1900. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



2 93 



thousand-fold greater than it would were 

 the waters allowed to spread as nature per- 

 mitted. But there is no question as to the 

 utility of storing up a portion of the flow of 

 water that runs away in non-irrigation sea- 

 sons that it may be available for use during 

 the growing periods. As a distinguished 

 United States engineer, referring to the 

 arid region of the west, reports, " In no 

 other part of the United States, nor any- 

 where else in the world, are there such 

 potent and conclusive reasons, of a public 

 as well as a private nature, for the con- 



struction of a comprehensive reservoir 

 system." 



I congratulate you, gentlemen, on the 

 patriotic and efficient work you are doing 

 in promoting a national irrigation move" 

 ment, from which I feel confident will be 

 achieved substantial results of immense 

 interest and importance to the country. 



I remain, with best wishes fora success- 

 ful and profitable Congress, 



Yours faithfully, 

 (Signed) NELSON A. MILES, 

 Lieutenant General, U. S. Army. 



LUMBERING IN THE SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK. 



BY WILLIAM R. DUDLEY, 

 Stanford University, California. 



In the September number of the FOR- 

 ESTER, page 209, reference was made to 

 the mill on the Atwill claim, along the 

 Mineral King road in the Sequoia National 

 Park. Revisiting this cutting this summer, 

 I find that considerable lumbering has been 

 accomplished since my last visit, in 1897, 

 and that the otherwise beautiful forest 

 along this road is wofully marred by what 

 appears to be a very wasteful process, 

 leaving a large amount of refuse material 

 on the ground. 



Six photographs were taken * and I ask 

 the privilege of saying a few words to em- 

 phasize what they show. 



These seven townships forming the 

 Sequoia Park, if better known, would be 

 the play-ground for summer outings of a 

 large number of California people, and 

 ought to be a source of national pride. 

 Upon the Park's mountain benches and 

 brooks stand thousands of the noble Se- 

 quoia, forming collectively the finest 

 groves that have been discovered, and 

 soon to stand out in still greater superiority 

 over smaller groups of the species through 

 the complete destruction of the King's 



* Owing to lack of space, it has been possible 

 to reproduce only three of these photographs 

 ED. 



River groves. The Park, moreover, in- 

 cludes all the streams of a considerable 

 river which pours its floods forth to water 

 and make fertile the great Visalia Delta 

 district in the San Joaquin Valley below. 



The writer joins, therefore, most earn- 

 estly with Major West, the present mili- 

 tary superintendent of the two National 

 Parks, who has recently recommended in 

 his annual report the extinguishing of the 

 private claims within the park boundaries. 



In the first place the milling at AtwilPs 

 is not a very profitable business to those 

 engaged, those managing it not having 

 great experience. The mill cannot handle 

 the big Sequoias without blasting and de- 

 stroying a great deal of sound timber; it 

 cuts probably only a little over 5.001) teet 

 a day, and supplies only a very local 

 market. 



In the second place the Sequoia Park is 

 a public one, and it is wrong in principle 

 to have lumbering going on within its bor- 

 ders, among the very trees it \\.is estab- 

 lished to protect. From what I ha\e 

 learned I believe the o\\ ners of prnate 

 claims within tin- Park could be bought 

 out for reasonable compensation. 



I am a strong advocate, moreo\er, >l 

 Major West'.s proposition to extend the 



