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Che Conservative.
SOME MOUNTAIN TREES.
The Conservative acknowledges the
receipt of an interesting letter from
that staunch friend of forestry , John
P. Brown , who , when traveling , ig
nores none of the f caste which nature
furnishes for the appreciative eye.
Here are a few of his Rocky Mountain
notes :
"There are some excellent bodies
of Ponderosa Pine on the eastern lower
slope of the Saugro Do Christo range ,
andon the higher mountainsconsider
able Bed , White , Douglas and Silver
Spruce , and Concolor , that beautiful
Silver Fir , in moderate quantities ,
varying in shade from deep green to
silver tip.
"The Foxtail Pine Aristarta
which I had taken for a spruce is
on the highest line of timber , and is
a most beautiful tree , which in 1866 ,
I saw first in Nevada.
White Pine and Aspen.
"The White Pine of the Rockies
P. Flexilis is seen on the higher
mountains , and immense tracts of
Aspen P. Tremaloides covering as
they do entire mountain tops and ex
tending well down into the cations ,
seem to me to be totally unappreci
ated. This tree grows in thickets ,
I estimated 1,000 to the acre ,
for a square mile in extent. Some are
very large , being 16 to 18 inches in
diameter , and I measured one 90 inches
in girth and sixty feet high , but
usually the trees in thickets are 4 to
8 inches in diameter a clear illustra
tion of the folly of over-crowding , for
where there was sufficient room the
trees were large and sturdy. The
aspen makes excellent lumber , does
not change , weather , check nor warp
and is equal in every respect to yellow
poplar for furniture purposes. It is
white in color , easily worked , and
when dry , durable. No other decid
uous tree grows at the altitude of
aspen. Lower down the valleys it
meets the narrow-leaved cottonwood ,
both growing together , both disap
pearing in the still lower valleys
where the broad-leaf cottonwood ,
Monififera , occupies the moist lands.
Low growing birch and several wil
lows are also found along the valleys ,
and pinon and cedar here and there
not nearly so thickly as would be de
sired.
To Repair Man's Ruin.
"Most of the lauds , available for
lumbering , have been cleared of every
tree.
To re-afforest such extensive tracts
will bo a gigantic undertaking. By
far the more certain , economical , and ,
of course , the quicker method would
be to save the young growth , which
in all mining regions is relentlessly
sacrificed for shaft timber and fuel.
Scrub Oak as a Nurse.
"I made some photographs of "the
scrub oak Quercus Umbelatto and
Gambelii which grow only 6 to 20
feet in height and are very thick on
the ground. The acorn , being grown
into a strong shrub , sends its roots
laterally , and from these spring up
numerous shoots which form a dense
thicket , browsed by the cattle in
winter and by goats and sheep at all
seasons.
' ' The roots often become six inches
in diameter , while the stems are only
an inch or two in thickness , so , as a
commercial timber it has no value ,
yet upon this insignificant scrub
growth must we depend for aid in re
afforestation , as it is a splendid nurse ,
the seeds of coniferous trees where
there are any large trees to supply
them lodge beneath these lowly oaks ,
are covered by and find a soil in these
decayed leaves. Animals browsing
around this nursery are to a certain
extent kept away from the little pine
and spruce , while the slight shade of
the nurse protects them from the rays
of the sun.
1' Sowing seeds of conifers among
these oaks providing stock is kept
away will in a moderate season re
produce the Rocky Mountain forests.
The aspen is also a grand nurse , but
is a murderer in case of fire.
Growing on more elevated mountains ,
spruce and high-line trees are found ,
as the pine and cedar grow among the
oaks.
Spoliation and Irrigation.
' ' The people of the arid portion of
the land ceaselessly balk irrigation.
Nothing has so great a value in the
minds of all the west , yet continue to
burn off all the trees , spoliate the
lands , make mine timbers of baby
spruce and pines , and all the wealth
of this great government cannot cause
rain and snow to fall and be protect
ed from rapid melting and waste.
"Irrigation will be an automatic
all-season matter , if the dwellers of
these mountains will let the forests
alone , keep the stock within bounds
and help nature plant and rear
other trees to replace those destroyed.
URGE A FOREST RESERVE.
The Nebraska delegation in con
gress , after a thorough canvass of the
situation , has prepared a letter to be
presented to the president , urging up
on him the importance of setting
aside a large number of acres Jin the
sandhill regions of Nebraska for forest
reserve purposes. They believe that
the sandhills will grow timber and
they are especially anxious to have the
experiment tried. The letter to be
submitted is exhaustive in character
and will , it is expected , be signed by
the entire delegation. The letter
reads :
To the President : For the last ton
years the belief has been growing
among those familiar with western
conditions that the region known as
the sandhill district of western central
Nebraska can be economically
forested and that it will produce tim
ber of commercial value to Nebraska
and adjoining states. The opinions of
persons of long practical experience in
that region coincide so unanimously
with the opinions of experts who
studied the conditions from a scien
tific standpoint , that in 1894 the re
commendation was made in a paper
read by Prof Charles E. Bessey before
the state board of agriculture , that
the national government reserve ex
tensive areas in the sandhills for
forest planting.
The recommendation became a sub
ject of discussion , especially among
the friends of forestry , and gradually
grew in favor. During the last year
the matter has received much con
sideration and has been generally ap
proved by the people , the press , and
the officials of the state. It was fully
discussed and heartily endorsed by
the state horticultural society , both
at its summer and winter meeings.
Investigation Supports Theory.
A year ago the recommendation for
such forest reserves was brought
prominently to the attention of the
bureau of forestry of the department of
agriculture by letters from a number
of leading men in the state. The
matter was at once taken up by the
forester and a thorough investigation
was made in the summer of 1901 , to
ascertain the adaptability of the sand- '
hills to timber and to determine the
advisability of establishing reserves
for forestation in the region in ques
tion.
The conclusions of the bureau of
forestry , as expressed in the accomp
anying manuscript on "Proposed
Forest Reserves in the Sandhills of
Nebraska , ' ' are in frrll accord with
public opinion : First , that the sand
hills can be economically forested
second , that they would be more valu
able for forest than for any other pur
pose ; third , that suitable reserves
should bo set aside by the government
for a systematic and orderly attempt
at forestation in that region'
Maps have been prepared in the
bureau of forestry which show the. lo
cation and area of government laud in
the sandhills , and thus disclose the fact
that large tracts practically free from
private claims are available for such
reserves. In addition , ' the forester , at
our suggestion , has proposed and sub
mitted boundaries for three forest reserves - "
serves in as many localities in the
sandhill district. These reserves are
described in the accompanying manu
script on "Names and Boundaries for
Proposed Reserves , " and include an
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