WESTERN RED-ROT IN PINUS PONDEROSA. 5 



AREAS EXAMINED FOR WESTERN RED-ROT. 



Before marking an area for cutting it should be determined 

 whether the rotation is to be short, medium, or long. Often the 

 amount and character of the defect present in the timber will be an 

 important factor in determining what rotation is best for the area in 

 question, especially in stands of virgin timber. 



In order to throw some light on the presence of defects, especially 

 western red-rot, in western yellow pine and its probable influence on 

 the rotation period, studies were conducted on certain areas in the 

 Santa Fe National Forest where both tie trees and saw timber were 

 being cut. The main problem which demanded immediate attention 

 was the relative amount of rot present in the black jack on these areas 

 compared to that in the yellow pine. The special areas examined 

 were located in Cienega, Ocho, Amole, Gallegos, and La Junta 

 Canyons and on adjacent mesas, all of which are situated in the 

 Cienega ranger district. The data given here were obtained mainly 

 from Cienega, Ocho, and Amole Canyons on areas which had been 

 cut for hewn ties. A small area near the Cienega ranger station on 

 which both ties and saw timber had been cut was also examined for 

 rot. The tie trees ranged from 10 to 16 inches, d. b. h., while those 

 over these diameters were saw timber. These areas were especially 

 suitable for a study of this character, since an unusually large per- 

 centage of the black jack (30 to 50 per cent) and nearly all of the 

 yellow pine (85 to 100 per cent) were being cut. 



There are two forms of western yellow pine called, respectively, 

 black jack and yellow pine. Black jack is the form which this pine 

 assumes before it reaches the age of 125 to 150 years. 1 During this 

 period its bark is blackish to dark brown, with narrow furrows, while 

 the yellow-pine form has lighter colored, widely furrowed bark. 



NUMBER AND KIND OF TREES EXAMINED. 



In the vicinity of the Cienega ranger station, 1,691 felled black 

 jacks and 547 felled yellow-pine trees were examined for rot. In 

 addition to this, all of the trees 4 inches, d. b. h., and over on a 

 sample strip 1 chain wide and 140 chains long, located on the mesa 

 between Ocho and Cienega Canyons, were tallied by the district 

 marking board of the Forest Service, carefully examined, and any 

 evidences of disease or defect noted. One hundred and twenty- four 

 felled black jacks (10 to 16 inches, d. b. h.) and 16 felled yellow 

 pines (12 to 16 inches, d. b. h.) had been cut for hewn ties on this 

 sample strip. 



Table I shows the number of sound and defective trees on each 

 of the areas examined and in a general way the character of the 



1 Woolsey, T. S., jr. Western yellow pine in Arizona and New Mexico. U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Forest Serv. Bui. 101, 64 p., illus, 4 pi. 1911. 



