UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS BY WARREN T. CLARKE Cut-over redwood lands used for pasture purposes. Note sucker growth about stumps and spareity of grasses. BULLETIN No. 350 October, 1922 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY 1922 David P. Barrows, President of the University. EXPEEIMENT STATION STAFF HEADS OF DIVISIONS Thomas Forsyth Hunt, Dean. Edward J. Wickson, Horticulture (Emeritus). , Director of Eesident Instruction. C. M. Haring, Veterinary Science, Director of Agricultural Experiment Station. B. H. Crocheron, Director of Agricultural Extension. C. B. Hutchison, Plant Breeding, Director of the Branch of the College of Agriculture, Davis. H. J. Webber, Sub-tropical Horticulture, Director of Citrus Experiment Station. William A. Setchell, Botany. Myer E. Jaffa, Nutrition. Ealph E. Smith, Plant Pathology. John W. Gilmore, Agronomy. Charles F. Shaw, Soil Technology. John W. Gregg, Landscape Gardening and Floriculture. Frederic T. Bioletti, Viticulture and Fruit Products. Warren T. Clarke, Agricultural Extension. Ernest B. Babcock, Genetics. Gordon H. True, Animal Husbandry. James T. Barrett, Plant Pathology. Walter Mulford, Forestry. Fritz W. Woll, Animal Nutrition. W. P. Kelley, Agricultural Chemistry. H. P. Quayle, Entomology. Elwood Mead, Eural Institutions. H. S. Eeed, Plant Physiology. L. D. Batchelor, Orchard Management. W. L. Howard, Pomology. *Frank Adams, Irrigation Investigations. C. L. Eoadhouse, Dairy Industry. E. L. Adams, Farm Management. W. B. Herms, Entomology and Parasitology. John E. Dougherty, Poultry Husbandry. D, E, Holland, Plant Nutrition. G. H. Hart, Veterinary Science. L. J. Fletcher, Agricultural Engineering. Edwin C. Voorhies, Assistant to the Dean. * In cooperation with Division of Agricultural Engineering, Bureau of Public Roads, U. S. Department of Agriculture. AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS By WARREN T. CLARKE The present value of the redwood forests of the state of California and the increasing area of cut-over redwood lands resulting from the logging work that is being done make the future use of these cut-over lands a problem of great economic importance to the state. In view of the increasingly insistent demands of our civilization for lumber, it seems that the most natural and advantageous use to which these redwood forests can be put is the continued production of timber. But attempts are being made to use the lands for other purposes, in particular agricultural, without, however, a full knowledge of all the conditions to be met. The following study on agriculture in cut- over redwood lands is therefore offered in the hope that it may contribute to the final solution of the problem. The ordinary redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, is indigenous to the northwestern coastal section of the state. The fringe of its southern limit is to be found in lower Santa Cruz and upper Monterey counties. It thrives on the west slope of the Coast Range to the northern boundary of the state (Fig. 1). It forms vast forests that cover valleys, hills, and mountains with a heavy panoply of green. It has successfully occupied some one million three hundred thousand acres of land in the following counties : Santa Cruz, San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte. Of this occupied area some three hundred thousand acres have been cut over, leaving a vast area still to feel the woodsman's axe. Two hundred thousand of the cut-over acres are producing second growth timber of at least fair quality, while one hundred thousand acres are at present unproduc- tive or but meagerly productive. The present stand of redwood may be estimated as approximately seventy-two billion, two hundred and eight million board feet (figures taken from "Report on Senate Reso- lution 311, by Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, June 1, 1920"), with a low estimated value of near two hundred and eighty- nine millions of dollars. From these figures it will be seen that the redwood covers a very considerable area of land and that about seventy-seven per cent of the redwood forest of the state is still uncut. The redwoods occupy the west exposure of the Coast Range, lands that are generally hilly to mountainous. Naturally, valleys small or large, are to be found in such areas. Some of these valleys are either forest covered now or have been so covered before they were cut over 168 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION in logging operations. In the region, too, are to be found certain fertile, well watered valleys that have never carried redwood trees. These latter valleys are now being handled, with a fair degree of success, in general farming operations and in some of the better sections a highly specialized agriculture, such as apple raising in parts of Santa Cruz, Sonomo and Mendocino counties, is carried on. These naturally clear valleys in the redwood belt may be eliminated from a study of cut-over lands. They are being successfully utilized now. Our problem has to deal with the smaller unutilized or but partly worked valleys and gentler slopes that may be called stump lands, that is, lands that at some time carried more or less dense forests of redwood trees with perhaps a sprinkling of Douglas fir. SOILS The redwood thrives on many different kinds of soil. It flourishes in the rich, deep, alluvial lands of certain valleys ; it grows well on the shales which are found in many parts of its habitat ; good specimens are found in abundance on shallow, sandy soils underlaid with imper- vious clays; springy, muck lands also unlerlaid with clay at greater or less depths bear their quota of redwoods ; we find splendid trees on gravelly loams by stream sides. Indeed no one soil can be said to be characteristically a redwood soil ; it thrives on practically all classes of land within its habitat. It is a feature of the redwood belt, that is very marked, that soil conditions vary