Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-05-31

appropriate to quote from Professor
S~argent's Forest Trees of North Am
erica" a government work of the high
est authority, to illustrate the immense
prospective demand for the lumber
contained in this comparatively small
area of timber. This work was pub.
lished in 1890. Professor Sargent
says:
The pine forests of central Arizona
n southwestern New Mexico are of
great Importance to the development
OF the treeless region which surrounds
them. No other body of timber. of any
extent or value exists nea the south
ern boundary of the United States be
tween the pine belt of eastern Texas
and the forests of the California noun
tains. These southern interior forests
have nowhere yet greatly suffered
Their inaccessibility has protected
them. Railroads, however, now either
penetrate this forest region or will
soon do so. and these, with the rapid
development of the mining industry
now going or in the southwest, threat
en- these forests with the dangers
which are fast ex~terminating those of
Colorado and Utah"
Topography of Land and Character of
Timber.
Geographically the country is a won.
derfully interesting one. The Santa Fe
road, seeking minimum grades, was
laid along the llanos or plain country
below the mountains. For many miles
through New Mexico and Arizona the
road traverses alkili plains of great
richness of soil but barren of vegeta.
ton, except for the ragged growth OF
the sage brush, and also destitute OF
animal life, save for the thousands OF
prairie dogs and myriads of colonies OF
ants, which have their point dwellings
in every part of the desert country,
Before the timber range is reached one
must traverse an average of ten miles
of desert country from the railroad
through a gradually rising plain to the
mesas or table lands that succeed each
other in gentle elevation after eleva.
ton until h mesa or top of the Zunl
mountains is reached at an altitude OF
more than $500 feet. AS n leaves
the chinese or brush OF the desert
country a small timber growth is en-
countered, consisting of scrub oak, red
cedar, juniper and pinion or nut pine,
all of which possess little commercial
value. Then one finds the white pine
timber growth of New Mexico, pinus
ponderosa. On the lower levels the
timber is short bodied and largely of a
common quality, but as each succeed.
ing mesa is attained the growth i'm.
proves in quality and attains its high
est perfection on levels of from 5000
to $500 feet above the sea level. The
timber pictures accompanying this ar
ticle show with no little accuracy the
character of this growth.
The popular name for pinus ponder
aso through it's entire range of growth
is yellow pine, locally known in New
Mexico and Arizona as "peno veta,
but botanically it is white pine and the
only near approach to the white pine
of the north. pinus strobus, that exists
in the United States, save the scatter
ing range of white pine in eastern Ten
nessee and western North Carolina. In
some characteristics 1t excels in quail
ity the white pine of the north. Spe'
officially it has white pine bark, white
pine foliage and a white pine cone. II
has white pine sap wood and white
pine heart wood. 1t is a white pine
growth of surprising excellence. tax
ing and holding a. finish possessing a
sheen of brilliancy lot eXcelled by any
fancy wood of the United States. The
color of the heart wood is a pale red
of the sap wood a brilliant white. The
majority of the growth compares fav'
orally il softness with the white pine
of the north. Occasionally an isolated
tree will exhibit some yellow pine
characteristics in fiber. color and gum
Range of Growth.
The range of growth of pinus pom
derosa extends from the interior OF
British Columbia, south of latitude 81
south and east along the mountain
ranges of the pacific regions to Mex
leo, the Black Mills of Dakota, Colo
RADIO, Arizona. New Mexico and TO {
limited extent in western Texas. II IL
not found in central or southern Ne
vada. In California it is now known
as white pine. 1t should not be con
fused with sugar pine. which is a dis
tinct growth with different character
istics.
Pinus ponderosa attains its largest
growth in the Lewis and Clark reser
walton of northwestern Montana in the
valleys, at an altitude of about $500
feet. where il comprises about 20 pei
cent of the forest growth. The trees
here often attain a height OF $50 Il
200 feet with a trunk three TO sever
feet in diameter. In Idaho and west
ern Washington practically the same
conditions apply as TO both size anc
quantity of growth. In the Rainier res
ervation of western Washington, GOV
ering the Cascades, with Mount Rain
/ Ter as a center, the total forest area
comprises upwards of 10000, 600 ,OOC
feet of timber, of which only about II
per cent is pinus ~ponderosa. This
largely is on the eastern slope, bu'
does not include the heavy fir anC
cedar growth of the western slope
Pinus ~ponderosa shows little or M
trace in the Olympic reserve of north
western Washington. On the western
mountain slopes in southern Oregon
pinus ponderosa appears at an alti
tude of 1900 feet above sea level. bu
shows its highest development at alti
tudes of 1000 to $500 feet and com