er. It is often sold under the name
of Oregon pine. Lumber dealers class the coarse-grained reddish wood
produced by the young growth in open forests as "red fir." The older
growth produced when the forest is more dense is a finer grained and
more valuable wood, sold under the name of "yellow fir."

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Douglas fir (_Pseudotsuga taxifolia_).]

The Douglas fir is used for nearly all purposes where durability,
strength, and hardness are desirable. It is made into dimension timbers,
lumber, flooring, and is particularly adapted for masts and spars. The
lumber is shipped by rail to the Middle Western States. The foreign
cargo shipments are made to all parts of the world. The greatest amount
goes to Australia, the west and east coasts of South America, China, the
United Kingdom, and Europe, Japan, and the South Sea Islands. Coastwise
shipments are made to California, Alaska, and Panama. Large quantities
of the seed of this tree are sent to Europe, where the Douglas fir is
grown for timber and for ornament.

WESTERN RED CEDAR (THUJA PLICATA.)[1]

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Douglas fir (_Pseudotsuga taxifolia_).]

The western red cedar (title page and fig. 5) ranges from south-eastern
Alaska to northern California. It is a common tree in the park. It
occurs in patches along the river bottoms where the flat scalelike
foliage is conspicuous among the needle-shaped leaves of the hemlock and
fir. The bark is fibrous in appearance and may be readily separated into
long strips. The trunks of the older trees are swelled and irregularly
fluted at the base. The leaves are fragrant and the wood has a pleasing
aromatic odor. Nearly all the large trees are hollow at the butt. The
roots spread laterally to a great distance, but extend only for a short
distance below the surface of the ground. The tree is easily overthrown
by the wind and usually grows in sheltered localities. On account of the
thinness of the bark it is easily killed by fire.

[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Two big Douglas firs and a western red cedar (on
the left) along the road up the Nisqually Valley, Mount Rainier National
Park.

Photograph by A.H. Denman.]

The red cedar flourishes on fertile and well-watered soils near sea
level, where it grows to an enormous size. In the park it is a smaller
tree, 150 to 170 feet high and rarely more than 4 or 5 feet through
above the swollen butt. It grows occasionally up to an altitude of 4,000
feet, but is a