greatly within limited areas and no large section of a uniform soil type is to be found in the valleys and slopes of the cut-over regions. That these soils are well supplied with such elements as may be necessary to well support plant life is attested by the vigorous growth of such plants as have adapted themselves to the conditions. Redwoods, Douglas fir, tan-bark oak, madrone, huckle- berry, greasewood, ceanothus (wild lilac, blue blossom, tick brush), all of these and many other plants may be found growing well and thriving on these soils when openings occur which allow the sunlight to enter. This great diversity of soils, however, offers a grave problem to the would-be farmer. It is a fairly well established fact that certain cultivated crops thrive on given types of soils while they do poorly and languish on certain other types. It seems to be well demonstrated through many observations made by the writer that because of these diverse soil conditions agriculture on such lands is patchy and for this reason, if for no other, unsatisfactory. To be sure, Bulletin 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 169 the native growths thrive owing, no doubt, to adaptations following many years of struggle. The handler of these lands can ill afford to await such adaptation of many of the ordinary crops. If the soil type Fig. 1. — Uncut redwood forest on West slope of Coast Eange, California. Photograph from Associate Professor W. Metcalf, Forestry Division areas were larger there is no doubt that crops of economic importance could be found that would thrive on them. However, the condition of diverse soil types is one that is now present and imposes a serious handicap to a really remunerative agriculture on these lands. 170 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION CLIMATIC CONDITIONS-IRRIGATION Heavy and continuous rainfalls are experienced in the redwood region. Rains may be expected to begin in October and to occur with but brief intermissions from that time on until well into March. Occasional rain storms occur even later than this in some years. Snow may fall during the winter, especially in the more northern range of these trees, while the high hills and mountains will frequently bear a mantle of white. In the experience of the writer the rainfall for the winter of 1921-22 in certain parts of the redwood belt somewhat exceeded seventy inches. During the same winter in the same places a snowfall of six inches was noted. Of course, the rainfall throughout the redwood belt is not uniform, but it can be broadly stated that a precipitation of from forty to upwards of seventy inches may be expected and the farmer must be prepared for these conditions. Killing frosts in the valleys may be expected as late as well into May though the general weather conditions from April on are usually most delightful and satisfactory from the agricultural point of view. This is especially true in locations away from the coast and protected from ocean influences by ranges of hills and by woods. In the vicinity of the coastline and in places not so protected, fogs and cold winds are of frequent occurance. The small valleys and gentle slopes protected from direct ocean influences as above pointed out offer climatic conditions that are most delightful in the spring and early summer. By the middle of June the hot season in the redwoods will have begun. Temperatures ranging in many instances to upward of 100° F. will be experienced. There will be some cooling off of the weather in September and early October followed by early frosts and the begin- ning of the rainy season. It should be noted that while the rainfall in the redwood belt is exceedingly heavy and a plentiful supply of moisture finds its way into the soil, nevertheless because of the exceedingly hot, drying weather of summer the upper foot or two of soil soon becomes parched and dry. This condition is accentuated in certain types of soil found in the belt, especially the shales carrying large quantities of fragmen- tary, angular rock material. For deep rooted crops, orchard trees and the like, it is possible by careful cultivation to hold the soil moisture so that these crops thrive fairly well. Because of the diversity of soil types previously noted this moisture retention by cultivation is not uniform and the farmer of such lands has a cultivation problem to meet for each separate type represented on his BULLETIN 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 171 property. There also will be found springy, marshy places where the soils are usually more or less acid and where drainage and special cultural methods will be required. Fig. 2. — Tan-bark road. The typical condition in which the land appears after bark "stripping" is done. Quick drying of the top layers of soil on sloping land may be expected on the upper portions and what with this and the extreme drying out of the soil under the high summer heat irrigation is necessary when handling shallow rooted crops such as berries, vege- tables, and so forth. While it is true the winter precipitation is abundant and well provides for springs and stream flow, yet experi- ence has shown the necessity for irrigation in the successful production 172 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION of the sort of crops mentioned. It is further true that orchard crops are considerably augmented by the use of irrigation water. In spite then of the abundant rainfall that is to be expected in the redwood belt the farmer of lands located therein must be prepared to irrigate his land and thus there is added another expense item that the production from the farm must meet. CLEARING Ordinarily the tan-bark oak is found growing in greater or less quantity in open spaces in the redAvood forest. While it perhaps flourishes best rather close to the stream sides, still practically in all parts of the forest from the stream sides over the gentler slopes to the tops of the hills these trees