Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1920-09-30
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planting is to be carried on extremes of cond
lions have been sought so that this early, re-
slrlcted ref0reStatiOn would in the years to come
serve to point the way to carrying out more eX-
tensive operations.
One Of the areas chosen lies upon the slopes
or Fixes Peak and Includes the fre-denuded por
lions of those watersheds from which several
towns, including Colorado Springs and Manitou,
secure municipal water. reconnaissance study
has shown there twelve or fourteen thousand
acres from which the forest growth was swept by
IRE in the early days before the growing demand
for water brought realization of the high value of
tree growth as & water conserver In addition
to the forest products which can be produced
from the lands and the value of the tree growth
as n water conserver, there is the high value of
establishing trees eventually to heal the CHASTITY
fire scars upon the mountain slope as Colorado
Springs and ManitOu, two cities closely related to
each other, represent one of the greatest tourist
centers in the West today
The conditions of the locality were severe for
planting. The uneven distribution of moisture,
high dry winds of spring and summer and also in
winter when the temperatures are low, the lack Of
soil over much of the and the movement of
the soil on the sleeper slopes made up these diff
cultes. The soil, composed of large particles Of
gravel, comes from the decomposition of coarse
grained granite which forms the mountain masses
of the Pixies Peak group.
Study of the reforestation problems upon
Pixies Peak was made by w. J. Gardner This
study was very complete and weighed the diff
cuties to be overcome in successfully establish
ing tree growth upon the barren slopes. One
very interesting point brought out in this study
was the date of the fires which devastated such
large areas in the vicinity of Colorado Springs.
From the age of the young tree growth and the
scars upon trees injured by fire and yet not killed,
Mr.. Gardner determined that greater part of the
area devastated had been swept by conhagra-
ton of series of fires between the year 1850 and
1853 This date is interesting it shows the
time which has elapsed since the destruction of
the forest growth and how slow must be the re-
turn of forest growth to such lands by natural
means In short the high demand for all water
flow from the area and the recreational use then
being made and that which can be expected in
the near future, combined with the value and use
of all forest products grown upon this potential
forest lana so Immediately accessible justified
not waiting for natural reproduction but establish
ing such growth by artificial means.
Believing 1t best to produce the trees under
the same conditions in which they were to be
planted, two nursery locations were chosen high
on the big mountain the land cleared, shade
frames erected and seed sown. Then $4,000 yell
low pine seedlings were brought in from western
Nebraska and planted in Cementine Gulch, about
two and half miles from of the nursery
sites. There records to show what weather
conditions prevailed at the time or followed this
planting A careful search the area in the
fall of 1907 resulted in the discovery of but one
seeding alive.
The reason for this practically total failure
was given as largely due to the fact that seedlings
raised at Halsey were notable to withstand the
sudden change to the higher altitude 1t was
proved later that seedlings Of any sizes or from
any other localities with markedly different
climatic conditions were not strong enough TO
survive the rgorou= conditions found here; that
in fact, 1t would take transplants of the more
vigorous type to produce results These expert
ments showed that while there was some adj
vantage in growing the plants under the same
conditions in which they would he set out many
points which would offset this advantage would
be gained in having the nursery located at