TABLE 2. Estimated value of yellow pine at end of forty years. 



From Table 2 it is apparent that although the stand of pine on the 

 5,804 acres will not be heavy, it will be sufficient to warrant cutting, 

 and will have at the lowest stumpage figure a sufficient value to jus- 

 tify its protection. It is only necessary, then, to devise an adequate 

 system, the cost of which shall be commensurate with the future 

 returns from the protected area. 



Before going further, however, it should be stated that in many 

 respects the experimental area is not typical of cut-over lands at 

 present. The increased market prices for California pine lumber 

 have made it possible within the past few years to utilize much smaller 

 trees than was the case when the area in question was cut. There 

 is a considerable stand of trees on the greater part of this cut-over 

 pine land, often an average of 10 trees over 12 inches in diameter 

 per acre. If the area were now being logged, these trees would be 

 merchantable, and leaving them would mean an actual invest- 

 ment of money, which though small in amount, would accumu- 

 late in forty years, at compound interest, to a considerable sum. 

 Without the presence of these trees, on the other hand, there would 

 be no basis for a second crop forty years hence, and very little provi- 

 sion for seeding up the area with young growth. In this specific 

 instance, of course, the trees as they stand do not represent an actual 

 investment, since the scattered nature of the stand renders them 

 at present unmerchantable, nor were they merchantable at the time 

 of logging, since the prices for smaller timber at that time precluded 

 the possibility of logging them. This point will again be referred to 

 when the subject of returns is considered, but it should always be kept 



in mind. 



PROTECTION PLAN. 



The following plan of protection for the experimental area was 

 submitted to the McCloud River Lumber Company: 



FIRE LINES. 



In a region where fires are likely to occur and, when once started, 

 are hard to check, some means must be found to confine fires to the 

 smallest possible area, and to serve as a basis for fighting them. For 

 this purpose it is recommended that fire lines be constructed. It is 



[Cir.7 9.] 



