TIMBER TREES. RANGE OF. The statis tical atlas of Gen. Walker contains a careful analysis of our forest wealth, prepared by Prof. Brewer, of Yale College. It will be found valu able, in connection with the articles Forestry and Timber. Considered botanically, the flora of the United States is very rich in woody plants. The actual number of species is not known, but 800 is perhaps not too high an estirnate. There is no dividing line in nature between trees and shrubs; the arbitrary rule adopted by most botanists is to call trees only such species as grow to thirty or more feet high; less than that are shrubs. Some times, however, the habit of the plant will place among the trees a plant which, from size alone, would be called a shrub. An examination of vari ous authorities shows that upwards of 300 indige nous species of trees are known to botanists growing within the limits of the United States, which attain the height of thirty feet. About 250 of these are, somewbere in the United States, toler ably abundant, or, at least, not rare. If for our purpose we exclude all the smaller trees that never attain a height of fifty feet, also those trop ical species, however large, which occur with us only in extreme Southern Florida, also a few Mexican trees found only along our extreme southern border, also such rare species as may occur only in Alaska, also all those very rare species nowhere common, and consider only the larger twes which are somewhere in our territory tolerably abundant, we have still about 120 species, of which about twenty species attain a height of 100 feet, twelve a height of 200 feet, while perhaps five or six may attain a height of 300 feet and over. Of the 120 species indicated, about fifty belong to the Coniferce. How many of these species are of special importance in com merce, or in the home industries (of other use than for fuel), it is impossible to say, but it is a very large proportion of the whole number. Many of the smaller species, however, and of the larger shrubs, give special character to large areas of woodlands, and can not be ignored in any discussion of American trees, whether con sidered botanically or economically. A glance at the map shows large regions either treeless or very sparsely wooded. It is possible to cross the continent, from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, without passing through a forest five miles in extent, or large enough to be indicated on the ma,p. Then, again, the woodlands of the East are separated from those of the West by a broad, treeless plain from six to fifteen degrees wide. The forests and woodlands on the two sides of this gap are entirely unlike in their aspect and in their botanic characters. On the eastern side, broad-leaved, hard wood species predominate, both in abundance of individuals and in number of species, the forests of large areas consisting entirely of such kinds. On the west, the forests are entirely of Coniferce; other species occur, some of great value, but they nowhere (or at most in only rare cases in the extreme west) form a conspicuous or even noticeable element in the forests of both sides; the nearest approach to it is the aspen, (Populus tremuloides), which is a common tree in the North from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Two species of cottonwood are also abundant in some localities, and form an impor tant element in the fringe of wood bordering streams, but are never otherwise a conspicuous element in the forests of the West. These three species of poplar are the only broad-leaved trees that figure as trees on both sides of the central treeless plains; but others stray across as mere shrubs on one side Among the Coniferae, one cedar is found on both sides as an abundant wood in places, but it is a low, crabbed growth west. a large shrub oftener than a tree. Neither beech, nor elm, nor hickory, nor mulberry, nor bass wood, nor tulip-tree, nor magnolia, nor sassafras forms an element in the forests of the Rocky mountains and westward. For convenience in discussing the kinds of wood, we may divide our domain into ten geographical divisions, viz. : 1. New England; 2. The Middle States; 3. The Southeastern region ; 4. The Northwestern reg ion; 5. the Southwestern; 6. The Plains; 7. The Rocky Mountain region; 8. Arizona, New Mex ico, and the Great Basin; 9. The Pacific region, and 10. Alaska. Only native species are consid ered in the following discussion of the kinds of wood. So much confusion exists in the popular and commercial names of many of our trees that the botanical name is given where necessary for precision. One example is sufficient to illustrate this confusion of names. The most widely spread and valuable of western timbers, Abies Douglasii, which grows from British Columbia to New Mexico, is known in its different locali ties under the various names of Douglas fir, red fir, black fir, Douglas spruce, red spruce, black spruce, hemlock, Oregon pine, western pitch, Bear River pine, swamp pine, and perhaps others; moreover, nearly all of these names, are also applied to other species. Similar con fusion exists in the popular names of not a few species. New England was originally entirely wooded, and has about eighty or eighty-five species of trees, of which about sixty may reach fifty feet in height. Maine is a great source of pine-spruce lumber, but, as a whole, hard wood species predominate, particularly south of the forty-fourth parallel. Many of these hard woods are noted for their durability and texture, and form the raw material for a great variety of manufactures, particularly of carriages and vari ous tools and implements where tough wood is an essential part. The extent and variety of manufactures in wood is relatively greater in this region than elsewhere, and ship building is an important industry. The large timber used in house and ship building is unquestionably rapidly diminishing, but the area of woodlands is not decreasing in the same ratio. In many