will be found where sunlight finds its way in. The bark has a considerable commercial value for tanning purposes and so this oak is an asset of importance in the economy of the forest. Usually the first work done among the redwoods is "stripping bark" (Fig. 2). Temporary camps are established at convenient points; rough trails and roads that are passable are established. In occasional cases fire lines are brushed out. Then the work of "stripping" begins. The oaks are felled, the bark is taken from the fallen trees in convenient lengths and usually, after properly drying, it is packed over the trails on mule back to a convenient landing by the roadside. From this point the bark finds its way by wagon, train and boat to the tanneries and all that is left of what were formerly flourishing trees is the bleaching trunks and rotting stumps surrounded by suckers. Following "stripping" come the regular logging operations. Logging railroads are put in, elaborate camps are established on the forest fringe. Gangs of "fallers", swampers or peelers, engine men for the donkey engines used in "snaking" out logs, water boys, roustabouts — all the different sorts of workers are represented. The work of logging has fairly begun. The crash of falling trees is heard at intervals. The swampers or peelers do their work of removing limbs and bark and the sawyers cut the fallen trees into proper lengths. Then fire is run through the slashings, clearing the ground of brush and smaller limbs and leaving the logs clear and ready for removal by cable and donkey engine power to the track side whence they eventually find their way to the saw mill. Bulletin 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 173 These preliminary operations clear the land of marketable forest material but do not remove the larger waste limbs, defective logs, small trees and stumps. The firing that has occurred does not usually affect the large redwood waste and stumps. The redwood is extremely resistant to fire and only such portion of the trees as may be broken and splintered burns, together with the limbs and occasional defective logs. Much material that can be utilized as firewood is gathered up and used in operating the donkey engines in the woods. The stumps and unbroken larger material remain to cumber the ground. Occasion- ally a Douglas fir stump, full of pitch, burns out completely even to Fig. 3. — Typical redwood slashing. Fire has cleared out brush and smaller material. The stumps still retain vitality. Photograph furnished by Assistant Professor E. Fritz, Forestry Division the larger roots but for the most part even these stumps remain. Other material such as madrone and tan-bark oak stumps will usually be burned to the ground surface but their root vitality and ability to send up suckers will be but slightly impaired. As a matter of fact, after logging operations have ceased, the hardest and most expensive item in clearing, the removal of stumps and roots, remains to vex the would-be farmer of the cut-over land. The vitality of the redwood stump and root is very great. Fire has but little effect upon them. There will appear new growth in sucker-like form (Frontis- piece) in a circle about the stump year after year though this new growth may be cut out, piled on and about the stump and fired several times a year for many years in succession. The writer has observed 174 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION redwood stumps that have been treated in this way for over ten years and the second growth was almost as sturdy at the end of that period as it was when the trees were felled. This persistance of vitality in the redwood and its resistance to fire is noteworthy and, where cutting out is not done, in a few years sturdy second growth saplings surround the old stump and natural reforestation is begun. These conditions make the operation of removal of stumps and larger roots extremely difficult and expensive. The stumps of Douglas fir, tan-bark oak and other trees of minor importance in the zone do not offer such great difficulties. Fire and the diligent use of mattock and axe soon remove most of these. The redwood stumps, sometimes ranging to twenty feet and upwards in diameter, remain to be dealt with. No easy or cheap way to get rid of these has as yet been devised. Methods that are successful with other stumps usually fail with the redwood. The task reduces itself to the intelligent and- liberal use of giant powder and black powder supplemented by stump-pullers, mattocks and axes. Then comes the piling and burning of the shattered stump material and torn out roots. Because of the character of the wood the burning must be done with care to insure success. In addition to this removal of major stumps, the roots of huckleberry, greasewood and ceanothus will have to be grubbed out. The whole process of clearing the land so it can be successfully and economically plowed, cultivated and harrowed is extremely expensive and time consuming. In one case observed, the cost of complete clearing was four hundred dollars an acre. In another case noted by this writer, the cost of clearing out all stumps up to those two feet in diameter was one hundred and fifty dollars an acre (Fig. 4). This was a twenty acre piece and an average of twenty redwood stumps upward of two feet in diameter remained on each acre to vex the farmer of this land. Clearing this sort of land for agricultural purposes it will be seen makes the cost of such land exceedingly high even though its original purchase price may have been low. In conjunction with the- matter of clearing cut-over redwood lands the following table compiled from the United States census report for 1920 on California agriculture is significant. It includes all farms in the counties named and not alone those in the redwood areas. BULLETIN 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 175 TABLE Acres in County County Santa Cruz 278,400 San Mateo 286,080 Marin 338,560 Sonoma 