8 



THE REDWOOD. 



abilit}' to grow in the shade, and, ino.st important of all, its rate of 

 growth under different conditions. 



Serions difficulties lie in the way of obtaining such knowledge of 

 the Redwood. If full}' exposed, the tree makes a surprisingly rapid 

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

 slight increase in diameter, onl}' 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 vary. 

 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 inevitably be cut. Occasionally, it is true, 

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

 of this wonderful forest growth, but generall}' the Redwood must be 

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

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

 question of preserving it for its beauty is necessarily outside the pur- 

 pose of the discussion. 



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

 lumbering should be less destructive to the young trees. Difficult as 

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

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

 soon be found possible and profitable. In support of this x^rediction 

 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 which, had it been lumbered by the 

 ordinar}' methods, would be now almost valueless. 



FOREST DESCRIPTION. 



THE REDWOOD AND THE BIG TREE DISTINCT SPECIES. 



The Redwood of California {/Sequoia sempervireiis) belongs to a 

 genus of which the Big Tree {Sequoia washingtoniana) is the only 

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

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

 they are botanically 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. 



