IS
.WE MQRHING- OBEGOMAN,. TUESDAY, JANUAEY 1, 1901
m ROSSINQ the California-Oregon
lln6 and proceeding north-wards
I a great change takes place In
forest life. The giant redwooa
gives way to the Oregon pins
end the California post cedar to the red
cedar. Tide-land spruce, hemlock, sugar
pine 4nd yellow pine also appear. Nearly
all these species attain their maximum
development between the Columbia River
and Puget Sound, and each In Its own pe
culiar environment may be found on
through Oregon, "Washington, British Co
lumbia and into Southern Alaska. Here
they are crowded close to the coast, and
northward and above them to the line of
everlasting snow extends the Alaskan
cedar. The great forests of the North
Pacific are nourished by the Japanese
current, .Near the entrance to Puget
Bound the rainfall averages nearly low
Inches annually. The climate Is mild,
enow seldom falling. The -vegetation is
very dense, valleys, hills and mountain
ridges, are one -vast forest, the trees stand
ing close and high. Beneath, covering the
ground, are-dozens of varieties of brush,
large and email. Farther back from th
coast the rainfall decreases, the woods
are less dense, and when the summit of
the Cascades 4s reached open pineries re
place dense fir forests. Of these -varieties
She trade known as the Oregon sugar and
yellow pines, the Ted cedar and, to a
sight extent, the tide-land spruce.
Oregon has 234,653,000,000 feet, board
tneasure, of standing timber, and WashT
tngton 114,778,000,000 feet. In Oregon the
timber Is mainly found in the Coast
Range and on the west slope of the Cas
cades. Lone County has more timber
than any other county in the state. .It
5ias 23,800,000,000 feet. Douglas Is a close
second with 23,854.000,000 feet. Clatsop,
with 15,476.000.000 feet, follows, and from
hat on the stand runs to 400,000,000 In Gil
liam and none In Sherman.
The following table shows tho geograph
ical distribution of timber in Oregon:
Feet
Board
Measure.
Coast Ranges .102 10S 000 000
"West slope of Cascades 87.0S3 000,000
East slope of Cascades 27,534,000,000
Eastern Oregon 17,92S,000,000
Total 234,C33,000,000
Coincident wjth Eastern interest In Or
egon forests, "the Government is paying
ji&wtm .tWt JeWiPWtS-P&tvfKlj!s3k i vviiue nr a si
jmw.yiiifcjuu . ySSlflMk ' Afflne":::::::::::::: 5.1 :o2
T " ",injw vitrt, , -,-.".. -3OT i KtWfl. Western hemloc'c ... .1 0
n - J. i Ma sr-J3 vyg jms-$4ftki& y&.&lffl$liy& ! Alnine hemlock 6o 1.
A . .& nl J 6 3&6 5k sTh PiJnh'LMiM. :- Engelmann spruco... .6 .23
J Alss, k& I $ J&&frk2k ska WW$MWi. ' Incense cedar 06 .75
m 5 - $&&. $ JRK. M l & MfttSM HI MWJmWmmSm. I Western juniper 35 1.00
C " - 4.-5S,rfc ff$f3- "H r Mm&frmt P03 B'f I Tne yellow PJne easily ranks above all
J -.- JjSlsfS rlMOn n t 1 MttSm&MsM frU WfrTr-frTW"mWTii I of the other species on the Eastern slopw.
1 'ii&-ffijt 1 I I 1 Jl 1 S4?JfaWlBfl ff The reason for this lies chiefly In the
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mil aSilMsffqgEcjcySi iWRWSp M$.HraaW T HHRf- W Wfc:flwP!!fi CWXUSiJBlM
raliMrasraM --m -m m , I , , , .mi t--- i - - - -- . aBTF jP" -X v TTTI W nM iTmT frafMTWMTMMraraMraMrarar ll MM W M M A . u W BsHV IT IPWtSsnHlHllVB 4- X JWfc Srf' 7 Tt,V v
XKere are no forests HKe those of Oregon and "VasHington. The Doug'
las fir, of tese endless forests, is tKe most valuable for general merchant
able purposes in the -world.
more attention to them. Last June A. J.
