Author: Pennsylvania Dept. of Forests and Waters

Title: Bulletin, no. 38 - no. 39

Place of Publication: Harrisburg, Pa.

Copyright Date: 1926 -[n.d.]

Master Negative Storage Number: MNS# PSt SNPaAg251.3

FILMED WHOLE OR IN
PART FROM A COPY
BORROWED FROM:

STATE LIBRARY OF
PENNSYLVANIA

no. 38 - no. 39

1926

[n.d.l

The Ailanthus Tree

TO A LITTLE AIL AN THUS TREE

You small ailantJms tree,

You gamin of the streets,
In barren ivays,
Through, scorching days,

From a six-inch square of earth

You ivave green plumes in glee.

You child of cement streets
Of clamor, smoke and grime,

All plumed in green,

A forest queen,
To city folk you bring
The thought of far retreats.

>>

They call you ''Tree of Heaven,
You gamin of the streets,

Who toss green smiles

Down arid miles,
A balm for dusty hearts,
The balm of God's oun leaven.

Florence Finch Kelly

i

THE AILANTHUS TREE
IN PENNSYLVANIA

By

Joseph S. Illick

and

E. F. Brouse

^ f

Bulletin 38

Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters

R. Y. Stuart, Secretary

Harrisburg, Pa.

January, 1926

A Big Ailanthiis at York Springs, Pennsylvania.

FOREWORD

Almost 150 years ago the ailanthiis tree was brought to America.
The first tree was planted in 1784 by William Hamilton in his garden
called "The Woodlands," now known as ''The Woodland Cemetery"
bordering the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadel-
phia. At first this interesting tree immigrant w^as planted exclusively
as an ornamental tree. From the day of its first introduction the
climate, the soil, and other growth factors, favored it. It was not long
until specimen trees were growing in most of the southeastern counties
of Pennsylvania. Later it w^as planted in western Pennsylvania, and
now it is found in practically all parts of the State, but is not common
in the highlands.

While man was a big factor in distributing the ailanthus through-
out Pennsylvania, the tree itself has contributed much to the exten-
sion of its range. As soon as the trees planted in the early days
reached maturity, they began to broadcast seeds far and wide. As a
result of this w^de seed distribution, trees began to spring up on a
wide range of situations.

The ailanthus situation in Pennsylvania is serious. It is the only
introduced tree that is competing vigorously with our native tree
growth, and in this competition it appears to have a marked advan-
tage. Unless a use is found for its wood, this tree will develop into
a worthless forest weed and become a forest nuisance of the first
magnitude. To check its growth is a difficult problem. It is far
more practical to find a use for its wood than to attempt to control
this ultra-aggressive tree. A general study of its wood characteristics
suggested that it might be used in the manufacture of woodpulp. To
determine the merits of this suggestion, a cooperative experiment was
undertaken several years ago by the Pennsylvania Department of
Forests and Waters and the Forest Products Laboratory, Madison,
Wisconsin. The laboratory tests show that the wood is well adapted
for the manufacture of pulp. In a number of ways it is superior to
Avoods now used extensively in the manufacture of woodpulp.

.\ UiR Ailaiifliiis at Yoik Spiiiij-s, IVinisylvaiiia.

FOREWORD

Almost 150 years ag'o the ailantlms tree was broii«»"1it to America.
The first tree was planted in 1784 by William Hamilton in liis jjarden
called ''The Woodlands," now known as "The Woodhnid Cemetery"
borderinf,^ the cami)ns of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadel-
phia. At first this interesting' ti-ee immig-rant was ])lant(Ml exclusively
as an ornamental tree. P'rom the day of its first introduction the
climate, the soil, and other <»rowtli factors, favored it. It was not long
until s])ecimen trees Avere ^rowinji' in most of the southeastern counties
of Pennsylvania. Later it was ]ilanted in western Pennsylvania, and
now it is found in ])ractically all parts of the State, but is not common
in the hij^hlands.

Wliile nuin was a big factor in distributing the ailanthus through-
out Pennsylvania, the tree itself has contributed much to the exten-
sion of its range. As soon as tlie trees ])lanted in tlie earlv davs
reached maturity, they began to broadcast seeds far and wi(k\ As a

result of this wide seed distribution, trees began to si)ri
wide range of situations.

ng up on a

The ailanthus situation in Pennsylvania is serious. It is the only
introduced ti'ee tliat is com|)eting vigorously with oui- native tree
growth, and in this competition it apjx'ars to have a nuii'ked advan-
tage. Unless a use is found for its wood, this tree will develop into
a worthless foi-est weed and become i\ foi'cst nuisaTU-e of the first

INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE

With the probability that ailanthus wood will be used in the manu-
facture of pulp, a study of the tree's growth and other silvical char-
acteristics was undertaken. The conclusions are set forth in this
bulletin. It is hoped that the results of this study will be of con-
siderable value to forest land owners in Pennsylvania, and open a
«rateway to the profitable handling of this interesting tree immigrant.

Joseph S. Illick

THE AILANTHUS TREE IN
PENNSYLVANIA

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The ailanthus is an interesting tree immigrant. It was first planted
in this country near Philadelphia in 1784. Later it was introduced
in Rhode Island (1820) and at Flushing, New York. As early as
1841 this tree was common in the nurseries of the eastern United
States.

The ailanthus is also called ''Tree of Heaven" and ''Chinese
Sumach." Its Chinese name is "Chow Chun," meaning "The Stink-
ing Chun." The common name "Tree of Heaven" has a curious
history. It is said that this name was given to it as if the tree was
accused of lacerating the heavens because of its great height. While
in modern Chinese it is known as "The Stinking Chun," Chinese
poets of older times spoke of it as "God's Tree."

Investigations show that this tree is a native of the Molucca Islands,
about four degrees south of the equator and not far from Borneo.
Althoiiffh of tronical origin, its lonff cultivation in far northern locali-
ties in Asia, Europe, and America, has adapted it to temperate regions.
It now has a wide distribution in China. In Pekin it is a favorite
shade and ornamental tree.

Professor \V. C. Lowdermilk of the College of Agriculture and
Forestry, University of Nanking, Nanking, China, under date of
October 13, 1924, writes: "Ailanthus is common in central China and
very common about Nanking. It growls on a variety of soils, includ-
ing heavy clay to loose rocky upland soils. The annual rainfall varies
from 20 to 60 inches. It is a very persistent sprouter. In the nur-
sery it makes remarkable growth the first year as well as later. Our
beds of one year seedlings average 30 inches in height. The tree is
used chiefly for shade ; only occasionally it occurs in plantations.
The wood is inferior, being brittle, non-durable, and splits easily.*'

Records show that the seed of ailanthus was first sent from China
to the Royal Society of London in 1751 by the Jesuit missionary
D 'Incarville. These seeds were turned over to Philip Miller at Chelsea
Garden and to Philip C. Webb at Busbridge near London, who planted
them, and from them raised many trees. As early as September,
1782, the ailanthus tree grew on the outskirts of Utrecht, Holland.
Articles published in 1783 and 1788 referred to it as growing in the

8

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

Dutcli f»ar(lens. A description of it was publislied in Paris in 1788,
>vhere travellers now find it common in i)arks and along boulevards.

Ailanthus was recommended for plantin<»- almost without quali-
fication in the early days of Kansas, but experience has shown that
it is too tender for nortliern Nebraska and the Dakotas. It does not
thrive in very dry situations and prolonged droughts are fatal to it.
For fullv fiftv vears ailanthus has been widelv planted in California.
In the Great Valley and the bordering foothills, it is a common tree
about dwellings and in gardens. It is the only foreign tree that com-
petes aggressively with the native tree growth of California.

Soon after its introduction into America, the ailanthus sprang into
popularity as a street tree. Its rapid and luxuriant growth im-
pressed the early nurserymen and its ability to thrive in very unfavor-
able situations, i^articularly in industrial centers, is responsible for
its wide use. It was planted extensively in New York City, Brooklyn,
and Philadelphia. In the center of Baltimore is a small park with
driveways bordered with recently planted ailanthus trees. Today
one finds it planted along streets of many eastern cities, and each
year it is becoming more common in the rural sections of many east-
ern and mid-western states.

DISTRIBUTION IN PENNSYLYANIxV

The earliest planting of ailanthus in Pennsjdvania was in and
around the city of Philadelphia. In 1784 the first tree brought to
America was planted in an arboretum near the site now occupied by
the University of Pennsylvania. Now the ailanthus occurs in all
parts of the city and in Fairmount Park are small patches occupied
exclusively by this aggressive tree. From Philadelphia the ailanthus
extended its range into the interior of the State.

Each year the ailanthus is becoming more common in Pennsvlvania.
It is gradually extending its range and it is also becoming more com-
mon in places where it has been established for some time. Its occur-
rence coincides rather closely with the distribution of human habita-
tion. In the populous regions and agricultural sections of the State
this tree is common, while in the sparsely populated and mountainous
regions it is very rare to absent. It is generally distributed through-
out the southern, central, and southeastern parts of the State, except-
ing at higher altitudes and in colder situations. In a few places it
has become very abundant.

Near Reading in Berks county, occur dense thickets and extensive
patches. In the vicinity of Mont Alto, Franklin county, are growing
a large number of trees under a wide range of conditions. Entire
fence rows have been occupied by it to the exclusion of all other trees.

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

9

It has completely preempted vacant places on farm lands and in some
places it is gradually pushing its way into the forest. It is common
about many of the abandoned furnace properties of southern and
central Pennsylvania. About Harrisburg in Dauphin county occur a
large number of trees. On both the east and west shores of the
Susquehanna River it is common. In the vicinity of Speeceville,
Dauphin county, a short distance north of Harrisburg, and along the
Susquehanna above the Clarks Ferry Bridge occur thousands of trees.
Here are found some of the most thrifty young stands in the State.
Almost all of the larger trees occur in the southeastern, southern,
and central part of the State. Here it is now making its best growth.
Some middle-sized trees are growing in the western part, where it
is now extending its range very rapidly. Locally about Pittsburgh
it is becoming rather common. Only a few isolated specimens
have been found in the higher mountains of the north-central
part of the State, and it is generally absent in the higher elevations
of the Alleghenies. Recenj;ly a small clump was found growing near
the New York State line about (me-half of a mile north of Sugar Grove,
in Warren county, at an elevation of about 1,250 feet. Records show
that Mr. Frank ]\Iiller, a local nurseryman and tree lover, planted a
specimen ailanthus tree here about 35 years ago. From this single
tree has developed a small clump that appears to thrive fairly well in
this cold part of Pennsylvania. But extensive field studies show
that it thrives ])est at lower elevations and in the milder part of the
State.

INTERESTING STANDS OF AILANTHUS

Some interesting stands of ailanthus occur in Pennsylvania. One
occurs on the Dauphin County Farm about two miles east of Harris-
burg. It is almost a pure stand, for mixed with the ailanthus occur
only a few cherry, ash, and several other kinds of trees. The stand
covers about one-half of an acre. The trees range in age from 19 to
25 years with an average age of 22 years. Measurements of all the
trees on this half of an acre give the followinjr results:

Brrasf-hif/h
ItUunctvr

(inchc8)

1

2

3

4

5

6

Xuwhcr
of Trees

2

5
11
14
13
22

Averuf/c
Jleif/h i

(fret)

lO.O

ll.G

lO.O

22.7

32.8

36.3

10

Breuxt-hiyh
Diameter

(inches)

7

8

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
IG
17

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

Number
of Trees

25

19

18

22

7

7
2

3
3
3

Height
(feet)
4G.1
45.7
50.5
50.5
44.8
48.0
47.0
47.3
54.0
47.3
65.0

Total

177

The total breast-high basal area of the trees on this half acre is
65.3 square feet, which is the equivalent of 130.6 feet per acre. This
<3ompares favorably with other stands of young trees. Where the
trees stand close to one another they are straight and their trunks are
■clear of branches for a considerable distance from the ground, but
where they stand far apart their stems are limby and tend toward
crookedness.

■■ — Tt?

I^L

kK^

'■^ "'

'^

'^^^,

^

, , .

■

:** - -' - ■

■,'Ji .

'^•

*

''^^^^H
'* ^^^^1

..V

"'■ ■ ' ^

^

. ^ y '

V

* ■ . ,

»■

' * * J

-

''%^^_

A Young and Thrifty Stand of Ailanthus, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

A small pure stand of ailanthus is growing along the Susquehanna
Trail about one mile north of New Buffalo in Perry county. The trees
border the highway on the east, and are mixed with black locust.
Ten years ago both the ailanthus and black locust were cut. The

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

11

jiresent trees are the result of stem sprouts and root suckers. They
average eight years in age, have an average breast-high diameter
of 3.4 inches, and average 32 feet in height. The dominant trees
stand at the rate of 1,400 per acre. In addition there are 1,760 trees
1 to 3 feet high per acre.

In Summer the Ailanthus is Clothed with Foliage of Tropical Luxuriance.

On a farm about one mile southeast of Mont Alto, Franklin county,
occurs what is probably the best young stand of ailanthus in Penn-
sylvania. The trees are growing near a sink hole in a fertile clay
loam agricultural soil with a fair amount of soil moisture. When 6
years old these trees — all of sprout origin — had attained an average
breast-high diameter of 2.6 inches, and an average height of 28.6 feet.
A careful count showed the equivalent of 3,680 trees per acre with a
basal area of 132.7 square feet per acre. In size these six year old
trees compare very favorably with stands of other trees 15 to 25 years
old. A permanent sample plot will be established in this stand for
the purpose of making available accurate figures on the growth and
yield of ailanthus in southern Pennsylvania.

LARGE AILANTHUS TREES

The ailanthus does not become so large as do the oaks, elms, and
sycamores. It is a short-lived tree. When the trees become 3 feet
in diameter, heart rot usually starts. Decay, as a rule, progresses

10

Bradst-liiffli
Ditnnctcr

(i)Whe.s)

7

8

9
10
11
12
Vi
14
15

k;

17

TiiK AiL.\xTiirs Tree in Pexnsylvaxia

Xnmhf'r
of Treca

25
19
IS
22

I

7

2

3
3

o

A rcrttgc
Ifeiffhi

(fevt)

4(J.l

45.7

50.5

50.5

44.8

48.0

47.0

47.3

54.0

47.3

G5.0

Total

177

Tlic totJil hreast-hi^ii basal area ot* the trees on tliis half acre is
-65.3 s(iuan' feet, whieli is the ecinivalent of 130.G feet per acre. This
•coiiii)ares favorably with other stands of young- trees. Where the
trees stand ch)se to one another tliey are straight and tlieir trunks are
dear of l)i'anehes for a considerable distance from tlie ground, but
where tliey stand far apart their stems are limby and lend toward
crookedness.

^\»*

5»- V,

f.r

- /•%

\

' #v ....

Is

*■•*• ■-<- >w r- *^-«.

»*?^ ' -k,.aaB«' • j«t •'« '.13 • X

1

■V, '. ^

■■-v

1-.;-

A YouiiK ami Tlirifty Stand of Ailaiitliiis, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

A small pure stand of ailanthus is gi-owing- along the Suscjuehanna
Trail about one mile north of New IJuffalo in Perrv county. The trees
border the highway on tlie east, and are mixed with black locust.
Ten years ago both tlie ailanthus and black locust were cut. The

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

11

present trees are the result of stem sprouts and root suckers. They
average eight years in age, have an average breast-high diameter
of *i,4 inches, and average 32 feet in height. The domiiuint trees
stand at the rate of 1,400 per acre. In addition there are 1,760 trees
1 to 3 feet high per acre.

In Suninu'r the Ailanthus is ( lotlted with Foliage of Tropical Luxuiiancc.

On a farm about one mile southeast of Mont Alto, Franklin county,
occurs what is i)robably the best young stand of ailanthus in Penn-
sylvania. The trees are growing near a sink hole in a fertile clav
loam agrieultural soil with a fair amount of soil moisture. When 6
years old these trees — all of si)rout origin — had attained an average
breast-liigh diameter of 2.6 inches, and an average height of 28.6 feet.
A careful count showed the equivalent of 3,680 trees per acre with a
basal area of 132.7 s(iuare feet i)er acre. In size these six year old
trees compare very favorably with stands of other trees 15 to 25 years
old, A pernmnent sam])l(' ])l()t will be established in this stand for
the purpose of making available accurate figures on the growth and
yield of ailanthus in southern Pennsylvania,

lak(;k ailanthus trees

The ailanthus does not become so large as do the oaks, elms, and
sycamores. It is a short-lived tree. When the trees become 3 feet
in diameter, heart rot usually starts. Decay, as a rule, progresses

INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE

12

The Ailanthus Tree in PennsylVxVnia

rapidly. Practically all the larger trees are hollow, with only a
shallow shell left on the outside. The older trees often fall before a
wind storm and then their hollow interior is revealed. Ten of the
largest ailanthus trees growing in Pennsylvania are listed in the

following table:

Breast- Height

Tree Hif/h to First

Number Diameter Height Braneh

(feet) (feet) (feet)

1

3.5

05

10

2

3.4

• •

18

3

3.2

07

9

4

3.2

(*5

IS

5

3.2

, ,

15

6

3.0

00

20

7

3.0

(iS

8

8

2.8

52

10

0

2.7

.nn

10

10

2.5

0.3

10

Location

Mooredale, Cumberland County
Five Forks, Franklin County
Mooredale, Cumberland County
Mooredale, Cumberland County
Waynesboro, Franklin County
Pine Grove Furnace, Cumberland County
York Springs, Adams County
Mooredale, Cumberland County
Mooredale, Cumberland County
Carlisle, Cumberland County

A Group of Middle-Size Ailanthus in the Humphrey Marshall Aihoretuni at
Mnrshallton, Cluvster County, Pennsylvania. Those Trees Range from Two

to Two and One-Half I'eet in Diameter.

