1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



228 



POSSIBILITIES AND USES. 



For limited use as a mixture in prai- 

 rie planting, especially on rather moist 

 soil, the Black Cherry will find a use- 

 ful place. In general, however, it is 

 too short lived and of too limited eco- 

 nomic value to be recommended for 

 extensive planting in the West. As a 

 nurse tree in forest plantations and 

 where a luxurious foliage effect is de- 

 sired it serves a useful purpose. 



In the South and East, where it is 

 of longer life and reaches its best de- 

 velopment, it does not hold a high 

 place because of the small size of the 

 timber it produces and the presence of 

 more valuable species. It is seldom 

 used for ornamental purposes. With 

 slight protection near the seacoast it 

 has in a moderate degree shown its 

 ability to withstand salt winds. 



NOTABLE PLANTATIONS. 



H. C. Raymond, of western Iowa, 

 reports that io-year-old Black Cherry 

 grown in groves is 6 inches in diame- 

 ter and 28 feet high, while Hardy 

 Catalpa of the same age and in the 

 same soil is of the same diameter but 

 only 25 feet high. 



In the Farlington plantation in Kan- 

 sas the Black Cherry for the first few 

 years gave great promise, but it is now 

 deteriorating and, in many cases, dy- 

 ing. 



In a block planted in 1878, contain- 

 ing 196 White Ash, 27 Catalpa, and 7 

 Black Cherry trees, the Cherry, when 

 measured in 1901, was the largest both 

 in diameter and height. The follow- 

 ing was the average size of the 7 trees : 



Average diameter at 1 foot from 

 the ground 8.4 inches 



Average diameter at 7 feet from 

 the ground 6.4 inches 



Average height 34.0 feet 



Average clear length of bole.. 19.0 feet 



In another block containing 149 

 Black Cherry and 187 Catalpa trees 

 the latter were entirely dominated by 

 the Cherry. The average size of the 

 Cherry was : 

 Average diameter at 1 foot from 



the ground , . 5.6 inches 



Average diameter at 7 feet from 



the ground 4.0 inches 



Average height 32.0 feet 



Average clear length of bole. . 19.0 feet 



THE FORT BAYARD WATERSHED 



BY 



J. C. BLUMER 



C IFTY miles east of the Arizona 

 * line, and seventy miles north of 

 the Mexican boundary, on the south 

 slope of the Pinos Altos Mountains of 

 southwestern New Mexico, lies the Ft. 

 Bayard watershed. It embraces the 

 headwaters of Cameron Creek from 

 the United States military hospital at 

 Ft. Bayard northward nearly to the 

 continental divide as it culminates in 

 Black Peak and the Twin Sisters. It 

 thus practically abuts on the backbone 

 of America. The twenty-two square 

 miles of its general southerly exposure 



thus lie at an altitude of, roughly, 

 6,000 to 8,000 feet above sea level. 

 Its southern and lower portion lies 

 within the Ft. Bayard Military Reser- 

 vation. The remainder, in July, 1905, 

 became part of the Gila Forest Re- 

 serve. 



The climate is warm and dry, but 

 very much less so than is commonly 

 thought. The average annual precipi- 

 tation for the last thirty-two years on 

 the neighboring plain has been 15 

 inches.* As the mountain tops are 

 approached, the rainfall increases. It 



*Stockman, Bulletin N, U. S. Weather Bureau. 



