122 



Cedar, oue-fourtli Pine and Spruce, and the remainder consists of 

 burned tracts and belts of Cottonwood along tlie streams. The trees 

 are generally inferior in size, only a small proportion being suitable for 

 lumber. 



Fire is the most destructive agent threatening the forests ; railroads 

 next. Some lumber is made, but most of the saw-timber has been con- 

 sumed. After the forests have been destroyed by fire it is only on the 

 northern hill-sides that the original growth starts again. Aspen gen- 

 erally follows after fire. Only in favorable situations do Spruce and 

 Pine grow again. 



During the last twenty years the forest growth in this county has 

 not been sufficiently disturbed to affect the volume and flow of the 

 stream. 



CUSTER COUNTY. 

 (Area, 750 square miles ; estimated forest area, 200 square miles.) 



This county, which lies in the south central i)art of the State, is bor- 

 dered on the west and south by the Saugre de Christo and Greenhorn 

 ranges, respectively. 



The forests are situated mainly at the west and south, in the moun- 

 tains. Some timber is also found on the north and east sides. In the 

 western part of the county, at the foot of the range, there is an opm 

 valley, about 9 miles wide, running the whole length of the county. The 

 only timber there consists of a few Cotton woods and Willows along the 

 streams. Pine, Pinon, and Cedar are found on the low hills ; at higher 

 elevations are Spruce, Balsam, and Aspen. Very little has been made 

 waste by burning. The best timber has been cut off for use at the mills. 

 The special dangers threatening the forests are fires and lumbering. 

 On the range a secDnd growth will start, usually of the same kind as 

 the first. On the low hills, especially after fires, there is no second 

 growth, 



Ko changes have been observed in the flow and volume of streams at 

 their headwaters. In the lower lands floods are now frequent from 

 cloud-bursts or sudden rains. 



DELTA COUNTY. 

 (Area, 1,150 square miles ; estimated forest area, 500 square miles.) 



This county is situated in the western part of the State, in a region 

 of plateaus and mesas. The Gunnison and IJncompahgre are its prin- 

 cipal rivers. 



The timber consists of Pine, Pihon, Cedar, and Spruce, the several 

 kinds being about equally distributed over the slopes of the Grand and 

 other high mesas along the western, northern, and eastern borders of 

 the county. There are about 10,000 acres of Cottonwood along the 

 Gunnison River and its tributaries. 



