FOREST PLANTING IN THE INTERMOUNTAIN REGION. 



35 



Table 17. — Record of experimental, plantation of Norway 

 mountain region — Continued. 



spruce in the inter- 



Site. 



Planting record. 



Percentage of survival by years. 



Vigor- 

 ous 

 trees. 



Average 



No. 



Description. 



Age. 



Date. 



1st 

 year. 



2d 



year. 



3d 

 year. 



4 th 

 year. 



height 

 growth. 



88 



Rock Creek watershed, 

 Targhee National For- 

 est, Idaho: 



Aspen, north slope 



Do 



2-1 

 2-1 

 2-1 

 2-1 



2-1 



2-1 

 2-1 

 2-1 



2-1 

 2-1 



Oct., 1915 



—do 



...do 



—do 



May, 1916 



...do 



—do 



...do 



—do 



...do 



19 

 60 

 87 

 61 



49 

 56 



12 

 3 



1 

 







Percent. 



Inches. 



88 









 

 



5 

 14 

 53 

 36 



30 

 12 





88 



Aspen, bench. . ... 









88 



Do 









89 



Darby Canyon watershed, 

 Targhee National For- 

 est, Wyo.: 



Open spruce flat 



Do 









90 



34 



78 

 52 





22 



8 



91 



Aspen 



Sagebrush. . 





9?, 











Montpelier Canyon water- 

 shed, Caribou National 

 Forest, Idaho: 

 Aspen . . 











Sage . . 



























Like Engelmann spruce, Norway spruce shows the need of shade 

 in its establishment. Indeed, its tolerance extends well into early life, 

 although in a well-established plantation the harmful effects of light 

 are less pronounced. Growth is often secured under partially thinned 

 stands of aspen, but establishment is as a rule more successful in 

 un thinned stands. 



Throughout the Wasatch Mountains the seasonal rainfall and 

 temperatures are very different from those obtaining within the na- 

 tive range of Norway spruce in Europe. The oak-brush zone is en- 

 tirely unsuited to the species on account of summer dryness and high 

 temperatures, but it is worth noting that on two oak-brush plantations 

 almost half of the trees were still alive and vigorous at the end of the 

 fourth year after planting. Future behavior is problematical. It is 

 possible that these spruce plantations may become decadent at middle 

 age and the tops of the trees die, as has happened in certain of the 

 Eastern States. In fact this tendency has already been noted in 

 ornamental Norway spruce trees in this region. 



Nowhere in the region has the exotic Norway spruce given promise 

 of being more successful or valuable than the native conifers. In most 

 cases it has proven far inferior to the native Engelmann spruce from 

 the reforestation standpoint. The best sites for Norway spruce are 

 also the best for Engelmann spruce, although the latter species will in 

 almost every case not only show a higher survival but will outstrip 

 Norway spruce in subsequent development. 



BLUE SPRUCE. 



Blue spruce (Picea parryana) is native in Utah between altitudes of 

 6,500 to 8,500 feet, principally in moist situations along streams and in 

 canyon bottoms. It is evident from Table 18 that blue spruce can be 

 planted on all moist soils at altitudes to which it is inherently adapted, 

 except where there is dense aspen shade. Plantations of blue spruce 

 under aspen show in their growth and appearance a very apparent 

 lack of vigor due plainly to insufficient light. It is very evident that 