1,012,480 Mendocino 2,264,960 Humboldt 2,288,000 Del Norte 655,360 Farms Land in Farms Average Size in Acres Improved Land per Farm in Acres Pet. Im- proved 1,759 144,751 82.3 38.6 46.9 624 117,109 187.7 124.6 66.4 718 290,148 404.1 122.3 30.3 5,739 748,147 130.4 43.9 33.6 1,759 923,087 524.8 57.5 11.0 1.756 717,174 408.4 55.8 13.7 130 43,830 337.2 101.9 30.2 7,123,840 12,485 2,784,246 2,074.9 544.6 Fig. 4. — Land cleared of stumps up to two feet in diameter. The stump in the left foreground is twelve feet in diameter. The land now furnishes meagre pasturage. To get it to this condition cost $150.00 per acre. The table covers the counties in the state where the redwood thrives. In only one of these counties, San Mateo, is more than half (66.4%) of the average farm improved. The high per cent of improved area is easily accounted for from the fact that in the northern part of this county the redwood becomes sparse and clearing is not so expensive an operation as when these trees are more numerous. The same com- ment may be made as to Santa Cruz County with its comparatively high per cent of improved land per farm. The fact that in those counties where the redwood forest is densest the per cent of improved land in farms is smallest is evident from the figures. The cost of clearing is the cause of the small improved average. This is sharply accentuated in Marin, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties 176 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION where the average size of a farm is high while the highest per cent improved is 30.3. The low ebb is reached in Mendocino County with an area about equal to Belgium, and an average farm area of 524.8 acres with but eleven per cent improved. Taking a few counties not in the redwood belt but having mountainous areas and desert areas, we note by way of comparison that Glenn County farms average 397.3 acres with 64 per cent improved ; Imperial County, 122.2 acres with 89.4 per cent improved ; Colusa County, 537.3 acres with 69 per cent improved; Placer County, 182.2 acres with 58.5 per cent im- proved. The item of getting the land into condition for agricultural operations is serious in the redwood belt and should be carefully con- sidered by the intending operator on such lands. CROPPING A wide range of agricultural crops can be grown on the cut-over redwood lands of California. The great diversity of soil conditions found in the area seems to insure adaptations to practically all crops save those that do not take kindly to humid conditions. Orchards thrive in some parts of the zone. Those of apple and pear are the most successful and the large apple orchards of Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties show what may be done with this fruit where considerable areas adapted to its culture exist. It is an interesting fact that as we go north in the redwood belt the brilliantly colored apples such as Wealthy, Jonathan, Delicious and many others, are the most successful. The more sober colored apples such as Newtown Pippin, Yellow Bellflower and others attain their best success near the coast line. Pears are of secondary importance as compared with apples though there are quite successful orchards of this fruit in the zone. The Bartlett pear so far is the favorite. The drupe fruits such as the peach, plum, apricot, are not very successful, owing no doubt to the rather short hot season, and should receive but scant attention on the part of the farmer of these lands. The writer has had under observation numerous small groves of walnut trees growing on cut-over lands and these are doing very well both in respect to crop and to health of the trees. This product should receive considerable attention in localities where the soils are deep and where the frost menace is at a minimum. It should always be borne in mind that through most of the region the acreage available for orchard purposes is nearly always in small lots. Bulletin 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 177 Berries such as the strawberry, loganberry, blackberry, dewberry and raspberry do exceedingly well in the greater part of the redwood belt. The conditions found here seem to be most favorable for the production of this class of fruit. Growing wild in the somewhat open spaces will be found thickets of huckleberry, black raspberries and blackberries and where transportation facilities permit of them being readily moved, a considerable business is done in supplying the market Fig. 5. — A successful truck garden in the cut-over lands. Note the adjacent acreas of forest and partly cleared land. with the first of these. It must be noted, however, that though these small fruits do splendidly in the redwood belt their success from a commercial point of view, especially because of their perishable nature, is dependent in large degree on easy, quick, cheap transportation. This exists in only a small part of the zone. Were a large enough area available for this class of products it would no doubt be possible to develop a business in canning and drying berries and in making fruit juices but it must be remembered that large tillable areas are the exception in the cut-over lands. Late potatoes of very high quality are grown in the lighter, better drained alluvial soils and in some parts of the zone where such soils are found these should be a staple crop. 178 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION All of the ordinary vegetables can be grown successfully in these cut-over lands (Fig 5). They require irrigation to insure production as the summers are hot and dry. The farmer of these lands should grow enough vegetables to well supply the home table even though he may, because of poor transportation, have but a limited market. Stock raising may be considered as of limited financial value in these lands. The feed producing possibilities are low and usually unsatisfactory. The brush browse, comprising mainly ceanothus and huckleberry, is not relished