Knob Cone Pine A Blessing To Burnf Forest Lond

Hidden away like a s.ylvan retreat and reached only by the old one-lane dirt toll road to I\It. Wilson, is the Los Angeles County Forestry Nursery at Henninger Flats, the only one of its kind in Southern California. Some 60,000 seedlings of various types of Fir trees are produced here each year, destined to be used in re-planting burued-over forest regions. The same men u'ho battled the forest ancl brush fires are the ones rvho do the planting and tree gro'iving.

If the money and manpo\\'er \\rere available, Scluthern California could readily use the total tree outpttt of four camps like Henninger Flats.

More than 70,000 acres of r,vatershed were blackened this season, posing an ominous flood threat to foothill cities.

R. M. Van Wagner, assistant county forester, sums up the uphill battle by saying:

"The acreage burned over in 1952 could swallor.v up 1,000,000 of our seedlings-and then you'd probably never see them."

Van Wagner says that burned areas must be plantecl to trees rvithin tr,vo years, or it's too late. By then, brush takes over and the trees can't gain a foothold.

' Then they are put out in selectecl burned areas and alor.rg highways, to survive as best thel'can in nature. Foresters estimate that 60 to 70 per cent of them survive, which is considered excellent.

Their natural enemies are man\--drought, heavy sno\\', slides, and the depredations of rodents ar,d deer.

One of the most curiotts operatious at Hennirrger Flats is the "cooking" treatment given t{) cc)lres of the native "knob cone" pine.

Cones are immersed in hot rvater for several tlinutes until they open, so their seeds u-ill be free to drop out.

Unlike most conifers, the knob cone pine never drops its 6eng5-and won't release its seeds until heated.

The knob cone therefore thrir-es on forest fires. Foresters say it won't reproduce in nature until a fire comes.

The nursery also supplies thousands of seedlings each year to the city schools, for the forestry education program, and to youth groups snch as the Boy Scouts.

In this way, the foresters hope to encourage a new generation taught to love and respect their scenic forests, and protect their woodland heritage.

But it takes trvo years to grow a seedling for planting. Contrary to general belief this knob cone pine is found This means there just aren't enough seedlings to do the along the costal areas far up into C)regon, where, having no job ahead. timber value, it is regarded b1- lumbermen as a liability.

E,very tree planted is a real achievement in halting ero- This is an asset when considered from the viewpoint of sion of the denuded mountainsides, for each develops a the degradation following man-made forest and brush fires. root system capable of holding several tons of earth' The Frankenstein of flood-control costs towering over

The planting cycle begins in the fall, when the pine cones the industrial empire developing in Southern California can ripen. Crews range the forest, hacking down the cones that only be driven out by t1'pes of gror,vth that bind the soil are heavy with seeds. and which when scourged b1' repeat fires over periods of

They must harvest the seeds in the brief period of ripen- time, can reproduce themseh-es as intended by nature. ing before they open, or their competitors the rnountain Thus reproduction is not lost, as in other species. squirrels, will beat them to it'

The Mexican tecate cypress has the same quality. More

Cones that have fallen by themselves are worthless, for susceptible to cold, it has a more limited use. The knob they have already sent their seeds floating on the winds. cone pine and the Bishop pine are found over hundreds

The seedlings are pampered by the foresters, who plant of thousands of acres far up into the Smith River country them in neat rows and water them ,carefully. After a of Northern California and Southern Oregon. year's growth, the new trees are transplanted for another Its marked efiect on diminishing flood run-off is well year. known, having recorded differences of as much as 40 feet torch 15, llllt under similar conditions of rainfall.

Pasadena's first Mayor and California's first fordster, Lukens-being one and the same, was responsible for thc knob cone pine's recognition following John Muir's mention of it in his books on the Sierra.

Muir predicted its priceless benediction over the areas where it was found "bringing beauty for ashes."

One area of the Smith River section in Del Norte County, completely blasted by a fire that swept away 100,000 acres in 1917, is now possessed by the knob cone pine which has taken over as a result of the fire. Other areas are found in Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. Sowing of the seed should follow immediately after the fire has passed through. The fresh ashes appear to have an effect on the germination of the seed due to the lye and absence of competition. This permits the young tree to benefit by the winter rains as the fires usuallv occur in the months preceding.

Attempts to transplant from nursery stock to the watersheds are not so successful due to the disturbance of the root system. The tree has an unusually long root system and seeks the water through the summer months when trees with shorter root systems would not survive. For every inch that the little knob cone pine tree puts above the surface, it produces nearly 12 inches below the ground surface.