Johnson, forestry expert of Oregon, for
the United States Geological Survey,. wa
sent East of the Cascades and he spent
nearly six months investigating forest
areas. He located and reported 1.000 000.000
feet of the timber the existence of which
had not heretofore been known to tho
Government. The principal varieties of
this discovery are jellow pine, tamarack,
lodge-pole pine, white flr and mountain
spruce. Much sugar pine is scattered over
the buttes of Southern Oregon in districts
visited by Mr--Johnson. There are hun
dreds of thousands of acres bearing noth
ing but Juniper and mountain mahogany.
These trees have value for fencing and
fuel. The Juniper Is very durable and
makes a good fence post. The mahogany
grows to five or six inches In diameter
and Its -value as fuel is said to be equal
to nut coal,
So great Is the demand for timber that
timber lands have advanced in price lOu
per cent In the past two years Quarte.
sections "which af ew years ago could have
been bought for5 an actehave advanced
to $10, while land for which $10 was asked
has risen In some Instances to $25 Prices
range all the way from $600 to $4500 pei
quarter section, according' to the amount
Of timber the cruiser reports, together
with ltd accessibility to navigable
streams.
"WatUington' Merchantable Timber.
The area of merchantable timber in
Washington Is little less than half of that
of Oregon "While the wooded areas of
the two states do not differ materially,
Oregon's being 54 300 square miles and
Washington's 47.700 square miles, a much
larger proportion of the wooded area of
Oregon Is covered with timber of mer
chantable size and species For example,
the Cascade Range In Washlntgon Is much
broader than In Oregon and at a much
greater altitude, thus cutting out a larg
er part of the wooded area. The 01 j m
plc Mountains also subtract another large
part of the wooded area.
The lumber industry of Washington has,
especially in recent Tears, attained a
much larger development than In Oregon,
consequently a more extensive area has
been cut over. In 1890 the cut of Wash
ington was more than double that of Or
egon, the alues of production standing
at $17,007.06 and $7,065,425, respectively.
Washington is naturally divided into
" ' fKEgBFggqMI y W'S HxHIJlEME IlEIEHl -rr't m I r v?Nr '
THT-i N niilil mK i '"'Ii i IHEIEIEP E.s?jr??s mh. : -- ! -lrr,,:-. I .r - - zm
"iHBgacaEHKa r
two parts, which differ widely from each
other in respect to timber growth. The
line of division is the crest of the Cas
cade Range, running north and south
through the state. West of the range the
country is heaUly forested, or was be
fore lumbering operations began. In this
part of the state the areas naturaally de
void of timber are few and small, and
altogether trifling in proportion to tho
total area. East of It the land Is mainly
without timber, and where timber exists
it Is sparse and its quality Is Inferior.
Moreover, there Is a vast difference in the
species. West of the Cascades the pre
vailing species which forms nearly two
thirds of the entire forest Is red or yellow
flr. This, with cedar, hemlock and spruce,
composes the forest. Fir Is found In al
most all parts of. this region, and through
out the Sound valley little of any other
species is found, the forests being almost
pure fir. East of the Cascade Range the
forest consists mainly of pine, principally
jellow pine, though In the northeast coh
ner of the state a little white pine Is in
termingled. Red fir is found scatterea
through the pine forests in considerable
proportion and In the nbrtheastern part
of the state larch Is abundant. Small
proportions of hemlock and cedar are
found and a trifling amount; of spruce and
oak.
Stand, by Species.
The following table gives the stand of
timber of the species recognized by lum
bermen, with the percentage which each
bears to the total amount.
Feet Per Cent
Species. board measure, of total.