by stock and animals wintered over on pasture if they survive at all are by spring emaciated and weak. Over winter feeding of cows, hogs and horses in barns is done to a limited extent but is very expensive as most of the feed must be imported. The native grasses and herbs are of low feed value and can be depended on for but a brief period of time. Where the land is level enough leguminous crops such as alfalfa, red clover, white Dutch clover and purple vetch can be grown with a good degree of success, more especially where irrigation is practiced. The farmer should see to it that a planting of legumes is made on his place sufficient at least to furnish feed for a few head of stock. In addition to the legumes some sorghum may be grown, as this makes a fair crop when planted early after spring frost danger is over. Feed conditions can thus be somewhat improved and a limited number of animals provided for but the weakness of the natural pasture must be remembered. A careful questioning of farmers in the cut-over sections developed that the natural grass pastures had a feed value of one head of beef or dairy stock to forty acres (Frontispiece) per year and that supplementary feeding of some sort would have to be practiced in the fall and winter months most years. PESTS Constant vigilance is the price of success in any agricultural venture, even in the best of farming regions. The rule holds in the cut-over redwood lands as elsewhere. The farmer of these lands should be versed in the usual practice in controlling the various pests found in either field or orchard and should make control measures a part of the routine work of his place. It is not our intention to go into this matter of control measures in detail here but simply to point out some of the more prominent troubles he will have to contend against. First and most serious of the fungus troubles that will vex him is the ''oak root fungus" (Armillaria sp.). This trouble is well known in all parts of the state where oaks have grown and where Bulletin 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 179 orchard trees are now planted. The decaying roots and stumps of the tan-bark oak have left this trouble in the lands they have occupied and so the cut-over areas carry this menace. At present no effective means of control for this trouble has been developed. Fig. 6. — Five year old apple trees in cut-over land. Adjacent uncleared land a menace in regard to both pests and fire. Pear scab and various mildews controllable by sprays are peculiarly troublesome in the zone because of the humidity. The scab attacks apples as well as pears. The apple mildew, a very serious fungus trouble affecting mostly the new growth, has already made its appear- ance in many apple orchards. This mildew does great damage and to control it requires careful, well directed spraying. 180 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION The flat headed borer is at present the chief insect pest with which the orchardists will have to contend. The presence of brush lands much too rough and steep to be effectively cleared furnishes a perfect harboring place for these insects and they are present in great number. The borers are extremely difficult to control, it being necessary to remove the individuals one by one from the lower part of the tree trunk. Various species of plant lice (aphids), attack both orchard and truck crops and must be fought. Other insect pests may of course be expected to appear if plantings increase, as indeed is the case in every agricultural region. Perhaps rodents — brush rabbits, ground squirrels and field mice — are the greatest cause of mechanical injury to both trees and truck crops. Owing to the inevitable presence of brush and sapling covered land in close proximity to the cleared areas these creatures have a handy refuge and are found in such situations in very great numbers. They are extremely fond of various truck crops and will consume great quantities of such material. They also cause great damage and loss in orchards by gnawing away the bark of the trees at the base. The writer has seen whole orchards where the trees were completely girdled by these pests and injured beyond repair. Rabbit proof fencing carefully kept up and the liberal use of poison baits help in a measure to control the nuisance but can be considered as palliatives only. The writer had some experimental plantings of onions, potatoes, beans, cauliflower and lettuce in the zone in 1918. These were presum- ably protected by rabbit proof fencing. The fence did not prove effective, however, so far as mice were concerned and the whole planting was destroyed in two nights. The mice even went so far as to eat out the young onions from underground. Poison baits proved less attractive than the vegetables. Squirrels are abundant and do a vast amount of damage in both the orchards, truck fields and where grain is planted. The great amount of rough waste land about the cultivated areas furnishes a splendid covert for these creatures and makes the task of protection against their inroads very difficult. There is a large amount of damage done to young orchard trees in the redwood zone by sunburn. The summers, though not so long as in the large valleys, are very hot and, unless the trees are carefully protected by whitewashing or by shading the trunks, much of this trouble may be expected. By careful work it can be well controlled. From all of this it will be seen that even though the farms in the cut-over lands may be isolated they are not immune to the troubles that come to other farms and that in some cases these troubles are accentuated by the environment. Bulletin 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 181 TRANSPORTATION AND MARKETING As has been observed, these lands are to a large degree mountainous — the small valleys separated from each other by ridges which for the most part are steep and difficult. Intercommunication between adjac- ent valleys is hard to accomplish and frequently involves long and esre ~^iy; ^■™^1 ■ He-* fjl Si^t, J i3i * : aHBBi tBSK- . '' P^s 7 v 7 WKEBB&M ^B^Bi "fife bF- mm'ti- P - '->• ■;■'■ ~ v "\v Fig. 7. — The railroads are but temporary. After the logs are removed all that remains of the roads is their former beds. tortuous drives. Again these valleys and gentle slopes are isolated from towns and centers of trade by the same mountainous conditions. Indeed there are in the redwood belt few towns of much importance and these owe what imporatnce they have to the fact that they are located on practicable harbors and are reached by logging railroads tapping sections that are being cut over. In some cases also, perman- ent railroads connect these towns with the outer world and they thus have the advantage of both water and rail transportation. 