ing the tenth census places the extreme diameter at 12 feet and the extreme height at 350 feet, and these figures will probably closely approximate the average size of the trees. May, 1889, at their shops in Tacoma. The experiments were made with 2 by 4 inch sticks, 4 feet long, laid edge wise on supports 3 feet 9 inches apart in the clear. A concentrated weight was applied to the center until the sticks broke with the following results: I. South of this region, in the counties to the north of the Columbia River, the cedar is more abundant. The cedar Soft, sappy, fine-grained yellow fir.. reaches a height of 150 to 200 feet, and Green, coarse-grained butt of fir.. a diameter of 12 to 14 feet. The wood 3. Medium-grained, seasoned fir is a dull brown tinged with red, very Eastern white pine.. light, soft, coarse-grained, and easily 5. Green Eastern oak 2. POUNDS. 3,060 3,630 4.320 1,610 ..2,430 worked. The tide land spruce, a soft wood that takes a good finish, is found particularly near the mouth of the Columbia, where it forms an almost continuous forest for nearly fifty miles. The Pacific Coast hemlock completes the list of the principal trees of Washington. Maple, alder, and cottonwood, are found, but not in large quantities and having little commercial value. In commercial value as well as in quantity the Douglas fir stands first. The following tests were made by officials of the Northern Pacific Railroad in The fir is used for all purposes requiring strength and durability, and how well it meets these requirements is shown by the tests given above. The seasoned stick had been exposed to the weather for several years, yet it had gained immensely in strength. The bark of the Douglas fir is also strong in tannin, containing 13.9 per cent, while the Eastern hemlock contains but 13.11 per cent. The demand for tannin has not yet been developed, however, and the bark goes to waste The cedar is used principally in the UNLOADING. Peve manufacture of shingles, which, owing to the great durability of the wood and the fact that it will neither warp nor shrink, are finding a growing market in the Eastern States. It is also a favorite for interior finish, owing to the beautiful effects that can be obtained by bastard sawing. The hemlock is particularly rich in tannin, the bark showing a percentage of 15.78, against 13.11 per cent in the Eastern hemlock. When the develop ment of the tanning industry brings it into the market, this tree will prove very valuable, but at present it is used only in the manufacture of a coarse lumber. For the purpose of comparison and reference the following tables have been compiled from a variety of sources. The State is arbitrarily divided, chiefly with reference to the varieties and amount of timber. In the Olympic and Gray's Harbor country, and in what is classed as the Puget Sound region (including the counties between the Sound and the Cascades), the Douglas fir is the most. abundant; in the southern part of West. ern Washington the cedar takes first place, though the fir is still prominent. In the eastern part of the State the yellow or bull pine, red fir, cedar, and hemlock, predominate. The estimated amount of standing timber is given in million feet, in order to avoid long numbers, though at first sight this makes the cut of last year appear to exceed the amount of standing timber. The cut of 1891 was in reality rather small, owing to a number of smaller mills being shut down, and the others working only on part time. In the columns presenting the number of mills,the daily capacity, and the cut for 1891, the lumber and shingle mills have been grouped together as handlers of timber, and to the last column should be added 340,000,000 feet of lumber cut in the State, but unclassified as to locality. OLYMPIA AND GRAY'S HARBOR. PUGET SOUND. 60,000 2501 250 I saw, will move forward toward that saw Island... 2,570,000 as if attracted by an irresistible force. King. 2,040 25,000 60 1,794,000 338,050,000 Closer inspection will show, however, Pierce.. 1,800 25,000 41 2,161,000 286,900,000 Skagit 1,800 25,000 22 390,000 56,100,000 that all these apparently supernatural Snohomish 1,800 20,000 16 905,000 133,700,000 effects are produced by a system of Whatcom 2,200 20,000 27 976.000 89,750,000 endless chains and rollers, perfect in their simplicity and efficiency. Total. 9,890 115,250 1676,286,000 907,070,000 Asotin.. 500 Klickitat 2,000 Lincoln 2,440 20 4 3365 1Ο 3 Okanogan 7,200 7,000 Spokane. 1,600 3 7 50,000 25 000 4,250,000 35,000 16,750,000 38,000 14,500,000 Stevens. 5,500 23.000 3,000,000 Taking a typical mill in the city of Tacoma, which is said to be the most 35,000 15,000,000 complete in utilizing steam and minim45,000 11,500,000 izing labor in the United States, we 180,000 16,750,000 may get some idea of how mechanical 96,000 1,250.000 appliances are applied in handling logs 50 30 564,000 131,800,000 and converting them into lumber. The 58,000 3,250,000 working part of the mill is two stories 195,000 45,350,000 in height, and covers an area about three hundred feet long by fifty wide. At the south end is a chute, running The stranger who visits a steam saw- from the log pond to the second story. mill is apt to be impressed with the The logs in the pond are floated, one idea that there is some supernatural after the other, to the foot of the chute. power at work. Lumber seems to be Here an endless chain, running up the moving around from one of the saws to chute, is fitted with teeth, which catch another without any impelling force, the log and draw it up into the mill. piles of lumber will suddenly move side- When the log reaches the top, the chain Iways when nobody is near them, and is stopped, and the length and diameter then, when in the line with the proper are measured. Just beyond the chute, inside the mill, is a platform, sloping L braces on the side nearer to the platgently to either side, and with an opening or gutter between, directly opposite the end of the chute. Into this gutter the log is pushed by means of the endless chain, and there it remains until the saw is ready to handle it. The band saws for handling logs are two in number, one on each side, and just beyond the platform. For convenience in assorting, the long logs are handled by one saw, the short logs by the other. When the saw is ready a lever is turned, and beneath the gutter in which the log rests, a shaft revolves. On this shaft are eccentric wheels that rise with the revolution, pushing the log upon the platform to the right or left, according to which saw is to handle it. The platform extends to within eight feet of the sides of the building. In this space on either side is a car, or truck, as high as the platform. This truck is fitted on top with three or four form, and opening toward the platform. Into these braces the log is rolled, and when in position is held in place by three hooks fastened by one end to the car, and the other end driven into the log. This whole arrangement for holding the log may be moved toward or away from the platform at will. When the log is fastened, it is moved to a proper distance from the platform in a line with which is the saw, the steam is applied, and the car carries the log forward to the saw, which cuts off a thin piece from one side. The forward movement has been slow: now the car hurries back to its starting point, as if impatient to begin again; the log is moved forward, one, two, or three inches, according to the thickness of the plank to be cut off. When three or four planks have been cut, one of the most interesting pieces of machinery in the mill is called into spikes slanting slightly upward, and about three inches long. As the nigger rises, these spikes catch in the log, rolling it over until the proper face is exposed. Then it suddenly swings away from the log, the spikes drop inside the bar, and with a swift backward swing it hammers the log back close to the L braces. Sometimes two or three blows are needed, but when the log is in position the nigger holds it there until the hooks are adjusted, and then more planks ness and width; but we are by no means through with it. Beyond the saw is a line of rollers about four inches in diameter, and raised on uprights about two feet high. These rollers extend from the saw toward the other end of the mill. Beside them, and running parallel with them, are similar lines of rollers. At the other ends of these lines of rollers are the gang saws. When the first piece is sawed off the log it is little besides bark, and is of no |