Save the Second Growth for the Future

By Profcasor Emanuel f'ritz, Oiir. of Forcetry, Univ. of Calif.

California is cuttins second growth timber ! This state' ment will likely staitle those who dismiss the idea of practicins foresiry because it takes a long tirne to mature i croo oftrees. ilut it is true nevertheless, and in various sectio'ns of the State, second growth redrvood and second growth pine are occasionally cut for piles, cross ties, lumEer, or 6ther products. Thl total amount so cut is small, but it is signihcant of what should be common in another seneration.- It means that lumbering has been going on 5o long in California that there ,already exist old cut-over lands ivhich nature has been able to reclothe with a new crop of trees that are nolv of a size to make the timber look good to the lumberman. Strch lands rvere. spared the misgiided enthusiasm of those rvho believe in- burning.off the-forest each year, under which practice the incoming trees would nevir have passed the seedling stage.

This year there has been an energetic cutting of young vellow bine timber in the Feather River regioh by\qell owners ior cross-ties, This timber is somewhere betwedn-. i0 ;;a 70 y."tt olcl, having come up- in dense stands on ' land togge<f ofi soon after the gold ru.sh-l>egan.. Individual trees, s6ire of them, exceed a diameter of 18 inches at breast height and they stand close together. They ar.e purely volunteer stands and represent what nature u'ill clo on good growing sites if giv-en a chance. . The cutting of this [imbei for cr6ss-ties is-very uneconomical however, accordins to Emanuel Fritz, Piofessor of Forestry at the Univeisitv of California, who spent a number of weeks in the forest.s of the Feather Rivlr region this summer. "The ties made from these trees are principally sapwood," he states, "and may not last over tllree years. Furthermore, tie ctitting or hewing, for tl'reseties are not sawed, is a wastefuf operation ind the prgd.u-ct is of relatively low value. Shouid this timber be htld l5 years longer it would bring a much higher retufn, more than-offsetting the additionil carrying iharges {or this p-eriod ; not only.because the trees ire ionstantly growing but becattse in l5 years it is certain that standing timblr, as accessible as these young tracts are, will biing a stumpage price probably more-than double the current rate."

Young growth is too often l-reld of little value, and the

\ME TAKE GOOD CARE OF OUR LUMBER

Well ventilated shedg in our yard where HARDWOOD LUMBER and FLOORING-qr9-Pro-t-e-cjed from rain and gun and delivercd to you BRIGHT and CLEAR and FREE FROM CHECKS.

WE RUSH RUSH ORDERS

We employ HIGH POWERED, COMPETENT MEt{ to fill orders. We car-ry UIG-IL^GRADE SfOCr and we sell to HicH cLASs TRADE at DOWN RIGHT LOW PRtcES. WE SATISFY YOULET US SHOW YOU owner little realizes that it is constantly growing larger and becoming merchantable as saw logs.C"alifornia's tim- tne rs encouragrng from the :e.919 growth yellow pine,t' continues Professor Fritz, ,,it

Our CUSTOMERS have COI\FIDENCE in COOPERS.

Lud.L rL rs consfanrly growlng ber is not inexhaustible. More, bettei and cheaper cross- ties can be made from the knotty hearts of old growth Douglas fir. logs that are not removed in standard ioggint o_perations incidental to the logging of the old Sueai"anE o_perations Sugai"an Yellow oines- The -nrr.o i'ii-oi,,'^ +;*h-- -r.X.,t,r I pines. The young immaiure timber shduld be saved for the day when old .t-or old growth becomes scarce. ,.If the railroad is encouraging the hewing of ties from the cA^^-J --^..,+L --^ll^--- ^i-- ^'it - -,,-: "- is following a -short-sighqed policy; it should .".ol1rg. rnstead the protection of what little volunteer secoid growth has escaped fire, and should foster the growins of more to assure itself a steady and continued ionnagd of lorest products when the virgin stanas b'..o-. reduced.', Redwood cut-over lands for the most part are fortunately h.eld by large owners who are wisely reserving them for the time when the end of the virgin stands Ts reached, instead of p_ermit_ting_-them to be Jut now for low grade products. "The 50, 60, and 70 year old stands of se"cond glowth in both the redrvood and-pine regions should be an object lesson in forestry e,ren ihough they are natural volunteer stands. They are proof of lhe creid that a new crop should be started immediately the old one is removed, and not only on an acre here and-there as done by nature. but on.every acre. .Only in this s'ay can we be assured ot contlnurng our great lumber industry after virgin forests are gone."

ROBERT Tv\/. NEIGHBOR IS OREGON COUNSELOR

^ Rgbert W. Neighbor, No. 7816, general manager of the Pacific Coast Di.r'ision of B. C. Atkins & Comlany, has been app-ointed Oregon Counselor by Supreme Sirivenoter Andrew MacCuaig, to succeed H. p. Omcer. No. 26445. or