THE MONTANE ZONE 141 



sown with the lodgepole these may become the dominant com- 

 petitors. 



The character of a lodgepole stand clearly indicates a wind- 

 sown forest. Extensive areas are seeded so evenly as to permit 

 of no alternative explanation although authors above men- 

 tioned are inclined to question this view. The lightness of the 

 seed and the amplitude of the wing make possible their trans- 

 portation by even a moderate gale. The behavior of the lodge- 

 pole recalls no other species so much as the Douglas spruce, 

 which with great facility in its most favored regions reoccupies 

 clear cut slashings and bums many acres in extent with a uni- 

 form thicket growth propagated from the borders. And the 

 seeds of the Douglas spruce are heavier than those of the lodge- 

 pole pine. 



The reseeding of a burned area by lodgepole presents no 

 difficulties if the area has previously been occupied by that 

 species, even as a partial stand, unless the fire has been so intense 

 as to consume the tops. The writer recalls that the severe firesi 

 of 1910 swept a part of the valley of the North Fork of the 

 Flathead River. The groimd cover was entirely consimied and 

 the crown fire had stripped the leaves from the branches over- 

 head. Some trees had fallen and among them lodgepoles. Upon 

 examination, within 36 hours after the passage of the fire, the 

 cones of the lodgepole were found open and the seeds were seen 

 lying upon the ground. The opening of the cones had followed 

 after the passage of the fire at an interval sufficient to allow 

 the seeds to fall uninjured, far not even the edges of the delicate 

 wings were singed, a fact which seems difficult to reconcile with 

 the findings of Clements that the flame of the Bunsen burner 

 opened the cones in ten seconds.. If such were the case in a 

 forest fire the seeds must surely perish. In the case above 

 cited, however, the cones evidently were opening slowly, for at 

 the time they were observed they M'ere not entirely expanded. 

 On the top of the standing trees the cones undoubtedly were 

 opening likewise in response to the drying action of the fire and 

 from this vantage were being broadcasted effectively onto the 

 cleared and receptive soil. 



Of course the action of fire is not the only means of opening 

 the cones. They may be observed in some cases fully expanded 