Red Fir r.63,338,421,000 60
Cedar 16 309,453 000 14
Hemlock 14848259.000 13
Pine 6.5S6520000 6
Spruco 6,419,215,000 5
Larch 2,078,601.000 2
White Fir 24550000
Oak 3.700,000
The entire area of Washington Is 66,880
square miles Of this, 23,165 square miles,
or 36 per cent, are covered with mer
W&m K Yellow pine 27 5 68
fii HjS b Sugar pine 2 8 .9
65a. SI Ifl White pine 36 .05
Lafi".. J SB!I1PIK I White bark pine 03 01
oSswrS SnS &2S?8,j$W. I Lodge pole pine 6 3 22 6
rkfMW EsM 8Ja?T5fW I Red fir 44. 122
jm3lBB.3 KP fiAjjggmi A in.;, ii mi - K
chantable timber. Only one-half of the
wooded area of the state is regarded as
containing merchantable timber, 'in oth
er words, out of an area of 15,858 square
miles formerly covered with merchantable
timber, 20 per cent haa been cut; 22
per cent destroyed by fire, and the re
mainder, 57, per cent. Is still covered
with standing timber. In the entire area
theie are only ,833 square- miles which
are naturally tlmberles,s. Assuming that
the logged area contained on an-average
tho same amount of timber per acre as
is still standing In other areas, it appears
that since lumbering began in this region
there has been cut from it 36,000.000.000
feet. Making the same assumption re
garding the burned area, it appears that
there has been destroyed by fire, without
the least benefit to the world, the enor
mous amount of 40,000,000,000 feet of lum
ber. Distribution of the Trees.
The distribution of the different species
recognized as lumber In Washington, fol
lows a few definite and simple laws. On
tho west shore of Puget Sound the for
est Is practically pure fir. Southward as
far as the Columbia River, tnrougnout
the vallev of the eastern slope of the
Cascade Range, more than three-fourths
of the forest Is composed of this species.
The proportion diminishes as the Racine
Coast is apprbached, and on the Coast and
la an area or belt extending rrom 10 to &
miles. Inland, there Is practically no red
fir to be found. On the east coast of
Puget Sound and southward, between one
Jialf and three-f ourtHs of the forest Is
composed of fir. The proportion Increases
somewhat away from Puget Sound, but
at an altitude of 3000 feet In the Cascade
Range the flr disappears
The distribution of spruce Is equally
characteristic There Is practically no
spruco on the Cascade Range or on Us
eastern slope. It Is mpro abundant im
mediately upon the Pacific Coast and at
mlnlshes thence inland
Of cedar there Is scarcely any to be
fA Rvm-wy for log's in sm OregToiv
Forest- Motive
nisKed through
FROM PHOTO. BY L..J.t1lCIS9 HUKTLHNU,
found on the islands and the west coast
of Puget Sound, and but very little In
the valley to the southwara. It Increases
westward; towards the coast and reaches
a maximum Immediately upon the coast.
The east coaSt of Puget Sound contains
a large proportion of cedar, ranging from
one-fourth, to one-half of the forests,
and the proportion diminishes as one as
cends the Cascades.
Hemlock Is almost entirely wanting on
both shore! of Puget Sound and in the
valley to the south.
It increases westward and forms a no
ticeable proportion of tho forests in the
Cascade Range and in the northwestern
part of the Olympic peninsula. It In
creases also as one ascends the Cascades,
its habitat extending nearly to timber
lino.
Oregon Forest Reserve.
Of the 38 forest reservations In the
United States, created by Presidential
proclamation under the act of Congress
of March 3, 1891, the Northwest has five.
Three, the Cascade, the Bull Run and the
Ashland, are In Oregon, and two, the
Rainier and the Olympic, are In Wash
ington. The Cascade comprises 4.49Z.0U0
acres, the Rainier 3,594,240 acres, and the
Olympic 1,923,840 acres. Both the Bull
Run and Ashland reserves are small
They were created to protect the water
supplies of Portland and Ashland. A re
cent examination of 8000 square miles of
the Cascade reserve by the United States
Geological . Survey disclosed that on the
west side, of the Cascades, where .the rain
fall is ample, the forests are aense and
the undergrowth luxuriant. On the east
side, where more arid conditions prevail,
the forests are open? with no under
brush. On the wit slope the red fir pre
dominates and on the east tne yellow
pine. Of the SO00 square mlies examined,
65 per cent Is forested and the remainder
not forested. The non-forested areas He
mainly In the extreme west and In the
eastern part.
