

252 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



of the area is inaccessible to grazing. 

 Under Forest Service regulations the 

 timber and the range will be improved, 

 and agricultural conditions will be 

 vastly benefitted. 



Planting Plan S. B. Detwiler has gone 

 for Gunnison to Colorado to carr-y on, 

 Reserve j n tne newly created 



Gunnison Forest Reserve, forest re- 

 placement studies for the Bureau of 

 Forestry. The object in view is the 

 preparation of a preliminary refores- 

 tation plan for this region. Similar 

 plans have been made for other re- 

 serves where planting work is now in 

 progress, and are necessary in order 

 to determine areas that are suitable, 

 or unsuitable, for planting, and the 

 watersheds which are in the most 

 urgent need of attention. The work 

 in the Gunnison Reserve is particu- 

 larly important because of the large 

 irrigation projects which are under 

 way. Since the condition of the for- 

 est cover on the slopes above reser- 

 voir sites determines to a large extent 

 the quality and regularity of the water 

 supply, any action which leads to a 

 reforesting of denuded slopes will add 

 just so much to the irrigation possi- 

 bilities of the region. Mr. Detwiler's 

 report, when completed, will show the 

 areas which should be planted at once, 

 those which are not in such urgent 

 need, the tree species to be used, where 

 forest nurseries should be located, 

 and will contain an approximate esti- 

 mate of the cost of all contemplated 

 operations. 



Irrigation 

 Contracts 

 Awarded 



The Secretary of the In- 

 terior has awarded con- 

 tracts to the lowest bid- 

 ders for construction of the Interstate 

 Canal, North Platte project, Nebraska, 

 as fol 1 ows : 



Robinson & Maney, St. Louis. Di- 

 isions I, 2, 6, 7, 9 and 10: Griffith & 

 . McDermott, Chicago, Division 3 ; 

 Deadwood Construction Co., Divis- 

 ion 4; Orman & Crook, Peublo, Colo., 

 Division 5 ; James O'Connor, Morg-m- 

 t<>\vn, Iml., Division 6. 



The lowest bids on the several di- 

 visions are as follows: 



i. Robinson & Maney, $40,599. 

 2., Robinson & Maney, $42,332. 



3. Griffith & McDermott, $78,135. 



4. Deadwood Const. Co., $32,695. 



5. Orman & Crook, $76,647. 



6. Robinson & Maney, $35,335. 



7. Robinson & Maney, $35,135. 



8. James O'Connor, $37,560. 



9. Robinson & Maney, $33,266.80. 



10. Robinson & Maney, $29,700. 



Transplanting Contrary to prevalent 

 "Big Tree" belief, the famous "Big 

 Seedlings Trees" of California do 



reproduce themselves under certain 

 favorable conditions. The trees seed 

 freely, but the seed rarely germinate 

 except when they fall where the 

 ground has recently been burned over. 

 Once started the young growth only 

 needs a moderate amount of light and 

 protection from fire and stock grazing. 

 With some care this race of forest 

 monarchs need not become extinct, 

 but may be greatly multiplied. The 

 number of mature trees is not great, 

 and healthy young growth is rare, but 

 in some situations there are plenty of 

 seedlings. In order to establish these 

 trees more widely, it is proposed to 

 move some of the seedlings to locali- 

 ties where they will be apt to grow. 



The first extensive transplanting of 

 t''e "Big Trees" has recently been fin- 

 ished by Ranger Lewis L. Davis in 

 the General Grant National Park, Cal- 

 ifornia. In the spring of 1904 it was. 

 noticed that a large number of tiny 

 sequoias sprang up where debris had 

 been burned. Advantage was taken 

 of the opportunity to place the seed- 

 lings which appeared where they 

 would have opportunity to develop. 

 Ranger Davis has thus far transplant- 

 ed about 1.400, and those set last year 

 have nearly all grown. 



Telephone for The Forest Service men 

 Dismal River in charge of the plant- 

 Reserve U1 g. anc | nurse ry work on 



the Dismal River Forest Reserve, Ne- 

 braska, have taken advantage of the 

 numerous barb-wire fences of the re- 

 gion to install a complete telephone 

 system by stringing a few connecting 

 wires, and mending breaks and put- 







