1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



357 



growth. Into this heavily wooded 

 area, containing vastly greater quanti- 

 ties of merchantable timber than to- 

 day, the Indian came at a period an- 

 thropologically by no means remote, 

 and the fires, kindled by him for the 

 chase, or by accident, commenced 

 their untrammeled sway. In a virgin 

 forest of large-sized trees, even in so 

 combustible a region as the Sierras, 

 absolutely destructive conflagrations 

 would not be the normal form of for- 

 est fire. But a continual procession 



stretches which escaped damage for 

 many years at a time. In this type of 

 forest there is a heavy stand of timber, 

 and it is either heavily stocked with 

 mature trees, or if the old veterans are 

 deteriorating, there is a large quantity 

 of young growth filling the openings 

 and taking their places. Many parts 

 of this class of timber have almost es- 

 caped fire entirely, and show the nor- 

 mal type which should exist through- 

 out the entire region on similar situa- 

 tions. Fig. i gives a fair specimen 



Fig. 3. Open chaparral field, the result of continued fierce fires. Splendid view 



of Mt. Shasta in the distance. 



of surface fires of more or less in- 

 tensity do the deadly work of forest 

 destruction with even greater efficacy. 



At the present time the Sierra for- 

 ests may be divided into three broad 

 types in regard to their fire history. 



i. The denser timber. Fire being 

 most destructive to the forest when it 

 occurs periodically at short intervals, 

 those areas where the visitation is not 

 constant must be in the best condition. 

 In a region so large as the Sierras and 

 so mountainous, there must be large 



of the forest and its renewal under the 

 old timber when it has a fair chance. 

 Nearly all the valuable timberlands of 

 the Sierras are in this typo, which 

 gives the state one of its greatest 

 sources of wealth. The major part of 

 this dense forest has suffered more or 

 less heavily from fire, but it is general- 

 ly in fair condition, and in itself, not 

 being liable to severe fires, is not dif- 

 ficult to protect and manage. 



2. The open forest. L'nfortunately 

 for the economic value of the Sierras, 



