76 



REPORT OF THE FORESTRY COMMITTEE 



generation of red fir, by either the selection system of management, or the single 

 seed-tree method, is cheaper than planting, and secures satisfactory results. The 

 cost of various methods of securing adequate reproduction of red fir is estimated 

 as follows: 



Planting, $10.25 per acre. 



Seed spot sowing, $4.25 per acre. 



Single seed tree method, $4.25 per acre. 

 The yellow pine type, next to the lodgepole, is the most extensive type in 

 the Rocky Mountain region. Commercially, yellow pine is the most important 

 lumber-producing tree of the Rocky Mountains. This species grows naturally 

 under more unfavorable conditions of soil moisture than any other commercial 

 species of the region. It is of fairly rapid growth and does well in plantations, 

 and under very favorable conditions is successfully established by artificial seed- 

 ing. However, it does not offer the possibilities for commercial planting in this 

 region that are offered by red fir, and therefore its planting on a strictly com- 

 mercial basis can only be done by the government. 



It is possible that the planting of Western white pine in the northern Rocky 

 Mountain region can be considered as a strictly commercial proposition on a par 

 with other forms of long time investment. Commercial planting of white pine is 

 restricted to a very small portion of the Rocky Mountain region, and it is only on 

 very carefully selected sites and under exceptionally favorable conditions which 

 have been fully determined by preliminary investigations that planting of even 

 this species can be considered by any but governmental agencies. It is believed 

 that a mixture of western white pine and western cedar will pay best in the 

 white pine region, although the soil of the region, — owing to the greater annual 

 precipitation in the northern Rocky Mountain region — is very productive and 

 will produce high yields of any of the species which will grow there, including 

 Douglas fir, larch, spruce, yellow pine and lodgepole. Protective plantings, as 

 such, are scarcely needed in the white pine region, which is already well for- 

 ested. The same is true of the fir-larch region. In the lodgepole region of Mon- 

 tana, however, watershed protection is desirable ; for this purpose lodgepole pint 

 is recommended. 



The possibility of artificial reproduction in the white pine region is shown in 

 the following estimates, based on data collected by the Forest Service, and com- 

 piled by Mr. D. T. Mason. 



Table 



Financial Aspects of Artificial Porestation. 



The Lodgepole Region Compared with Other Regions. 



Part 1. 



