IC» ENGELMANN SPRUCE TYPE 



in which spruce is found with Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, western 

 larch, silver pine, hemlock and western red cedar are not uncom- 

 mon. The only other species that has the same tolerance for 

 the thin soil and high wind of the mountain summits as Engel- 

 mann spruce is alpine fir but it is seldom more than a subordinate 

 associate. The merchantable contents vary from 3000 to 50,000 

 feet with an average of 5000 feet per acre. 



As might be expected from the rigorous climate and thin soil 

 growth is slow. The following figures show what 100 years will 

 give under average conditions: 



Diameter 6.2 inches 



Height 60 feet 



Timber Values. — The cost of estimating is neither cheap nor 

 very expensive. Five cents an acre should give a 10 per cent 

 estimate. The factors that make for cheapness are uniformity 

 of stand and size of timber while the rugged topography and rela- 

 tive inaccessibility increase the cost. Inaccessibility has two 

 phases which may both be of importance. In the first place the 

 Engelmann spruce type is usually a long distance from roads and 

 hence transportation is slow, difiicult and costly. Secondly, 

 the fact that the type is hard to reach reduces the probability of 

 its having been surveyed. The Land Office has naturally con- 

 centrated on the more accessible public land in the foothills 

 which was in demand for tillage and grazing as well as for the 

 timber. Furthermore, even when surveys have been made 

 they are likely to be poor in quality. The contract method of 

 surveying is not conducive to accurate work under difficulties 

 because the surveyor's main object is to cover the largest possible 

 area at the minimum cost. In addition the inspection of moun- 

 tain survey work has been notoriously lax. The temptation to 

 hurry over the inaccessible mountain peaks is very strong and 

 only the most conscientious inspectors have resisted the impulse 

 to be lenient with contract work in such localities. This failing 

 of inspectors has been taken advantage of to the fullest by the 

 contract surveyors. 



The following minimum diameter limits are used in esti- 

 matmg timber within this type: 



