734 AMEKICAN FOEESTRY 



proved its worth. As a result of the demonstration, it was proved that the 

 native timber, mainly lodgepole pine, was, after treatment, as desirable as the 

 more expensive Douglas fir and cedar. The one objection to the native fire- 

 killed timber was that it did not last in contact with the ground, for posts, 

 poles, ties, and mine stulls, when it was used without preservative treatment. 

 With treatment, there was much in its favor. It grows tall, clean, and 

 uniform in size; in a telegraph or telephone line it is much more sightly, 

 than either fir or cedar, because of this uniformity, and strength tests prove 

 it to be near enough to the cedar to be acceptable for nearly every purpose 

 for which the cedar is used. At least two other commercial treating plants 

 similar to the one at Norrie, are proposed, which shows that the Government 

 experiments not only opened the way to a new usefulness for the timber, but 

 inaugurated a profitable industry. 



The special concessions that may be allowed besides low stumpage prices, 

 are various, and are carefully thought out to meet each problem. For some 

 good stands of timber on Express and Castle creeks, above Ashcroft, not only 

 will the cost to the buyer be made very reasonable, because of the inaccessibility 

 of the stand and consequent cost of logging it, but a top diameter limit 

 greater than six inches will be allowed. This may seem to be too great a 

 concession, but conditions have to be governed by circumstances; while it is 

 desirable to use all the merchantable parts of a tree, it is, nevertheless, far 

 better to dispose of that part of the killed timber that can be handled at a 

 profit rather than leave it all alone, so that the entire stand will fall into 

 decay. 



While various concessions of the character indicated have seemed advis- 

 able, they are only such as the condition, quality, and accessibility of the 

 bodies of fire-killed timber warrant. In other words, these stands are handled 

 with the same consideration for their commercial value as National Forest 

 resources which is given to stands of green timber. 



The present year is dull in lumbering, but there is a revival in mining; and 

 as new mines are opened, a market which particularly seeks the class of ma- 

 terial with which this article deals will be enlarged. But lest the good 

 work of the Forest officers, with its encouraging response in larger sales, 

 should lead to a too-roseate view, it must be kept in mind that at the present 

 rate of disposal, the more inaccessible burns cannot be reached until after 

 the timber will have deteriorated so far as to be unmerchantable; and even 

 with the most Herculean efforts it is not to be expected that the rate of sales 

 can be so accelerated as to remove this fact. In the meantime it is gratifying 

 that practically no timber has been killed by fire since the Sopris has been 

 under administration. A continuance of successful fire protection, together 

 with the further extraordinary effort to clear out the dead timber that will be 

 continued, will show marked changes in a very short period of years; and a 

 longer period, except in the more remote parts of the Forest, will mean the 

 effacement of the unsightly bleached skeletons of once green trees, and the re- 

 turn of a beautiful growing forest, of use and value, a conserver of moisture, 

 and a refuge for birds and game. 



