30 BAREST RESOURCES OF TEXAS. 



The more prominent of these species are tabulated below: 



Texas species. Atlantic species. 



Mountain cedar (Sabina sabinoides) Ked cedar (Juniperus viryiniana) . 



Mexican walnut (Juglans rupestris) Black walnut (/. nigra). 



Mountain live oak ( Quercus fusifornm) Live oak ( (}. virginiana}. 



Mountain Spanish oak ( Q. schneckii) .-. Texas oak ( Q. texana). 



Mexican mulberry (Morus celtidifolia) Red mulberry (M. rubra) . 



Texas redbud ( Cercis reniformis) Redbud ( C. canadensis). 



Texas buckeye ( Ungnadia speciosa) Buckeye (Aesculus sp. ). 



Mexican persimmon (Brayodendron texana) Persimmon (Diospyros virgin tana). 



Granjeno ( Celtis pallida) Hackberry ( Cdtis sp. ) . 



The principal Rocky Mountain species represented in the Edwards 

 Plateau timber are the piiion pine, probably the Rocky Mountain 

 cedar, and four or five oaks, among which are Emory's oak, gray oak, 

 and switch oak. 



Of Mexican or southern species there are the madrona, frijolito, 

 gum elastic, and lignum-vitse. 



THE CEDAR BRAKES. 



The dense growths of cedar form the most characteristic feature of 

 the vegetation of the Edwards Plateau, and constitute a valuable tim- 

 ber resource. They are found also, upon hills and bluffs offering 

 similar conditions, northward and westward as far as the canyons and 

 escarpment hills of the Staked Plains." 



The data are not at hand to warrant even an approximate estimate 

 of the area covered by cedar. The Colorado River brakes, one of the 

 largest series, are almost continuous from Austin to the San Saba 

 country; it is perhaps no exaggeration to estimate the area of these 

 alone at 500 square miles. 



A typical cedar brake is so dense as to be penetrable only with 

 extreme difficulty. The trees stand thickly, and also branch profusely 

 from near the ground. They are of stunted growth, but with wide- 

 spreading, interlocking branches. Consequently they produce veiy 

 rough, knotty sticks. In the lower brakes, on better soil, the growth 

 is taller and clearer than where the conditions are less favorable, 

 and } 7 ields sticks from 10 to 18 inches in diameter at the base and 

 from 12 to 18 feet long. But the stands are so thick that they produce 

 a great quantity of timber. Whole communities, like Austin, for 

 example, are largely dependent upon the cedar for fuel, especially 

 from September to March, and the consumption for this purpose 

 far exceeds all other uses. Hundreds of thousands of sticks have 

 also, for many j^ears, been annually consumed for rail fences, posts, 



The Staked Plains cedar may be one of the western species which replace the 

 mountain cedar west of the Pecos River. 



