26 



AAIERICAN FORESTRY 



*■■* 



i- 



'is^iSoL 



RECONNAISSANCE IS A PREPARATORY STEP TO TIMBER SALES. 



of poles per acre also gives a good idea 

 of what the next crop of timber is going 

 to be like. Data on the physical condi- 

 tion of the trees, such as the number 

 of snags, broken-tops, spike-tops, fire- 

 scarred, and insect-killed trees per acre, 

 are of particular value in that they give 

 the purchaser an idea of how much of 

 this stuff he will have to cut on the 

 sale area. 



The topographic and type map are 

 of course indispensable to proper silvi- 

 cultural management. A working plan 

 based on annual yield is not an imme- 

 diate necessity because, so far, the an- 

 nual cut is such a small percentage of 

 the annual yield and there is little dan- 

 ger at present of overcutting. What is 

 necessary, though, is a silvicultural 

 working plan which will put the forest 

 into a better silvicultural condition. For 

 this working plan the maps give us de- 

 tailed information of what we have, and 

 immediately simplify the problem of 

 what should be done with it. 



The relation of slope and aspect upon 

 soil and atmospheric moisture and how 

 this relation affects the distrilnition of 

 the species is shown in a most striking 

 way. Comparing these maps of the east 

 slope of the Sierras with observations 



made on the west slope it is shown con- 

 clusively that the species range increas- 

 ingly higher going from west to east. 



This information together with the 

 data on the estimate sheets will serve as 

 a basis for determining the silvicultural 

 treatment, the objects of management, 

 the rotations and other matters. In gen- 

 eral the mixed fir types will stand a 

 greater cut than the open yellow-pine 

 types. In most of our mountain for- 

 ests the rotations and objects of man- 

 agement will be directly affected by alti- 

 tude. Problems of utilization can not 

 be solved until we know what we have, 

 how much there is and where it is. It 

 has been shown that the best use for 

 lodgepole pine is poles and ties and that 

 red fir and white fir make excellent 

 paper. The next question is : Have we 

 hig enough bodies of these species to 

 interest large capital ? 



Reconnaissance locates areas of tim- 

 ber that are badly in need of cutting 

 either because they are deteriorating 

 rapidly, or on account of insect infes- 

 tation, or for other reasons. This work- 

 may also locate areas in need of plant- 

 ing; at least it shows the location of 

 all brush areas, which class of lands 

 furnishes a most important planting 



