284 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [APRIL 
in the slight shade of a mature stand of the same species. Probably 
it is a little less exacting in its light requirements than western larch 
and Douglas spruce. ~ . 
The lodgepole pine is a prolific seeder, beginning to bear fruit 
early in life. Out of twenty trees varying in age from five to twenty 
years, many had cones. The youngest tree noted with cones was six 
years of age, one at this age having seven cones. On one tree nine 
years old fifty cones were counted. It was a common thing to find 
clumps of trees 3 to 4™ high fruiting abundantly. As will be shown 
below, this habit of fruiting early in life is of very great advantage 
to this species. Another thing of very great importance is the fact 
that the cones remain closed in some instances a number of years, 
thus preserving the seeds. The heat of a fire will open them and 
liberate the seeds, many of which will escape injury and germinate 
at once. The lodgepole: pine, during its early stages at least, 
grows rapidly in height, and this gives it some advantage over its 
competitors. From the measurements of twenty-five specimens each 
of lodgepole pine, western larch, and Douglas spruce, the average 
rapidity of growth in height per year is shown to be as follows: lodge- 
pole pine 52°™, western larch 27°", Douglas spruce 20°™. Although 
these averages are from rather meager data, they are sufficient to 
show that the lodgepole pine has by far the most rapid growth. 
In contrast with western larch, Douglas spruce, and bull pine, 
lodgepole pine has poor fire-resisting qualities. Except in old trees 
the bark at the base is comparatively thin; the cambium layer 1s 
thus easily scorched and killed. In this way many whole forests 
of trees are destroyed by fires that are not intense enough to consume 
the trunks. It is not an uncommon thing to see acres of dead stand- 
ing poles of this species that have thus been swept by fire. In showing 
how successful lodgepole pine has been in obtaining a foothold in 
the forests of Swan valley, the principles mentioned above must be 
kept in mind. The réle that the plants other than conifers play ' 
the reforestation stages will be treated in another connection. In 
order that the conditions may be understood more clearly, hypothet- 
ical cases will be assumed, and when these hypothetical cases = 
realized attention will be called to them. Suppose a limited area © 
burned in the midst of a forest in which western larch and Douglas 
* 