What is probably the most interesting group of middle-size ailan-
thus trees in Pennsylvania stands in the historic Humphrey Marshall
Arboretum in the village of Marshallton, Chester county. This is
one of the oldest tree places in America, having been established

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

13

in 1773. A careful study of this ailanthus group shows that they
are of sprout origin. They may be second or third generation sprouts
that have developed from the specimen ailanthus tree that the famed
botanist planted in his arboretum more than 125 years ago. There
are seven middle-size trees in the group ranging from 2 to 2^2 feet in
diameter at breast-high.

Practically all of the large ailanthus trees found in Pennsylvania
occur in the southern half of the State. A group of large trees stands
at Mooredale, Cumberland county, about 7 miles southwest of Carlisle.
Five of these trees show a circumference at one foot above the ground
of 14.9, 13.2, 12.5, 12.1, and 11.3 feet. There may be larger trees in
the State, but no records of them are now available.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE AILANTHUS

The ailanthus is a strange looking tree. Just a glance at its lux-
uriant tropical appearance tells us that it is not native to Pennsyl-
vania. In general appearance it resembles the walnuts and sumachs
more closely than any other native tree. Its unusual appearance
makes it rather easy to identify at all seasons of the year.

Its large tropical leaves, arranged alternately along the twigs and
persisting until late in autumn, are unfailing distinguishing character-
istics. They are usually 1 to 2 feet long, occasionally three feet. The
writer measured a leaf on a vigorous shoot that was exactly 4 feet
long. No other tree common in Pennsylvania has such large leaves.
Each of the big leaves are made uj) of 11 to 41 egg-shaped leaflets. The
leaflets are smooth along the margin except for a few tooth-like pro-
jections near the base. On the lower surface of these projections are
usually found a few tiny dots. A close examination of these dots
shows that they are glands. When crushed, the leaves give off an
offensive smell.

In winter the ailanthus can be distinguished by its stout twigs which
are covered with a fine down and dotted with small ochre-colored
breathing i)ores. The twigs are stiff and i)ractically all of them look
ui)ward toward the sky. This gives the tree a very bold appearance
Through the winter months when it is without foliage. The twigs
are roughened by large heart-shaped leaf-scars and in the center of
the twig occurs a wide light brown pith. In the notches in the upper
part of the leaf-scars occur downy small buds. They are so tiny that
it is often hard to see them. One wonders how such large leaves
c?n come forth from such small buds. The bark on young trees is
smooth, thin, and light gray. As the trees become larger,"the bark
becomes rougher and darker. The fissures are usually light in color
and stand in strong contrast with the darker ridges. On middle-sized

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

1.

2.
3.
4.
6.
6.
7.

THE AILANTHUS

A mature leaf, x \i.

Lower side of two leaflets showing dot-like glands, x V^.

Part of panicle of flowers, x Vi.

Three winged seeds, x Vi-

A seedling shortly after sprouting, x Vi.

Section of a winter twig showing wide pith, large leaf-scars, and small roundish budft

Winter bud and leaf -scar with small clusters of bundle-scars, natural size.

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

15

trees the bark is often marked by diamond-shaped fissures. On old
trunks it is dark gray and sometimes black.

In the fall of the year seed-bearing ailanthus trees can be distin-
guished by their large seed clusters, produced in great numbers. Each
seed cluster, usually from 5 to 7 inches long, carries from 500 to
1,000 seeds. Each seed consists of a little flattened nutlet surrounded
by a flat, spirally twisted, paper-like wing about l^/^ inches long and
one-half of an inch wide. The ailanthus has striking distinguishing
characteristics at all seasons of the year, for it has few features in
common with other trees. Meeting it just once means an acquaintance
for life.

AN ATTRACTIVE ORNAMENTAL TREE

When young, the ailanthus is an attractive and distinctive orna-
mental tree. In summer it is clothed with foliage of tropical luxuri-
ance. In the fall of the year the seed bearing trees bear seed clusters
of blushing pink against the fern-like leaf masses. This tree bears
two distinct kinds of flowers, namely, staminate (male), and pistillate
(female). The two kinds of flowers never occur on the same tree.
Trees bearing staminate flowers should not be used for ornamental
purposes, as the odor of the flowers is unpleasant. The pistillate
flowers have no objectionable odor. For ornamental planting pis-
tillate specimens should always be selected. Single specimens of
pistillate trees, especially when young or middle aged, make an attrac-
tive appearance. As soon as the trees reach middle size they should
be replaced, since they deteriorate rapidly. The branches of the
crown are very brittle and break freely. As a result of strong winds
and snow pressure many trees develop an unshapely crown early in
life. A popular use of this tree is to start a few specimens and cut
them back each year. Under this treatment they send up vigorous
shoots bearing leaves of great size and rare beauty. This is an excel-
lent means of producing quickly a screen effect in many respects similar
to a fern bed. When planted for ornamental purposes great care
should be taken so as not to permit the trees to sucker freely. Only
when the ailanthus is grown under controlled conditions does it add
to the attractiveness of the home grounds.

HOW AILANTHUS REPRODUCES

I Ailanthus possesses three important methods of reproduction. It
sprouts vigorously, seeds freely, and produces suckers in great numbers.
There are two kinds of ailanthus trees, namely, staminate and pis-
tillate trees. The latter only bear seed. The seeds begin to develop
in early summer and mature in September and October. They are

If)

The Ailaxthus Tuke in Pennsylvania

borne in large, dense, usually 5-i)anicle(l clusters. One thousand and
one fruit clusters were counted on a tree 85 feet hi«>li and 12 inches in
diameter at breast-lii<»'h. An eiglit inch tree carried 884 clusters. A
bj'anch 15 feet long and one and one-half inches in diameter at the

AVhen Young the Ailanthiis is an Attractive Tree. Trees Bearing Stami-
iiate Flowers Should not be Planted for Ornamental Purposes. Their

Flowers Have a V>ry Unpleasant Odor.

butt had 36 clusters. Four seed clusters of average size had 708, 831,
032, and 1,864 seeds. This gives a total of 8,880 seeds— an average
of 959 per cluster. When fresh, 4,000 seeds weigh six and one-half
ounces. After 4 days of air drying they weigh six ounces. It follows

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

17

that a tree 12 inches in diameter may produce a million seeds in a
season. During the summer months and early autumn these fruit
clusters are very attractive, bearing touches of yellow, red and brown.
Jn fall at about the time when the leaves drop, the color of the fruit
clusters is reduced to a dull pale brown. The clusters often persist
far into the winter and some hang on the trees until spring. The
seeds are surrounded by a thin membranous wing w^hich is a great
aid in scattering the light seed far and wide. The seed germinates
freely. During the first year seedlings reach a height of 10 to 15
inches. Reports from China show that seedlings have reached a
height of 30 inches during the first year. The trees of seedling origin
usually become older and remain sounder than trees of sprout and
root sucker origin.

Sprouting from the stump is this tree's commonest method of re-
production. The sprouts show a remarkable growth during the first
three years. Successive cuttings appear to stimulate growth. Each
time the trees are cut they appear to be re-invigorated. In a fence
row near I\Iont Alto in Franklin county, that was clear cut in the
winter of 1922-23, there were found in July, 1924, 17,860 2-year old
and 10,019 1-year old sprouts per acre. The 2-year old sprouts
averaged 9 feet in height and tlie 1-year old sprouts 2 feet in height.
The sprout growth is often so abundant that competition sets in soon.
Too many trees try to grow^ on the same place and the weaker must
give way to the stronger. At the end of three years it is often possible
to find more dead trees than living trees in an ailanthus thicket. The
following table shows the condition of the sprouts in a dense young
stand of ailanthus:

A(/e

1

ISutnhcr of Trees
Per AcrQ

800
1,3G0
3,000

Height

(feet)

n.3
10.5
14.2

Total

r),l(»0 Average Height

ll'.O

On this area there were 5,160 living sprouts per acre that averaged
12 feet in height. The 8,000 three-year old trees averaged 14.2 feet
in height. On the same area were 6,920 dead trees per acre. This
shows that in a dense ailanthus thicket only three years old, there
may be more dead than living trees. The competition is keen and the
mortality is high. The strong and favored trees survive while the
weaklings must give up their i)laces. With the stem sprouts one

18

The Ail^vnthus Tree in Pennsylvania

often finds many root suckers. These two methods of reproduction
often operate side by side, and with them one frequently finds trees
that grew from seed.

THE GROWTH OF AILANTHUS

Ailanthus is one of the most rapid growing trees found in Penn-
sylvania. The growth, however, varies considerably with the origin
of the tree. Trees that start as seedlings, sprouts, or root suckers
show a wide range in height and diameter growth. The following
table, based upon measurements of more than 1,000 trees growing
under a wide range of conditions in southern and central Pennsyl-
vania, gives the height and diameter growth of trees of seedling, root
sucker, and sprout origin:

Age
(Years)

Height (Feet)

Breast-High Diameter (Inches)

Seedling fi

Root
Suckers

Sprouts

Seedlings

Root
Suckers

Stem
Sprouts

1

2

8

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

15

20

25

30

1.3
3.9
5.8

7.9
100

12.0
13.9
15.9
18.0
20.0
30.0
39.5
45.9
51.4

2.7
5.6
8.8

11.6
14.5
17.4
20.2
22.9
25.4
27.8
38.9
46.1
50.3
53.0

6.0
9.2
13.6
17.2
19.9
28!7
32.9
34.6
38.0
41.0
51.2
57.3
59.5
60.3

1.3
1.8
2.3
2.8
3.3
3.7
4.1
6.1
7.7
9.1
10.2

1.5
2.0
2.5
2.9
3.5
4.1
4.7
6.9
8.8
10.1
10.3

1.8
2.4
2.9
3.4
3.9
4.3
4.8
7.2
9.1
10.3
11.1

Field studies show that ailanthus grows well when it develops in
mixture with other trees. In Pennsylvania, black locust is its most
frequent forest associate. These two trees are able to adapt them-
selves to similar sites and possess other growth habits that enable
them to grow side by side. In a forest stand made up of 95 black
locust, 20 ailanthus, and 20 other trees, the ailanthus at the age of
22 years shoAved a height of 60 feet and a breast-high diameter of
7.5 inches. In this stand the ailanthus grew tall, straight, and was
free from limbs. A tree growing in a stand of black locust on a
rather sterile gravelly loam hillside near Speeceville in Dauphin
county, made the largest growth of any single specimen measured in
the State. At the age of 18 years this tree was 60 feet high and
12.5 inches in diameter at breast-high.

Growth studies show that ailanthus grows very rapidly in youth
and that height growth is practically completed in 25 to 30 years.

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

19

When 20 Years Old, Ailanthus Has an Average Breast-High Diameter of
9 Inches and Yields 37 Cords of Wood per Acre.

(ii

The Ailanthus is a Very Aggressive Tree. Fence Rows are Often Occupied

by It to the Exclusion of All Other Trees. These Seven Year Old Sprouts

Average More Than Four Inches in Diameter.

18

The Ailaxthus Tree ix Pexxsylvaxia

often finds many root suckers. These two methods of reproduction
often operate si(h' hy side, and with them one frequently finds trees
that grew from seed.

THE GKOWTII OF AILAXTHUS

Ailanthus is one of the most rapid growing trees found in Penn-
sylvania. The growth, however, varies considerably with the origin
of the tree. Trees that start as seedlings, sprouts, or root suckers
show a wide range in height and diameter growth. The following
table, based upon measurements of more than 1,000 trees growling
under a wide range of conditions in southern and central Pennsyl-
vania, gives the height and diameter growth of trees of seedling, root
sucker, and sprout origin:

(Years)

1 neight (Feet)

Brcust-Hhjh Diameter

(Inches)

Root \

Root

Stem

Sccdlinffit

Suckers

Sprouts
0.0

Seedlings

Suckers

Sprouts

1

1.3

2.7

'»

3.9

5.6

9.2

o

5.8

8.3

13.6

4

7.0

ll.fJ

17.2

1.3

1.5

1.8

."i

10.0

14.5

19.9

1.8

2.0

2.4

fi

12.0

17.4

28.7

2.3

2.5

2.0

I

13.0

20.2

32.9

2.8

2.9

3.4

^

l.'.O

22.0

34.6

3.3

3.5

3.0

w

18.0

25.4

38.0

3.7

4.1

4.3

10

20.0

27.8

41.0

4.1

4.7

4.8

1.-

30.0

38.0

51.2

6.1

6.0

7.2

L'O

30.r,

4n.i

57.3

7.7

8.8

0.1

'ITy

45.0

50.3

59.5

9.1

10.1

10.3

:;o

ni.4

53.0

60.3

10.2

10.3

11.1

Field studies sliow tliMt ailantlius grows well Avhen it develops in
mixture witli otlu'r ti-ces. In Pennsylvania, black locust is its most
frequent forest associate. These two trees are able to adapt them-
selves to similar sites and possess other growth habits that enable
Ihem to grow side by side. In a forest stand made up of 95 black
locust. 20 ailantlius, and 20 other trees, the ailanthus at the age of
22 years shoAved a height ot* (50 feet and a breast-high diameter of
7.5 inches. In this stand the ailanthus grew tall, straight, and was
free from limbs. A tree growing in a stand of black locust en a
rather sterile gravelly loam hillside near Speeceville in Daui)hin
county, made the largest growth of any single si)ecimen measured in
the State. At the age of 18 yeai's this tree was (JO feet high and
12.5 inches in diameter at breast-high.

Growth studies show that ailanthus grows very rapidly in youth
and that height growth is practically comi)leted in 25 to 30 years.

The Ailanthus Tree in Pexxsylvaxia

19

#

i?^r^

"H^.W:

f-.;r 0

t N

,' .

• / '

,- ^'^ .

'>/"

/'-i> ' ■

/"X

>V--^~ ;■

■'

.X f -,

WIu'ii 20 Y<'jiis Old, .Ailanthus Has an Average Hieast-Hifth DiamoU'r of
« Inches and Vh'his :i7 Coids of AVood ]}ov .Acie.

Tho .Ailanthus is a Vriy .AjfffiH'ssivo Troo. Fonre Rows are Often Occupied

h.V It to the Exclusion of .All Other Trees. These Seven Year Old Sprouts

.Av<'raft<' .Aror<' Than Four Inches in Diameter.

INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE

20

Tup: Ailaxthus Tree in Pennsylvania

Diameter growtli continues for a decade or two thereafter, but it
slows down rapidly. As soon as a retardation of growth manifests
itself, heart rot bej^ins to develop. To get optimum growth the ailanthus
should be handled on a rotation not to exceed 40 years, and on some
sites 30 years woud be a better rotation age.

RAPID GROWTH OF SPROUTS

The sprouts of ailanthus grow very rapidly during the first few
years. The following table gives the annual height growth of 6 sprouts
during the first four years of their development :

Year

Height Growth (feet)

Average
Height
Groivth

(fret)

Tree
No. 1

Tree
No. 2

Tree
No. 3

Tree
No. h

Tree
No. 5

Tree
No. 6

First 4.5

Sccrmd 5.0

Third 5.0

Fourth 4.2

Total Iloiglit i
(feet) 18.7

6.5
6.0
4.0
3.0

19.5

9.4
5.7
4.2
2.6

21.9

10.3
4.2
2.7

2.S

20.0

io.7

4.4
1.8
3.0

19.9

12.6
4.9
3.8
3.3

24.6

9.0
5.0
3.6
3.1

20.7

The foregoing table shows an average height growth of 9 feet dur-
ing the first year, 5 feet the second year, and 3.6 and 3.1 feet respec-

Oiio-Yoai- Old Ailanthus Sprouts RanjCfing i„ Height from Three to Elevei
1 eet. Ahout 20 Per Cent of These Yearling Sprouts are Over Six Feet High.

