16 REDWOOD LUMBERING. 



hence than the mind of an average American can compre- 

 hend 



Various estimates have been made of the area of the 

 redwood belt, as well as the amount of lumber it contains, 

 but nothing satisfactory seems to have been ascertained. 

 Dr. Kellogg, in his " Forest Trees of California," says that 

 " probably from a fair estimate of the forests along our coast, 

 it would not comprise much more than about three thousand 

 square miles of timber land " 



The Government map in the " Forestry Bulletin " (No. 

 13) shows that the really valuable portion of the belt (from 

 Russian River to the northern limit) covers about two hun- 

 dred and seventy miles from north to south. " Now, (says Ben- 

 ner, writing his 'Wonderland ') suppose only the lowest esti. 

 mated breadth to cover the whole distance, there would be 

 4125 square miles, exclusive of that portion remaining in San- 

 ta Cruz county, and all lying south of Russian River. The 

 Government estimate (board measure) of timber standing in 

 this belt in the census year 1 880 was 25, 825,000,000 feet. This 

 was made up from estimates furnished by a few lumbermen, 

 whose opportunities for making a fair estimate cannot be 

 questioned. But it is also true that many others, including 

 millmcn and lumbermen, estimate from 50 to 100 per cent, 

 higher ; and taking the estimated area of the belt from Rus- 

 sian River to the Oregon line with the estimate of timber 

 standing, we shall find even their figures largely increased. 

 The 275 miles covered by this portion of the belt multiplied 

 by the least estimated width (15 miles) gives 4125 miles. A 

 square mile contains 640 acres, and the average yield per 



