The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-26
WASTE OF FORESTS.
BURNED AND CUT, WITH NO THOUGHT OF THE FUTURE.

Some of the Most Valuable Trees-LOss From Fires Result of Sheer Thought
 Iessness-ERort to Save and Restore Life and Work of Forest Rangers.
 Seyenty-f1ve per cent of our forests has been burned or wasted; or 6 per cent. has been cut and used. We have almost squandered one of our most val uable and most irreplacable inheritances from the ages. We seem to have been worse. even than spaniards, says Out door Life, who. so travellers say. will go out of their way in order to hack or disfgure tree. t
 The forests of Colorado are confined to the mountains. They embrace some of the most useful and beautiful trees. Cedar and pine are found growing at the lowest altitude. On the high foot hills, yellow and then white pine ap- pear. A little above 1000 feet the red and the beautiful silver spruce take their stand on the slopes. Above these are wide areas of lodgpole pine.
 Along the lower margin of the lodge pole and mingling with the red and sil- yer spruce are thrifty, stocky, strong linbed yellow pine; this is found on the dry sunny slopes. This pine has a thick alligator flaker bark of bright choco- late brown color. Balsam and spruce predominate above $500 feet. Here and there vii be pinon orchard, or tenn pied cluster of balsam fir. But just be- low tree line, belting every range, are forests of the tall, slender, blue and englemann spruce. Furthest up on the Alpine heights, bravely enduring the long winters and struggling with the storms, is a species of Rocky Mountain pine. These trees are not only snow crushed and painfully twisted, but are greatly dwarfed. Some of them gem eration old can be covered with a stove pipe hat.
 Aspens are scattered among the other growths from timberline to the warm, dry foothills; but they are most thrifty and profuse on the cool, damp slopes and above 7,5O0 feet.
 The distribution and size of the trees are chiefly controlled by the distribu- tion of heat and moisture. Silver spruce want a brook at their feet; yellow pine keep away from sWamps and shadows; englemann spruce wade the soggy places, climb to high attitudes and make crowded and extensive stands up- on shady hillsides.
 The engleman spruce is the farmers friend, it is the watchdog of the water supply. Their crowded ranks and dense shade defend he innumerable brooks from the robber winds, and insulate the snowdrifts from the attractive sun. This spruce is a useful tree, at once a reser- yoir and a cold storage. Even in June its upper ranks stand waist deep in snow, which, but for this tree, would in most part, weeks before, have run away in the streams or eloped with the dalfying wind. This tree easily suc- curnbs to fire, and is being consumed by paper mills.
 Yellow pine is the best fir eresister, an while log pole withers before a fire 1t generally manages to carry safely through the blaze q profusion of healthy seeds and, commonly, is the first growth upon burned area.
 The diameter of a tree is usually measured four and a half feet above ground. Colorado trees, with a diame- ter of more than three feet, are not plentiful. There are, however. a few stragglers that require fourteen foot belt. I recollect three gnarled and scar red old veterans that are seventy inches in diameter. With an average of ter years for each inch diameter Of growth what a panorama of history they muSt hay eseen! The most magnificent and wide spreading forest in the state is or the west slope of the range between Grand lake and Gray's peak. There i: also a grand forest on the south fork oi the Poudre.
 The Indians were careful to protect the forest from fire. Among all westers tribes g death penalty awaited any In. dian who should set fire to the forest There was no pardon. For neglectins to fight forest fire, no matter how il started, brave was condemned to pass the remainder of his days with the squaWs.
 The forest seems to be taking the course of the buffalo. In 1920 Colone Longs exploring party established 8 burning precedent by allowing a camp. fire to expand into a forest fire. The days of gold were days of flame, ane during the summer of 1860 there were numerous far spreading fires at the source of the Platte. The forest, since the days of "Pike's peak OF bust,'' witt not even an Indian or friend, has been the scene of annual destruction and disgrace
 To Henry Nicholson belongs the honol of making the fighting of forest fires public business There is a growing sentiment that all forest fires should b, fought, and there is feeling that thert should be fewer started.
 Many good people are making the crs that the Christmas tree crop is despoiI ing the forest. This well meant CT, seems erroneous. Enough trees coulC be grown on a block to give Denver it annual supply. The present trouble i. that forests are in the same category of thought as pernicious weeds. Mos forest fires are the result of shoe thoughtlessness, and a few arise out 0 criminal Indifference, and a very fev fires are set deliberately set. On rar, occasions they may start form light ming. or some other unpreventabl