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

21

tively during the third and fourth years. The maximum annual height
growth was made by tree No. 6 during the first year, when it grew
12.6 feet in a single season. This is the largest annual height growth
recorded for any sprout measured in Pennsylvania. The six trees
whose measurements are given above grew in a dense clump in a moist
clay loam alluvial soil near Speeceville, Dauphin county. Their

A Seven- Year Old Sprout Stand of Ailanthus Averaging 30 Feet in Height

and Over Three Inches in Diameter.

growth was considerably above the average. It represents the best
height growth that may be expected of ailanthus. The stumps from
vrhich the sprouts grew averaged ap[)roximately 2 inches in diameter
at 6 inches above the ground. In most cases only one sprout developed
from a stumj). The small vigorous stumps were a big factor in stimu-
lating such an exce])tionally large heiglit growth. Careful measure-
ments show that ailanthus si)routs often grow a full inch in height in
a single day during the oi)timum growth ])eriod of late spring and
earlv summer.

YOUNG TPvEES SPROUT BEST

Field studies show that young trees send forth the most vigorous
sprouts. Trees up to 5 inches in diameter usually send forth two or
three strong sprouts, while larger trees as a rule produce a larger
number of relatively weak sprouts. Two trees standing side by side
were cut at the same time. The one was 5.5 inches in diameter at 19

I

20

Tin: Air.AXTHis Tree in Pexnsylvaxia

DirUiK'tci- ••rowtli c-oiitiiiucs t'oi- ;i (U'cadc or two tlxTeafter, but it
slows down i-apidly. As soon as h rctni'dation of «irowtli manifests
itself, licai't i-ot bc'-ins to dcvcloj). To <»('t optiinuni «:i'()wtli the ailanthus
should Ix' handled on a rotation not to exceed 40 years, and on some
sites 30 years woud l)e a Ix'tter rotation aye.

ILVPIl) (JROWTil OF SPKOTTS

The sprouts of ailanthus <irow very ra|)idly durinj*- the first few
years. The following tal)le jiives the annual lieight growth of 6 si)routs
during" the first four years of their development:

y<(ir

Jleif/ht (Jnncth

(fret)

A rerfif/e
Jfcif/ht
(irowfh

Ifrvt)

Tree
No. 1

Tree
\o. 2

0.5

0.0
4.0

:{.o

10.5

Tree

Tree !

Tree

Tree
Xo. 6

Fii-sf

Sccniid

Thinl

I'olll-lll

Tnt;i| Ilci-ht
( feet >

4.5
5.0
5.0
4.2

is. 7

9.4
5.7

4.2
2.(;

21.9

10.3
4.2
2.7

2.S

20.0

io.7

4.4
l.S
3.0

10.0

12.0

4.9
3.8
3.3

24.0

9.0
5.0

3.1

20.7

The foi-e-'oino- t;d)h' shows an averauc height .urowth of \) feet dur-
in<i- Ihc first year, .") feet the second year, and :{.() and :].l feet respee-

OiH'-Yfjii- Old .Ailamh

II

s Sprouts Haii^iit^ in Hoi^lit fnnu Tl

Wot. About '20 IV'i' ("rut of Tliesc Yeailins Sprouts are Ov

«r<'«' to Klrven

vv Six Feet Hiuh.

The AiLAXTiirs Tree ix Pexxsylvaxia

21

tively during the third and fourth years. The maximum animal height
growth was nuule hy tree Xo. (> during the first year, when it grew
J2.G f<'et in a single season. This is the largest annual height growth
recorded for any sprout measured in Pennsylvania. The six trees
whose measurements are given above grew in a dense clumj) in a moist
clay loam alluvial soil near Speeceville, ])aui)hin county. Their

A Sovou-Year Old Spi-out Stand of Xilantli

and Over Three Inches in Diameter

us Av<'rajiinj»; ;?0 I Vet in H<'ij»;lit

gi'owth was eonsiderabl\- above the ax'ei'ai

:'e. It repi'esents the best

height growth that may be exi)eete;i of ailanthus. The stumps froi
Avhicli the sju'outs grew averaged ap|)!'oximat( ly 2 inel
at 6 inches above the gi'ound. in most ca

II

les in diametei-

from
lat

ses only one s|)rout develo

ped

HI!

a stump. The siiudi vigorous stumps wei-e a l)ig factor in stimu-
such an exceptioiudly large height gi'owth. Careful measui'e-
ments show that ailanthus sprouts often grow a full inch in height
a single day during the optimun4 growth period of hit

earlv summer

e s|)ring a

m

nd

vol X(^ TPKKS SIMiOPT liKST

Field studies show that

young ti-ees send foi'tli the most viyoroii?

;prout>

^r

rees up to .') inches in diametei' usiiallv send forth two or

three strong s|)roiits. while larger t

number of relatively weak sprouts. Two trees standinii- side bv siih

rees as a rule i)ro;Iuce a larger

M-ere cut at the same time. The o

)ne was ,)..> inches in diameter at IJ)

INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE

22

The Ailaxthus Tree in Pennsylvania

Young Ailanthiis Trees GroAv Rapidly and Sprout Freely. A'ig-
orous Sprouts Produce Big Leaves of Rare Beauty.

inches above the ground, the other was 1.5 inches in diameter at 11
inches above the ground. The former produced 4 sprouts that aver-
aged 5.5 feet in height at the end of the first growing season and the
latter supported 2 sprouts that averaged 6.2 feet in height after one
season's growth. Tlie sprouts that originated from the larger trees

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

23

were relatively weak and spindly, while those that developed from the
smaller trees were strong and vigorous. Another stump 5.5 inches
in diameter at 16 inches above the ground ])roduced 9 sprouts that
averaged only 4.3 feet in height at the end of the first growing season.
An examination of sprouts that make a height growth of 6, 8, to 10
feet during the first season, usually shows that they grow singly or
in pairs, and, as a rule, originate from small thrifty stumps.

The ailanthus also sprouts readily from the roots, especially when
the parent trees have been cut. Old trees that are on the decline
also send forth root suckers rather freely. Observations show that
where a large number of root suckers develop they often grow at
the expense of sprouting from the stump. An area 16.5 feet square
was laid off about an ailanthus stump 9 inches in diameter and cut
8 inches above the ground. On this area were counted 212 1-year old
root suckers that averaged 4.4 feet in height. This is the equivalent
of 33,920 per acre. The stump of this tree carried very few sprouts
and all of them were relatively weak. A large number of root suckers
generally implies a weak sprouting from the stump.

Growth studies show that root suckers, as a rule, do not grow as
rapidly as stump sprouts. This is due to a concentration of growth
in the single stump in contrast with a diffusion of it over the widely
scattered roots. Growth studies also show that the average rate of
growth over a long period of time between root sprouts and stump
sprouts is relatively less than in the early stages of development.

Field studies show that root suckers often spring up at great dis-
tances from the parent tree. In a field bordering a row of mature
ailanthus trees near Carlisle in Cumberland county, root suckers were
found at 87 feet from the base of the tree. No difference in heignt
growth of suckers was noted at varying distances from the parent
tree. Irrespective of the distance from the base of the trunk, the root
suckers appeared to be growing at approximately the same rate.

DISTINCTIVE GROWTH HABITS

The ailanthus is a tree with distinctive growth habits. It adapts
itself to many soils and a wide range of climatic conditions. It is
very aggressive, it grows very rapidly, sprouts very freely, and suck-
ers very profusely. It cannot stand shade. It is ahvays at its best
in full sunlight. It will grow on dry situations, but is at its best
v.'hen nourished with an ample supply of water. It shows preference
to limestone soil, for it occurs in great numbers and thrives about the
workings of limestone quarries and upon limestone outcrops.

With apparent grace it accepts the hard fate of growing in crevices
of brick walls, in back alleys, among paving stones, on slag piles, about

22

Tin: AiLAXTiirs Trf.e in Pennsylvania

YouiiK Ailaiitluis Trees (iioAv Rapidly and Sprout Freely. Vig-
orous Sprouts Produce Big Leaves of Rare Beauty.

inches nbove tlio "touikI, tlic otlier was 1.5 inclies in diaincter at 11
inches above tlic o-nnind. Tiie i'onner ])ro(luce(l 4 sprouts that aver-
ajj^ed r).5 tVct in li('i<'lit at tlie end of the first «ir()\vin<i- season and tlie
latter su|)i)()rte(l 2 sprouts tliat averajrcd 6.2 feet in liei^lit after one
season's jj^rowth. Tiie si)routs tiiat ori«»inated from tlie lar<,^er trees

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

23

were relatively weak and spindly, while those that developed from the
smaller trees were stron<>' and vigorous. Another stnni]) 5.5 inches
in diameter at Ki inches a])ov(^ the <ii*ound ])roduced 9 sprouts that
averaged only 4..'} feet in height at the end of the first growing season.
An examination of sprouts that nudve a lieight growth of 6, 8, to 10
feet during the first season, usuallv shows that thev grow singlv or
in pairs, and, as a rule, originate from small thrifty stumps.

The ailanthus also s])routs ivadily from the i*oots, especially when
the parent tn^es have been cut. Old trees that are on the decline
also send forth root suckers rather f reel v. Observations show that
where a large number of root suckers develoj) they often grow at
the expense of si)routing from the stump. An area 16.5 feet square
was laid oft' about an ailanthus stuni]) !) inches in diameter and cut
8 inches above the ground. On this area were counted 212 1-year old
root suckers that averaged 4.4 feet in height. This is the equivalent
of 33,920 per acre. The stump of this tree cai'ried vei'v few si)routs
and all of them were relativelv weak. A large nund)er of i-oot suckers
generally imi)lies a weak sprouting from the stump.

Growth studies show that root suckers, as a rule, do not grow as
lapidly as stump sprouts. This is due to a concentration of growth
in the single stum|) in contrast with a dift'usion of it ovei- tiie widely
scattered roots, (irowth studies also show that the average rate of
growth over a long period of time between root sprouts and stump
sprouts is relatively less than in the early stages of (leveloi)ment.

Field studies show that root suckers often spring up at great dis-
tances from the parent tree. In a 6eld bordei-ing a row of mature
ailanthus trees near Carlisle in Cumberland county, root suckers were
found at ST feet from the base of the tree. Xo dift'erence in heigiit
growth of suckers was noted at vai'ying distances from tlu^ parent
tree. Irrespective of the distance from the base of the trunk, the root
suckers appeared to be growing at ai)proximately the same rate.

distlxctivp: gpvOwtii iiap>its

The ailanthus is a tre<' Avitli distinctive gi'owth habits. It adapts
itself to many soils and a wide range of climatic conditions. It is
very aggressive, it grows very rai)idly. s])routs very freely, and suck-
ers very profusely. It cannot stand shade. It is always at its best
in full sunlight. It will grow on dry situations, but is at its best
v.'lien nourished with an ample sui)[)ly of watcM*. It shows [)reference
to limestone soil, for it occurs in great numbers and thrives about the
workings of limestone (piarries and upon limestone outcrops.

With apparent grace it accepts the hard fate of growing in crevices
of brick walls, in back alleys, among paving stones, on slag piles, about

24

The Ailaxthus Tree in Pennsylvania

All Open Grown Ailaiitliiis with a Little Army of Root Sprouts

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

25

refuse clumps, among- rocks, on barren wastes and other unfavorable
situations. There is no soil so thin, no site so sterile, no spot so
scorched, no space so limited that the ailanthus will not attemi)t to grow
thereon, and often to our amazement, it grows freely where other
trees falter and fail.

HAS FEW ENEMIES

The ailantlius has few enemies in Pennsylvania. Insects seldom
attack this tree and fungous diseases are rarely found upon it. It
is one of only a few trees not injured by the periodic cicadas (17
year locusts) when depositing their eggs. Other nearby trees often
suffer heavy damage during ''the 17 year locust" years, while the
ailanthus remains unharmed. Heart rot and frost damage are its
major foes. As soon as trees reach middle-size they usually give evi-
dence of lieart rot, and when 2i/> to 3 feet in diameter they are often
hollow. Mayr reports that ''in the Fagetum (the region of the beech,
birch and maple forest type) the twigs of ailantlius freeze back every
winter. During the cold winter of 1879-1880 with a temperature
of — 30°C, practically all ailanthus of middle Europe were killed."
Where milder climates prevail, this tree makes its best growth. In
northern Pennsylvania and particularly at higher altitudes it is
usually damaged by frost and extreme low temperatures. As a
general rule, the ailanthus can be grown as far north as the native
chestnut is found. North of the range of the native chestnut its
chances for making satisfactory growth are not very promising.

WOOD YIELD OF AILANTHUS

The wood yield of ailanthus ranks high among Pennsylvania trees.
The following table gives the yield per acre that may be expected of
ailanthus stands of sprout origin, if handled properly :

Breast-high

Age

Jleufh t

Diameter

Yield

(i/ears)

(feet)

(inches)

(cords)

10

41.0

4.8

15.0

15

51.2

7.2

26.5

20

57.3

9.1

36.8

25

59.5

10.3

43.2

30

60.3

11.1

50.0

At thirty years the yield of ailanthus trees of root sucker and
seedling origin is almost as high as that of trees of sprout origin,
but it is considerably less at the age of 10, 15, and 20 years. After

24

TiiK AiF.AXTurs Tri:i: in Pkxnsylvaxia

An ()|uii (iiowii Ailaiillius witli a Little Aniiy of R(,„t Sprouts.

The Atlaxtih^s Tree tx Pexxsyfa'axfa

25

refuse dumps, anionji- rocks, on l){iri'oii wastes nnd otlicr unfjivoral.le
situations. There is no soil so tliin, no site so sterile, no si)Ot so
scorelied, no s])aee so limited tliat tlie ailanthus will not attemi)t to «i'ro\v
thereon, and often to our amazement, it ji'rows freely wliere other
trees falter and fail.

HAS FKW KXE:\riKS

The ailantlius lias few enemies in Pennsylvania. Insects sehlom
attack tliis tree and fun<>()us diseases are rarely found upon it. It
is one of only a few trees not injured by the ])eriodic cicadas (17
year locusts) when depositinji' their e<>i:s. Other nearby trees often
suffer heavy dama«i'e during- "the 17 year locust" years, while the
ailanthus renunns unharmed. Heart rot and frost damage ai-e its
major foes. As soon as trees I'each middle-size thev usuallv give evi-
denee of heart rot, and when 2^0 to :] feet in diameter they are often
Jiollow. ]\Iayr reports that "in the Fagetum (the i'egi(m of the beech,
birch and maple forest type) the twigs of ailanthus freeze l)ack every
winter. During the cold winter of 1S7J)-18S() with a tem])erature
of — oCC, practically all ailanthus of middle Eui-ope were killed."
AVliere milder climates i)revail, this tree nudges its best growth. In
northern Pennsylvania and i)articularly at liigher altitudes it is
usually damaged by frost and extreme low tempei-atures. As a
general rule, the ailanthus can be grown~ as far north as the native
chestnut is found. North of the range of the native chestnut it«»
chances for making satisfactory growth are not xvvy pi-omising.

WOOD YIELD OF AILANTHUS

The wood yield of ailanthus ranks high among Pennsylvania trees.
The following table gives the yield ]>er acre that may be expected of
ailanthus stands of sprout origin, if handled properly:

Afjr
d/fdrs)

10

15

20

25

:{0

Hdiihi
(feet)
41.0
51 .2
57.:J
5!). 5
()0.:J

Breast -h iijli
Didrnrff't'
(inches)
4.8
7.2

n.i

10.:J

11.1

Yiitil
((•(nds)
15.0
26.5

:}6.8

4:5.2
50.0

At thirty years the yield of ailanthus trees of root sucker and
seedling origin is almost as high as that of trees of sprout origin,
but it is considerably less at the age of 10, 15, and 20 vears. After

INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE

26

TilK AlLANTHUS TrEE IN PENNSYLVANIA

oO years. It progresses rapidly and is also a big factor in reducing
shortly thereafter the stands begin to open up, for ailanthus is a very
intolerant tree. When the tree crowns reach full-size they begin
to break down, for the branches are very brittle. Strong Avinds and
snow pressure are responsible for many deformed crowns. The effect
of incomplete and broken crowns shows up immediately in a slowing
down of volume growth. Heart rot sets in soon after the tree reaches
30 years. It progresses rapidly and is also a big factor in reducing
volume growth. To get the best yield, ailanthus of sprout origin should
not be handled in rotation of more than 30 years, and trees of seed-
ling origin are at their best before 50 years.

THE WOOD OF AILANTHUS

In general appearance, the wood of ailanthus is similar to ash and
chestnut. It is moderately heavy, rather durable, medium in hardness,
i^omewhat difficult to split, and of a beautiful satin-like lustre. Oven-
dried ailanthus wood weighs
83.5

pounds

cubic foot.

