i8 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XI, No. i 
4 chains from such seed trees. On the other hand, seedlings io and 
ii years old were found everywhere, even at the maximum distance 
from seed trees attainable in the area, 12 chains (PI. 6, A). 
The destruction of a portion of the pole-sized stand of Douglas fir 
(PL 6, B) by the fire of 1902 produced peculiar conditions. When ex¬ 
amined in September, 1914, the ground was occupied by a dense cover 
of deciduous shrubs and fern which grew up through a network of dead- 
down logs of small diameter. Reproduction occurred on this area in 
spite of the heavy brush cover, but it was comparatively scarce. The 
reproduction, in its struggle against the surrounding brush, developed 
the tall, lank “shade form” common to any thicket or forest-grown 
plant (PI. 7, A). The older seedlings occurred independently of the 
position of seed trees, but showed a tendency to be limited to moist 
sites, such as draws and hollows, where the germination and establish¬ 
ment conditions were most favorable immediately after the fire. The 
younger seedlings (2 to 5 years old), however, showed an increase in 
density in the neighborhood of seed trees. Several seedlings of this class 
were found dead as a result of excessive drouth and heat in open spots, 
but they were rarely found either living or dead at distances over 6 chains 
from seed trees. 
The occurrence of two distinct age classes of seedlings and their position 
in the burn with reference to seed trees indicate here again the action of 
two sources of seed—namely, survived seed trees and the unburned duff 
of the forest floor. The reasons for the failure of seed trees to restock 
the burn have been discussed before. The scarcity of seedlings from 
duff-stored seed, however, presented a problem peculiar to this burn. 
The dense cover of shrubby and herbaceous growth on the area might 
serve to account for a scarcity or absence of seedlings from “wind-blown ” 
seed, but it will not account for the scarcity of stored-seed seedlings. 
Reproduction from stored seed as a rule starts at the same time as the 
brush on the burn and does not come in after the brush has taken posses¬ 
sion of the ground. Hence, it has merely to hold its own in height growth 
with the brush; and this it has frequently proved itself able to do. 
The reason for the scarcity of reproduction from duff-stored seed 
must be sought in the condition of the stand. The fire burned, not in an 
old virgin forest, but in a very young forest, which was itself successor 
to a burned mature forest. The earlier fire (i860) killed most of the 
veteran trees which were the chief source of seed stored in the forest 
floor. From the stored seed of the old forest there resulted a thrifty 
second growth of almost pure Douglas fir. How complete this stand 
was could not be determined; it is likely that there were openings result¬ 
ing from ground fire in parts of the original burn. In 1902, at an age when 
this young forest was seeding but long before it had been able to re¬ 
establish most favorable conditions of the forest floor for the duff storage 
of its seed, this forest, too, was destroyed by fire. In the hot fire of 1902 
