ay bark
is thin and scaly.

In a typical lodge-pole forest the trees, or poles, stand closely
together and all are of the same age and of even size. Seedlings
and saplings are not seen in an old forest. This forest covers the
mountains for miles, growing in moist, dry, and stony places, claims
all slopes, has an altitudinal range of four thousand feet, and almost
entirely excludes all other species from its borders.

[Illustration: A TYPICAL LODGE-POLE FOREST]

The hoarding habit of this tree, the service rendered it by forest
fires, the lightness of the seeds and the readiness with which they
germinate on dry or burned-over areas, its ability to grow in a
variety of soils and climates, together with its capacity to thrive in
the full glare of the sun,--all these are factors which make this tree
interesting, and which enable it, despite the most dangerous forest
enemy, fire, to increase and multiply and extend its domains.

During the last fifty years this aggressive, indomitable tree has
enormously extended its area, and John Muir is of the opinion that,
"as fires are multiplied and the mountains become drier, this
wonderful lodge-pole pine bids fair to obtain possession of nearly all
the forest ground in the West." Its geographical range is along the
Rocky Mountains from Alaska to New Mexico, and on the Pacific coast
forests of it are, in places, found from sea-level to an altitude of
eleven thousand feet. On the Rockies it flourishes between the
altitudes of seven thousand and ten thousand feet. It is largely
represented in the forests of Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Montana,
and it has extensive areas in Oregon and Washington. It is the most
numerous tree in Wyoming, occupying in Yellowstone Park a larger area
than all other trees combined, while in California it forms the bulk
of the alpine forests.

The lodge-pole readily adapts itself to the most diverse soil and
conditions, but it thrives best where there is considerable moisture.
The roots accommodate themselves to shallow soil, and thrive in it.

This tree begins to bear fruit at an early age, sometimes when only
eight years old, and usually produces large quantities of cones
annually. The cones sometimes open and liberate the seeds as soon as
they are ripe, but commonly they remain on the tree for years, with
their seeds carefully sealed and protected beneath the scales. So far
as I have observed, the trees on the driest soil cling longest to
their seed