Cutting Up a Big Ailanthus Tree for Fuel Wood.

The sapwood is wide and white to yellowish. The heartwood is grayish
orange. The annual growth rings are wide and distinct. The spring-
wood is very broad with numerous large vessels toward its inner margin
and few small ones scattered or grouped toward the outer part. The
medullary rays are distinctly visible to the nailed eye and have a satiny
lustre. The pith is large and brownish. Ailanthus wood does not
.shrink nor warp much in seasoning, has a beautiful grain, and takes
a fine polish. A panel veneered with ailanthus was exhibited at the St.
Louis Fair. It attracted considerable attention, and, upon request,
was sent to Europe. Ailanthus wood is used for fuel, occasionally in
cabinet work, and in a few instances in the manufacture of musical

w'

\

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

27

instruments. In Europe it is used in the manufacture of wooden
ware and also for charcoal. In southern Pennsylvania ailanthus poles
are used rather extensively as bean arbors.

AILANTHUS AS A PULPWOOD

The rapid rowth of ailanthus and the structure and physical prop-
erties of its wood suggested that it might be used for pulpwood. In
order to determine its merits as a pulpwood, one-half of a cord was
sent from Mont Alto, Pennsylvania, to the Forest Products Labora-
tory at Madison, Wisconsin. The material averaged 6 inches in dia-
meter and was taken from trees that ranged from 10 to 15 years
in age. The results of the experiment fully confirmed the belief that
it was a good pulpwood. This study showed that oven-dried wood
weighs 33.5 pounds per cubic foot. The corresponding density of
aspen is 23 pounds and spruce 24 pounds. A study of the wood fibre
of ailanthus showed a length of 1.2 millimeters, while that of aspen is
1 millimeter, which means that ailanthus pulp should be stronger than
aspen, other things being equal.

Rawlin and Staidl* write that ''The yield of pulp, over 1,600 pounds
per cord of 100 solid cubic feet of wood, is quite high and is due
to the comparatively high density of the wood. Compared with aspen,
which yields from a similar cord only 1,080 pounds of pulp, ailanthus
showed a considerable superiority. It also compares favorably with
aspen in the amount of chemical consumed in the digestion of unit
weight of wood and in the bleachability of the resulting pulp.* * * * *
The bleached soda pulp may be used in paper making as a substitute
for the corresponding pulp from aspen, and on account of its longer
fibre length, somewhat stronger paper may be expected. Both the
bleached and unbleached pulps absorb water very rapidly and may
find additional use in the manufacture of blotting paper. In view of
the increasing shortage of aspen, the production of pulp from rapidly
growing species is desirable. Ailanthus appears to be admirably suited
to cultivation as pulpwood and is capable of being grown throughout
a wide climatic range.''

Ailanthus pulpwood will probably be used to the greatest advantage
in the soda process, by which bleached pulps can be obtained suitable
for book, lithograph, and other papers in which softness and opacity
are requisites. There is a growing shortage of pulpwood and prob-
ably ailanthus will help satisfy the rapidly increasing demands. More
detailed technical information on the pulping value of ailanthus can
be had from the Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.

♦Rawlin. F. G. and Staidl. J. A. "The Pulping Value of Ailanthus." V. S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory.
Madison, Wisconsin.

26

Tm: Aii.ANTiirs Tree ix Pexnsylvania

.'!() yrni's. It ])ro<2r«'ssf's ra])i(lly and is also a h\(x i'actor iji rediiciiig
slioi-lly llici-caricr the stands bciiin to open ii]). tor ailantlius is a voiy
iiitolci'aiit 1i*ee. When tlic tree crowns rcacli luU-sizo tlioy beuin
1') ])i'('ak down, f'oi- llic l)i'ane]i('s arc very brittle. Strong" winds and
snow ])ressure are responsible for many deformed eroAvns. Tlie effect
of incomplete and bi'oken crf>wns shows np immediately in a slowinj^;
down of volume ♦rroAvtli. Ileai't i*ot sets h\ soon after tlie tree reaches
'SO years, it pro<z'resses i-a])idly and is also a bi^r factor in reducing
volume growth. To '•'ct the best yi<'ld. ailanthus of sprout oriji'in should
not be handled in rotation of moi-e than 'M) vears, and trees of seed-
lin<i' orijiin are at their best before 50 vears.

THE AVOOJ) UF AILAXTIR'S

In general a|>peai'ance. the wood of ailanthus is similar to ash and
ehestiuit. Jt is modei-ately heavy, rather durable, medium in hardness,
yomewlud difficult to split, and of a beautiful satin-like lustre. Oven-
dried ailanthus wood weight-
cubic foot.

('iittiiij«' Tp a Rift .Ailaiitliiis Tree for Fuel AVood.

The sapwood is wide and white to yellowish. The heartwood is grayish
orange. The anniuil growth rings are wide and distinct. The spi-ing-
"wood is very broad with numerous large vessels toward its inner nuirgin
and few small ones scattered or grouped toward the outer part. The
medullary rays are distinctly visible to the naked eye and have a satiny
lustre. The ])ith is lai-ge and brownish. Ailanthus wood does not
.shrink nor wai'p much in seasoning", has a beautiful grain, and takes
a fine polish. A ])anel veneered with ailanthus was exhibited at the 8t.
Louis Fair. It attracted considerable attention, and, upon request,
-was sent to Europe. Ailanthus wood is used for fuel, occasionally in
cabinet work, and in a few instances in the manufacture of musical

The Ailanthus Tree ix Pexxsylvaxia

27

instruments. Tn Kui-ope it is used in the nunuifacture of wooden
ware and also foi- charcoal. In southern Pennsylvania ailanthus poles
are used rather extensively as bean arbors.

AILAXTIirS AS A PFLPWOOD

The rapid rowth of ailanthus and the structure and ])hysical prop-
erties of its wood sugg-ested that it mig'ht be used for ])ulpwood. In
order to determine its merits as a pulpwood, one-half of a cord was
sent from Mont Alto, Pennsylvania, to the Forest Products Labora-
tory at Madison, Wisconsin. The material averaged 6 inches in dia-
meter and Avas taken from trees that ranged from 10 to 15 years
in age. The results of the ex])erinmnt fully confirmed the belief that
it was a good pulpwood. This study showed that oven-dried wood
weighs 33.5 pounds per cubic foot. The corresponding density of
aspen is 23 pounds and spruce 24 pounds. A study of the wood fibre
of ailanthus showed a length of 1.2 millimeters, while that of aspen is
1 millimeter, which means that ailanthus ])ulp shoidd be stronger than
aspen, other things being equal.

Rawlin and Staidl* write that '^The yield of ])ulp, over 1,600 pounds
per cord of 100 solid cubic feet of wood, is quite high and is due
to the com|)aratively high density of the wood. Comj^ared with aspen,
which yiidds from a similar cord only 1,080 i)ounds of i)ulp, ailanthus
showed a considerable suix^rioi-ity. It also com|)ares favorably with
aspen in the amount of chemical consumed in the digestion of unit
weight of wood and in the bleachability of the resulting pulp.* * * * *
The bleached soda pulp mny be used in paper nuddng as a substitute
for the corresponding pulp from aspen, and on account of its longer
fibre length, somewhat stronger paper nuiy be expected. P>otli the
bleached and unbleached pulps absorb water very ra])idly and may
find additional use in the manufacture of blotting paper. In view of
the increasing shortage of aspen, the production of pidp from rapidly
growing species is desirable. Ailanthus appears to be admirably suited
to cultivation as pulpwood and is capable of being grown throughout
a wide climatic range. '^

Ailanthus ludpwood will i)robably be used to the greatest advantage
in the soda process, by which bleached pulps can be obtained suitable
for book, lithograph, and other ])apers in which softness and opacity
are requisites. There is a growing shortage of pulpwood an<l ])rob-
ably ailanthus will hel]) satisfy the rapidly increasing demands. More
detailed technical information on the pulping value of ailanthus can
be had from the Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.

*n.'nvli... F. G. and Staidl. J. A. "The Pulphis? Value of Ailantlnis." V »
Depjirtniont of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory,
Ma<lison, Wiscousin.

INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE

28

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

SEEDING AND PLANTING EXPERIMENTS

To know more about the propagation and growth of ailanthus a
number of seeding and planting experiments have been established in
Pennsylvania. On April 28, 1924, a small quantity of seed was col-
lected near Mont Alto. During the first week of June this seed was
planted in the forest tree nursery at the State Forest School, Mont Alto.
In spite of the late seed collection, the late seed sowing, no artificial
watering, and keen root competition with black locust trees of pole
size, the seedlings grew to an average height of 7 inches during the
first year. Nursery experiments show that the ailanthus is easy to
grow. If planted early and watered well, one year old seedlings should
reach an average height of 18 to 24 inches. Reports from China show
that at the end of one year's grow^th seedlings averaged 30 inches in
height. Because of its rapid growth and its extreme intolerance, not
more than 2,000 seedlings can be produced per bed of 100 square feet.

In the spring of 1925, 1,000 1-year old ailanthus seedlings, raised
in the ]\Iont Alto nursery, were shipi)ed to the Bayless Corporation of
Austin, Pennsylvania. They were ])lanted the latter part of A])ril
in rich loam soil on the northern border of the borough of Austin,
Potter county. The site had a southeastern exposure and was covered
with a heavy growth of bracken fern. The trees were spaced 4x4 feet.
An examination of this plantation in October, 1925, showed an estab-
lishment of 90% of the trees, which averaged 2 feet in height at the
end of their first year in the plantation.

A recent survey of the forest lands of the State shows extensive
stretches of barren forest land in the coal and coke fields of western
Pennsylvania. For a number of years these vast reaches of idle land
have given nuich concern to foresters. Field studies have shown that
few of our native trees can endure the unfavorable climatic condi-
tions of this industrial region. Ailanthus has also demonstrated that
it will grow in many places in si)ite of smoke, noxious gases, sterile
soil, and other unfavorable growth conditions.

To ascertain if ailanthus will reclothe the bare, hills of western
Pennsylvania, a number of experiments were established by the Penn-
sylvania Department of Forests and Waters in the vicinity of Johns-
town, Cambria county, in the fall of 1925. Ten thousand ailanthus
seeds of the 1924 crop and 70,000 seeds of the 1925 crop were used in
this experiment. Three experimental plots were located on a bare
mountain top at an altitude of 1700 feet. In one plot, 1924 seed
was broadcasted and in the other two ])lots, 1925 seed was used. In
one of the latter ])lots the seed was broadcasted, in the other it was
placed in seed spots. Three similar ])lots were located at about the
middle of the mountain at an elevation of 1500 feet, and three

The Ailanthus Tree in Pennsylvania

29

additional plots were located at the base of the mountain at an eleva-
tion of 1300 feet. These three series of plots, located at different
elevations and under a wide range of soil moisture conditions, should
give some very conclusive results in a few years.

In order to ascertain the resistance of ailanthus to smoke and
gases emitted so generally and so freely from coke ovens, three more
plots were established at distances of 300, 500, and 1,000 feet respec-
tively from a series of ovens. In a few years this experiment should
show how ailanthus will grow about the coke ovens of the bituminous
region.

For years trees have been trying to establish themselves on the
hillsides and hilltops of the coke and coal fields of western Pennsyl-
vania. It is difficult to find more unfavorable climatic conditions for
tree growth than here. It remains to be seen if ailanthus will thrive
under these unfavorable conditions. If it will, then it will be able to
do that at which other trees have failed. If it will reclothe these
barren hills of Pennsylvania and produce a wood suitable for the
manufacture of pulp and for other important industrial uses, these
experiments will have been worth while. If the conclusions will not
be favorable to the ailanthus, then we will at least know that we must
look elsewhere for a tree that can thrive under these unfavorable
growth conditions.

THE FUTURE OF AILANTHUS

What the future of ailanthus in Pennsylvania will be is difficult to
predict. It is known, however, that this tree has been extending its
range rapidly. Each year it occupies more ground, and within its
established range it is becoming more common. Extensive field studies
?how that no other tree competes so aggressively with the native tree
growth. In many places it has developed an obvious advantage over
the native trees. Unless some major use is found for its wood, it will
become a serious forest weed. If such a use is found it will be possible
to take advantage of its rapid growth and vigorous reproduction.
Preliminary investigations show that it has merit as a pulpwood. Fur-
ther studies will determine how extensively it can be used in the
raanufacture of pulp and paper, and where good wood yields can
be expected. The results of these studies will determine its future
rating as a forest tree in Pennsylvania.

Secretary Charles E. Dorworth

Foresters' Conference

Senate Caucus Room, Capitol
harrisburg, pa.

February 5 and 6, 1929

Bulletin 39

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

department of forests and waters

Charles E. Dorworth, Secreta/ry
Joseph S. Illick, Deputy Secreta/ry and State Forester

Foresters' Conference

Secretary Charles E. Dorworth

Senate Caucus Room, Capitol

HARRISBURG, PA.

February 5 and 6, 1929

Bulletin 39

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS AND WATERS

CiiARLKS E. Dorworth, Secretary
Joseph S. Illick, Deputy Secretary and State Forester

INTENTIONAL SECOND EXPOSURE

STATE FOREST COMMISSION

Charles E. Dor worth, Chairman
Edward Bailey
Henry W. Shoemaker
Mary Flinn Lawrence
N. P. Wheeler, Jr.

FOREWORD

I know of no group of men in any branch of service who have
been afforded opportunity for greater inspiration along practical,
helpful lines than this Foresters' Conference. The many con-
structive ideas advanced, with deserved praise for accomplish-
ments of the last two years, place upon you Foresters an obliga-
tion to achieve still greater progress for forestry during the com-
ing biennium. The pride of the Commonwealth, the hopes of the
people who comprise the Commonwealth, for the greater advance-
ment of forestry, constitute a command to you to meet this tre-
mendous obligation. With a true understanding of what you
have done, and what you can do, I face the future with you,
willingly and confidently, knowing that you may be depended
upon to attain the goal charted for you. Strenuous as have been
the last two years, there will be no let-down, for a program of
still greater progressive activity is ahead of us. Upon yoa as
a group, and upon each of you, individually, rests the success of
this program which will mark the greatest advancement in for-
estry in all the proud history of Pennsylvania.

Charles E. Dorworth

PROGRAM

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY FIFTH

Morning Session — 9:30 O'clock

Opening Address Secretary Charles E. Dorworth

Address Governor John S. Fisher

Greetings Members Pennsylvania State Forest Commission

Pennsylvania's Forestry Program State Forester Joseph S. Illick

Greetings: —

Representatives of Pennsylvania Forestry Association, Amer-
ican Forestry Association, American Tree Association, and
Society American Foresters.

Afternoon Session — 1:30 O'clock

Construction and Maintenance of Serviceable Forest Roads R. H. Vought

State Forest Roads and Trails T, Roy Morton

Recreational Opportunities in the State Forests John R. Williams

The Development of a State Forest Camp Site Program R. W. Stadden

State Forest Signs Charles E. Baer

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY SIXTH

Morning Session — 9:30 O'clock

Special Forest Studies Dr. E. A. Ziegler

Major Forest Protection Problems George H. Wirt

Pennsylvania's Forest Observation Tower System H. E. Clepper

Aerial Forest Surveys C. P. Wilber, State Forester of New Jersey

Afternoon Session — 1:30 O'clock

A Practical Reforestation Program h. E. Elliott

Forest Demonstration Areas Paul H. Mulford

Marking State Forest Boundary Lines T. C. Harbeson

Auditing and Accounting Procedure w. E. Montgomery

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION

OPENING ADDRESS

Secretary Charles E. Dorworth

THIS is a conference unique in the history of the Department of
Forests and Waters. It is a step onward in the efforts and
aims of our Department to further improve and expand the
efficiency and opportunities of our field personnel. The field force,
without even the slightest reflection upon our Department officers,
for whom I have the highest regard and very deep affection, does
come very close to my heart. And that may be due to the fact
that I grew up with men who did things in the woods. I think
I acquired a deep understanding of their makeup and of their
needs, and perhaps, putting it on the broadest human plane pos-
sible, I think I acquired a real understanding of how much the
man in the field not only needs but depends upon those in the
Department to think of him, help him when he may lack the
courage or perhaps is too modest to ask for things that he knows
he needs.

Our group conferences of Forest Rane-ers dnrino- flip na«f voq*-
were framed with the thought of improving or expanding their
efficiency by bringing them together for an interchange of ideas,
that one might learn from another what each happened to be
doing and how he was doing it, and see for themselves what is
being done in the other districts as well as their own.

