The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-05-05
FORESTS AND RAINFALL.
A Western Timberman's Views ON
tho Subject
He Thinks That All Uncasiuess About
tho Denudation of Timber Lands la
the West Is Without Foun-
dalton.

a correspondent of tho San Francisco
Bulletin from the foothills of Butte
county advances the proposition tina. in
the Sierra, where the original timber
has been cleared off, n secon, growth
has sprung up which hus more than
twice the retaining capacity for moist.
ure of the first growth. From this he
dcduces that the alarm about the dc.
nndation of our mountain forest lands
Is unfounded. In fact nc attributes this
theory mainly to the influences of the
railroad company, which aims TO get
government rangers to watch its tim
bercd grant lands.
Anyone familiar with the methods of
the railroad company will accept the
general suggestion that it would be
prompt to avail itself of any plan for
shifting its burdens upon the govern
mcnt or the public. Possibly there may
be something in this idea. although il
may look little far-fctchc,l Yet it is
understood that often it is necessary to
scrutinize byways rs we'll as highways
to get ut railroad schemes. Government
rangers might not take it directly upon
themselves To protect railroad timber,
but indirectly their supervision of adj
jacent sections would tend to that re-
suit.
Aside from this, however, it may be
admitted that or correspondents views
arc partly right ard partly wrong. The
result would depend much on local con.
ditions. No doubt in many portions of
northern California, whore the rainfall,
especially i'll the mountains, is abun-
dnnt, second growth would soon cover
the grcrud after the clcuring or the
original forest. a like fact MAY often
be observed in the redwood forests
along the coast. There, where the an
nuai precipitation Is profuSc and the
climate and soil arc naturally damp, the
redwood tends to reproduce itself. In
other localities the contrary appears.
In the Contra Costa range, for instance,
where the natural moisture is les. the
clearing of the rcdwooslS is not followed
to any great extent by the appearance
Of a second growth.
The same will be found true in n
greater or less measure OF the forests of
the Sierra and OF other mountain
ranges. Where any tendency to aridity
exists it will undoubtedly prove true
that the wholesale destruction of for
csts will not be followed by renewal,
but by permanent denutlution and eli
matte changes. 1t might be safer to
destroy the original mountain forests
in northern than in southern California.
In the ranges of the interior states and
territories, where uridity is more pro-
nounced, 1T would be Il most dangerous
experiment. In such cases only Il Judi
cious thinning of the larger growth
should be permitted on any conditions.
Even in moistcr regions it would be
better economy to contine cutting to the
larger timber, giving the smaller oppor-
tunity to mature. Instead of that the
past policy has been to cut indiscrimin-
ately for lumber or fuel purposes and
complete the destruction by sheep
browsing and fires. 1t is time for "A
definite and intelligent system of for
cstry. 1t may be both preventative and
reproductive in scope In many por-
lions of France forestry now includes
not only the preservation of the natural
growth but rcplanting on n large scale.
In the latter work due attention is
given to the species used. Medicinal
and aromatic plants are included and
become commercially important This
may be somewhat in advance of present
needs on the coast, but it indicates the
tendency in countries where necessity
has put the problem Of forestry more
forcibly before The people. We can al
ford to take lessons from the larger OK
pcricncc of these European countries.
By avoiding the past errors we may also
avoid some of their present necessities