TIMBER GROWING AND LOGGING PRACTICE IN CALIFORNIA 5 
farm Tvood lots, the earnino- capacity of which lies solely in the grow- 
ing of trees and which, without tree growth, will become either a 
doubtful asset or an outright liability. 
The Forest Service earnestly asks the forest landowners of the 
United States to determine for themselves, with the same care with 
which they would approach any other business problem, whether 
timber growing does not offer a commercial opportunity which should 
be grasped. It commends this series of publications to them, not as 
a complete or authoritative scheme that can forthwith be followed 
with profit in their own woods, but as a starting point in utilizing 
the opportunities that forestry may hold out. 
MEASURES NECESSARY TO KEEP FOREST LANDS 
PRODUCTIVE 
THE CALIFORNIA PINE REGION AND FORESTS 
The territory known as the California pine region includes both 
the east and west slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the pla- 
teaus of northeast California, and the valleys and seaward slopes of 
the Coast Ranges, excepting the coast redwood forests. Within this 
region western yellow pine {Pinus ponderosa) is the most widely 
distributed and characteristic tree; sugar pine {P. lainhertiana) ^ 
Douglas fir {Pseudotsuga taxifolia), white fir {Ahies concoJor)^ 
red fir {A. magni-fica)^ and incense cedar {Libocedrus decurrens) 
are of great coimnercial importance. The yellow pine, Douglas fir, 
and white and red firs commonly occur in pure stands, and with the 
exception of red fir all possible combinations of the principle species 
may be found. Economically, the two pines are the most highly 
prized species. Incense cedar occupies a subordinate place in the 
forests because it is overtopped by the other trees. White fir and 
incense cedar are generally regarded as inferior species, and in 
some localities are not logged because of the low or nonexistent mar- 
gin of profit on the lumber. Douglas fir is intermediate in value 
between the pines and white fir. Red fir, though valuable, is not 
extensivel}' logged because of its present relative inaccessibility. 
Disregarding noncommercial forest areas, the region contains 
about 13,616,000 acres of forest land, of which 3,247,000 is privately 
owned virgin forest, and 1,470,000 privately owned cut-over land. 
The present rate of cutting is about 51,000 acres yearly, nearly 80 
per cent on private land. Existing logging practices leave unpro- 
ductive at least 40 per cent of the private acreage cut over annually. 
The most pressing problem in the region is to keep private cut-over 
lands in productive shape. Provision is already made for keeping 
Government lands productive. 
The important commercial timber types in the California pine 
region are : 
(1) Yellow pme, consisting of stands in which the species forms 
80 per cent. It forms the lower portion of the timber belt, particu- 
larly on the east slope of the SierraSy where on the broad plateaus it 
dominates the forest. 
(2) Yellow pine-sugar pine, mixed conifer, and yellow pine-fir. — 
This group of types consists of various mixtures of three or four of 
