The herald., 1893-11-26
The Great Importance Of q
Preservative Policy.
Features Of the Situation as Found
in Southern California.
The Effects of Trees on tho Rainfall
and Floods-Ths Results OF Tim
Der Destruction = Value OF
tho Blue Gum.

California.
1t is now fully established by the
forest experience of France, Germany,
management will give high and per-
petual product of barks, fuel, tar, tim
Der, etc., from the forest without injury
to the forest reserve.
As great as is the value OF q perennial
and secure source OF forest products,
and as much as we may esteem the
forest from a sportsman's side, or regard
it from the sentimental or sanitary
view, it ia all as nothing to its influence
on the delivery of the rainfall from q
country's watersheds.
A forested watershed will deliver
given rainfall regularly and slowly over
a long period, IS compared to the deliv-
cry of the same rainfall from the water
shed deforested.
The trees, roots and humus detain and |
divide the rainfall so that the water has
time to be absorbed into the soil and
rock veins. Thus in forested district
there are none OF the barrancas and
gullies general in bare country. In
California we have gullies and washes
in the southern section, with little forest
and small rainfall, while at Mt. Shasta,
with 60 to 80 inches of rainfall and a
mountainous forest, these land scars are
practically absent. On a bare noun
tain watershed there 10 little opportunity
for the rain to be absorbed or to re-
plenish the springs and sources of peren-
nial water supply, Consequently the
rainfall from such district is delivered
suddenly and in a short time, and we
have dangerous and destructive floods.
As watershed ia without forest the de-
livery of its rainfall is uncertain and in
furious.
We are quite safe in saying that in
California, as the mountains are defor-
ested 80 will the perennial character OF
the springs and streams diminish or be
lost, while on the other hand floods and
torrents will increase in force and de-
structiveness. The water flowing regu-
larly from the foreBted mountain Is the
aid and servant OF man in his mill,
home or field. The water tearing mad
lv over the denuded rocks of a bare and
arid declivity is his scourge and his de-
stroyer.
In the first report of the extinct
board of forestry, a number of domestic
and foreign instances are collected chow.
tus esae uhmsglng euectE OF uncae forest
denudation.
| OuT UIuhu anu cudppdIdl aCb aB d
forest in delaying the delivery of the
rainfall.
Some time before the abolition of the
state board of forestry the friends OF
forestry in California concentrated their
efforts on national system OF forestry.
Colorado has gone hand in hand with
us in this work and participated in the
results attained. We have achieved
something important. We have secured
the adoption OF policy of making for
est reserves. The federal government
has reserved large districts of land on
the western mountain watersheds for
the first time for forestry purposes and
called them forestry reserves. Califor-
MIA and Colorado have been most favored
in this way. In California, south of
Merced, the most important mountain
watersheds are now government forest
reserves.
The government has also taken the
first step in recognizing its duty of pro-
tecting the public forest domain. The
Yellowstone reservation and the Yosem-
ite, with it's large addition, are now
efficiently and cheaply guarded by small
detschments of cavalry. The result of
these patrols in preventing forest fires
has been very marked and has demon
strated that these wasteful and destruc-
tive forest fires were mainly due to ire.
sponsble sheep herders. The exclus-
ion OF these herders from the Yosemite
addition ended the danger from fire.
These matters all promise we'll for the
gradual establishment of self-sustein-
ing scientific forestry system for the
United States.
Nowhere ie a conservative system of
M q MOI ant mn rfav, = h
in a country of steep mountains, alter
mating with fertile plains. When to this
condition is added that of alternating
dry and rainy seasons under which irri-
cation become an important agency in
agriculture, we have paramount reasons
for forestry system.
We may say, in general way, that
the more difficult it is to create or main
tain forests on mountain water sheds
the more important these become to
preserve the perennial flow OF springs
and streams, and to diminish or prevent
floods and torrents.
The blue gum is still the most valu-
able addition to the forest flora OF Cal
ifornia. We have indeed demonstrated
the superiority of eucalyptus ribusta in
situations exposed to the sea influence
on the one side and the superiority OF
the eucalyptus coDiuocalyx (sugar gum)
in resisting drought on the other, but
the blue gum is still king of rapid growth,
available in most of the settled districts
of Southern California, quickly available
for fire wood and eventually, in favor
able situations, valuable as timber, it is
the tree giving the promptest results OF
any known in this state. 1t comes easily
from the seed and gives best results
when planted small, and is therefore
cheap tree for forest planting. When
some plantations are made OF blue gums
in favorable locations, say in burnt
over redwood district or in any damp
locations on the Central California coast,
we may expect to get trees similar in
grandeur to those of Tasmania where
the blue gum often surpasses 400 feet in
height. 1t is not generally known that
the blue gum is close competitor for
the glory OF being the tallest known trees
The introduction of insect pests while
introducing foreign plants has been the
cause of damage and injury to the
state. Often this damage has far ex-
ceeded any possible benefit to be hoped
for from the plant introduced.
To obviate this let me suggest the ad-
vantage Of adopting the policy from