58 REDWOOD LUMBERING. 



tvveen the 37th and 42d parallels north latitude, or between 

 Monterey Bay on the south, and Crescent City on the north, 

 an extent of country about 400 miles long. The width is 

 irregular, following the conformation of the mountains, but 

 will average about 30 miles. Below Monterey Bay there is 

 but little timber of any kind, while at the northern extremity 

 of the belt the redwood gradually disappears, and pine, fir 

 and spruce take its place. 



" The whole belt of redwood lies upon the western slope 

 of the Coast Range. Throughout the section named the rains 

 are heavy in winter, and the fogs dense in summer, coming in 

 from the ocean with the wind very regularly every afternoon, 

 and during the whole year the climate is mild and even in 

 temperature. Not that I would imply that the section named 

 is one vast forest. These were the original boundaries of the 

 redwood belt. In Santa Cruz county there is considerable 

 standing timber, but north of there until you reach the Rus- 

 sian River, the country has been stripped. Between the 

 mouth of Russian River and Crescent City the country is by 

 no means one vast forest. There are large tracts of fine 

 farming land, extensive sheep and cattle ranges, as well as 

 large sections that have been denuded of their native forests. 



"A careful estimate of standing redwood places the amount 

 at about 26,000,000,000 feet; certainly not a large supply, 

 when it is considered that the present yearly consumption is 

 not far from 200,000,000 feet, and the demand each year is 

 increasing. 



" The size of the redwood tree varies greatly with the lo- 

 cality. In the southern part of the timber belt, where the 



