

THE FORESTER. 



March 



ones. The removal of the old timber in 

 a way to protect and promote the growth 

 of the young trees adds very little to the 

 cost of lumbering, while the increased 

 value of the land after cutting much 

 more than repays the additional ex- 

 pens* . 



The method used in the Adirondacks 

 will naturally not apply to all the forest 

 regions of the United States, but other 

 methods of conservative lumbering can 

 be used with advantage almost every- 

 where. The American Forestry Associa- 

 tion works for the diffusion of a knowl- 

 edge of these methods and for their 

 adoption throughout the United States. 

 In doing so, it seeks to perpetuate, not 

 to destroy, the lumber business of the 

 country, and it is already receiving the 

 support of prominent lumbermen in 

 different parts of the United States. 



The Association understands thor- 

 oughly the premium set on the destruc- 

 tion of timber by heavy taxation on tim- 

 ber lands, cut and uncut, and is pre- 

 pared to interest itself actively in bring- 

 ing about a change. The possession of 

 an appropriate and effective organ in The 

 Forester, with its extensive exchange 



list and its circulation among men of 

 influence, gives it peculiar advantages in 

 any agitation of this kind. 



Much misunderstanding has existed, 

 and much still exists, on the part of 

 lumbermen and others as to the law and 

 the rules and regulations which govern 

 the National Forest Reserves. It was 

 believed at first that the intention of the 

 Government in making these reserves 

 was to withdraw them from use altogether, 

 and to prohibit the settlement of agricul- 

 tural lands within their boundaries. A 

 better understanding has gradually come 

 about, but the specific provisions of the 

 law are not yet widely known. 



Extracts from the law and the regula- 

 tions issued under it, explaining in detail 

 the ways in which the reserves may be 

 made useful to the communities near 

 which they lie, and the regulations to 

 be observed in the use of their timber 

 and other resources, appeared in the 

 February issue of The Forester. Ap- 

 plicants for membership in the American 

 Forestry Association whose letters to 

 that effect are received before April 15 

 will receive the February number until 

 the edition is exhausted. 



The Douglas Spruce of Northern Oregon. 



By Henry S. Graves. 



It is not improbable that the Douglas 

 Spruce in Washington and Oregon grows 

 more rapidly than any other coniferous 

 tree. The long annual shoots of the 

 young saplings and the wide rings on the 

 stumps of trees which have grown in 

 open situations are noticeable even to 

 casual observers. There have been pub- 

 lished from time to time measurements 

 of the growth of the Douglas, but they 

 have usually (with the exception of a 

 few by Dr. Heinrich Mayr) been taken 

 on old trees at haphazard in the forest, 

 and may or may not represent the capa- 

 bility of the tree under average condi- 

 tions. A complete knowledge of its 

 growth can be obtained only through an 



exhaustive study, such as is to be begun 

 during the coming summer by the Divi- 

 sion of Forestry. A few figures repre- 

 senting average conditions only and put 

 in a usable form should, however, prove 

 valuable until this investigation has 

 been completed. The measurements of 

 growth summarized below, together with 

 the notes on the silvicultural character of 

 the tree, were collected by the writer 

 during the summer of 1896, in connec- 

 tion with a special report prepared for 

 Mr. Gifford Pinchot. 



OCCURRENCE. 



Douglas Spruce is found from tide land 

 to an altitude between 5,000 and 6,000 