The following table shows the percent
age of coniferous species of the forested
area on both slds of the Cascades.
West slope. East slope.
per cent, per cent.
m
,m
r
i-ower is lur-
long steel cables.
zsasjscfuijuitmKwmm
smaller precipitation on the sub-humla
areas of the eastern slope. The large pro
portion of lodgepole pine Is chiefly due to
forest fires. At least SO per cent of the
species owes Its growth to this cause.
The age of the timber utilized, in sawmill
consumption varies from 100 to 350 years.
Most of the yellow pine falls below 175
years. The higher limit is reached chiefly
In the sugar pine- Most of the sugar pine
In the region is of great and mature age.
Comparatively little red fir Is cut. It
varies In age from 10d to 500 years, and
some of the very large trees are believed
to be older. The noble fir and white pine
of mill-timber size varies in age from
100 to 350 years, most of it falling below
180 years. The alpine hemlock' runs from
80 to 250 years. The white fir, with suf
ficient clear trunk development, varies In
age from 73 to 120 years.
The most serious defect of the timber
consists of fire scars In the yellow ana
sugar pines, usually occurring as spots
la the lower third of the trunk denuded
of the bark ana with the wood charred
or burned, more or less deeplyr Thes,
defects are very common In the yello
pine east of the Cascades, where the
wood ot the species Is more highly resln
iferous than west of the range and where
In consequence, injuries of this- nature
are apt to extend over a larger proportion
of the trunk. This defect often dimin
ishes the lumber contents of the trunk
In scaling by 10 to 20 per cent.
Large Sugar Pine Trees.
Most of the very aged sugar pine ana
red flr have rotten covers or gum cracks
In their trunks. The Incense cedar on
both sides of the mountains rarely haa
a sound center. It is seldom cut except
for shingles The Alpine hemlock is usu
ally sound, even where trees have at
tained a high old age, provided fire has
not swept through the stands.
The sugar pine west of the Cascades
reaches a greater diameter than any oth
er trees in the reserve, a maximum ot 96
inches having been noted. The yellow
pine varies from 14 to 50 Inches in Its
base diameter, the white pine from 20 to
36 Inches, red flr from 14 to 84 Inches,
while the other trees range all the way
from 10 to 72 Inches In base diameter.
The red fir has the clearest trunk, often
reaching a height of 120 feet before
branching. The white pine reaches any
where from 40 to 100 feet, the sugar pine'
from 15 to 70 feet, and the other trees
range anywhere from the ground to (W
or 65 feet, according to the species.
West of the Cascades 145,460 acres have
been logged and east of the mountains
57,000 acres These operations Involve the
removal all the way from. 100 per cent t
the timber to the culling of the sugar
pine alone. The most extensive operations
have been in proximity to the Rogue
River "Valley settlement, and the placer
diggings of the southwest In the spurs ot
the Siskiyou Mountains.
Fires have widely ravaged the region
examined. There Is not a single town
ship in which the timber is not more or
less fire-marked. Without much doubt
the present agricultural areas, once grass-
' covered and carrying scattered stands ot
oak, were burned over quite as extensive
ly as the timbered tracts. The only tract
that have escaped are the swampy sedge
and tule-covered areas bordering the
Klamath lakes and marsh, end sucn
spots in the higher elevations where base
lava or pumice fields made the apread or.
fires impossible Of the forested area ex
amined, comprising In round numbers 3,
00,000 acres, a total of 2,975,000 -acres, or
$9 992 per cent are fire marked. The re
maining 25,000 acres which have escaped
He mostly In the swampy bottoms of the
Rogue River forks and isolated tracts
along the higher summits of the Cascade
main range.
Ralpler and Olympic Reserves.
The Rainier reserve Is marked by a
large variety of trees, prominent amon&
them being the white, yellow, lodgepole
, and mountain pine, the noble, lovely Al
pine, and white fir, hemlock, spruce, rea
cedar and such deciduous trees as the
ash, maple, Cottonwood, aspen and oak.
