The record-union., 1897-06-28


cred in April; its scarlet-limbed. grace
full nradrono woodlands. the marvel of
continent, more glowing than Louis
ianian magnolias; its white and golden
azaleas, so wildwood sweet. and all
its miles of warm. rich hollows and
nights bloom -burdened month after
| month-these, and a thousand other ell
enents, help to make up the deftly-
| welded charm of the land of the coast
sequoia.
Inland and north are the subdivis-
ions of the fir and pine region, larger
and more varied than that of the Coast
Range, and chiefly belonging to the ST.
ezra Nevada 1t lies along the axis of
this supreme mountain range, from
Kern to Shasta, and about the inland
peaks of the Northern Coast Range It's
noblest trees are the Pinus Lamberti-
ana, or sugar pine; the Pinus ponder
osa, the great yellow pine of California;
Picea nobilis, Picea amabilis and the
giant white cedar <Lbocedrus decur-
| rens). Nowhere can this forest be
studied to better advantage than in the
Shasta and Siskiyou regions, readily
| reached by every tourist. The visitor
to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and the Cal
ayeras Grove also sees something of the
Sierra forests, and comes within their
| charm, SO different from that Of the
coast redwood forests. and yet in the
| end even more powerful and perma-
nent
Botanists divide the great Sierra for
ests into three belts, depending upon
species and altitude On the lower, or
foothin belt, grow the oaks and Pinus
Sabiniana. AS previously noted, the
5000 square miles of this region, ex-
tending to an altitude of 1000 feet
above the sea, is of more value for or
chards and vineyards than for timber.
The middle forest zone reaches to an
altitude Of 1000 feet, with an average
width of fifteen miles. Here are fine
but fewer oaks; here the great yellow
pine appears, often 200 feet in hight
and gfrthing twenty or twenty-five
feet. Here are the black pine the red
and yellow frs, the fragrant Sierra ce-
dar and some sugar pines. The third
forest zone lies above 1000 feet, ex-
tending to 5000 or 5000 feet above the
sea, and forms the grandest mass of
varied coniferous forest known to civ
ilization. The yellow and the sugar
quotas rule here supreme. Above
5000 feet Alpine species of pines and
jumpers carry the fringes of the forest
to the snow line. Single specimens
have been measured that were 800 feet
high and forty feet in circumference.
Douglass measured one fallen trunk
whose circumference was fifty-eight
feet. But this most valuable timber
tree Of the Sierra does not easily re-
produce ITSELF
The most heavily wooded portion of
the Sierra forests, aside from the dis
trictS around Mount Shasta, are main
ly in rough, mountainous country. and
in most cases are difficult of access. I
have now speht almost all of my va
cations for four years in the Califor-
nian forests, studying their history and
present conditions. 1t is hard to ex-
plain to those who have not spent
months in the high Sierra, or Coast
Range, the immense reproductive pow
ers of our coniferous forests when given
a chance, and also the absolute neces-
sity Of some protection. Take the
Placer and Nevada districts of the ST.
ezra as an illustration The forest
problems in this district, which is one
of the highways along which cattle and
sheep are driven into the Businesses of
the Sierra and back into the valleys.
are assuredly as difficult and numerous
as those of any other part of Califor-
MIA. If the leading species will repro
duce themselves here, or if some spe-
cies are gaining foothold, or If a little
care and attention would enable the
young trees to overcome all obstacles,
1t seems certain that immense areas in
the Sierra elsewhere could also be re-
forested. The enemies of the forest
here are-frSt, the sheep; second, the
cattle; third, the older trees which die
and felled by the winter storms, break
down hundreds of the younger trees;
lastly, the fires.
Proper conditions of moisture are the
governing facts which decide the oc-
currence of timber lands. In the dis
tricts of California which require irri-
cation to produce the highest horti-
cultural results, the timber belts there
fore are narrow, bordering the streams
and marking their courses. The larger
bodies of timber are all on the high
mountain sides, usually descending
toward the valleys on the northern or
western slopes. The forests, or rather
woodlands, of the valleys are generally
but scattered growth of trees like the
oaks, adapted to resist drought I'm
fortunately the timber is for the most
part useful only for firewood, though a
few of the Californian hard woods are
in demand for cabinet work
The English oak is much more
rapid grower than any Californian spe-
oiea 1o,s ;c
liable: it's planting is therefore to be
recommended. The Oriental plane tree,
often called European sycamore, and
several of the eucalyptus have been
proved to thrive with little moisture.
and even on light soils yield a large
amount of firewood. The box elder. or
Negundo is a fastgrowing, hardy tree,
suitable for localities too frosty for any
of the eucalypts. The plane before al
luded to is one of the best alkali-resist-
ing trees known to foresters. Several
Of the acacias rival the eucalypts in
rapidity of growth and in withstanding
drought, and seed 50 rapidly that they
extend their own plantations The
lack of California being in the line of
hard woods, 1t is advisable to plant on
large scale the ashes, specially those
of North Africa, Asia and Arizona and
the European species, which seem to be
most rapid growers here: also the cork
oak, English oak and Turkey oak;
also the Eucalyptus rostrata, the casu-
arinas, possibly the Zelowa Keaki-and
in brief the best hardwood species
from districts of light and variable
rainfall and of similar geological for
| nation Here, however, the rapid de-
velopment of horticulture and the