Show Conifers or Aspen h. h By Dy Frederick S S. S Baker Daker Forest Examiner Examiner ExamIner Exam Exam- iner Great Basin Experiment ent Station U U. S S. S Forest Service The sight of a man standing ling near the foot of a big fir tree squinting through a little instrument at another mother moth moth- er man struggling to climb up through the tho branches always starts the chance observer to wondering what crazy thing is being pulled off now This is not a frequent sight excer ex- ex cert in the vicinity of the Great Basin Experiment Station on the Hanti Mantl National National National Na Na- Forest near Ephraim Utah where not only this but many other incomprehensible stunts are indulged in Theres a reason however for all of it The fellow struggling up the tree for example is getting the diameter of the tree at a point midway midway midway mid mid- way between the ground and the top the man on the ground with the in instrument instrument instrument in- in strument having the heavy job fob of telling him when he has gotten far farenough farenough farenough enough up But why the middle diameter ItIs It Itis Itis is to get the contents of the tree in cubic feet The trunks of some trees are almost perfect tapered tapered- cones others are relatively bulged out at atthe atthe the top and others at the bottom An Anold Anold Anold I old Germon forester found a n formula form forme formula ula by which the total amount of of wood in a tree trunk of any shape can r I I be e deter lined if the dla diameter eter at the I bottom r nd ryd d half way up is found trees of of trees The average av orage Dt number different sizes on an acre can be determined determined determined de de- I by count on sample plots ana the volume of each tree being known tho the total volume of wood standIng on an acre of ground can bo be determined Counts of the rings on stumps give the average age of or the trees Dividing the total amount o of wood per acre by the average age o othe of the the- trees gives the mean annual in increment In- In crement or crement or in everyday language the average amount of wood that grows grous on that acre each year At the Great Basin Experiment Station Station Sta Sta- tion a a. great deal of work is being done along this line to determine which kind of trees will grow faster and be worth the most per acre acre In the the- shortest time The question deals chiefly with aspen and the associated conifers or evergreen trees The question is far from solved as there are an immense number of factors entering Into consideration besides the relative growth of ot aspen and con con- Hers These factors lead to many other strange activities of forest in investigators investigators In- In who may be seen lying on their stomachs searching among the leaves for seedlings year after year boring into trees with augers and catching bugs in little bottles The first is necessary to find out how far tar apart good years for r reproduction reproduction pro pro- are usually found for many years there is little or no n seed or the n spring is too dry to start the seedlings seed seed- li lings lings gs It is obviously a point in in favor of aspen which springs up vigorously vigorously vig vig- vigorously vig- vig from sprouts after atter cutting if we have got to wait 10 or a dozen years vears tp fO get a decent reproduction of ot conifers from seed even if they do prove more valuable once they grow up into trees By boring holes in the trees it is easy to find out how badly decayed they are inside without destroying the whole thing The aspen rots very early and and th the prevalence of or decay may render it worthless in many places where conifers will remain sound for hundreds of or years There are some insects that attack aspen and others the conifers By catching them and finding out wha what they are from experts it is possible to determine whether they are likely to be very destructive to either class of timber j There are many other points well such as the relative amount amount J forage under aspen and conifers effect of each oil on water runoff snow conservation etc The qu quest has got to be threshed out howe hove bowel because it is essential essential to the maD mani main moat ment of vast areas of aspen type I r Forest Foest Service is going to have hare forests under its supervision prod ing ng the maximum amounts of not US L I products and this can only be deli del mined by long and careful in I tion tIon ion 1 |