About & per cent of the forest stand Is
composed of dead snags scattered through
the green and live growth. The cause la
I not only final maturity to the trees. Many
of them diecV for lack of light and air,
killed by their most vigorous neighbors.
In areas where the soil Is excessively
moist a common defect Is ground rot.
Timber- Is thickest in the Wind River
watershed, where the stand is 3,749,605,000
feet. In both the Lewis, and White River
sections nenrly 8,000,000,000 feet are esti
mated, and on the Puyallup, Cowlitz, CIs
pus and Klickitat Rivers between 1,000,000,
000 and -2,000,000.000 feet are said to ba
Btandlng. The total estimate, arranged
by species of trees, is as follows:
Feet
Red or yellow flr , 8 555,218,750
Hemlock J....... 3,533,684.000
Yellow pine 2,062,371,750
Red cedar 1,317.078,500
Noble fir 1,247.883 500
Lovely flr 74B.267,t00
White flr 533.753.000
White pine 519,S18,00O
Tamarack 512,385,000
Mountain hemlock...,...., 250,677,000
Engelmann spruce 271,7S5,'O0O
Mountain flr .' 200,130.000
Alaska. cedar 151.326 009
Lodge pole pine 73,267,000
Total 2O,013,2S5,O0O
Only about 45000 acres of the reserve
are fair farming land, and of this amount
over one-half Is under adverse cllmatlo
conditions, due. to altitude and exposure.
Of the favorably situated areas in West
ern Washington, the most Important are
in the Cowlitz watershed, where the Big
Bottom affords about 3000 acres of cleared
lands'. Along the Nlsqually there are
about 1Q00 acres, of rich lands, while the
south, fork oft the Puyallup and Mowttch
River bottoms,- Carbon River canyon, Cls
pus Valley, the "Vailey ot the Lewis River,
Little White Salmon "River and other lo-
calltles all offer small areas of valuable
farming land, while many settlers havo
gone in on about 8000 acres in the WIna
Jttver Valley. ' Around the headwaters or
the Klickitat are also found some val
uable arable lands.
Taken as a whole the Olympic reserva
tion is the most heavily forested region
of" Washington. The densest forests are
found near the Pacific Coast In the north-
western part of the reserve. In the moun
tains, as the altitude Increases, the for
ests become of less value for lumber.
The total stand of timber upon an area
of 2100 square miles is 37106,830.000 feet,
an average Of 24,000 feet per acre. This
timber Is divided among the different
species as follows:
Feet
Red fir : 9,551.750,000
Cedar 3,786.330,000"
Hemlock , 16.534.760.00Q
Spruce 2,280,500.000
Stiver flr , 5.433.500,000
Total -. 37,106,850,000
In that portion of the reserve In Clal
Jam County the standing timber
amounts to 23,822,500,000 feet, hemlock pre
dominating. NEW LUMBERING PROCESSES.
Steam Haa Superseded Animals at
the Great Bridal Veil Campa.
Steam has completely superseded cattle
and horses at the camps of the Bridal
Veil Lumbering Company. Bridal Veil,
the name of a beautiful waterfall, is lo
cated on the line of the O. R. & N.
Railroad 30 miles East of Portland. The
Bridal Veil .Lumbering Company's camps
are located on Larch Mountain, a magni
ficently timbered section sevelx to ten miles
out from the railroad station. Trees, many
of them of tremendous diameter and
height, . thickly stud the mountain side.
These trees are felled and cut Into logs
in the ordinary manner of these West
ern lumbering forests, after which donkey
engines, mounted upon heavy sleighs made
purposely for them, gather the product in
from all directions. Long cables are em
ployed for this purpose, and they can
strip an acre or two of saw logs at a
single setting This process Is called
"yarding," and when a section has been
cleared the donkey and sleigh are moved,
by using the cables, to another place.
"Bull" donkeys of greater strength than
"yarding" donkeys, with their endless
cables, haul the logs from the "yard" to
a logging railroad, and this latter deliv
ers them at the mill. The "bull" donkeys
use a skid road, but the railroad, upon