28o 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



July, 



appear in person. It is hoped in this 

 manner to estaWish a closer organization 

 and a better spirit, and at the same time 

 prevent carelessness. While this sys- 

 tem requires that a better salary be paid 

 to the men of classes I and II, it is be- 

 lieved to be a fact, well sustained by the 

 experience of similar patrol and protec- 

 tive bodies, that lo men well organized 

 are worth more than 15 men without 

 proper organization. 



So far, the rangers have not been uni- 

 formed and merely carrj' a badge ; but 

 in the San Gabriel and Pine Mountain 

 and Zaca Lake reserves in California the 

 rangers patrol in uniforms. This has re- 

 sulted in much advantage to these ranger 

 bodies, which, under the active leader- 

 ship of Supervisors Thomas and Slosson, 

 have earned for themselves general es- 

 teem and recognition. 



The timber- work, or work in forestry, 

 has been limited so far to supplying 

 urgent applications, cases where the 

 timber was needed in or near the re- 

 serve, the miners and farmers being the 

 principal consumers. While thus far 

 this branch of the work has been rather 

 secondary, it follows from the very na- 

 ture and object of these reserves, as 

 well as from the experience of the first 

 few years of their administration, that 

 the timber- work will soon be foremost, 

 and that in nearly every reserve the 

 ranger will have to become something 

 of an estimator, scaler, and general tim- 

 ber sur^^eyor. 



Even now there is great need of a 

 thorough study and description of man}" 

 of the forests of these reserves ; for 

 only a careful detail survey of this kind 

 will make it possible to dispose of the 

 ripe material in a judicious manner, and 

 guard against overcutting and other 

 serious mistakes. 



In disposing of timber the protection 

 of the forest has ever been the guiding 

 principle. Timber is never sold simply 

 because some one is willing to take it 

 if ample concessions are made. On the 

 contrary, timber is sold only after the 

 local officer's report shows that the tim- 

 ber may well be spared ; that there is a 

 real, urgent demand for the same. 

 Preferably it is sold only if its removal 

 is likely to bring about an improvement 



of the forest by replacing an old open 

 or broken forest by a denser young 

 growth, which better subserves the pur- 

 poses of a protective forest. 



In distributing the cutting over the 

 reserves, it is the intention always to 

 adhere strictly to the forester's first 

 principle never to cut more than is 

 growing. In applying this rule, any 

 given reserve is considered in relation 

 to its surroundings, and an effort is made 

 to avoid overcutting, not only for the 

 entire reserve, but also for any partic- 

 ular natural district, watershed, etc. 



So far the amount of material dis- 

 po.sed of has been small in nearly all 

 reserves, compared with the amount 

 which the forest is capable of supply- 

 ing. Moreover, every effort has been 

 made to induce consumers, as far as 

 possible, to satisfy their demands from 

 injured and dead material. In most 

 reserves, and especially in the Rocky 

 Mountain region, this exists in large 

 quantities, since the fire-damaged trees 

 season on the stump and commonly re- 

 main serviceable for j^ears. 



During the year 1900-1901 there were 

 sold, in round numbers, about 26,000,000 

 feet of timber and 21 ,000 cords of wood, 

 or, expressed in cords, about 73,000 

 cords, all told. There were given away, 

 under the free-use system, about 20,000 

 cords, of which full}^ three-fourths was 

 cord-wood and fencing, and nearl}^ all 

 cut from dead material. While the cut 

 for the past fiscal 3'ear is very much 

 greater, it is still a mere trifle in most 

 reserves. In a few, however, this is not 

 the case, and a small supply, together 

 with the great danger of permanent de- 

 nudation, owing to difficult and slow 

 reproduction, have made it necessary to 

 restrict and discourage timber sales. 



Timber in forest reserves is disposed 

 of in two ways either by sale or by 

 what is known as the free-use system, 

 where the material is given gratis to set- 

 tlers, prospectors, and others. This 

 latter method is an outgrowth of the 

 liberal homestead idea, and is treated 

 strictly as a privilege to be granted onl}^ 

 to those who appear entitled and worthy. 

 Since it is primarily a method of supply- 

 ing settlers, and involves in nearly all 

 cases only small quantities, mostly of 



