The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-10-27
Plans Being Made to Protect
Redwood Forests.
National Lumbermen Have
Reached New Agreement.
ARE WONDERS OF AMERICA
Take Precaution Against
Ground and High Fires.
Many Are as High as a Thirty
Story Building.

Washington, Oct. 26.-The famous
redwood sequoia-the big trees''-of
| California are to be saved as a matter
| of good business. What isssaid to be
| the most important step on the part
| of private numbering companies to-
ward the preservation of the nations
timber supply was announced today
! by the National Lumber Manufac-
| turers association. The Union Lum-
| Der company, the Pacific Lumber
| company. and the Mendocino Lumber
company, the principal private COM
panies owning the California redwood
| forests have agreed hereafter to con-
duct their numbering operations on
| the principle of continuous produce
| ton and maintenance of the forests
| as a whole.
This decision, says a statement of
| the National association, means that
| the redwood forests, made up of the
| largest trees extant, and the ldest
| living things, the sequoia of the s, M
| pervivens species. will be maintained
indefinitely as an economic factor in
| the life of the nation and as one of the
wonders of America.
The method of preservation of the
forests. it is understood, includes cut
| ting of timber in more scattered
stands, while every precaution is TAX
| en- against ground and high fires, and
reforestationf will. follow upoa the
Ample areas of the forests will be
preserved forever in the same state OF
aged maturity as they have been ever
since the coming of the white man and
possibly for thousands of years before
| The state of California has bought
areas of these forests for parks, and
the lumber men themselves have do
mated areas bordering much Travelled
roads.
Is Long Narrow Strip.
The redwood region should not be
Iconfused with that of the Sierra Sc
quotas which are not numerous
enough to be of any great Importance.
| it is said. 1t consists of a narrow strip
| of land along the northern coast If
| California and overlapping into Ore
gon which is over more than twenty
five miles wide 1t covers about L.
| 100000 acres, of which only about
| one-third has been cut over, the re-
mainder being virgin. The total
| amount OF standing timber is esti-
mated at between 10000, 100000 and
75,000,000,000. feet, of which IS per
cent is redwood.
| Many of these trees are more than
| 1000 years old; some have been cut
| that are automatically known to have
been 1873 years of age; and some
| may be as old as 1000 years. At the
present rate of cutting, about O0,000,-
900 feet year, the stand is expected
to last about a century.
The redwood is among the most in
teresting of the tree family. A1tho
one of the longest living things the
redwood grows very rapidly and at
tains a height of $50 to 200 feet with
q diameter of three feet in the first
fifty years. The stands often run to
10000 feet to the acre. Mature trees
attain a height of $50 feet-as high
as thirty-story building-and di-
| ameter of twenty-five feet.
Decays Very Slowly.
Tt is very persistent, highly fire
resistant, and especially adapted to
regrowth because it reproduces from
| sprouts, from stumps and from roots
| 1t has been found practically impos-
sible to exterminate the tree except
where agriculture is maintained, and
| little of its habitat is said to be suit
able for farming. The tree has no
very destructive insect or fungus en-
emies, and decays very slowly. As
lumber it. possesses some qualities
| which make it highly priced. 1t is
slow burning and strongly resistant
to decay. It is soft and easily worked,
finishes well with a pleasing color and
grain and has an agreeable fragrance.
If all the lumber companies in this
area that are at present interested in
the perpetual numbering" idea, agree
to adhere to it, all but IA per cent
of the California redwood will thus
be protected, it was said. With the
to work on, it was declared the pres
ent production can be kept up indefi-
nitely, while the redwood at the same
time comes back to possession of prac-
tica1ly all of the original 100000
acres, except about 100000 acres
suitable for cultivation.
Restock Part of Land.
The method of reforestation is es-
sentially that of protecting and en-
couraging the natural and persistent
regrowth from stumps and roots in
newly cut over lands. Some of the
| Iogged-off lands will be partly re-
stocked with seedlings. Without ar
tificial planting, most of the redwood
| land will come back at the rate of
| $4,000 feet to the acre, or more, in
| forty or fifty years, If fire is kept out,
now that the owners have decided to
administer the cut-over land as per-
manent timber crop land rather than
| to convert it into cattle range or titled
| fields.
Locally the reforestation decision
| is declared to be of great economic
| Importance because it means that the
present large loggins9 numbering and
dependant populations of the red
| wood counties will be maintained and
that there will be no abandoned towns
and no unproductive wilderness OF.
| idle forest lands.