This conference is based upon our hope that it will lead to a
greater inspiration, and a greater desire for service that will
contribute in a substantial way to the success of a most substan-
tial program of activity for the coming two years. The program
that we are mapping out is dependent to a great extent upon what
support we receive from the Governor and the Legislature now
in session. It has been demonstrated to us by Governor Fisher
that he is whole-heartedly back of the Forestry Department and
the forestry program of our State. The last Legislature demon-
strated the same deep interest and confidence. I feel justified in
making the statement to you field men here today that I am
entirely confident that the present Legislature has seen sufficient
of what our Department has done with the funds made available
two years ago, that it will be entirely willing to continue coopera-
tion with us on the very broadest scale that available funds will
permit. I know that we will have the same sincere, enthusiastic

(5)

6 1^'oRESTERs' Conference

support of Governor Fisher, and it is a great pleasure to me, as
1 know it is to you, that Governor Fisher is going to break into
his busy program this morning to afford us a few minutes as a
tribute. And I want you men to get fixed indeUbly in your minds
that he is coming here as a tribute to you for what you have done
in the last two years, and as an inspiration to you to continue
that splendid, progressive activity during the coming two years.

I am particularly delighted that we have here today some of
the members of the Legislature who are destined to play a vital
part in the program that means so much to our Department. I
want to express to Senator Gelder and to Mr. Williams, the Chair-
men of the Senate and House Committees on Forestry respectively,
my personal appreciation, and the appreciation of our field per-
sonnel; and to other members of the Senate and House who are
here I want to convey that same thought, that same note of ap-
preciation. Your presence here means a great deal to our men.
To them it means first that you are not only interested, but in an
official capacity you are placing the finger of responsibility upon
our men who are spending in their work the money that you are
aiding to make possible.

I want to express also my very deep appreciation to the mem-
bers of the State Forest Com.m.ission.

This concludes my word of welcome to you. I am looking for-
ward, with the same anticipation that each one of you is looking
forward, to the good that our sessions will do. There isn't a
man here but what can profit from the sessions, and I am afraid
that if there is one here too wise to learn, he is in the wrong
department.

Chairman Dorworth: Gentlemen of the Conference: We
are entitled to a blue ribbon. The Governor, who has been with
us one hundred per cent, demonstrated that again a moment or
two ago when he broke away from a roomful of people waiting
to see him, to keep his promise to come here today and by his
appearance and a word of greeting testify, as I said this morning
he would do, his appreciation of your activities in the past two
years, and to give you still greater inspiration for your activities
in the coming two years.

It is a privilege and an honor to all of us that we have this
opportunity, and may I present His Excellency, the Governor of
the Commonwealth, Governor Fisher! (Applause).

Governor's Address

ADDRESS

By Governor John S. Fisher

MR. Secretary and Gentlemen of the Conference: I am not
sure that I had any advance information and certainly no
premonition that I was expected to appear before you this
morning, until this diligent Secretary of Forests and Waters came
and dragged me out from the midst of the waiting throng that
usually is found outside the Governor's door. I tried to plead
off, and offered in extenuation a physical infirmity which has
been attacking me in that point of my anatomy that is underneath
my vest, but even a humanitarian plea of that kind didn't touch
his heart. He said I had to come down here and meet the
members of this Conference!

Under the circumstances, of course, I haven't any particular
message to deliver to you. I want to express my satisfaction
that you have gathered here in this way, that you have come
from all the various fields of your activities to compare notes, to
gather inspiration, and to take back to your work the benefits of
this interchange of ideas and to carrv with von no dnnhf a
fuller appreciation of the great work of reforestation that is going
on in Pennsylvania.

Not so long ago we had, among other visits from our neighbor-
ing states, a call from a delegation of oflnicials and members of the
Legislature of Minnesota. Well within my memory the North-
west was associated with forestry and wild life. I can well recall
when many of the people from the headwaters of the Susquehanna
seeking new fields, and seeing the exhaustion of their forests,
left for the Northwest. Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin was
then the great field of endeavor to which they looked forward.
So it was rather strange to me that we should have from that
very region a committee, coming to Pennsylvania to find how
we were remaking the forests that had been denuded in the years
gone by. They went around and visited, I suppose, some of
your fields of activity. I know they were here with the Secretary.
I know they called on me after they had made some examination
of the work in Pennsylvania, and expressed their surprise and
gratification at the remarkable progress that was being made here.

That kind of testimony, coming from our neighboring states
who are interested in this subject, is very pleasing to us. You are
the working force entrusted with the duty of carrying forward

8

Foresters' Conference

this important work. I suppose you, like myself, lose yourself
in amazement when you wonder why the fathers and the grand-
fathers and the great-grandfathers, who slaughtered the forests
of Pennsylvania, hadn't some forethought about the restitution of
these trees, but they hadn't. And I can remember up in Clear-
field county, reaching into Indiana and Cambria and over into
Jefferson, where they had those remarkable forests a generation
or two ago, that when they cut over a tract they boasted that
they ''didn't leave a fishing pole." That was a favorite expression
to show the thoroughness of the job. If they had just left a few
of those magnificent monarchs of the forest, one of which Col.
Shoemaker has named for me and thereby done me a great
honor— I want to see that great tree up there— if they had just
left a few of those scattered over the mountain sides there would
have been much less of a problem than that with which we have
to deal today.

I happened to be a member of the Senate in 1901 when the
question of organizing a Department of the Government for for-
estry purposes came before the Legislature. Those who had part
in that contest will never forget it— it was hot. Somehow our
city friends particularly could not catch the vision of the work
that was proposed to be done, and particularly was that true of
those who followed the banner of reform. They said that the
purpose of setting up a Forestry Department was to provide
shelter for a lot of bum politicians who were out of a job.
(Laughter) . You remember that, some of you, and the bitterness
of the fight. And yet it went forward, and it wasn't long until
those who had been loudest in denunciation were strongest in
support of the work. It has not been a "refuge for bum poli-
ticians." After all our job is not a political job; it is an
mdus trial job, and we must go at it as we go at any real task,
with our coats off and our sleeves up.

The acquisition of this great forestry domain we have in Penn-
sylvania was a splendid and noble thing. I shan't consume your
time talking about the men who were responsible for the further-
ance of that work. You recall who they were, the men who stood
at the head of the Department, those who stood with them here,
those who studied this great problem and then took practical
means to recover for the State acreage that was available for
reforestation. But it has been a great achievement, and those
who did it, while they may be forgotten, have left behind them a
monument, if such a thing can be so called, that will stand to
their credit in generations to come.

Governor's Address 9

And we want now to pick up the things that they have so
well advanced; we want to go forward in this great work. Per-
haps the War was responsible, perhaps other influence?] were at
work, that caused an intermission in the purchase of forest lands,
and in the reproduction of forestry growths, but we have been
enabled to renew that work in the two years that have just
closed, and you have had part and parcel in the job.

When we started in I didn't know what a half million dollars
would do, but I did meet the challenge of the sportsmen of the
State who said to me, "If you give a half million for new pur-
chases, we will contribute a dollar more for each hunter's license
and turn that over for the purchase of game preserves." Well,
we went to work, and the results are familiar to you all. I think
between the two departments we have acquired something like
260,000 acres, nearly all within a single year. A half million
dollars is a lot of money when we think of it in an individual way,
but when we spread it over 160,000 acres which were purchased
largely under the guidance and inspiration of our friend who sits
over there, "Irv" Gleason from Williamsport, and who has a
personal, speaking acquaintance, I think, with every worth while
tree in the Allegheny Mountains, we did a big thing with that

mOnPV ATlH WP frmnrl fVjqf if QTvirviTr»f r.rl 4-r^ o fv%.<-.n4- ^^^1 Yv-- — - i-U-_

we had really anticipated.

Now there are two factors that enter into this thing of forestry
development, the first is the available money, and the second is
the intelligence, industry and force that you men put back of
the work. It is a business man's job.

I want to .compliment you on the good record you have made in
renewing this work. For the coming two years I have recom-
mended to the Legislature another million dollars to be expended—

that is just twice what we have had in the past biemiium for

forest land purchase. And with the same ability demonstrated by
those in charge, we ought to acquire more than 300,000 acres of
land, and this exclusive of what will be done by the fees arising
from the hunters' licenses. I am looking for a combined record
of a half million acres to be added to the forest reserves and to
the hunters' game refuges in this biennium. I should be dis-
appointed if we failed to achieve that aim.

Now you see I have talked a lot more than I had expected.
It is always pleasing to me to meet with those in the employ of
the State upon whom we must rely for results. I wish it were
possible for me to form more intimate personal contacts with the

10

Foresters' Conference

great army of State employes, but we are subject to physical
limitations. I want to assure you that it is really a privilege
for me to look into your faces this morning, to welcome you
here, to compliment you on your good work, and to express to
you the hope that you will continue in the same diligent course
that you have followed in the past, so that the accomplishments
of the Forestry Department will be an achievement of which the
State and the people of the State will feel proud. (The members
arose and applauded.)

Members State Forest Commission

11

ADDRESS

By Mr. Edward Bailey

Member, Pennsylvania State Forest Commission

IT IS A very great pleasure to me that I am able to be here this
morning. It is also a pleasure to stand here and look you all
in the faces.
The one thought that I want to suggest to you today is a vision,
and then cooperation. As far as I have seen the work of the
forest commission during the years that I have been connected
with it, everybody has had a vision. They have pictured what
Pennsylvania could do in its forestry work, for the inhabitants
of Pennsylvania and for those who are coming after us. That
can't be done, as I say, without vision, without cooperation — and
I congratulate the Legislature on the spirit they showed two
years ago and on what is apparently going to be given to the
Forest Commission and the Department this year. I feel sure
that the money will be well spent. I am sure it will do the present
generation good and that the generations to come will feel grateful
for the work which is being done. (Applause.)

ADDRESS

By Col. Henry W. Shoemaker

Member, Pennsylvania State Forest Commission

1 THANK you for your very kind welcome. I was joked at
considerably when I came in because, having come back from
nearly a three months' incapacitation, they said I looked
better than before I v/ent away. So I said I would have to have
an annual illness, and Mr. Donvorth's words quite overwhelmed
me.

During the past week I had a httle outing in the mountains
to get freshened up for this two-day conference. To my mind
the great slogan for this coming year should be to go after the
forest fires even stronger than ever before. They are being kept
down, but the trouble is that we trust too much to the god of
rains and we want to be prepared for the fact that every season
may be a dry season, and every season we are going to make the
acreage and the volume less, with fewer fires. That is the only
way to conquer this forestry problem. That, as Mr. Bailey said,
is the vision, the day when forestry will be carried on and prac-

12

Foresters' Conference

Pennsylvania's Forestry Program

13

ticed like any other business, subject only to minimum fire risks
like in any other industrial enterprise, and not handled in a way
so that if it rains we will have a good reason, and if it doesn't
we may have a bad season.

But we know that all you valiant young men, with your
shoulders to the wheel and the fine inspiration of leadership, with
the Governor's backing and the Legislature's cooperation, and
Secretary Dorworth, Mr. Bailey and Dr. Illick, and all the good
l)eople who are cheering you on, will follow up in 1929 and 1930
and make these four years the greatest four years in Pennsyl-
vania forestry. I thank you. (Applause.)

PENNSYLVANIA'S FORESTRY PROGRAM

By State Forester Joseph S. Illick

PENNSYLVANIA forestry is the result of a half century of
earnest endeavor and unselfish service. It became an active
force in 1877, when the late Doctor Joseph T. Rothrock—
Father of Forestry in Pennsylvania— began his historic Michaux
lectures in forestry. From a small and strugghng beginning it
has developed into one of the Commonwealth's major enterprises.
As Pennsylvania forestry moves forward today, it displays a
background of constructive achievements and a foreground of
promising possibilities. Much could be truly said about achieve-
ments m Pennsylvania forestry, but at this conference, I purpose
to talk of the future rather than of the past, and to discuss a
number of major projects essential to a broad and purposeful
forestry program for Pennsylvania.

THREE PERIODS OF FOREST LAND PURCHASE WORK

The most active project in Pennsylvania forestry today is the
purchase of additional forest land for State forest purp^oses
Thirty-one years ago (June 13, 1898), Pennsylvania purchased
her first forest land. A review of Pennsylvania's forest land
purchase work during the past 31 years reveals three important
development periods:

Period I

Period II

Period III

(1898-1921) Continuous acquisition of forest land
for State forest purposes.

(1921-1927) Complete suspension of State forest
land purchase work.

(1927- ) Active revival of State forest land
purchase program.

During the 24 years of Period I (1898-1921), funds were avail-
able regularly for the purchase of State forest lands. As a result
of this uninterrupted purchase program, Pennsylvania acquired
1,133,050 acres at a total cost of $2,561,224.31, or at an average
price of $2.26 an acre.

During Period II (1921-1927), there was a complete suspension
of forest land purchase work, excepting the completion of a few
purchases covered by contracts made under the appropriation
of 1919. It is noteworthy, however, that the legislature of 1921

14

Foresters' Conference

Pennsylvania's Forestry Program

15

appropriated $500,000 for the purchase of additional State forest
land, but this item was vetoed by the Governor upon the recom-
mendation of the Commissioner of Forestry.

An appropriation of $500,000, made by the Legislature of 1927,
and approved in full by Governor John S. Fisher, made possible
an active and substantial revival of the forest land purchase
program. When this appropriation became available, v^^ritten sale
offers of 650,000 acres of forest land were on file with the Depart-
ment of Forests and Waters. The purchase work had not pro-
gressed far before it became evident that available funds would
purchase less than one-fourth of the area offered.

Acting in accordance with the sound forest land purchase policy
formulated by the State Forest Commission, 65 tracts aggregating
almost 160,000 acres have been purchased at an average price of
$2.81 an acre. In my opinion, the purchase of these 65 tracts of
carefully selected forest land, at a cost considerably below the
lowest estimates available, at the beginning of the purchase work,
is the most outstanding achievement in Pennsylvania forestry in
recent years.

The complete discontinuance of purchase work for a period of
six years following 1921, made it necessary to build up anew a
forest land purchase organization, when the $500,000 appropria-
tion in 1927, became available. A thoroughly-trained and efficient
forest land purchase organization has now been developed, and is
ready to function to whatever extent funds will be made available.
I am confident that during the next two years, there will be in
operation the most extensive forest land purchase program ever
undertaken in Pennsylvania. To help reahze this hope, I want
to give my personal assurance, as State Forester, that whatever
funds become available will be expended in a business-like way
for the purchase of carefully selected tracts of forest land suitable
for State forest purposes. In considering this important forest
land purchase program, it is important that we understand that
the funds used for this purpose must not be classed as an oper-
ating expense, but rather should be considered as a sound invest-
ment for the people of Pennsylvania.

FOREST PROTECTION— A VITAL PROBLEM

No forestry program is complete without a consideration of
the most serious enemies of the forest. Forest protection con-
tinues to be the most vital problem in Pennsylvania. The com-
plete control of forest fires is a pre-requisite to successful forest
management. In recent years substantial progress has been

made in formulating and putting into operation plans for practical
forest protection. Thirty years ago no organized attempt was
made to control forest fires in Pennsylvania. As late as 1913 less
than one-half of the forest fires were reported. Now, with a
State-wide system of forest protection in effect, more than 98
percent of all forest fires are reported promptly, and fire-fighting
crews are dispatched immediately to extinguish them.

The reduction in the average size of forest fires in Pennsylvania
shows how effective the work of this State-wide fire-fighting or-
ganization really is. In 1913, the average size of forest fires in
Pennsylvania was 412 acres. Five years later (1918), the aver-
age size had been reduced to 140 acres. By 1923, the average
size of fires had shrunk still farther to 105 acres. Last year
(1928), it was reduced to 45.1 acres.

Notwithstanding this gratifying achievement, forest fires are
still the most serious problem in Pennsylvania forestry. The
latest available figures show that 2,456 forest fires occurred in
Pennsylvania during 1928. They burned over 110,872 acres, and
their estimated damage is placed at $360,000. The Common-
wealth's share of the cost of extinguishing these fires was $103,-
305.60. A general analysis of these figures shows an average
daily damage of almost $1,000, and the Commonwealth's share of
the cost of extinguishing them averaged almost $300 for each
day of the year. No system of forest management can flourish
in Pennsylvania so long as forest fire damage and the cost of
extinguishing forest fires remain at the present high level.

No consideration of Pennsylvania forestry is complete that does
not stress the need of a more complete control of forest fires.
But in placing greater stress on forest fire problems and prac-
tices, we must not overlook the urgent need of developing a
better understanding of other forest foes, and of devising more
effective means of controlling them, particularly in the case of
insects and fungi. The listing of a few of the many destructive
tree diseases and insects, such as chestnut blight, maple wilt,
larch canker, woodgate rust, white pine blister rust, damping-off
disease, white pine weevil, locust borer, golden oak scale and
hickory girdler, is sufficient to illustrate the importance of pro-
moting studies that will bring about a better understanding of
their life histories and result in a practical control measure. We
cannot hope to move forward with successful forest practices
until better and more practical fungous and insect control
measures are worked out.

