Regeneration by Douglas Fir 307 



sowing. Abnormal droughts are more than Hkely to occur every 

 two to three years, and the young seedlings are not sufficiently 

 hardy to withstand them. Therefore, natural regeneration will 

 be more or less of a gamble on climatic conditions and at the 

 very best will be an extremely slow process. However, it is the 

 intention to try out the plan, and in the event of failure planting 

 can then be resorted to. 



The restocking of the steep south slopes will have to be entirely 

 accomplished through the planting of seedlings, for there are no 

 living trees on the areas nor anywhere within seeding range, and 

 even if there were any such trees, natural restocking would not 

 occur because of the poor surface conditions. Furthermore, as 

 stated, the surface, consisting of a very meager amount of soil 

 intermingled with a mass of small rocks of limestone, gets ex- 

 tremely dry in summer. These two conditions, so inimical to seed 

 germination and seedling development, preclude any hopes of se- 

 curing natural reseeding until, through the long establishment of 

 forest conditions, the ground surface undergoes a change in 

 character. Experimental work has demonstrated that, because 

 of drought and rodents, direct seeding methods will not succeed 

 on sites of this kind ; therefore, regeneration can only be attained 

 by the planting of nursery stock. Planting is expensive work, 

 and the recovery of these areas for forest growth will require 

 a large investment, but the expenditure, in the end, will be justi- 

 fied, since thousands of acres of present devastated and worthless 

 land will be converted into forests, having a marked influence in 

 conserving for irrigation, the water which now runs to waste in 

 the early spring. 



