1466 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



each other, represent one of the greatest tourist centers 

 in the West today. 



The conditions of the locaHty were severe for plant- 

 ing. 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 

 area and the movement of the soil on the steeper slopes 

 made up these difficulties. The soil, composed of large 

 |)articles of gravel, comes from the decom])osition of 



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FIR AND ASl'KN 



Dougla.s fii planti-d in 1E04 under aspen in a bottom and on a north slops 

 near Pikes I'eak Auto Highway. The aspen protects the fir until it has 

 hecome established, after which the hr pushes through the aspen and 

 crowds it out. 



coarse-grained granite which forms the mountain masses 

 of the Pikes Peak group. 



A careful study of the reforestation problems upon 

 Pikes Peak was made by Mr. W. J. Gardner in the 

 summer of 1903. This study was very complete and 

 weighed the difficulties to be overcome in successfully 

 establishing tree growth upon the barren slopes. One 

 very interesting point brought out in this study was the 

 (late 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 a 

 greater part of the area devastated had been swept by a 

 conflagration or a series of fires between the years 1850 

 and 1853. This date is interesting as it shows the time 

 which has elapsed since the destruction of the forest 

 growth and how slow must be the return of forest growth 

 to such lands by natural means. In short, the high 

 demand for all waterflow from the area and the recrea- 

 tional use then being made and that which can be ex- 

 pected in the near future, combined with the value and 



use of all forest products grown upon this potential forest 

 land so immediately accessible, justified not vi'aiting for 

 natural reproduction but establishing such growth by 

 artificial means. 



The first move was made in the choice of two areas for 

 nursery sites where the trees for field planting were to 

 be grown. Thinking it was 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. This work was begun in the spring of 1905. 

 This same year 50,000 yellow pine seedlings were brought 

 in from the Halsey nursery in Western Nebraska and 

 ]ilanted in Clementine Gulch, about two and a half miles 

 from one of the nursery sites. There are no records to 

 show what weather conditions prevailed at the time or 

 followed this planting. A careful search over the area 

 in the fall of 1907 resulted in the discovery of but one 

 seedling alive. The reason for this practically total failure 

 was given as largely due to the fact that seedlings raised 

 at Halsey were not able to withstand the sudden change 

 to the- higher altitude. It was ])roved later that seedlings 



THRIFTY PLANTED VELLOW PINE 



More of 1912 yellow pine along Pikes Peak Auto Highway. Trees now 

 thoroughly established and prepared to push out rapidly. 



of any sizes or from any other localities with markedly 

 different climatic conditions, were not strong enough to 

 survive the rigorous conditions found here; that, in fact, 

 it wiiuld take transplants of the more vigorous type to 

 produce results. 



Experiments with the nursery areas chosen showed be- 

 yond a doubt that while there was some advantage in 

 growing the plants under the same conditions in which 

 they would be set out, many points which would offset 