182 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION It may be stated that these logging railroads are but temporary in character and serve the needs of transportation only so long as the woods are productive. They are a necessary part of the operation of getting logs to the milling centers which are in most cases located in the towns at the harbors before mentioned. As soon as economy in handling logs dictates such action the rails are removed to new locations and the road bed is all that remains to mark their former place (fig. 7). In very many situations throughout the cut-over red- wood lands these abandoned roadbeds remain mute witnesses of former transportation activity. The attempt at farming which has perhaps been made along the line of this formerly active railroad and which because of the transportation facilities it afforded may have had a measure of financial success now languishes. There is generally speak- ing no chance of freight business in agricultural products ever becoming great enough from these small valleys and gentler slopes to justify the renewal of rail operations there. Thus the redwood stump land farm becomes cut off from railroad facilities. The farmer of such lands must now depend on wagon roads to get his produce to a remunerative market. Here again he meets with difficulties. Owing to soil conditions and to the enormous rainfall in the redwood belt the establishment and maintenance of roads is difficult and ex- pensive. The roads are frequently impassable during the protracted rainy season and during the summer and fall rough and dusty. Because they serve but limited areas of farming land the burden of their upkeep falls upon the individual farmer or the few farmers who may be served by them. The only chance for economical upkeep of roads into these isolated valleys is through the practice of intensive forestry on the hill lands. Then the merchantable thinnings from the forest land combined with the product of small agricultural areas may make it feasible to keep up a good motor truck road if agriculture and forestry work hand in hand to the mutual advantage of each. The person who may undertake the development of cut-over redwood lands should carefully consider this matter of transportation. It is an important factor in the problem. Closely allied to the problem of transportation is that of available markets for the products of the farm. Where logging is going on there will be located groups of woodsmen. The location of the "camps" occupied by these men is determined by the matter of falling trees and getting out logs. Nearness to the uncut forest and situation on the logging railroad are essentials. In these camps are to be found sometimes hundreds of laborers. They provide a ready local market for all kinds of farm produce and the farmer who is working Bulletin 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 183 cut-over lands in the vicinity of the railroad and reasonably close to such a camp undoubtedly has, for a time, no difficulty in getting rid of such productions from his farm as he may desire to sell. The fact remains, however, that these camps are no more permanent than are the logging railroads. When it becomes more economical to transfer Fig. 8. — Forty-six year old new growth. Eeforestation through natural growth of suckers well begun. Photograph from Associate Professor W. Metcalf, Forestry Division. operations to some other locality the camp is abandoned and the local market is no more. Evidences of such abandoned camps in the way of buildings are to be found all through the region under study. It is evident then that the local market for the products of the stump farm is at best only temporary. As for making use of markets at a distance from such a farm, the difficulties of transportation and the attendant expense stand in most cases as a bar to a successful financial outcome. 184 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION Of course there is an occasional permanent railroad traversing the redwood sections and where other factors are propitious a satisfac- tory agriculture may be expected, because, through transportation, markets are made available. Much the greater part of the main redwood belt and notably that portion now being cut and that part still to be cut have but few so called permanent railroads. Temporary railroads will of course be put in and various temporary markets will arise and will inevitably disappear. The person then who attempts agricultural work on cut-over redwood lands should know well the marketing problem he will have to meet. SOCIAL LIFE Most of our farming sections now recognize that there are three factors that are of grave importance in the success of the farm. These factors are distinct from the matter of production and yet without these factors being well provided for the * ' native values of rural life ' ' cannot be obtained. The three may be- grouped under the head "social life" and comprise the following items: First, religious activities, churches and church life. Second, educational facilities, schools and all that they stand for in the development of good citizens. Third, recreational