82 PINON AND JUNIPER 



which are covered with grass if fertile and moist enough but 

 bare if dry and sandy. Since the trees are seldom large enough 

 to make saw timber an idea of the total volume can not well be 

 expressed in board feet. The cubic foot is the usual unit of 

 measurement. The stand per acre seldom exceeds two cords' 

 and an average for the type thruout its range would be nearer 

 one cord. 



The growth is relatively slow on account of the dryness of the 

 climate. For yield prediction there is little foundation. The 

 type has had so little commercial value that its growth has not 

 been investigated. It is only possible to say that the average 

 growth per acre per annum does not exceed one-quarter cord. 



Even this small annual accretion may be retarded by such 

 parasites as mistletoe and the cedar apple. No especially 

 destructive insects have been reported as yet from this type. 



Timber Values. — The only wood products that the type fur- 

 nishes are fence posts and fuel. These may be cut as small as 

 an inch at the top end and three feet long. The cost of cutting 

 is relatively high on account of the scantiness of the stand but 

 labor is cheap so that $2 a cord is usually ample. Delivering 

 is done in great part by burros, the wood being bound on pack 

 saddles. This costs about 50 cents per mile per cord on account 

 of the expense in handling the many small pieces into which fuel- 

 wood has to be cut to allow it to be packed readily on the burros. 

 As a consequence the total delivered value is in the neighborhood 

 of $5 per cord. This leaves a stumpage value of about $1 per 

 cord for the owner of the standing trees. 



Land Values. — From the figures given above it follows that the 

 pinon-juniper type has a negative value for the production of 

 wood alone. It is only where the tree growth has additional use- 

 fulness as a protective covering to prevent erosion and hinder 

 rapid runoff that the trees can profitably be retained. This use 

 is difficult to measure but it is a real one as the many instances 

 where water is conserved in this way for domestic and irrigation 

 purp>oses show. The absolute value depends upon the demand 

 but $1 per acre may safely be set as a minimum. An equitable 

 way to determine the value in a specific case would be to deduct 



