The Lehi banner. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1891-1917, 1894-10-04
FORESTS AND RAINFALL.
A woaton Timborman's Views on
tho Subject.


A correspondent OF the san Francisco
Bulletin from the foothills OF Butte
county advances the proposition that In
the Sierra, where the original timber
has been cleared off, second growth
has sprung up which has more than
twice the retaining capacity for moist
urc Of the first growth. FROM this no
dcduccs that the alarm about tho de-
nndation Of our mountain forest lands
IN unfounded. In fact he attributes this
theory mainly to the influence of the
railroad company, which aims 10 get
government rangers % watch its tim
bercd grant lands.
Anyone familiar with the methods OF
the railroad company will accept tho
general suggestion that Il would be
prompt 10 avail itself u any plan for
shifting its burdens upon the govern
ment on the public, Possibly there may
be something in this ilcn. although IL
may look little far fetched. Yet IL Is
Understood that often Il Us necessary TO
scrutinize byways as wcll as hiqhwnys
to get ut railroad gchomls Government
rangers might not tai,c 10 directly upon
theIosolvCs 10 protect railroad timber,
but indirectly their supervision of I'D
jcccnt sections would tend to that re-
suit
Aside from this, however, Il may DO
admitted that our correspondents views
are partly right and partly wrong. The
result would depend much on local con.
ditions. No doubt Ia many portions of
northern California whore the rainfall,
especially Ia tho mountains, Is album
dant, u second growth would soon cover
the ground after the clearing Of the
original forest like fact may often
be observed In the redwood forests
along the coast There, where the an
nual precipitation g. profuse and the
climate and soil are naturally damp, the
redwood tends 70 reproduce Itself In
other localities the contrary appears.
In the Contra Costa range, Tor instance,
whore the natural moisture Is less, the
| clearing Of the redwoods is not followed
10 any great extent by the appearance
Of q second growth.
The same will be found true in a
| greater or less measure OF the forests Of
the Sierra and OF other mountain
ranges Where any tendency TO aridity
exists It will undoubtedly provo truo
that the wholesale destruction of for
ests will not be followed by renewal.
but by permanent dcnudoti0n aud eli
matte changes. IL might be safer to
destroy the original mountain forosia
In northern than in southern California
In the ranges OF the interior states and
territories, where nrility Is more pro-
nouncod, IL would be n most dangerous
experiment. In such eases only a judi
cious thinning of the larger growth
should be permitted on any cor iiLion
Even I'm moistcr regions Sc would 30
better economy 20 conine cutting TO tbs
larger timber, giving thesmaller cppor-
tunity TO mature. Instead OF hat tho
past policy has been TO cnt inQi srlniu-
ately for lumber or fuel purr scs and
complete the destruction bv sheen
browsing and fires. u Is tima Tor "a
definite and intelligent system OF for
estry. II may be both prcscrvative and
reproductive In scope. In many pog-
lions OF France forestry now iacludea
not only the preservation 81 the natural
growth but roplanting on q large scale.
In the Inter work due attention Ia
given 10 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 IL indicates tho
tendency In countries where necessity
has put the problem OF forestry moro
forcibly before the people We can If
ford 10 take lessons from the larger OK
perience Of these European countries
by avoiding the past errors we may also
avoid some Of their present necessitios.