activities, diversions of various sorts so necessary in promoting both physical and mental health. Our towns, cities, centers of population of whatever sort, are well supplied with the means of best providing for all three of these lines of development. In most of the agricultural sections of any import- ance in the state similar provision is made. Community centers, farm bureau halls, schools, churches, all of these are available or easily provided. Through these agencies the "get together" spirit, the idea, of cooperation, is fostered, and men and women, young people and old, develop more broadly and become of greater value to the state at large. Church organizations and the work done by them in fostering and developing the spiritual life of individuals and communities must be available if the best is to be attained. Indeed too much emphasis cannot be placed on the three items mentioned. No true agricultural success, which in the final analysis means the success of the family, can be attained with these lacking. The isolation of farms and the great difficulties of transportation in the cut-over redwood lands have been emphasized in preceding paragraphs. This isolation of farms and the roughness of roads stand as an almost insuperable barrier to any true community life. Schools BULLETIN 350] AGRICULTURE IN CUT-OVER REDWOOD LANDS 185 and churches, community halls and farm bureau centers are, and of necessity must be, few and far between. These developments of com- munity life are a very necessary item if the farm is to be a success. Days and even weeks will be passed with no word from or contact with the outside world. Such conditions the farm family on cut-over lands will have to meet and the fact should be frankly met and recognized when making plans for this sort of a venture. It will be evident to the reader that there are serious handicaps to successful agriculture in cut-over redwood lands. These handicaps are so great that in a very large portion of the area the use of the lands for ordinary agricultural purposes would be an economic blunder. It is of course true that under certain conditions of soils, topography, transportation and local market there are and will be successes in agriculture in the region under discussion. In the sections now being cut over it would seem that such successes must, in the very nature of the case, be of minor importance. The use of these lands agriculturally cannot be considered as a solution of the problem and we must look further for a solution. In previous paragraphs the persistency of the redwood through its suckering habit about the stump (Frontispiece and Fig. 8) has been noted and, comparatively quick reforestation of cut-over areas may be expected through this habit. The Douglas fir too, if seeding occurs, quickly reoccupies sections from which it has been removed. The reoccupancy by this tree is through seedlings. Transplanting these seedlings is not difficult and the percentage of success can be made quite high by careful work. That the redwood reforestation through natural and unassisted second growth (suckers) (Fig. 8) is of great importance is evidenced by the following figures giving the rate of yield in board feet per acre at about fifty years after the first cutting. These figures were furnished by the Division of Forestry, College of Agriculture, University of California. For comparison the board feet production per acre after fifty years of growth of several other lumber producing conifers is given. TABLE Yield per Acre Species at 50 Years Eedwood, Average 40,000 Eedwood, Maximum 140,000 Short-leaf Pine, Southern, Average 17,000 Norway Pine, Average 6,100 White Pine, Massachusetts, Average 35,000 Eed Spruce, Average ,. 17,100 Loblolly Pine, Average 22,600 186 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION In determining what in the long ran is the best use that can be made of the cnt-over redwood lands of this state these figures are sug- gestive. The comparison with other conifers strongly emphasizes the remarkable reproductive power of the redwood. Nature takes the matter in hand and while planting of seedlings is necessary to obtain complete occupancy of the area the cost of replanting is obviously much reduced. That reforestation of the main redwood regions of the state is a policy that will in the end be of great benefit to the commonwealth is evident. It is not our purpose to lay out a plan to guide efforts at reforestation but more to indicate that these sections have on the whole a better prospective value as renewed forests than as agricultural lands as the term is generally used. Some of the larger lumber companies owning immense areas of both cut and uncut forest are now recognizing the existing conditions and are shaping out lines of procedure that look well to the develop- ment of these new forests. The fire menace which is always present in the forest is being guarded against. Certain of these companies now are experimenting with various hard wood trees to determine their possible use in the redwood zone. Forest nurseries are being established and men trained in the scientific details of forest manage- ment are being employed to supervise carrying on in the best possible manner the work of reforestation. It is well to recognize the difficulties of real agriculture in the redwood belt. The farmer of such lands will meet many extraordinary difficulties not present in ordinary unforested agricultural sections. Further there seems to be no doubt that the splendid heritage of our redwood forests should remain, through reforestation, an asset to the- state not only financially but in grandeur and beauty. STATION PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR FEEE DISTRIBUTION No. 253. 261. 262. 263. 268. 270. 273. 275. 276. 278. 279. 280. 283. 285. 286. 287. 294. 297. 298. 299. 304. 308. 310. 312. 313. 316. 317. 