454 



Yearbook of Agriculture 1949 



to Minnesota ; the western white pine, 

 which is found chiefly in the Panhandle 

 of Idaho and nearby parts of Montana 

 and Washington; and the sugar pine 

 of Oregon and California. They are 

 a forest resource of great commercial 

 importance. They are adaptable to a 

 wide range of site conditions, they make 

 rapid growth, and they lend themselves 

 to forest management. Their timber, 

 as it stands in the forest, is worth sev- 

 eral hundred million dollars; its manu- 

 factured value is much greater. The 

 younger growth is the timber crop of 

 tomorrow. Both eastern and western 

 white pine are used for reforestation. 

 The eastern white pine also is used ex- 

 tensively in landscaping homes, parks, 

 buildings, memorials, and like places. 



Numerous logging, milling, and 

 manufacturing industries that employ 

 thousands of people and form the eco- 

 nomic basis of many communities 

 depend on the three species for raw 

 material. The wood is soft, durable, 

 fine-grained, easy to work, and excellent 

 for patterns, matches, doors, window 

 sashes, toys, and many other products. 

 In northern Idaho and nearby parts of 

 Washington and Montana, forest in- 

 dustries are a main support of the eco- 

 nomic and social life. These industries, 

 in turn, depend on western white pine, 

 which represents about three-fourths 

 the value of the forest products of the 

 region. Without the white pine, the 

 harvesting and utilization of asso- 

 ciated trees would not be profitable. 



The other five species grow at high 

 elevations along the mountain ranges 

 west of the Great Plains. They produce 

 little timber, but they have consider- 

 able value in other ways in protecting 

 water supplies, preventing soil erosion, 

 and making scenic and recreational 

 areas. 



Now all eight native species of white 

 pines are endangered by blister rust. 

 To save them will take united and sus- 

 tained action by public and private 

 agencies to bring the disease under 

 control and keep it suppressed in pine- 

 production areas. 



Already the disease is established 



and is spreading in all commercial 

 white pine belts. It is present through- 

 out the range of eastern white pine 

 except in the extreme southern fringe. 

 In the West it has invaded the entire 

 range of western white pine and of 

 sugar pine as far south as Eldorado 

 County in California about 210 miles 

 south of the Oregon border. 



Further, the disease acts relentlessly 

 and insidiously. The fungus destroys 

 pines by girdling the limbs and trunk. 

 Young seedlings are girdled in a short 

 time. They die and disappear and leave 

 no evidence that they ever existed. 

 Diseased saplings may live several 

 years before they succumb. Infected 

 mature trees survive 20 years or more ; 

 if the disease is detected in time, 

 most of them can be salvaged. No hope 

 exists, however, for adequate future 

 supplies of white pine if the young re- 

 production is killed or excessively 

 thinned by the disease. 



RIBES appear during the early for- 

 mation of the forest stands. They reach 

 maximum development in about 20 

 years. Then they decline. They grow 

 from seeds, sprouts, and layered stems. 

 Ribes usually are absent or sparse on 

 light, sandy soils. They vary from few 

 to many on the heavier soils. They per- 

 sist indefinitely in places in the forest 

 that are permanently open. They are 

 suppressed by shade and root compe- 

 tition in fully stocked stands. Ribes are 

 carried over from one forest generation 

 to the next by viable seed stored be- 

 neath the litter on the forest floor. 

 When this debris is disturbed by log- 

 ging, fire, or other causes that expose 

 the stored seed and increase the inten- 

 sity of light, conditions become gen- 

 erally favorable for seed germination 

 and growth of the ribes. Under those 

 conditions, young ribes begin to pro- 

 duce seed in 3 to 5 years and seed 

 storage begins anew. Ribes usually 

 develop in abundance from seed fol- 

 lowing single light burns in forests. 



In young stands, the crowns of the 

 old ribes that are still alive may pro- 

 duce sprouts that grow rapidly. Double 



