Page:All Over Oregon and Washington.djvu/285

Rh Those forests furnish a most interesting study to the botanist. Beginning our observations on the coast, we find that near the sea we have, for the characteristic tree, the black spruce (A. Menziesii). It grows to a diameter of eight feet, and to a considerable height, though not the tallest of the spruces. Its branches commence about thirty feet from the ground, growing densely; while its leaves, unlike the other species, grow all round the twig. The foliage is a dark-green, with a bluish cast. The bark is reddish, and scaly; and the cones, which grow near the ends of the branches, are about two inches in length, and purplish in color. In appearance, it resembles the Norway spruce. It loves a moist climate and soil; growing on brackish marshes, and inundated islands

The Oregon cedar (Thuya Gigantea) grows very abundantly near the coast. This tree attains to a very great size, being often from twelve to fifteen feet in diameter; but is not so high as the spruce. The branches commence about twenty feet from the ground. Above this the wood is exceedingly knotty; but the lumber obtained from the clear portion of the trunk is highly valued for finishing work, in buildings, as it is light and soft, and does not shrink or swell like spruce lumber. For shingles and rails it is also valuable, from its durability.

The Indians make canoes of the cedar, nearly as light and elegant as the famous birch canoes of more northern tribes. Formerly they built houses of planks split out of cedar, with no better instrument than a stone axe and wedge. An axeman can split enough in two or three days to build himself a cabin. This tree is nearly allied to the arbor vitæ, which it resembles in foliage, having its leaves in flat sprays, that look as if