319 Irrigation and Soil Conditions in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, California. Melaxuma of the Walnut, "Juglans regia." Citrus Diseases of Florida and Cuba Compared with these of California. Size Grades for Ripe Olives. Growing and Grafting Olive Seedlings. A Comparison of Annual Cropping, Bi- ennial Cropping, and Green Manures on the Yield of Wheat. Preliminary Report on Kearney Vine- yard Experimental Drain. The Cultivation of Belladonna in Cali- fornia. The Pomegranate. Grain Sorghums. Irrigation of Rice in California. Irrigation of Alfalfa in the Sacramento Valley. The Olive Insects of California. The Milk Goat in California. Commercial Fertilizers. Vinegar from Waste Fruits. Bean Culture in California. The Almond in California. Seedless Raisin Grapes. The Use of Lumber on California Farms. A study on the Effects of Freezes on Citrus in California. I. Fumigation with Liquid Hydrocyanic Acid. II. Physical and Chemical Prop- erties of Liquid Hydrocyanic Acid. Plum Pollination. Mariout Barley. Pruning Young Deciduous Fruit Trees. The Kaki or Oriental Persimmon. Selections of Stocks in Citrus Propa- gation. Caprifigs and Caprification. BULLETINS No. 321. 325. 328. 330. 331. 332. 334. 335. 336. 337. 339. 340. 341. 342. 343. 344. 345. 346. 347. 348. 349. 350. 352. 353. 354. 355. Commercial Production of Grape Syrup. Storage of Perishable Fruit at Freezing Temperatures. Rice Irrigation Measurements and Ex- periments in Sacramento Valley, 1914-1919. Prune Growing in California. Dehydration of Fruits. Phylloxera-Resistant Stocks. Walnut Culture in California. Preliminary Volume Tables for Second- Growth Redwoods. Cocoanut Meal as a Feed for Dairy Cows and Other Livestock. The Preparation of Nicotine Dust as an Insecticide. Some Factors of Dehydrater Efficiency. The Relative Cost of Making Logs from Small and Large Timber. Control of the Pocket Gopher in Cali- fornia. Studies on Irrigation of Citrus Groves. Hog Feeding Experiments. Cheese Pests and Their Control. Cold Storage as an Aid to the Market- ing of Plums. Fertilizer Experiments with Citrus Trees. Almond Pollination. The Control of Red Spiders in Decidu- ous Orchards. Pruning Young Olive Trees. A Study of Sidedraft and Tractor Hitches. Agriculture in Cut-over Redwood Lands. Further Experiments in Plum Pollina tion. Bovine Infectious Abortion. Results of Rice Experiments in 1922. The Peach Twig Borer. No. 70. Observations on the Status of Corn Growing in California. 82. The Common Ground Squirrel of Cali- fornia. 87. Alfalfa. 110. Green Manuring in California. 111. The Use of Limje and Gypsum on Cali- fornia Soils. 113. Correspondence Courses in Agriculture. 126. Spraying for the Grape Leaf Hopper. 127. House Fumigation. 136. Melilotus indica as a Green-Manure Crop for California. 144. Oidium or Powdery Mildew of the Vine. 148. "Lungworms." 151. Feeding and Management of Hogs. 152. Some Observations on the Bulk Hand- ling of Grain in California. 155. Bovine Tuberculosis. 157. Control of the Pear Scab. 159. Agriculture in the Imperial Valley. 160. Lettuce Growing in California. 161. Potatoes in California. 164. Small Fruit Culture in California. 165. Fundamentals of Sugar Beet Culture under California Conditions. 166. The Country Farm Bureau. 167. Feeding Stuffs of Minor Importance. 169. The 1918 Grain Crop. 170. Fertilizing California Soils for the 1918 Crop. CIRCULARS No. 172. 173. 174. 175. 178. 179. 181. 182. 183. 184. 188. 189. 190. 193. 198. 199. 201. 202. 203. 205. 206. 208. 209. 210. Wheat Culture. The Construction of the Wood-Hoop Silo. Farm Drainage Methods. Progress Report on the Marketing and Distribution of Milk. The Packing of Apples in California. Factors of Importance in Producing Milk of Low Bacterial Count. Control of the California Ground Squirrel. Extending the Area of Irrigated Wheat in California for 1918. Infectious Abortion in Cows. A Flock of Sheep on the Farm. Lambing Sheds. Winter Forage Crops. Agriculture Clubs in California. A Study of Farm Labor in California. Syrup from Sweet Sorghum. Onion Growing in California. Helpful Hints to Hog Raisers. County Organizations for Rural Fire Control. Peat as a Manure Substitute. Blackleg. Jack Cheese. Summary of the Annual Reports of the Farm Advisors of California. The Function of the Farm Bureau. Suggestions to the Settler in California. CIRCULARS — Continued No. 212. 214. 215. 217. 218. 219. 224. 225. 228. 230. 232. 233. 234. 235. 236. 237. Salvaging Rain-Damaged Prunes. Seed Treatment for the Prevention of Cereal Smuts. Feeding Dairy Cows in California. Methods for Marketing Vegetables in California. Advanced Registry Testing of Dairy Cows. The Present Status of Alkali. Control of the Brown Apricot Scale and the Italian Pear Scale on Decid- uous Fruit Trees. Propagation of Vines. Vineyard Irrigation in Arid Climates. Testing Milk, Cream, and Skim Milk for Butterfat. Harvesting and Handling California Cherries for Eastern Shipment. Artificial Incubation. Winter Injury to Young Walnut Trees during 1921-22. Soil Analysis and Soil and Plant Inter- relations. The Common Hawks and Owls of Cali- fornia from the Standpoint of the Rancher. Directions for the Tanning and Dress- ing of Furs. No. 238. 239. 240. 241. 242. 244. 245. 246. 247. 248. 249. 250. 251. 252. 253. 254. 255. 256. The Apricot in California. Harvesting and Handling Apricots and Plums for Eastern Shipment. Harvesting and Handling Pears for Eastern Shipment. Harvesting and Handling Peaches for Eastern Shipment. Poultry Feeding. Central Wire Bracing for Fruit Trees. Vine Pruning Systems. Desirable Qualities of California Bar- ley for Export. Colonization and Rural Development. Some Common Errors in Vine Pruning and Their Remedies. Replacing Missing Vines. Measurement of Irrigation Water on the Farm. Recommendations Concerning the Com- mon Diseases and Parasites of Poultry in California. Supports for Vines. Vineyard Plans. The Use of Artificial Light to Increase Winter Egg Production. Leguminous Plants as Organic Fertil- izer in California Agriculture. The Control of Wild Morning Glory.