12 FOREST BELTS OF WESTERN KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. 
acteristic of Pine Ridge in northwestern Nebraska. It extends across 
Sioux, Dawes, Sheridan, Cherry, Brown, and- Keyapaha counties, 
and also oceurs south of the North Platte River, in Seotts Bluff, Ban- 
ner, Kimball, and Cheyenne counties. (See map.) Its chief tree is 
the rock pine, but red cedar is often present also. The rock pine 
occupies poor sandy soils or rocky ground in regions of moderate 
humidity. In this section it extends from the middle altitudes of the 
Rocky Mountains eastward along the slopes and ridges. The pres- 
ence of red cedar among the pine is an indication of the great adapta- 
bility of this cedar, for it is also one of the constituents of the valley 
type. 
The valley type is the common forest type of Kansas and Nebraska. 
With the exception of a small amount of red cedar, it 1s composed 
wholly of broadleaf species, and in the western parts of both States 
is confined closely to the water courses. Broadleaf species require 
more soil moisture than conifers, and in this region no good growth 
of them is found in any place where the roots can not reach nearly 
to permanent water. 
Although species of the valley type are common in the draws and 
canyons of the Pine Ridge district, there is no real mixture of the 
two types of forest. A few pines and broadleaf trees grow together 
in the upper parts of the water courses, but, taken as a whole, neither 
type encroaches upon the domain of the other. 
The pine type is of the greater economic importance where it 
occurs, but because of its wider distribution the valley. type is of con- 
cern to a much larger number of people. 
THE PINE TYPE. 
The pine type of forest, as has been said, occupies two quite widely 
separated districts in Nebraska. These have no connection within the 
region here treated, though there is a junction farther west, in Wyo- 
ming. Pine Ridge proper is a ridge of low hills north of and par- 
allel with the Niobrara River. It extends some distance into South 
Dakota and contains a fair growth of pine. The second pine region, 
lying from 60 to 75 miles south, is of less extent, but has the same 
eeneral characteristics. 
The scarcity of timber in the surrounding country has made severe 
demands upon the pine forests, which once yielded trees as large as 
4 feet in diameter. The destruction of the pine began with the 
first settlers and has kept up until practically all that is fit for lumber 
is gone. Most of what remains can be used only for fuel and posts. 
A few specific instances will serve to illustrate how the timber has 
been cut. 
On Pine Creek, south of Rushville, in Sheridan County, Nebr., 
