646 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



standing timber and through a part of the lumber town, burning several 

 houses. In fact, the month of May was so very dry that wherever there were 

 railroads, flres were sure to occur, and would spread with remarkable speed 

 through the dry underbrush becoming almost at once dangerous top fires. 

 On the Cherry River property there have been three small brush fires of some 

 thirty acres apiece, one large fire in recently cut over lands along the rail- 

 road, and in addition a fire not previously mentioned which started from a 

 farmer's clearing and burned into the region of the so-called railroad fire, 

 joining it and making the total area about one thousand acres, but none of it 

 standing timber. 



In an ordinary season such fire damage would be considered large, but 

 under the circumstances the company, so far as they have expressed them- 

 selves, consider the results obtained a success, and their losses low. 



REFORESTATION ON THE PIKE NATIONAL FOREST 



By G. W. FITZGERALD 



Forest Sufervisob 



HT NO previous time since the creation of the national forests has the 

 work of reforesting the vast areas denuded by fire and wasteful cutting 

 been so vigorously pushed as in the past two years. There are many 

 reasons for this ; the chief one being that before this the work of reforestation 

 was largely experimental ; and it might be said that much is still to be learned. 

 However, sufficient progress has been made with the experimental work to 

 enable the officer of the Forest Service to accomplish beneficial results in this 

 all-important work. 



Although reforestation is being largely practiced on the greater number of 

 national forests, the writer will deal only with the work on the forest with 

 which he is best acquainted, the Pike National Foi"est of Colorado. The lands 

 within this forest should be covered with a "protection forest," valuable 

 primarily as a conserver of water rather than for lumber. 



The location of the Pike National Forest makes it of considerable importance 

 to the citizens of Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Manitou, and the 

 numerous other settlements in the immediate vicinity, since the watersheds that 

 supply these communities are located within the boundaries of this forest. 

 Realizing this fact, the forest officers, whose duty it is to administer this area, 

 are using their utmost endeavors to better the unfortunate conditions which 

 exist on this important area by reforesting the watersheds of these growing 

 cities. A large proportion of the watershed has been stripped of its timber by 

 fire or cutting, or both. Generally speaking, two methods of accomplishing the 

 desii'ed results have been adopted, by transplanting seedlings which are 

 raised at the nurseries maintained by the Forest Service in the vicinity and by 

 sowing the seed of the trees common to the area which it is desired to reforest. 

 After a number of localities within the Pike National Forest had been 

 experimented with, to determine the most suitable location for a nursery, in 

 which to raise seedlings for field planting, a small area was selected about two 

 miles west of the town of Monument. Monument is a small settlement on 

 the railroad between Denver and Colorado Springs, about 55 miles south of 



