CLASSIFICATION OF THE FOREST. 35 



below 5,000 or 6,000 feet, which is a desert type; and (2) the timber 

 of the high summits and the upper watered canyons, which belongs 

 to the Rocky Mountain type. 



THE TIMBER OF THE FOOTHILLS AND SLOPES. 



This type is analogous to that of the Edwards Plateau, and includes 

 some of its species. The chief species are different, however, and 

 belong to higher altitudes. The pinon pine is the most generally dis- 

 tributed, occurring upon the slopes of the Guadalupe, Davis, Chisos, 

 and Organ mountains, and also on the higher ridges and bluffs of the 

 Great Bend country, from the Southern Pacific Railroad to the Rio 

 Grande. "In the Chisos Mountains, which it occupies exclusively, it 

 becomes a straight tree with a trunk a foot in diameter, and could be 

 sawn into useful lumber of fair quality. * * * It reaches about the 

 same* proportions in the Davis and Organ mountains. " a With the pinon 

 pine occur western cedar, thickbark cedar, Emory oak, and one or 

 two other oaks, besides shrubby and otherwise insignificant species. 



THE TIMBER OF THE SUMMITS AND HIGH CANYONS. 



This type consists of isolated islands of Rocky Mountain forest, 

 whose principal species are yellow or bull pine, red fir, and limber 

 pine, with Emory oak and gray oak of the previous type but making 

 larger growth. This timber is limited to the Guadalupe, Davis, and 

 Chisos mountains. The yellow pine and the red fir attain, for them, 

 relatively small dimensions. The yellow pine grows to be from 1 to 

 2 feet in diameter and from 30 to 50 feet tall, "yielding [in the Davis 

 Mountains] clear lumber 18 inches wide" (Havard). Second to it in 

 size and quantity is the red fir. Of the oaks, the Emory oak becomes 

 the largest tree. To quote from Havard: " On the El Paso road, 

 where it skirts the southern base of the [Davis] mountains, this stately 

 oak becomes the main feature of the sylva; its straight trunk is from 

 2 to 4 feet in diameter, while its mass of shining foliage reaches the 

 height of 60 feet." 



This timber of the foothills and mountains constitutes something of 

 a resource for mining operations, if it should prove to be available 

 for them. In the development of the cinnabar mines in Brewster 

 County the greatest lack is fuel, of which the only considerable sup- 

 ply is in the Chisos Mountains. 



About Fort Davis most of the available pine was sawed while 

 that was still a military post. The timber in the Guadalupes is said 

 to be practically inaccessible and only usable upon the ground. In 

 their capacity of protection these timbered slopes and canj^ons assist 

 in maintaining several streams of good flow, whose waters are invalu- 

 able for irrigation and for watering range cattle. 



Havard, Report on the Botany of Southern and Western Texas, 1885. 



