between boards in a course with both separate and 
random widths is necessary. 
The use of three or more chimneys, or the flared chimney with ex- 
ceptionally wide stock, is desirable. 
All stock should be roofed in a thorough manner. 
The principal steps to reduce checking are elimination, as far as 
practicable, of the practice of self-crossing stock and abandonment of 
the random-length type of pile. At plant locations where at certain 
periods of the year there is liability of checking and cupping, changes 
in piling methods should aim primarily to open up the lower part of 
the pile. 
The adoption of such recommendations may appear to many oper- 
ators as necessitating an impracticable expansion of yard space. As 
a matter of fact, a large part of the expansion seemingly required is 
apparent only. The recommended practice should result in a reduc- 
tion of the present seasoning time, thus speeding up turnover to a 
point where it would largely, if not entirely, compensate. There are 
a few yards in the redwood region where expansion is physically 
impossible, but at the others there is no real inability to expand. No 
more difficulties exist here than in the California pine region, where 
open yards of larger area are already accepted as common practice. 
The benefits to the redwood operators in freeing themselves from the 
erip of tradition and following the example of other regions in this 
respect would be even greater than they have proved to be in the 
California pine region. 
DOUGLAS FIR REGION 
GENERAL CONDITIONS 
The Douglas fir region of Oregon and Washington is bounded on 
the west by the Pacific Ocean and includes all of these two States 
west of the Cascade Mountains. It has a width of 70 to 170 miles 
and a length of 500 miles. Because the majority of the mills are 
located at the principal harbors, the variation in natural conditions 
at the different drying yards is by no means as great as would be 
expected in a region of this size. The climatic characteristics of this 
producing region are illustrated in Figure 10. Seasonal temperature 
fluctuation is relatively small, and mild winters are the rule. Relative 
humidities, however, show a marked variation at different periods 