places the large trees suitable for salving, are cut without clearing the land of the smaller growth, leaving it still woodland; and as such it is shown on the map, in article Forestry, page 369. As a. whole, the area of woodlands in this region is but slowly, if indeed at all, diminishing, and in large districts it increases from year to year. This is particularly the case in portions of the western part, where hilly regions, formerly largely in tillage and pasturage, are now growing up with trees, mostly of hard wood kinds. Some of the timber thus grown is considered peculiarly valu able in rnanufactures, where strength and dura bility are needed. This extension of woodland areas is by natural process. Few, if any, forests have been planted, except on the sandy regions along the southern part and on the islands,where pines have been planted to some extent. The extensive planting of trees for shade and orna ment, however, increases largely the actual amount of wood in this region. To appreciate how much it is only necessary to see rnany of the New England villages and cities from some height in the summer, where the abundance of trees gives the appearance of a forest to the scene. t-ome of the cities have more actual wood growing in their streets and parks than is sufficient to be termed a heavy forest of timber in the sparsely wooded regions of the West. In New England, the elm, and perhaps the sugar maple, attain their finest development and great est abundance. The Middle Stateshave about 100 to 105 species of trees, sixty-five to sixty-seven of which sometimes reach fifty feet in height. The region was originally entirely wooded. Over much of it the forests were very heavy, and there are still immense quantities of timber available. The forests of this region are usually made up of quite a number of species; in some places the broad leaved species predominating, in others the Conferee; but both kinds commonly grow together, the Coniferce usually less abundant in the southern and western portions. The decidu ous oaks, chestnut, beech, two species of ash, and perhaps the white pine, attain in this district their greatest size. The original forests are noted for their grandeur, and, with some of the secondary forests, for the diversity of their timber products. On the ridges of the A.ppalach ians, which cross Pennsylvania and New York, while the hard woods may not attain their great est size, some of them, particularly white oak, white ash, and some of the hickories are believed to attain their greatest perfection as regards strength and durability, or at least they are only equaled by the timber of the same species ex tended on the line of these ridges beyond this district in both directions. This is a matter of great hnportance in ship and boat building, and in the mauufacture of railroad cars and of agri cultural implements, all of which industries are here prominent. In portions of New York and Pennsylvania there are still laro.e forests of excel lent timber yet almost untouched by the axe ; but, as a whole, the woodlands and forests are rapidly diminishing, both in area and in aggregate value, and there is as yet no corresponding compensa tion. Probably the price of timber must advance considerably before adequate means will be taken to produce a future supply by growth. How much this may be aided by wise legislation is still a problem. The southeastern regiou, ex tending from Virginia to Florida, is the richest in species, is of peculiar interest to the botanist, and of first class importance in commerce. (We can not say that any one wooded region is more important than others, inasmuch as wood is a prime necessity in every civilized community.) This region, originally entirely wooded, has up ward of 130 species of trees, (a much larger number, indeed, if we include the larger shrubs and the tropical species of extreme Southern Florida,) seventy-five of which attain a height of fifty or more feet, and perhaps a dozen species attain a height of 1,10 feet. A belt of pine tim ber extends nearly the whole length of this dis trict, of varying width, occupying a part of the region between the inountains and the sea. This is the great source of hard pine timber, (known in commerce as hard pine, yellow pine, heavy pine, pitch-pine, southern pine, and Georgia pine.) State statistics show that the annual ex port from Georgia alone now amounts to from 200,00J,c0 to 300,000,000 of feet per annum. The trade is yearly growing, and the adjacent States are contributina largely to the supply. But this is not the ogly commercial lumber of this district. The live-oak of Florida has a rep utation throughout the world as ship-timber. The hard woods of the mountain-ridges have been less utilized than the growth of the regions already spoken of ; but this is not owing to any inferiority of the wood itself. It is believed that the white oak attains its greatest development of strength in certain parts of Virginia and West Virginia, hardly_ equaling in size, however, its greatest development in i-he States immediately north. While pine is abundant along the belt mentioned, and is at present of greater commer cial importance, the broad leaved species are the most abundant element in the forests. Here we find the magnolias and rnany flowering trees and shrubs in their greatest development and beauty: The area of . woodlands, as a whole, has not probably much diminished of late years; but the trees suitable for hewing and sawing are decreas ing under the heavy drafts made by commerce. In very many- cases the land is despoiled of only its best timber trees; the others are left, so that it is yet woodland, and in due time a new crop of timber will result. The data for the prepara tion of the report of this region are more imperfect than for either of the regions before enumerated.