8 THE REDWOOD. 



ability to grow in the shade, and, most important of all, its rate of 

 growth under different conditions. 



Serious diiEculties lie in the way of obtaining such knowledge of 

 the Redwood. If fully exposed, the tree makes a surprisingly rapid 

 growth; if suppressed, it may exist for a hundred years with but 

 slight increase in diameter, onh' to take on new life when again exposed 

 and to grow like a sapling. The Redwood forest is so dense that, 

 according to the methods now in use, to lumber it is to annihilate it. 

 Since the reproduction starts up under conditions entirely different 

 from those that prevailed in the old forest, its rate of growth will var}^ 

 It is evident that the rate of growth of young timber can not be fore- 

 casted from that of old trees, and that trees, to furnish material for 

 yield tables, must have been growing under the same general conditions 

 as those trees to which the tables are to be applied. 



The old Redwood will inevitabl}^ be cut. Occasionally, it is true, 

 parks and recreation grounds may preserve, on small areas, examples 

 of this wonderful forest growth, but generally the Redwood must be 

 lumbered on account of its commercial value. Since it is with the 

 Redwood as a timber tree that the present study is concerned, the 

 question of preserving it for its beauty is necessarilj" outside the par- 

 pose of the discussion. 



But while the old forest must be lumbered, it is important that the 

 lumbering should he less destructive to the 3^oung trees. Difficult as 

 logging is among the great Redwoods, it need not mean the total 

 destruction of the forest. Better methods than those now in use must 

 soon be found possible and profitable. In support of this prediction 

 may be cited the case of the Mendocino Lumber Company, an account 

 of whose operations is given in this bulletin. This company has fur- 

 nished very valuable lessons in Redwood forest management, and has 

 gone far to solve the problem of providing for second growth on Red- 

 wood lands. By exercising care in cutting, it has secured splendid 

 stands of second growth on land Avhich, had it been lumbered by the 

 ordinary methods, would be now almost valueless. 



FOREST DESCRIPTION. 



THE REDWOOD AND THE BIG TREE DISTINCT SPECIES. 



The Redwood of California (Sequoia semper vire?is) belongs to a 

 genus of Avhich the Big Tree {Sequoia loashingtoniana) is the only 

 other species now alive. Both are allied to the Cypress {Taxodlum 

 distichum)^ and their lumber is often called by the same name, but 

 they are botanicall}^ distinct from each other. They do not even 

 occupy the same situations. The Big Tree occurs in scattered bodies 

 on the west slopes of the Sierra Nevada, while the Redwood forms 

 dense forests on the west slopes of the Coast Range. 