Dubs, Lfd., Holds 67]h Golf Tournoment

The battling Dubs met for the 6Tth time Friday, February l9th at the San Jose Golf and Country Club, lvith perfect golf weather prevailing. The hosts for the day were Del Travis, Travco, Inc., San Jose, and the Cheim Boys-"young, younger and youngest." There was a good turnout of 45 members and guests for the tournament with 41 remaining for the dinner. Presentation of the prizes was made by Jim Rossman, prize committee chairman, and in addition to the regular Dubs prizes, Joe Rogers, frequent Dubs guest from Salinas, donated 12 goll balls as additional prizes. Winners of the tournament were:

First Flight, lorv net. Bob Cl-reim 63; second low net, Louis Larsen 65; low gross \\ras tied at 77 betrveen Del Travis and George Monnier.

Second Flight, low net, Bob Bonner 64, second lon' net, Tom Jacobsen 67; and third lorv net, Lloyd Swiger at 68.

The lorv net winner of the Guest Flight division rvas Elsworth Keane rvith a 70, and in addition, Dubs also presented a trophy to the high gross 'winner', a fellorv wht-r took rr. mighty 120 blorvs to complete the course and rvho still has Eddie l)uino (the Pro) muttering to himself, Boir Meyers.

The 68th meeting of Dubs, Ltd., will be held at the California Country Club. off El Camino Real in South San Francisco, Friday, March 19th. Russ Fryberg u'ill be host for the day at that event.

Howard Libbey, president of pany, Arcata, spent the last u,eek sales office in San Francisco.

Arcata ltedwood Comof February in Arcata's

Here's the finish home builders demqnd! Becouse Royol Dutch Plqstic Spor is neorly woler whife, il's the ideql finish for oll types of bloncl woods qnd olher surfqces.

It keeps Pine, Fir, White Pine, Redwood qnd Hordwoods neqrer to their originol color lhqn ony other Spor finish.

We guaranlee lull sstisJagtion. Coll us lor trial order.

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Doiled while line indicotes plo.11f.,.q4{ition ol A$ociated Plywood ft,lills, Inc., Eugene, Oregon.

Exparrsion of plant facilities at the Eugene, Oregon. plant of Associated Plyr,r.ood Mills, Inc. to permit additional t,orking space for the manufacture of Texture One Eleven. Select Sea Swirl, Knotty Sea Swirl and other plylr.ood specialtics, has been announced by Leonard Nystrorn, APN{I president.

A 30 ft. by 4O0 ft. addition to the main plant is under construction. Special sawing and packaging machinerv for Texture One Eleven and other specialties is scheduled for early delivery, and completion of the project is set for April 1.

At the same time that plant facilities are being increased, the Associated general offices are being enlarged in order to provide the Plywoocl and Lumber sales division more room.

According to Ecl B:rll:rntine, ltresiclent of the Signal Lumber Con.rpany, Long Beacl.r, Calif., the Lakeu.oocl Plaza tract development of 509 Redu'ood hornes is nearing completion and or.er seventy per cent of the dtvellings arc presently c.rccupied lty the o\\rners.

These nel' homes are referred to bv the Alckrn Construction Company, brrilclers of the tract, as "The Redr,r,ood I(ing Size Series" because each unit has four beclrooms. tvvo baths, tu.o-car garages and all Redn'ood exteriors. The living area is 1350 s<1uare feet inside the house and they are priced at $13,000 each. These are the largest all Itedu'ood siding homes ever l>uilt in volume in Southern California, according to NIr. Ballantine.

Al1 lumber for this tract of 509 homes, plus an additional 32r[ units in San Fernando Valler-, u.as furnished by thc Signal Lumber Companv through regular channels. The Redwood u,as furnished to the retail firm by the Eurkee Redu'ood Lumber Conroerny. Compton, ar-rd all processing was completecl at the mill of the A. K. \\rilson Lumber Co., at the same location.

The Signal l-umber Crimpanr- u'as estabiished in Long Reach in 1931 to handle lumber an<l building materials at the retail level. During the past six rnonths over 3 million feet of l{edn-ood for the Alclon tract has l>een ordc.'ed ancl delivered from the E,ureka Redu'ood Company to bring these homes to completion. This retail firrn has furnished a considerable amount of all the luml;er that has been used

5O9 Redwood Dwellings Neoring Completion AI Lokewood Plozq

in the construction of over 15,000 houses by the Aldon people including not only rough and finished lumber, but interior tongue and groove hardlvood wall surfacing, rnoulcling, sash and trim. A11 of 'these selected items n.ere secured through local r,r'holesale firms. "With a staff of ten people .n'e do a volume measured in millions. but n-e also farm out lty contract a. consideraltle arnount of hauling. labor and handling, lr'hich lorvers our cost of operation,', said Nfr. llallantine. For over ttvc decades the companr. iras operated frorn the same location at 3140 Cherrv Avenue, I-ong Ileach, California, and has played an important part in the development of the nation's nen'est and fastesi grou'ing city of homes.