Our national forests

by Richard H. D. Boerker

Figure 22. A local settler delivering a load of Lodgepole pine cones at the seed extractors, for which he receives 45 cents per bushel. Forest officers receiving them. Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.

Methods of Reforestation. Two general methods of reforestation have been developed. The first is called the direct seeding method, in which tree seed is sown upon the ground with or without simple forms of cultivation. The other method is the planting method by which seedlings are grown in nurseries under ideal conditions of soil, light, and moisture until they are large enough to be transplanted and stand the rigors of the open field. Direct seeding, where successful, is the cheaper method, but is necessarily limited to sites whose soil and moisture conditions are exceptionally favorable to tree growth. The inability of the newly germinated seedling to establish itself except in comparatively moist soil makes the success of this method on the semi-arid mesas of the Southwest, for example, very problematical, especially since these localities are subject to long dry seasons. In such localities the use of the direct seeding method must be restricted to experiments designed to determine the exact range of conditions under which it is feasible. The main effort, however, of the Forest Service has been given to direct seeding on areas where reasonable success appears to be assured. The planting of 2 or 3 year old seedlings or transplants largely overcomes the adverse soil and moisture factors which appear to have made direct seeding unsuccessful in many localities. This method, which is the general practice in European forestry, must without doubt be employed to reforest a considerable portion of the denuded lands. The growing and planting of nursery stock is carried on simultaneously with direct seeding. The object of this is to ascertain the comparative results of the two methods, the sites on which the greater success will be obtained from each, and the proper relation of the two methods in the future development of reforestation work.

Since reforestation work was begun on the National Forests about 135,500 acres have been sowed or planted. The larger part of this acreage was reforested by direct seeding. Until only a few years ago larger areas were direct seeded each year than were planted to nursery stock, but at the present time more planting is being done. During the fiscal year 1916 about 7,600 acres were planted and about 2,800 acres were seeded. The average cost in that year of planting was about $10.00 per acre, that of the seeding was about $4.50 per acre. The 1917 costs were slightly higher, due to the increased cost of labor and supplies.

The reforesting methods of the Forest Service mean the collection of large quantities of seeds and the growing of large quantities of small trees for planting. Since 1911 the Forest Service has collected over 175,000 pounds of seeds for its direct seeding and planting work. During the fiscal year 1916 the Forest Service had 14 large tree-nurseries and 7 small ones, which had in them over 37 million young trees which would, in a short time, be planted in the field. From these figures it is readily seen that the reforestation work on the National Forests is conducted on a large scale.

Direct Seeding Work on the National Forests. The direct seeding work on the National Forests involves many more problems than one would at first thought suppose. Seed must be collected and extracted; it must be stored, if it is not used immediately; if the seed is sown it must be protected from rodents and very often the ground must be prepared before the seed is sown.

Figure 23. In the forest nursery a trough is often used for sowing seed in drills. The seed scattered along the sides of the trough rattles into position at the bottom and is more even than when distributed by the ordinary worker at the bottom of the trough. Pike National Forest, Colorado.

Figure 24. Uncle Sam grows the little trees by the millions. These will soon cover some of the bare hillsides on the National Forests of the West.

Seeds are collected in various ways. Often cones are purchased at advertised rates from persons who make a business of seed collecting. The collectors deliver the cones to a specified Ranger station or to some seed extracting plant. But such collectors are not always available. Seed is collected by Forest officers by stripping cones directly from standing trees or from those felled in logging operations. Large quantities are also gathered from the vast stores or caches assembled by squirrels.