52 PRACTICAL FORESTRY IN 



Reproduction and management of western cedar have not 

 been sufficiently studied to warrant very positive conclusions. 

 This neglect is probably due to a wide belief that in spite 

 of its present commercial importance, its place in the future 

 forest will be small. It most commonly occurs with other 

 trees in heavy stands, which make the preservation of any 

 young cedar difficult because of the destructiveness of log- 

 ging. Being of comparatively slow growth, also persistent in 

 retaining branches when grown in the light, it is not as prom- 

 ising for artificial reproduction as Douglas fir or white pine. 

 To let it become old enough for good shingle material will be 

 too expensive to pay, for roofing is one of the wood products 

 easiest to substitute for. While cedar is adapted for poles, 

 posts and other underground use, less decay-resisting species 

 can be made equally durable by chemical treatment. In 

 other words, as a second crop it is probably below other 

 species in ease of establishment, rapidity and quantity, and 

 will not have sufficient peculiar value to compensate for con- 

 sequent less economical use of the ground. 



There may be exceptions to this rule. Good young cedar 

 in forests which are to be handled under the selection system 

 should be carefully protected. It can always be utilized and 

 may bring revenue before anything else can be cut. For the 

 same reason it has been suggested for planting with fir and 

 white pine, either simultaneously as a small proportion or 

 later in blank spaces where the others fail. Under such con- 

 ditions the main stand will not be modified and the cedar will 

 afford a valuable adjunct. 



SITKA SPRUCE (Picea sitchensis] 



Although found in the moister mountain regions, this ex- 

 ceedingly valuable tree seldom occurs to a commercially im- 

 portant extent except along the coast, where it is common on 

 swales and fertile benches and in river bottoms often forms 

 pure stands of great density. Yields of 100,000 feet an acre 



