about 51° N. on the Rocky Mountains, not extending to the moister climate of the Gold or Cascade ranges in British territory, nor has it as yet been discovered in the more northern parts of British Columbia. Southwards, it extends along the Cascade Mountains of Northern Washington to Mount Stewart on the north fork of the Yakima river, and along the continental divide of the Rocky Mountains to the middle fork of Sun river and to Pend d'Oreille pass in North-Western Montana.[1] In its northern habitat—near Laggan, Alberta—I have seen it from about 5000 up to 7000 feet. Though Mr. J. Macoun reports it on a mountain near Morley as low as 4500 feet, yet Wilcox,[2] who must have seen as much of this tree as any one who has written of it, says it is rarely seen below 6000 feet, and that its extreme range of altitude might be placed between 5600 and 7600 feet.
Lyall's larch is a very beautiful tree of moderate size, from 50 to 70 feet high being about the average, with a girth of 5 to 6 feet, but on Mount Stewart Mr. Brandagee reported that it attained as much as 4 feet in diameter. Its growth is extremely slow, Wilcox having counted 30 rings of growth in a branch only % inch in diameter; whilst a tree cut by Brandagee on Mount Stewart which showed 562 annual rings was only 164 inches in diameter under the bark.
Mr. M.W. Gorman says:[3]—Near Lake Chelan it was not seen at all in the moist valleys, and was generally found to favour the passes and sheltered sides of the crest lines and divides, and here it ranges in altitude from 5800 to 7100 feet. The best grove seen was at about 6700 feet elevation near War Creek pass. The tree ranges in height from 50 to go feet, and in diameter from 10 to 25 inches. The mature tree has a rather thick greyish bark, and is well fruited with oval, mostly erect persistent cones. The branches are mostly lateral, very brittle, and quite small in proportion to the tree. The foliage changes colour with the first severe frosts about October 1.
L. Lyallii has to contend with a climate as severe as, and very similar to that of the Altai Mountains, the snow usually lying till late in June or even July, and snow and frost often occurring in July and August. The bark is rough and greyish and the branches short, irregular, brittle, and easily broken by a heavy snowfall. Wilcox says that the trees growing at the highest altitude have a curious development not found on those only a few hundred feet lower. The tufts of leaves spring from a hollow woody sheath, which is sometimes more than an inch long on the trees at high altitudes, whilst elsewhere this is not present.
The seed appears to ripen and shed early like that of the western larch, for though [ have made several attempts to procure it from friends visiting the Rockies they have been, like myself, always too early or too late, and though I tried to bring home seedlings in 1893 they died on the journey home.
It is not, however, at all likely to succeed in this country, except possibly on the higher parts of the Grampian Mountains, and even there I fear the climate will be too damp, and the winter too short for it. (H.J.E.)
- ↑ Sheldon, in Forest Wealth of Oregon, says that it is "rare on the high peaks of the Wallowa Mountains."
- ↑ The Rockies of Canada, 63 (1900).
- ↑ US. Geol. Survey, Eastern Part of Washington Forest Reserve (1899). Mr. Gorman calls the tree L. occidentalis; but his specimens, which we have seen, are labelled L. Lyallii by himself, and are this species.