16

Foresters' Conference

URGENT NEED FOR MORE FOREST ROADS

Another major project in Pennsylvania's forestry program is
the development of a carefully-constructed and well-coordinated
system of forest roads. The more I think about Pennsylvania
forestry, the stronger becomes my conviction that the key to
the successful handling of the State forests is an adequate and
well-coordinated system of serviceable forest roads.

During each of the last two years $100,000 was expended from
the general appropriation to the Department for road and trail
work within the State forests. This was about $80,000 a year
more than was used for this purpose during each of the two
preceding years, when only $22,600 was spent on more than
2,000 miles of roads and almost 3,000 miles of trails. During
each of the last two years, an additional $100,000 was expended
by the State Highway Department on the construction and im-
provement of important roads within the State forests.

The advantages of this enlarged forest road building program
are already being enjoyed by the thousands of people who an-
nually use the State forests. Year after year we shall see better-
protected and better cared-for forests because of these new and
better forest roads.

Despite this increase in road building the present mileage of
roads within the State forests of Pennsylvania is entirely in-
adequate. There are vast blocks of land within the State forests
upon which there is not a single mile of serviceable road. On
the 160,000 acres purchased during the present biennium, and on
practically all forest land now available for purchase, only poor
and widely-scattered roads can be found.

Not less than 5,000 miles of serviceable roads are required to
bring the present State forests (1,290,000 acres) under efficient
management. This does not provide for the road requirements
of additional forest land purchases. At first thought this mile-
age may seen large, but the merits of this figure become obvious
when we consider that several hundred years of European for-
estry practice, under conditions similar to those that exist in
Pennsylvania, have shown that good forestry practice requires
not less than one mile of road for every 250 acres of forest land ;
and under intensive management one mile of road is needed for
every 100 acres.

During the past year an exhaustive survey and an intensive
study of State forest roads was undertaken. This work has now
progressed far enough to enable us to list the most urgent pro-

Pfnnsylvania's Forestry Program

17

jects, and to formulate sound practices for road construction and
maintenance. The Department's forest road building personnel,
in charge of a competent engineer, stands ready to go forward
with as comprehensive a program as appropriated funds will
permit. The immediate and far-reaching advantages of forest
roads, and the competent organization now available to build
them, truly justify a liberal appropriation. Without forest roads
and trails, only the crudest kind of forest management is possible.
The urgent need is not for short stretches of detached road, but
for a carefully coordinated system of properly-located, well-
graded, adequately-drained and carefully-constructed forest roads.
With such road systems available in the State forests of Penn-
sylvania, the foundation would be laid for an efficient handling of
the Commonwealth's forest investment.

RAPID GROWTH OF FOREST TREE PLANTING

Making and keeping forest land productive is the major require-
ment of good forestry. As a result of destructive lumbering and
repeated forest fires, enormous areas of unproductive forest land
formerly covered the hills and dotted the valleys of Pennsylvania.
During recent years, however, forest protection supplemented by
tree planting has restored the forest on a considerable acreage
01 both ;state-owned and privately-owned land. Forest tree plant-
ing began in the State forests in 1898. In 1910 the Common-
wealth began the distribution of forest tree planting stock to
private planters, on the most liberal terms offered by any Com-
monwealth. To date 36,257,000 trees have been planted in the
State forests, and more than 75,000,000 have been distributed to
private planters.

Probably no project in Pennsylvania forestry has moved for-
ward with greater approval than forest tree planting. There are
now scattered throughout the State many successful forest tree
plantations. They serve as helpful object lessons in practical
forestry.

It appears, however, that we have concentrated too much on
pushing the tree planting movement forward, and have not given
enough attention to the correction of weaknesses and improper
practices. During 1928 a State-wide survey of private planta-
tions, started in a small way about five years ago, was pushed
forward on a substantial basis. It covered 961 selected planta-
tions in 29 different counties, and showed an appalling percentage
of poor plantations. Among the principal causes responsible for
these poor plantations are: poor planting stock, poor selection

18

Foresters' Conference

of trees for planting sites, careless planting, improper planting
methods, grazing on planted areas, and lack of adequate and
competent supervision.

It is imperative that these unfavorable factors be corrected,
even if the net result may be the planting of fewer trees. The
goal of Pennsylvania's reforestation program is no longer to plant
a large number of trees, but to establish and maintain successful
plantations of quality trees. To achieve this end, quality planting
stock must be produced, trees adapted to specific sites must be
planted thereon, proper planting methods must be used, and last
but by no means least, adequate and competent supervision must
be provided at all times.

This supervision is required, not only for the trees planted in
the State forests, but also for those distributed to private plant-
ers. The annual planting of 12,000,000 trees by private forest
tree planters of Pennsylvania means an annual investment in cost
of planting stock and planting expenses of about $200,000. When
a tree-planting investment implies an expenditure of $200,000, it
justifies close and competent supervision. Under no circumstances
is it good business to permit planted trees to become orphan trees.

Pennsylvania's reforestation program likewise calls for the
planting of more trees in the State forests, than have been set out
in recent years. From 1910 to 1919 tho nnmhrn- o^ U-oo^ .^1o>.+^h
annually in the State forests ranged from 1,000,000 to more than
6,000,000 (1918). From 1920 to 1926, the number planted ranged
from 133,221 to 560,525. In 1927, and 1928, there were set out
559,635 and 925,649 respectively. Present plans call for the
planting of not less than 1,000,000 trees annually in the State-
owned forest land. This increase in planting is brought about in
part by the open and unproductive areas in some of the land
recently purchased. Before going forward with the several large-
size planting operations in areas upon which planting is an abso-
lute need, it will.be necessary first to solve the deer-damage
problem.

IMPROVING THE COMPOSITION OF FORESTS

Another reforestation problem that requires serious considera-
tion is the improvement of the composition of the existing forest
growth. For every acre in the State forests of Pennsylvania that
requires planting— a recent survey shows the number to be 33,357
acres— there are almost 40 acres that do not require general
planting; but in practically all of the areas that do not require
general planting there occurs a superabundance of inferior trees

We have reached the place in Pennsylvania forestry where we

Pennsylvania's Forestry Program

19

must give more consideration to the improvement of the composi-
tion of the forest. • In the early stages of the development of
forest stands, this can be accomplished by weeding operations or
by weeding supplemented by planting. If worthless and inferior
stands are permitted to develop, they will result in an early and
worthless maturity. The toleration of such conditions is not good
forestry. Without subtracting anything from the planting pro-
gram, we should now begin to undertake forest improvement
work in natural growth, with the object of developing mixed
stands of quality trees. In some cases this will require supple-
mentary planting. Irrespective of specific requirements, such a
program will result in producing full crops of quality trees, and
this is the main objective of good forestry.

RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ON THE STATE FORESTS

Three years before the first acre of State forest land was pur-
chased, and six years before the Department of Forestry, now the
Department of Forests and Waters was created, the use of forest
land for recreational purposes was advocated by those favoring
the creation of State forests.

Thirty years of practical experience in handling the State for-
ests of Pennsylvania, and the study of recreational developments
in other states and countries, have shown us that it is best to
develop the recreational facilities of our own forests along varied
lines. Accordingly the recreational projects in the State forests
of Pennsylvania have been classified as State Forest Monuments,
Special Scenic Drives and Views, State Forest Parks, State Forest
Camps, and State Forest Camp Sites.

During 1928, the 1,945 leased camp sites in the State forests
brought in an income of $17,717.42. The estimated total cost
of the buildings erected on these 1,945 leased camp sites is ap-
proximately $2,000,000. This substantial investment is positive
proof of the confidence the lessees have in the stability of Penn-
sylvania's State forest camp site policy.

The outdoor play places and life-saving stations maintained in *
the State forests are a great asset, not only to the people of our
Commonwealth, but also to thousands of tourists who come to
Penn's Wood. Pennsylvania's forestry program calls for the en-
largement and improvement of these public recreational oppor-
tunities. We cannot afford to delay this development, for the
need is urgent and the benefits derived therefrom are inestimable.

EDUCATION IN FORESTRY MUST CONTINUE

Education in forestry is a continuous requirement. No forestry
program is complete that does not have a place for educational

20

Foresters^ Conference

efforts. However, with each forward step in forestry a change
in emphasis becomes necessary. To facihtate a better considera-
tion of this subject, I will divide it into the three major classifica-
tions, namely, Popular Education, Practical Education, and Special
Studies or Technical Education.

In the early days of forestry, popular education or the instruc-
tion of the public, is the prime requirement. After forestry is
well-established, it is no longer necessary to stress the appeal
program. In Pennsylvania the time is at hand to shift emphasis
from general acceptance appeals to practical demonstrations to
forest land owners. To point out the need for forestry is no
longer enough. What is wanted now are illustrative examples of
good forest practices.

DEMONSTRATING FOREST PRACTICES

The important thing to do is to get forestry into the ground.
To achieve this goal we must get more and more of our forestry
lessons into the woods. The time is at hand to develop special
plots in all parts of Pennsylvania, demonstrating forest practices
and showing how forests can be handled successfully. The pri-
mary purpose of these plots is to show, in a small way, how forest
operations can be handled in a large way. Our program calls
for the establishment and development of demonstration plots in
parts of the State for the purpose of showing a wide range of
forest conditions and the results of many different forest opera-
tions. Whenever possible these demonstration plots should be
located along or near highways or good forest roads. Too often,
in the past, only a few persons knew the facts about forest plots.
To overcome this unfortunate situation each demonstration plot
will be posted with the most' important information pertaining to
it. This work will go forward until the saturation point is
reached. We cannot afford to stop short of this goal in our pro-
gram of practical education in forestry.

MORE FOREST RESEARCH NEEDED

Purposeful action in forestry must be based on facts. To prac-
tice better forestry we must have more and better forestry
knowledge. One of the greatest handicaps in Pennsylvania for-
estry today is the lack of rehable knowledge based on special
studies and tested trials. Present plans call for the development
of a force of five to eight trained research workers, who will devote
their main efforts to special studies, giving preference to those
that tie into immediate administrative problems. Supplementing
the work of these research specialists there will be developed a
greater opportunity for individual foresters to conduct special
studies and prepare reports thereon.

Pennsylvania's Forestry Program
AN IMPROVED FOREST RANGER SERVICE

21

The introduction and promotion of this program will require a
number of adjustments in our present personnel organization.
There is now too wide a gap between our forest rangers, with no
special training, and our foresters, with a minimum of four years
of college training. Much thought has already been given to this
situation. A plan is now being developed to improve this condi-
tion. It aims to raise our forest ranger service to a higher level.
To accomplish this we must develop an intermediate personnel,
that will function between our present rangers and foresters.
For want of a better term, we may call them senior forest rang-
ers. They will be trained to do many things that are now being
done by district foresters and assistant foresters. The solution
of this problem will provide a better-balance personnel organiza-
tion and insure a more efficient handling of the field work in
forestry.

In conclusion, let me say, that in my opinion, that forestry
program is best that is guided by practical experience and pains-
taking research, encouraged by enlightened public interest, and
promoted by the united effort of a strong, well-balanced and thor-
oughly-schooled operative organization. On this basis Pennsyl-
vania's forestry program is sure to go forward, for we have a
united organization, in which I have strong faith. And I am
confident that the funds required to promote our work in a pur-
poseful and business-like way will be forthcoming.

22

Foresters' Conference

CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF SERVICEABLE

FOREST ROADS

By R. H. Vought

SERVICEABLE forest roads are an essential to good forest
management. The serviceability of a forest road depends
entirely on the standard used in construction. By the stand-
ard of a road is meant the combination of elements that determine
its ability to carry traffic, such as location, grade, alignment,
width, and the condition of its surface and structure. In the
present stage of forest road development, a forest road project
is necessarily an earth road project. The service that is expected
of it will determine the standard of construction.

LOCATING FOREST ROADS

The results obtained in forest road construction depend primar-
ily upon the careful preliminary study given to the selection of
the best location for them. In most regions forest areas include
only the mountainous sections of the State, where the topography
is very rugged. Generally the main forest roads follow the larger
mountain streams from lower elevations to the tops of divides.
In this way it is possible to obtain satisfactory grades. Where
the streams will not give the desired grades between objectives,
or where the cost of construction in following streams is excessive,
locations must be selected along the side of a mountain, following
the best grade and employing the switchback to reach the desired
objective.

In choosing a location preference should be given to a southern
or western exposure and so receive the benefit of the sun, which
helps to keep the surface in serviceable condition. Wet, swampy
ground should be avoided whenever possible. Frequently land
which appears suitable in summer is found to be not at all fitted
for a roadbed during the wet season. This fact must always be
kept in mind when one is working along creek-beds and in low
land. A side-hill location, slightly above the toe of the slope gives
a much better roadbed, and helps solve the drainage problem.
The side-hill location often eliminates the necessity of stoning the
road surface to make it serviceable. When selecting a location
one should avoid very steep slopes and hard rock, if possible.
Roads cut into earth slopes that exceed 35 degrees are subject to
slides, while large quantities of hard rock make road construction
expensive.

Serviceable Forest Roads

23

Even though the first cost of construction is slightly increased,
one should choose the location that will necessitate the fewest
bridges, providing the road obtained is equally stable. Bridges
are expensive to build and to maintain. They are also liable to
destruction during floods.

When a location parallels a stream, care must be taken to keep
the roadbed well above high water and away from the scour of
the stream. After the general location and standard of a road
have been determined, the importance of making a survey and of
carefully planning the construction of the project cannot be too
strongly emphasized. The methods to use are the simplest ones
that will give the desired information. For general forest work,
the Abney level, the compass, and the tape will give the ground
location and the information necessary for construction.

SERVICEABLE GRADES

The maximum grade used will depend upon the service required
of the road. By grade we mean the per cent of rise or fall for
each 100 feet in a horizontal plane. A road has a 10 per cent
grade when the elevation is 10 feet higher or lower in each 100
feet of distance. For a primary or base road, the maximum
grade used will determine the load that can be hauled. A maxi-
mum grade of less than 8 per cent should not be adopted as this
is the grade allowable on the main highways in the mountainous
sections of the State. Nothing would be gained by using a grade
less than the grade that must be used after leaving the State
forest roads. On our secondary roads, where travel is light, a
grade of 12 per cent is allowable. For unimportant secondary
roads even 15 per cent is justified for short distances, especially
where this will save heavy cuts and fills and thus greatly reduce
the cost of construction.

FOREST ROAD ALIGNMENT

In flat country where the topography is not rugged, long tan-
gents and light curves can be obtained in road construction at a
reasonable cost. To adhere rigidly to a definite standard of align-
ment in forest road work would increase the cost of construction
to an extent not justified by the service rendered. It is better
judgment to sacrifice alignment where the cost would be excess-
ive, providing the road obtained is safe to travel and will serve its
purpose adequately. Every curve, with less than a 500-foot
radius, must be properly banked or elevated on the outside to aid
traffic. If the road to be constructed is not a two-way traffic road,
a width of at least 16 to 20 feet should be provided on curves for

24

Foresters ' Conferen ce

safety in passing. For ordinary speeds of travel a road alignment
which allows 200 to 250 feet of clear sight will meet practical
safety requirements.

WIDTH Of^ FOREST KOADS

Forest roads that are used extensively for the public, require
sufficient width for two-way traffic, or a 16-foot clear roadway.
The amount of public use will generally be the determining factor
in deciding the width. For forest development and protection, a
12-foot surface with intervisible turnouts for passing, built on
proper location and within the allowable limits of grade, can be
widened when public use demands, with no loss in the original
investment. In this way we may delay making the investment
required for the additional width necessary for two-way traffic,
until the traffic demands and justifies such an expenditure.
Whether a 12-foot or a 16-foot road is constructed, it is necessary
to vary the width according to local conditions. Through swamps,
where parallel drainage ditches are required, the width of the
shoulders must be increased for safety. Extra width should be
provided on curves. Where particularly interesting views are
found, extra width should be provided for parking. On steep
hillside locations where extra width greatly increases the cost of

construction, if «nffipi<ir»f fimrlo ov" v»^4- oTToi*l«Ul^ 4-^ u,,:iJ _ ,— •-i_^-

road and the need is imperative for development, a 9-foot road,
with an inslope toward the bank, for safety, is justifiable, and
may satisfy all immediate needs.

