The forest of mill timber beginning in sight of Seattle, continues with some intermissions to the top of the Cascade Mountains. It increases in size and quantity to a point far up on the mountain side, and the trees continue of good size all the way to the top. Crossing the Cascade Mountains, on the east side the trees are quite numerous, but smaller than on the west side, though some of them can be sawed. Continuing eastward, the trees get fewer and smaller, and change from fir to ordinary yellow and bull pine. In the plateau country of the Great Bend there are only scattered groups of stunted trees to be seen, and, excepting a few skirts along the bluffs of the Columbia, no forests of mill timber are to be met with until after passing the Idaho line. [Sidenote: The forests described.] I will now review this timber belt with more particularity. After leaving Seattle, there is a somewhat elevated country between the lakes and Puget Sound, which is largely covered with mill timber of medium size. Perhaps two feet and a half would be about the average diameter of the logs. Here, as everywhere, the principal timber, and that most cut and valued, are the Douglas fir and the white cedar. [Sidenote: Forests of Raging River.] Continuing along Lake Samamish, and up Squak Creek, these forests continue on both sides at some distance off. A large body of moderately sized timber runs off toward the northeast, covering the hills which lie in front of the mountain range. Passing the Gilman mines, we meet but little large timber until we enter the valley of Raging River. Here there is an almost unbroken forest of splendid timber, extending from near the mouth as far up as I went, namely, ten miles from the mouth. The mill timber here would average from six to ten inches more in diameter than that we passed near Lake Washington; and there seemed to be a vast body of it in this valley. As far up on the hill or mountain side as I went, or could see, the trees retain their large size. At the upper coal mines I found this to be the case to the mountain top, 800 or 900 feet above the river. The trees were not only large, and thick on the ground, but extremely tall and free from knots. I was told that the heavy forest continued a considerable distance above the upper coal mines. [Sidenote: Forests near Hop Ranch.] [Sidenote: Superior to the Long Leaf forests of the Southern States and of the Mississippi Bottom.]