SURVEYS OF FOREST RESERVES. 129 



sedges and rushes. Under the head of weeds are included all herba- 

 ceous plants that do not have the general appearance of grasses, a dif- 

 ference due chiefly to their broader leaves. Browse is a name applied 

 to shrubs and young trees, the leaves and twigs of which are eaten by 

 sheep. The vegetation of the difierent ranges is made up of varying 

 combinations of these three classes of forage. 



As characterized by their vegetation, the summer grazing areas of 

 the reserve maybe classed under four heads — forests, burns, meadows, 

 and balds. 



The nature of the grazing in the virgin forest land varies, of course, 

 with the character of the forests. For present purposes they may be 

 divided into three — the yellow-pine forests, the lodge pole pine forests, 

 and the heavy west-slope forests. The distribution of these forests is a 

 matter of climatic conditions dependent upon elevation and upon the 

 heavy rainfall on the west slope of tlie Cascades and the light rainfall 

 of the eastern slope. In general, these conditions are maintained 

 throughout the whole length of the State, the principal exceptions 

 occurring where, in the lower gaps of the mountains, the rainfall condi- 

 • tions of the west slope lap over upon the eastern slope. ' 



The yellow-pine forests lie at low elevations along the eastern slope 

 of the mountains, and constitute the first timber entered by the sheep in 

 approaching the mountains from the plains. The principal species of 

 tree is the yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa). The individual trees usually 

 stand well apart and there is plenty of sunshine between them. The 

 vegetation consists of a rather poor quality of bunch grass and other 

 scattered herbaceous i^lants, and a very scattered undergrowth made 

 up chiefly of chamise [Kunzia tridentata). In their ui)per elevations 

 the yellow-pine forests are dense and often contain a considerable 

 amount of Douglas spruce (Pseudoisuga mucronata) and California 

 white fir (no ■ treated as a form of Abies concolor), with an undergrowth 

 of snow brush {Ceanothus velutlnus), majizanitu {Arctostaphylos patula), 

 and chinquapin {Castanopsis chrysophylla minor). 



The lodge-pole pine forests lie also chiefly on the eastern slope of the 

 mountain, at a higher elevation than the yellow-pine forests, and pre- 

 sent a very different character. The trees are small, thin-barked, and 

 very easily killed by fire. The underbrush, made up chiefly of a creep- 

 ing manzanita (Arctostaphylos nevadensis) and the waxy currant (Bibes 

 cereum), is never dense, and often is entirely wanting over large areas. 

 Grass is sparse and not of the best quality. The best grazing plants 

 . are lupines. In the lodge-pole pine forests the trees are usually set 

 close together; so close, indeed, that it is often difficult, and sometimes 

 impossible, to ride through them on horseback. At a" still higher eleva- 

 tion than the lodge-pole pine, extending, indeed, almost to timber line, 

 is the belt of black hemlock (Tsugapattonii), a usually open forest with 

 underbrush of two huckleberries ( Vaccinium scoparium and V. mem- 

 hranaceum), or, especially at high elevations,. wholly devoid of under- 

 brush. Almost no grazing is carried on in this hemlock belt, though 

 the bands of sheep often travers'e it on their way across the mountain 

 crests to the west slope. 



The heavy west-slope forests are deep, dark, and dense, and consist 

 chiefly of a mixture of the Douglas spruce {Pseudotsuga mucronata) 

 and the white fir {Abies grandis), with often considerable quantities of 

 other trees. These forests bear a usually dense undergrowth and 

 exceed in humidity both of the forests mentioned above. The grazing 

 in the west-slope forests consist chiefly of weeds and browse, the latter 

 made up largely of vine maple (Acer circinatum). 

 S. *Doc. 189 9 



