Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-01-26

Fully 80 Per cent. of the lumbeE, tim
bar and spars proouoed On Puget Sound
- Or. Within the estimated area Of 3.-
0O square miles the immense forests Of
tho Sound are found. In addition 70
the red and yellow FIR. cedar, spruce,
hemiock, aspecies Of whits Pima, arbor-
vitn and yev are found. The pine ID
used mainly for finishing lumber. A
species Of yellow pine growing to largo
size In southeastern Washington Is not
found on tho Sound. The arboe-vite
grows along the boedegs Of The Straits
Of Fuca. while the yew - . tough bat
amau wood which the motives make into
bows, but Il u unit fog fimbue because
too small OF the deciduoos trees the
white maple il . beautiful wood, oapa-
BILE of high poliah, and it, companion
Il the vine maple. The alder attains .
hight Of 60 fsek and il white and soft,
being mainly used for carving and fur
nitare, the bark furnishing rcd dye
The white ash il larger than the ash Of
the Atlantic States. and ID light and
elastic. Tho beautiful laurel tree e.
tends from California to Vancouver
Island, and is common on the immedi-
ate shores of Puget Sound. Fuca Strait
and the west coast. Three species OF
poplar arc found, the aspen being nnoGt
abundant. Several varieties of willow
grow along the river banks, only two Of
which attain thesseixe Of trees, reaching
ID feet in hight The crab-apple tree i
hard and tough wood used Tor many
purposes. The oak which 10 found in
some localities u Of q very inferior
quality. Tho hardWoods Of tho sound
have been little sawed, but it il believed
. demand for them viii develop.
The total capacity Of the mills Of the
Sound Is 100000 feet daily, and the
most Of them have been running on full
time. Toe tough ar d not @ readily
handled a. the white pine Of The north,
even With tho aid Of the most modern
machinery. Logging il done much the
same a. in the north, oxen being gem
orally used. In some places skidded
roads run into thu timber for two or
three miles, and tramways have been
introduced for . distance Of five or nix
miles, both horses and locomotives be-
ing used. At Tumvater loos are brought
by the Tenino branch railroad any 10
quired distance, and at Tacoma by the
steam cars from the Puyallup Valley
and ON the line Of the Northern Paoifc
Railroad. At Port Discovery, Acker.
son, Moore & Co. are building q rail
road eight miles long to extend south
ward to Quilcsne Bay, and on the Sno-
homish river, Blackman Bree. have q
railroad five miles long with q steam
engine to haul their cars.
II il believed that the fir of the Sound
will not be exhausted in one hundred
years, mainly for tho reason that in id
ditiOn to possessing a wonderful vital
ity, il is capable Of perpetuating itself.
Instead of being followed by RruWths OF
decidu0us trees, a. in the case Of the
northern pine, the young frs spring up
where the timber has been cleared
away, forming dense thickets, which in
twenty years will grow trees from IL to
II inches in diameter. There il an
ENORMOUS waste at the saWmills, which
il not sought to be prevented. No Of.
fort il made to utilize sawdust, slabs
and other refuse, the problem being
with regard to means for its disposal.
Some Of the slabs are sawed into lath,
others used for fuel, and the rest thrown
into burners. The sAWdust furnishes
foel at the mills, and the surplus il
used to dill in on low ground. The re-
fuse is also used for pier building, but
where the sawdust comes in contact
with the salt water mud, on the bottom
of the bays, its decomposition gener-
ates sulphuretted- hydrogen ga, which
10 most unsavory, and injurious to
health. Tho sawdust il said TO be good
for making pulp for paper. on account
Of the tough 6bsr, and the slabs might
b used in variety Of small ways of
manufacture. II has been discovered
that good brandy can be distilled from
fir saWdust by means Of . solution Of
sulphuyio add, but the discovery has
never been Observation-Disclosures.