Washington is our greatest lumbering state. It is estimated that in 1911 the state contained almost 12,000,000 acres of forests. These were made up mostly of cedar, fir, spruce, and hard wood trees. In 1913, Washington produced almost 4,600,000,000 feet of lumber. Louisiana ranked second, with over 4,000,000,000 feet. Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas, followed in the order named. The great forests of Washington are fairly easy of access. If you will observe your map you will note that Puget Sound forms a great inland sea 100 miles from the Pacific Ocean. On the south flow many large rivers. On the southern border of the state, and crossing its eastern-central section is the great Columbia River, fed by many tributaries. These waterways furnish the means to carry the timber to shipping points. Along the Puget Sound have sprung up the greatest

lumber mills in the world. The one you see here is the largest. It is at Port Blakely, near Seattle. To supply these mills, hundreds of men are felling the trees in the forests of the interior the year round. The logs are transported in the woods by engines to small railways. These railways lead to main lines of trackage, or, more often, to rivers. On the river banks the logs are made into huge rafts and then floated to the mills. In front of you is a great boom made up of hundreds of fine logs ready for the saws. You see beyond the sawmill the masts of sailing vessels. The lumber is loaded on these vessels and is shipped to Australia, South Africa, Japan, Europe, and South America. Observe the logs that are being dragged into the mill, up the incline. What can you tell of the conversation of our forests?