1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



523 



lawns might get every benefit possi- 

 ble and the evaporation will be as lit- 

 tle as possible. 



It can be understood, therefore, that 

 after the great expense incurred in the 

 conveying and saving as much of the 

 water as possible had failed to supply 

 an abundance for all needs, the people 

 of this community are now almost as 

 a whole crying out against the six or 

 seven lumber companies who have in 

 the meantime been denuding the wa- 

 tershed from which the water is ob- 

 tained. 



When the creation of the reserve 

 was first agitated, comparatively few 

 thought enough of it to give the mat- 

 ter serious thought, while others open- 

 ly opposed it as a scheme of big lum- 

 bering interests to get the government 

 to protect certain timber for their spe- 

 cial benefit. The writer met a few 

 who are a little "sore" about the' mat- 

 ter even now, but in every case he 

 was able to trace it to some personal 

 prejudice. 



In my trip through the reserve, I 

 found all the forest rangers in the 

 active performance of their duties. 

 They were uniformed in corduroy 

 trousers, blue flannel shorts, gray hats, 

 canvas leggings, and blue fatigue 

 coats, and carrying a brush, knife, and 

 either a shovel or a rope, and some- 

 times both. I found also that at cer- 

 tain convenient intervals throughout 

 the reserve were kept fire fighting tools 

 and cooking utensils for the use of 

 volunteers or extra men should their 

 services be necessary. 



The uniform of the reserve patrol 

 force is the result of the wide-awake- 

 ness and personal observation of the 

 superintendent, Mr. E. B. Thomas, 

 and it impresed the writer as a very 

 excellent plan and one that should be 

 adopted in all the reserves. It gives 

 the visitor to the reserve the impres- 

 sion that the rangers are there for a 

 particular purpose and are not merely 

 residents of the mountains, who draw 

 a salary for wearing a badge and get 

 a "rake-off" from their friends for 

 special privileges. It increases the dig- 

 nity of the ranger's position, and at 



the same time does not work a hard- 

 ship in the way of an extra expense, 

 as the uniform selected by Mr. Thom- 

 as _is not only very serviceable but also 

 quite inexpensive. Another advantage 

 of the uniform is to make the ranger 

 where inclined to be at all careless 

 about his duty, more careful, as the 

 uniform is readily recognized at a 

 distance, while one would have to be 

 quite close to a ranger to recognize 

 him by his badge alone. So that should 

 a ranger be inclined to shirk his duty 

 at a fire or in the patrol of his district, 

 he will be more attentive to duty if 

 he is uniformed. 



Having just completed a trip 

 through the San Bernardino Valley 

 and having in mind the rapid and 

 rather alarming shrinkage of the ar- 

 tesian belt and the gradual decrease 

 of the water supply in the last few 

 years and remembering that the re- 

 serve furnishes the only watershed 

 from which the valley obtains its sup- 

 ply, I paid special -attention to the 

 ground cover, as there is practically no 

 timber on the southern exposures. I 

 found the south slopes of the moun- 

 tains below the 3,500 feet level covered 

 by a growth of chapparral, composed 

 of chemise and scrub oak. Where 

 the chapparral had escaped fire it was 

 found to be quite thick and affording 

 a good ground cover. In some of the 

 canons on the southern exposures 

 there are a few big cone spruce that 

 seem to be doing well. It occurred 

 to the writer that it might be of ad- 

 tage to do something to increase this 

 small stand, and aid nature a little. If 

 these trees grow here naturally under 

 present adverse conditions, they might 

 thrive under better ones. They are, 

 it would seem to the writer, of more 

 value, too, than the knob cone pine 

 (Finns attenuata), because they are 

 of commercial value as well as a good 

 ground cover. There are indications 

 of spruce of considerable size having 

 been cut from some of t!u- canons. 

 These were probably cut for wood, 

 being nearest the valley. 



There is no indication of any other 

 timber ever having existed on the 



