THE REDWOOD OF CALIFORNIA 



By ]. H. BROWNE 



THE opening of the Panama The biggest stands of Redwood tim- 



Canal and the completion of her are in Del Norte, Humboldt and 



the Northwestern Pacific Rail- Mendocino Counties, but there are 



road into Humboldt County, isolated groups as far north as the 



California, will mean more to the Red- Chetco River in Curry County, Oregon, 



wood industry than anything since the and as far south as the Santa Lucia 



manufacture of Redwood began. With Mountains, Monterey County. The 



the canal, will come the opportunity of Redwood belt is from twenty to forty 



marketing Redwood throughout the miles wide, the trees growing on the 



world in parcel lots of 25, 50 or 100,000 west slopes of the coast range, 



feet, where, heretofore, it has been The enormous height and diameter of 



necessary to sell in cargo lots of 1 ,- the Redwood is due to the great rainfall 



000,000 feet or more to obtain advan- in the autumn and winter, from thirty 



tageous freight rates. Direct rail con- to sixty inches, and to the sea fogs 



nection with the mills in Humboldt which bathe the coast in the summer. 



County means a saving of from $2.00 There are two types of the Redwood, 



to $5.00 per M in the cost of making those which grow on the slopes and 



Eastern Redwood shipments. This those on the flats or bottom lands, 



will assure the mills a better return on The Redwood slope is the common 



such of their product as is now being type, and it grows mixed with other 



shipped East, and will enable them to woods such as Red Fir, Tan Bark Oak 



market a large quantity of by-products and White Fir. As the slopes become 



which are now burnt up or sold at cost moderate, the altitude lower, the soil 



locally. deeper and the water supply better, 



The market for Redwood was for the Redwood steadily gains on the other 



many years uncertain and limited, its species until on the rich flats there is 



sale depending chiefly upon the Cali- no other tree. The extreme form of 



fornia demand. The development of the Redwood flat is along the Eel river, 



the Eastern and foreign business was and here the trees attain their greatest 



slow, because there was no direct rail known height and clear length. Under 



connection with the Redwood country, best conditions these trees grow to be 



it being necessary to bring all shipments 350 feet high with a diameter of twenty 



into the harbors of San Francisco or feet. Most of the Redwoods cut are 



Los Angeles for reshipment. from 400 to 800 years old, and the oldest 



The earliest logging of Redwood for- tree found during the Government 



ests was by the Spaniards near San investigation in 1900 was 1373 years 



Francisco Bay, but their operations old. The tree when normal has a 



were very small. At the beginning of straight, slightly tapered bole clear for 



the nineteenth century, a Russian more than 100 feet, and a crown of 



colony near Fort Ross in Mendocino horizontal branches that may occupy 



County, cleared a tract of Redwood from one third to one-half of its total 



which has since grown up and again length. 



been cut over. It was not until 1850, The enemies of Redwood are few and 



however, that small sawmills were it suffers from them less than other 



started at various points along the trees. The wind can scarcely uproot it, 



coast. These have grown until there insects seem to do it little harm, and 



are now eighteen or twenty more of the fungi seldom affects it. Even fire, the 



important mills in operation with a great enemy of all trees, though it may 



total annual output of 550,000,000 to occasionally kill whole stands of young 



600,000,000 feet. Redwood growth, is unable to penetrate 



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