Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1902-11-13
BEST FOREST MAKER
The Hickory Pine of the Fire-Swept
Slopes of California.
4 PrOvident Tree That Thrtves
Where Other Trees Would Not
Take HOId-An Interesting
Chapter on the Subject.

In writing upon methods of consery-
ing the water supply of the country in
Forestry and Irrigation, I. ?. Lukens
says there are two ways of reaching
.he result, namely, to build storage
reservoirs, and to clothe the noun
tains with trees and TO see that they
are not destroyed again. Even to build
reservoirs would be useless, unless the
watersheds tributary to them be for
ested as the reservoirs would soon be-
come filed with silt if the mountains
were bare, so the only hope would be
to bring back the forests. He declares
that it is easy to perpetuate forest
by planting another in its place when
a tree is removed. All conditions are
favorable then, but after repeated fires
over the length and breadth OF the
mountains the conditions are not IA
vorable for tree growth The tree best
fitted for reforesting, he says, Is the
hickory pine (Pinus attenuata), which
grows on the fire-swept slopes from
San Bernardino TO Shasta, in Califor-
mia. which he describes as follows:
mot many travellers ever see it, and
of those that do but few would notice
it except for the strange appearance
which its life store of cones give 1t.
The tree is usually small, early bear
ing, found on sunny slopes of the Cas-
cade range to the northern Sierra and
southwark (rarely on the coast
ranges) to the San Bernardino noun
tains. It's cones grow in circles,
strongly defined, narrow and pointed.
They are three to eight inches long,
and remain on the trees unopened Tor
an indefinite number Of years. The
outer scales have conical, quadrangle
lar tubercles. terminated by very
short, triangular firm prickle. The
leaves grow three in sheath, three
10 seven inches long. A peculiarlty or
ills tree is the tapering character OF
its cones at the base. whereby they
oppose so little resistance to the grow
ing trunk that the annual layers, in
stead of crowding off the cones (as IN
most other species), often enyeIop
them completely. They are sometimes
found in large trunks still unopened
and the seed good.
THE cones are borne in whorls first
around the main axis Of the tree only.
As the tree grows and branches freely,
which it will do where not crowded,
then cones are borne about the limbs.
I have counted as high as 800 cones on
a tree so years old, each cone contain
inc 1874 fertile seed. which are small
there being 10000 to the pound. The
seed have wing one inch long and one
fourth inch wide. When fire sweeps
through a grove, If severe it Kills the
tree. The heat melts the resin with
with the cone is sealed, and the second
or third day after. the fire the winged
seeds take flight and plant far great
er area than existed before. mus
after each fire the forest becomes
dense, crowding together for protec'
ton. until at last they defy the hre'
for where they grow so closely to-
gether as to occupy all the ground
thew will resist fire. This persistence
of cone, coupled, also, with the firm CO.
herence Of their scales for anindehnlte
length of time, is an important fact
for it insures better propagation II
not the very existence of the species
II IS found that the seeds in these long
closed cones are always in good con-
dition. however old the cones. They
seem to declare not only that this spe-
cies of tree shall be its only survivor
but also that it may extend its domin-
ion over other territory which has been
cleared of trees.
$50 we may expect that through the
improvident or wanton conduct OF
man, while it destroys by fire the
noble sugar and yell1rsSII- pines our
vast forests, this cunning little prov
ident tree, fighting now for room to
stand upon and crowding close to-
gether for greater strength, shall,
after long waiting and at least fire.
killed, unlock its store OF life germs
and scatter them with sailing wings
on the wind to reforest the noun
tains. No tree shows more greenness
or symmetry of growth than the PinuS
tuberculata when not crowded. Its
desire seems to be to cover the ground,
if not in numbers, then with wide
spreading branches. Trees are to be
found $50 feet high with body two or
three feet in diameter ] have never
found one Of them dying from old age.
They thrive where other trees would
not attempt to grow-on the steep
hot, rocky slopes. Their roots pene-
trate every little creyice to an incred'
ible depth, opening channels for the
conservation of water and mulching
the surface with their foliage"