CONSTRUCTION OF FOREST ROADS

To give the best return for money invested, road construction
work should be done at the right season of the year. Every road
program should be planned at least a year ahead of actual con-
struction. If the program is planned ahead, clearing may be done
in the fall and winter with the few men necessary to carry through
the winter, to keep an organization together. The stumps can be
pulled in the early spring when the ground is wet and loosened by
the frost. Actual grading may be started as soon as the ground
is settled. The construction work should be completed well ahead
of fall rains. If this procedure is followed, there can be saved
not only the waste occasioned by doing the work out of season,
but it will also be possible to keep together a well-balanced organ-
ization of trained men. The foreman directly in charge of con-
struction must have some knowledge of grades, alignment, and
curves, and must know how to use the information supplied by
the location survey.

Serviceable Forest Roads
CLEARING FOR FOREST ROADS

25

The point of view of the local forester as well as that of the
road builder should govern the clearing of timber for proposed
roads. Forest roads are built for reasonable rates of travel in the
interests of fire control and for administrative purposes and also
to allow the pubhc to enjoy what the forests offer. With this
thought in mind, the road can be made to fit its surroundings.
Wherever possible, in clearing the roadway, big trees should be
avoided by shifting the center hne of the road to one side or the
other, thus bending the road in gentle curves and not holding
rigidly to a fixed center line. Shifting the center four or five
feet to right or left in a distance of 200 feet in order to miss some
particularly large or attractive tree, is good judgment and does
not lessen the serviceability or appearance of a road.

When low, wet ground or bad drainage conditions are en-
countered it is necessary to make wider clearing to allow sunlight
and air to reach the surface of the road. Where clearing is done
for this purpose, the side of the road should be favored that will
allow the most sun to reach the road surface.

At curves it is necessary for safety to get visibility for 100 to
150 feet. This can often be accomplished by selective thinning,
by the trimming of the lower branches and the cuttiTio- nf fh^
underbrush, rather than by actually clearing away all the trees
from the insides of the curves to gain the desired visibility. The
results obtained by selective thinning are generally satisfactory,
and are in keeping with sound forestry practices. All brush and
stumps must be disposed of properly by burning or by scattering
them back into the woods far enough away from the roadway so
that they will neither present an unsightly appearance nor become
a fire hazard.

GRADING A FOREST ROAD

The actual grading of the road should not be started until the
clearing is done or has advanced far enough so that they will
not interfere with each other. The foreman in charge should go
over the entire line and decide how to handle the work to the
best advantage. In an easy rolling country road grading is com-
paratively simple and is known as turnpiking. The earth is
thrown up from either side and used to form both roadbed and
surface. This type of construction is the cheapest form of road
building, providing the material handled is suitable for a satis-
factory surface.

The work can be accomplished entirely by the use of a road
grader and tractor. For this work a five-ton caterpillar tractor,

li

26

Foresters' Conference

with a good grader weighing at least one-half and not exceeding
two-thirds of the weight of the tractor, is the most effective
combination. A suitable roadplow, a scraper, and road-drags
should also be available. Where hght cuts and fills are necessary
the plow and the scraper should be used to construct proper
vertical curves on the grade line. Such cuts and fills eliminate
short breaks or changes from an ascending to a descending grade.
A road drag should be used to keep the surface properly shaped
after the grading has been completed, and until the newly con-
structed surface is solid enough to carry traffic. This is much
cheaper than the use of tractor and grader for this particular
purpose.

On hillside locations with slopes up to 30 degrees, the construc-
tion of a road is nearly as easy as the construction of a simple
turnpike road^ and the drainage and surface obtained are gen-
erally far more satisfactory than is the case with the turnpike
road. When a road on a hillside location is graded, it is of the
utmost importance that the first cut should be made at the top
of the slope and that stakes should first be placed with reference
to the center line grade, so that this can be accomplished. If
care is taken to make the first cut properly with grader or plow,
the road builder eliminates the necessity for a large amount of
expensive hand sloping. On sidehiU slopes that exceed 30 per
cent, road building is more expensive. Before it is possible to
work in such situations with tractor and grader, it is generally
necessary to construct a bench. Where this is necessary, all pos-
sible hand labor must be avoided in order to keep the cost within
proper limits. Generally a team of horses and a light reversible
sidehill plow are effective in making the first cuts, and a light
horse-drawn grader can be used to advantage in moving the earth
loosened by the plow. Where the slopes are too steep for a team,
a single horse and a light plow can be used until sufficient level
space has been obtained for a team to work.

On roads cut in steep slopes, when the requirement is for at
least 16 feet of road width, it is cheaper and far more satisfactory
to use the modern gas shovel, providing there is a considerable
amount of this kind of work to be done. It is not necessary to
remove the stumps and stones before grading as it is when trac-
tors and graders are used. The finished grade and side slope left
by the shovel are generally more satisfactory than the grade and
slope left where the work is done with the grader. After the
shovel has completed the heavy grading, the tractor and grader
can quickly and cheaply shape the surface for travel.

Serviceable Forest Roads

27

When a road is built by the usual methods, that is, with the
tractor and the road grader, the results obtained, and, to a large
extent, the cost of construction, depend on the abihty and interest
of the tractor and grader operators. Comparatively few men
understand how to operate a road grader so as to accompUsh the
most possible and the best work. An efficient operator, with
a few laborers to remove large stones and roots, can produce
gratifying results at a very reasonable cost. Only trained oper-
ators should be used, and they should be held responsible for the
results obtained.

In a number of projects the roads have to be constructed
through a section of one-man size rock and even large boulders.
In these cases a large amount of hand labor is unavoidable. But
after the rocks have been removed, machinery can generally be
used to advantage in shaping the road. On other locations, it is
necessary to shape the roadbed out of the local stone and haul in
suitable material for the surface. Such roads, although more ex-
pensive to construct, give general satisfaction when built, for
their roadbed is perfectly drained, and the road as a whole is in
shape for travel at all times.

PROPER AND ADEQUATE ROAD DRAINAGE

We cannot have well constructed and serviceable forest roads
without proper drainage. The matter of drainage requires far
more attention than it generally receives. In road building there
are three types of drainage to consider, namely, surface drainage,
sub-surface drainage, and natural cross-drainage.

In order to protect our road from surface drainage, it is neces-
sary to give the surface a crown of from three-fourths of an inch
to a full inch, to every foot of width. Such a slope will carry the
water quickly to the side ditches. In the case of nine-to-twelve
foot sidehill roads, the roadway should slope toward the bank,
for safety in travel. Enough cross-drains must be used to carry
off the surface water which collects in the side ditches. This
water must be led under and away from the road, before it has
obtained enough volume to cause damage to ditches and roadway
by washing. On grade, these cross-drains should not be placed
at right angles to the center line of the road, but should be given
sufficient slant from right angle, and a fall of four to eight per
cent, in order that the heavy wash will pass through the pipes and
not clog them. When pipe cross-drains are used they should not
be less than one foot under the surface of the finished road. Such
setting will protect the pipe and also insure better drainage.

28

Foresters' Conference

Sub-surface drainage presents quite a different problem and is
more difficult to handle properly. The road builder has to con-
tend with seepage, marshes, bog holes and springs that arise
under the roadbed. To overcome these difficult conditions, it is
necessary to widen the roadway and allow the sun and air to
help dry the surface. Through swamp land, deep open ditches
dug parallel with the road will often lower the sub-soil drainage.
Hence, by ditching it is often possible to obtain satisfactory road
surfaces through marsh lands. Springs beneath the surface of
the road can be drained by ordinary stone drains ; in other cases
it is necessary to resort to rock fills to get a satisfactory surface.

By the term natural cross-drains is meant the live streams that
must be conducted across the road by means of bridges or pipe
culverts. Where it is necessary to build a bridge for this purpose,
care must be taken that the bridge is large enough to carry all
the water in the flood season; also that the best location is
selected; and that the bridge, when constructed, shall be well
above high water and floating driftwood. Wh'^rever possible
suitable local material should be utilized. In most places in the
State forests suitable stone is available for abutments and piers.
When these are well constructed of stone they are cheaper and
as permanent as concrete.

A well COnstnict.pd Vn-iHap ann<:»vcfviinfiivQ fUo4- ic ty^qJ- — p ^-., J

wooden stringers and three-inch oak plank floors is good for ten
years of service under average forest conditions. No permanent
bridges should be built, except on the main, fully-developed, and
permanently-located forest roads. For the construction of perma-
nent bridges special plans will be furnished.

SURFACE TREATMENT OF FOREST ROADS

A well-drained road, constructed through sections where earth,
shale, or other suitable road building materials are found, is serv-
iceable for travel at all seasons of the year. Such roads are easy
to mamtam and can be driven over in comfort. This favorable
natural condition occurs only on approximately fifty per cent of
the roads in the State forests of Pennsylvania. To make other
roads serviceable at all seasons, it is necessary to haul in proper
surface materials. By careful search it is often possible to find
suitable shale or gravel within reasonable hauling distance, or
even along the roadway itself. In other sections are found un-
limited quantities of stone that can be used to build up the bed
sections. If the road justifies the expense, small crushers can
be used to crush this local stone material. With this prepared
material a serviceable road surface can be constructed at a rela-
tively low cost.

Serviceable Forest Roads
MAINTENANCE OF FOREST ROADS

29

The importance of proper maintenance of forest roads cannot
be over-estimated. If the construction of a road is justified then
the road itself must be maintained in order to protect the invest-
ment and render the service that justified its building. Occasion-
ally several miles of earth road with an initial investment of
$1,000 to $5,000 a mile for construction are found in a fair condi-
tion, with the exception of two or three short sections. Often
such a situation is caused by poor drainage. In many cases, the
amount of money and time required to make satisfactory repairs
would be a small item, but for the lack of these needed repairs
the entire road is practically useless. Such a condition is never
justified. Maintenance consists in keeping a road up to the stand-
ard established in construction and in making minor improve-
ments. Maintenance consists in giving constant attention to
surface and drainage, to mowing weeds, cutting brush that over-
hangs the roads or obscures the view on curves, and to keeping
the roadway free from fallen trees and rubbish, so that it presents
a neat appearance. Maintenance is also concerned with erecting
and keeping in repair proper signs as guides or warnings to the
public.

It is generally necessary to reshape the surface of a road with
a light grader in the spring as soon as the frost has left the
ground. In some cases, even a good road drag will give satis-
factory results in reshaping if the dragging is done before the
ground has settled. The importance of the road drag for mainte-
nance must be emphasized. Dragging when necessary is the best
and cheapest kind of surface maintenance. Immediately after a
rain, as soon as the soil has dried sufficiently so that it will not
stick to a drag, but will pack under traffic, is the time when drag-
ging gives the best results for earth roads. Shale roads should
be dragged while they are wet. Dragging a road in the late fall,
just before a road freezes, will close the ruts. The surface will
freeze smooth and the road will be in good condition in the
spring. By varying the load of a drag and by lengthening or
shortening the hitch, it is possible to produce satisfactory results.
Surface holes must be kept filled with suitable material. If pos-
sible, this material should be the same as that of the present
surface, so that the wear may be uniform. Wet places in the
road must be stoned so that they can carry the necessary traffic.

Drainage maintenance consists of cleaning the outlets and in-
lets of all culverts and cross-drains, and in keeping open all drain-
age ditches, placing additional cross-drains where necessary, re-
moving and replacing improperly placed and poorly located cross-

30

Foresters' Conference

drains, examining all bridges and retaining walls, and making the
necessary repairs.

Adequate and cheap maintenance requires adequate and proper
equipment. For the conditions on the State forests of Pennsyl-
vania light tractors and graders, road drags, and medium weight
dump trucks are best, as teams are seldom available. If the best
results are to be obtained the right equipment must be available
at the right time.

COMPREHENSIVE FOREST ROAD SYSTEM IS NEEDED

Though the total sum spent for the building and maintenance
of forest roads may appear large, the expenditure is more than
justified if the money is properly used. Every road constructed
should be a part of a comprehensive system for forest protection,
forest development and public use. For every road that measures
up to standard requirements, the Commonwealth is justified in
spending the money necessary to build it and to keep it in proper
repair.

Roads are but means to an end. The ultimate end is human
betterment. Social improvement has been, and will continue to
be dependent very largely upon transportation.

State Forest Roads and Trails

31

STATE FOREST ROADS AND TRAILS

Committee
T. Roy Morton II. s. Metzger

C. C. HoGELAND B. D. McPherson

Presented by T. Roy Morton

WHEN the first forest areas were purchased by the Common-
wealth, practically no good roads or trails were found upon
them, but as funds permitted much was done in the way of
utilizing the more or less temporary roads that had been used in
logging operations. On these forest areas were a great many old
lumber roads and tramways overgrown with brush and trees.
Early in the administration of the State forests it became appar-
ent that if forest fires were to be controlled with any degree of
success and other forest operations carried on successfully, par-
ticularly the reforestation of barren areas, the State forests would
have to be made accessible. It was only natural to use that which
seemed to offer the quickest and cheapest solution, namely, the
repairing of these old roads. For years many miles of them were
kept clear, and they were of great value in fire suppression. They
made areas accessible and served as fire trails from which fire
fighting crews could work. These old lumber roads and tramways
could be traveled on horseback or with wagon, which were the
only means of travel available at that time.

The days of the old wagon road with its bad alignment, steep
grades, and rough surfaces are now a thing of the past. As a
result of the change in our transportation, it was found that the
development of roads without a definite plan would prove costly
and many of them would need to be relocated or abandoned. Road
crews twenty years ago consisted of teams of horses and men
with picks and shovels, but as the need for a higher standard of
construction increased, road machinery such as steam shovels,
trucks, tractors and graders have of necessity followed, and now
the State forests are becoming more accessible by the development
of an extensive system of roads and trails.

ROADS ESSENTIAL TO GOOD FOREST MANAGEMENT

Forestry in Pennsylvania is no longer a theory. The best
forest practices dictate that if the forests are to be administered
so as to bring the greatest possible benefit to all the citizens of

32

Foresters ' Conferen ce

il

the Commonwealth, a system of well planned and well built roads
is essential. Such a system must be developed to make all parts
of the forest accessible. These roads are essential from the stand-
point of (1) forest protection, (2) forest administration and
development, and (3) forest recreation and other public uses.

GOOD ROADS MEAN BETTER FOREST PROTECTION

Good roads in the forest offer the best means of controUing
forest fires. Pennsylvania has had many destructive forest fires
which might have been prevented had there been an adequate
system of roads and trails. Forest fires cannot be entirely pre-
vented, but by being attacked quickly they can be prevented from
becoming large and from doing great damage. Many places exist
today in the State forests where it is necessary to walk from five
to seven miles in order to reach a forest fire. This results in a
great loss of time and permits of the fires becoming serious and
destructive. Forest fire fighters, even though physically able, are
loath to walk great distances to extinguish fires. Even those
willing to walk several miles, upon reaching the fire are unable
to render their best service. Every portion of the State forest
should be readily accessible for quick transportation of fire fight-
ers. Delay in reaching a single fire may cost the Commonwealth
Axxt*xxj^ cinn^o Liic \^\j>3\j oL C011C5LXUC nun oi neceto&cii^v luacis cUiu trans.

A well planned and well built system of roads prepares the way
for sound forestry practice. Roads make it possible to utilize
forest products to good advantage and may double the stumpage
value of all trees in the forest. In fact, the success of forest
management depends to a large degree upon the existence of a
well developed transportation system.

One of the major uses of the State forests is to provide health-
ful recreation for the people of the Commonwealth. Full use of
the forest for recreation is encouraged, and increasing numbers
are taking advantage of this opportunity by hunting, fishing,
camping and hiking through the forests over roads and trails.
People are only beginning to appreciate what the forest offers in
the way of recreation. Records show that in 1928 one and one-
half million people visited the State forests of Pennsylvania. This
means that about one-sixth of the population of the Common-
wealth is using the State forests, which clearly demonstrates the
urgent need for making them readily accessible. A forest road
system which can be traveled by automobile will add to the wealth
of the State and to the health of its people by the wholesome use
of leisure time spent in recreation.

State Forest Roads and Trails

33

I

KINDS OF ROADS

The administration of the State forests, comprising as it does
such varied activities as fire prevention and suppression, reforest-
ation, recreational development, including parks, temporary and
permanent camps, utilization and lumbering, has demonstrated the
need for three classes of roads, namely, (1) primary roads, (2)
secondary roads, and (3) trails.

These are roads which will be permanent and serve as base
roads for continual general use. Care should be taken to select
the proper location and alignment with a grade not over eight
per cent. The surface of these roads should be the best obtain-
able from local material, and this will be determined largely by
the amount of traffic. Usually a 16-foot surface can be con-
structed with the necessary extra width required for proper
drainage.

The secondary forest road system serves as great a use as the
primary road system for forest development and protection pur-
poses. These roads tie together the primary systems and open
up otherwise inaccessible areas. Traffic on these types of roads
is generally much lighter than on a primary system, and a stand-
ard of construction is applied which will develop roads at a lower
expense and serve the purpose for which they are intended.
Secondary roads rarely need to be wider than is necessary for
one-way traflfic, with proper turnouts for passing, and a 12 per
cent grade is not considered excessive.

