7 902. 



FORKS TRY AND IRRIGATION. 



197 



THE SILVER FIR ALONG THE UPPER CARMEL RIVER, CAUEORNIA ; A SPECIMEN OF PINUS 



PONDEROSA IN THE CENTER. 



oaks. Pill US poiiderosa 2 feet in diam- 

 eter were killed, and the Finns attcnu- 

 ata, which is supposed in southern 

 California to resist and check forest 

 fires, was burned into the roots and de- 

 stroyed. 



The Salinas Valley is a very rich val- 

 ley, and is the center for the sugar-beet 

 industry in northern California. Water 

 has been sought at considerable expense 

 through pumping plants, which have 

 not been very successful, I am told. So 

 important is the water supply for this 

 valley that, in 1900, the Arroyo Seco 

 was selected as one of the first basins 

 to be examined by engineers under the 

 authority of the United States Govern- 

 ment and the California Water and 

 Forest Association, and several sites 

 for storage reservoirs were mapped. 



The engineer in charge proposed that 

 I look over the forest conditions of the 

 Arroyo Seco. I have now acquainted 

 myself with the character of the whole, 

 and the actual growth of more than half 

 the basin. A few of the results of the 



work have been set forth in this paper, 

 one of the most interesting of which, to 

 a botanist, was the discovery that Abies 

 vennsta occupied not infrequent areas in 

 this and the Carmel River drainage, and 

 might under proper care become an im- 

 portant factor in the question of the 

 conservation of an abundant rain and 

 snow fall. 



Therefore, in closing, let me suggest 

 certain conclusions which seem perti- 

 nent to me : If the iVrroyo Seco is to 

 have storage reservoirs, holding a water 

 supply gathered from very steep slopes, 

 with a consequentl}^ rapid drainage, the 

 protection of the existing ligneous 

 growth and the propagation of addi- 

 tional forest growth within this basin 

 is the rational accompaniment of the 

 engineering work. 



Fire must be kept out, and I am sat- 

 isfied that the Silver Fir would be one 

 of the best species to encourage or to 

 propagate over certain large, rocky 

 tracts where few other trees naturally 

 grow. The best hardwoods to accom- 