Trails are carefully laid out paths through the forest. They
are seldom more than six feet in width, with rocks, logs, and
other debris removed. Their function is to provide a means of
access to blocks of timberland between roads where it is not eco-
nomically feasible or desirable to construct roads. They are of
particular value in forest fire control, and while used chiefly as
avenues of approach, may in cases of large fires be used as bases
for back fire and attack. In some instances they follow potential
road routes and their construction thus represents a stage of
development of ultimate forest roads.

PRESENT MILEAGE OF FOREST ROADS

On the State forests of Pennsylvania there are now 2,230 miles
of roads. Only a small percentage have been constructed and
mamtained in condition to meet present needs. Most of these
roads are of a temporary type. They were constructed at small
cost to serve the immediate need for forest protection and admin-
istration. To date 761 miles of these roads have been so con-
structed or rebuilt that they are maintained in condition for auto-
mobile traffic. Of the 761 miles which comprise the present

34

Foresters' Conference

developed road system, 378 miles are classed as primary roads.
They range in width from 10 to 16 feet and were built at an
average cost of $1,500 per mile. The remaining 383 miles of the
roads in condition for automobile traffic, comprise our present
developed secondary road system. These roads have been con-
structed for light traffic and range in width from 9 to 10 feet.
They were built at an average cost of approximately $1,000 per
mile.

The Department of Forests and Waters has also constructed
and is maintaining 2,952 miles of trails. The construction of
trails has been relatively simple, and the cost thereof comparative-
ly light, averaging approximately $25 per mile.

Road and trail work has been a part of State forest operations
since a time shortly after the first land was purchased in 1898.
At times substantial progress was made, while at other times it
moved slowly because of inadequate funds. During the past two
years the largest road and trail program ever undertaken in the
history of the Department was placed in operation. On the
Logan State forest, located in Huntingdon County, of which I
have had charge for more than twenty years, the allotment for
road and trail work during the last four fiscal years was as
follows :

Year

Amount

1925-1926

$1,350.00

1926-1927

1,675.00

1927-1928

7,107.12

1928-1929

7,000.00

Total $17,132.12

As a result of the increased allotments during the last two
years, it was possible to place the roads in better shape than at
any time since I have had charge of this interesting forest. For
example I will cite the Harry's Valley Road, which was rebuilt in
1927-1928 at an average cost of $1,360 per mile, and the Diamond
Valley Road, also built in 1927-1928, at an average cost of $1,190
per mile. Both of these roads belong to our primary road system.

Before these roads were rebuilt they were not in condition for
automobile traffic except a few months during mid-summer. At
present they permit automobile travel any month during the year.
They are a safeguard to the forest and a joy to the people seeking
recreation. They have opened up both valleys for quick trans-
portation of fire fighters.

State Forest Roads and Trails
NEED FOR MORE FOREST ROADS

35

If the State's investment in forest roads is to be protected
properly, consideration must be given to their maintenance If
mamtenance is neglected, the original investment is soon lost
The cost of maintenance depends upon the traffic the road carries
how well the road is drained, and the soil or material which makes
the wearmg surface, as well as to what extent the forest districts
are equipped and organized to take care of maintenance at the
proper time. Very few of our roads have heavy enough traffic
to justify the expense of constant maintenance. In most instances
periodic maintenance will be satisfactory.

The annual cost of maintaining the average primary State for-
est road amounts to approximately $125 per mile. The mainte-
nance of the secondary road system, on account of hght traffic
should not exceed $50 a mile. The maintenance of trails consists
chiefly of mowing the brush and removing fallen trees and other
obstructions. The annual average cost of this work will not ex-
ceed $5.00 per mile.

There remain 1,469 miles of unimproved forest roads in our
present road system. Of this amount, 135 miles belong to the
primary system and 200 miles to the secondary system. There
— ..tii.^ ^v>x ^AxxxxxvvAiatc cmiatiuctiun or reouiiaing ot these
joads if the forests are to be properly protected and developed and
the public given access to the vast stretches of unbroken forest
land now owned by the Commonwealth. The construction or re-
building of the present unimproved primary roads will cost ap-
prximately $2,500 a mile. Many of them must be re-located or
have proper grade and drainage. For the present unimproved
secondary roads, for which a lower standard of construction will
serve, the cost should be approximately $1,200 a mile.

There is urgent need for the immediate construction of 225
miles of new trails for forest protection on the forest lands pur-
chased during 1928. This trail construction will represent an ex-
penditure of not less than $10,000 to protect the growing timber
on the new purchases. This amount can easily be lost to the
Commonwealth by one uncontrolled fire within a forest upon which
adequate trails are not available.

CONCLUSION

Good roads through our State forest areas, built at a reasonable
cost are necessary for the protection, development and public use
ot the State forests by Pennsylvania's citizens, who are the stock-
holders. By having good roads every one will reap the benefits
01 this ownership.

36

Foresters' Conference

With the recent expansion of our State forest areas, the need
of developing a system of roads and trails upon the newly acquired
lands is apparent. Nothing will do more toward giving these new
areas the best kind of protection against fire, and nothing will
help more to open up the resources thereon for everybody's use,
than the construction of an adequate system of serviceable forest
roads and trails.

Good forestry, assuring adequate protection and development
of our State forests, requires that ultimately there should be ten
miles of roads and trails per 1,000 acres of timberland. At the
present stage we are far from this mark. To construct a complete
system of roads and trails will require a number of years, but the
improvement and rebuilding of the roads comprising our present
system, and the construction of new roads and trails to protect
our new purchases, is a direct obligation which should be met at
the earliest possible opportunity.

Recreational Opportunities in the State Forests

37

RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE STATE FORESTS

Committee

John R. Williams Prof. Harold Horning

V. M. Bearer Lawrence E. Fisher

W. F. Dague

Presented by John R. Williams

THIRTY years ago the need of out-door recreation was fore-
seen by the pioneers in the forestry movement of Pennsyl-
vania. Our first Commissioner of Forestry, the late Dr.
Joseph T. Rothrock, speaking for his colleagues on the Commis-
sion, advocated the use of forest lands for health and recreation
at the very beginning of the State forest program. When the
recommendations were made to the General Assembly for the
purchase of State forest land one of the major reasons given for
their acquisition was that:

The State forests should combine in themselves not
iiij ciiciiiii ui cscciici^ WiiiCii wuuiu atnact uur popula-
tion to them but that they should also possess such alti-
tude, purity of atmosphere, and general health-giving
conditions as would make them sanitariums for those
of our population who did not desire or could not go to
remoter points for renewal of strength.

From a modest beginning in 1898 with the purchase of 17,010
acres, the State forest lands have been increased until now they
contain almost 1,300,000 acres, and in their development the needs
of the people for wholesome out-door recreation have not been
overlooked. The public forests of Pennsylvania have been freely
used by her people since their creation. Governor Stone, in his
Arbor Day proclamation in 1901 stated: ''These Forest Reserves
will be the people's parks, free to all who comply with the laws
for their preservation." Nowhere on these forests may one see
a ^*No Trespassing" sign, but on every main thorofare at the
entrance to a State forest is erected a sign welcoming the people
to their own forest domain. The increase in the number of
visitors to our State forests has been truly phenomenal. In 1920
it is recorded that 60,000 people visited them; in 1921, 80,000
people; in 1922, 202,000 and in 1928, one and one-half mil-
lion. These figures show beyond a doubt, that there is a real
need for outing grounds and that our State forests are being used
to an extent perhaps undreamed-of a generation ago.

38

P'oRESTERs' Conference

Let us review what has been done to meet the recreational
needs of our people on the State forests of Pennsylvania. To
begin this line of work the State Forest Commission in 1903
adopted the following resolution :

Whereas, the Forest Reservations of the Common-
wealth of Pennsylvania are comprised of tracts of land
at present distributed throughout 23 counties, which
tracts differ in extent, topographic features, commercial
value, and historic interest, and which contain as a
whole all the marked character of the scenery of the
State, such as broad summit plateaus overlooking the
surrounding country, sharp ridges separating deep moun-
tain valleys, noble bluffs at the confluence of streams
mountain brooks of great beauty, and natural riverside
parks, and,

Whereas, the Forestry Commission is in receipt of
numerous requests for permits to locate camps, or for
erecting cottages upon State forest lands at various
points; therefore, upon consideration, it is hereby

Resolved, That concessions for camps, or erection of
cottages cannot be granted where the site designated in
the request or application is one of exceptional beauty
or of great historic value. All such sites are held as a
trust for the benefit of the general public forever.

STATE FOREST MONUMENTS

Since 1903 a great advance was made, for in 1921 several note-
worthy and historical groves were designated as State Recre-
ational Parks, and in September of that year the State Forest
Commission resolved to call these areas State forest monuments
to conform with national practice. In following out this com-
mendable recreational activity nine State forest monuments and
three special scenic areas were set aside.

The Bear Meadow State Forest Monument in the Logan State
Forest in Center County, is perhaps the most unique of these
monuments. In this forest meadow of 350 acres is found grow-
ing balsam fir, tamarack, spruce and mountain ash, all tree
species rare in Pennsylvania. Some of the largest specimens of
the tree huckleberry known in the World are also gi'owing in
this forest meadow, as well as the ordinary mountain laurel.
Some specimens of the latter have a diameter of five inches at
breast-hei^ht. Within this area are also growing thickets of
rhododendron of unusual size, and rare sundew and pitcher plant
In the same State forest there is also set aside a 50-acre plot
comprising a tangle of giant forest trees, mostly white pine and
hemlock, overtopping dense thickets of rhododendron. This plot

Recreational. Opportunities in the State Forests

39

is called the Detweiler Run State Forest Monument. In this
forest is also one of two State forest monuments named for two
young poets who gave their lives on the battlefields of France,
namely, Alan Seeger and Joyce Kilmer. Within the Alan Seeger
State Forest Monument are hemlock trees of great size and age
and some of the finest oaks in the State. The rare table mountain
pine is found there and the rhododendron often reaches a height
of 40 feet.

The Joyce Kilmer State Forest Monument contains 21 acres of
old hemlock and white pine and is located in the Bald Eagle State
Forest in Union county. At the entrance to this monument is
hung a sign bearing the legend ''Gypsies Are Welcome to Camp
Here," this in fulfillment of a wish of the poet that some day he
should own a bit of wild woodland upon which gypsies would be
welcome to camp.

Should one travel up Kettle Creek in Potter county, the flags
of the United States and Norway could be seen flying from the
top of a high cliff. These flags mark the site of the castle which
was built by Ole Bull, famous violinist, who in 1852 came with
800 colonists from Norway, to establish a community of his
countrymen in the heart of the Black Forest of northern Penn-
sylvania. This historic spot, of pathetic memory, is preserved
in the Ole Bull State Forest Monument in the Susquehannock
State Forest.

Beautiful rock scenery, together with stands of splendid orig-
inal hemlock and white pine, is found within the McConnell
Narrows State Forest Monument in the Bald Eagle State Forest
in Union county. It is said the last herd of wild bison in Penn-
sylvania was destroyed near this monument, in the famous "Sink,"
in 1799.

On Martin's Hill in Bedford county, which rises to a height of
3,075 feet above sea level, in the Buchanan State Forest, are nine
acres of large original hemlock that has been set aside as the
Martin's Hill State Forest Monument.

Mount Logan State Forest Monument in the Bald Eagle State
Forest, comprises 47 acres of superb primeval white pine and hem-
lock. It was named in honor of Chief James Logan, greatest of
the Indian orators, whose happy hunting ground it was.

The Mount Riansares State Forest Monument, covering 13 acres
in the Bald Eagle Forest, has perhaps the most romantic history
of any of our State Forest Monuments. This area is part of the
timberland which was purchased for Maria Cristina, former
Queen Regent of Spain, with money obtained by her for the sale
to the United States of the land that is now the State of Florida.
She directed that the highest point on her Pennsylvania posses-

40

l-'ORKSTi'JKjs* Conference

sions should be named after her husband, the Duke of Rianares.
In addition to these monuments, three special areas of rare
scenic charm and beauty have been set aside for perpetual pres-
ervation. They are the Cherry Springs Drive, Coxe's Valley
View and the Site of Valhalla. No cutting is permitted on these
scenic areas excepting for improvement purposes.

SEEING PENNSYLVANIA FROM OBSERVATION TOWERS

Pennsylvania's unparalleled beauty, as viewed from her splen-
did system of highways, has received most favorable comment.
Each year, with the increase of road building on the State forests,
the motoring public is brought in closer contact with practical
forestry work. No feature of Pennsylvania's forest manage-
ment t)rogram has attracted more attention than her State-wide
system of forest observation towers. There are now 117 of these
observation stations, ranging in height from 40 to 80 feet, on the
highest points in the Commonwealth, affording magnificent views
over vast areas of forest land. From some of the most command-
ing sites as many as 250,000 acres of forest can be seen. While
built primarily for fire detection, these towers are open for the
use of the general public.

STATE FOREST PARKS

To meet the ever increasing demand for e-enpr^l rpprpafinn «iv
State forest parks have been set aside within the State forests of
Pennsylvania. These State forest parks are equipped with
shelters, cooking places, sanitary toilet facihties, and in many
instances running water which is piped from nearby springs.
Tables and benches are also supplied. Bathing and wading places
for children are provided at some of the parks. Usually a re-
freshment stand or restaurant is operated as a private conces-
sion. By a special arrangement with the concessionaire he is
responsible for keeping the grounds clean and for the general
maintenance of the surrounding area. These parks are not al-
lowed to develop into so-called amusement parks with noisy
merry-go-rounds and other mechanical contrivances. The chil-
dren's needs are provided for by sand boxes, slides and swings,
and for the young people, athletically inclined, tennis courts and
ball grounds have been built. For those less strenuously inclined,
quoit courts are provided. In one or two State Forest Parks
public dance floors are managed under concessions and are proving
popular.

These State forest parks of Pennsylvania are provided pri-
marily for the use of picnic parties, for family gatherings, as
meetmg places for social clubs, nature study clubs and similar
uses. Over-night camping is not allowed. Each of the State forest

Recreational Opportunities in the State Forests

41

parks is located on the site of some historic event or has some
natural features which makes it unique, and all are situated on
main highways which make them reasonably accessible from
large centers of population.

The Caledonia State Forest Park is located along the Lincoln
Highway in the Michaux State Forest in Franklin county. It is
the site of one of the early charcoal iron furnaces erected by the
Great Commoner, Thaddeus Stevens, the Father of the Public
School System of Pennsylvania, and was named by him after his
native home in Caledonia county, Vermont. This historic fur-
nace was destroyed by the Confederate Army in July, 1863. It
is noteworthy that the only public golf course on State forest
land in Pennsylvania adjoins this park.

The James Buchanan State Forest Park at Stony Batter, in
the Buchanan State Forest in Frankhn county, marks the site of
the birthplace of the fifteenth President of the United States.
A stone pyramid monument marks the site of President Bu-
chanan's birthplace. In 1913, 3,000 Norway Spruce trees— now 25
feet high were planted about the monument.

The George W. Childs State Forest Park in the Delaware State
Forest in Pike county was deeded to the Commonwealth by
George W. Childs, for many years editor and publisher of the
Philadelphia Public Ledger. This most picturesque park contains
three beautiful waterfalls and a great variety of forest trees. It
is one of the outstanding beauty spots within the State forests
of Pennsylvania.

The Voneida State Forest Park in the Bald Eagle State Forest,
near the eastern border of Center county, was named for a most
mteresting character, John Voneida, a hermit and philosopher,
who spent his last fourteen years on this beautiful mountain spot!
In this same Forest District, but located about five miles west of
Troxelville, in Snyder county, is the Snyder-Middleswarth State
Forest Park. It covers 425 acres of virgin timber, mostly white
pine and hemlock.

The Leonard Harrison State Forest Park, located in Tioga
county, contains 121 acres and lies a short distance east of the
former Black Forest, the most extensive stretch of forest land
in the State. It commands a notable view of the Pine Creek Gorge,
one of the wildest and most picturesque sections of Pennsylvania!
It was the generous gift of the late Leonard Harrison of Wells-
boro.

PUBLIC CAMPS IN STATE FORESTS

The public camps located within the State forests of Pennsyl-
vania are provided primarily for the use of campers, tourists
and local vacationists who desire to pitch a tent and remain in

42

Foresters' Conference

the forest. Those desiring to remain longer than one night are
obhged to secure a camping permit from a forest officer. These
permits are good for a period of three weeks and may be renewed
at the end of that time.

These pubhc camps are generally smaller in area than the State
forest parks and are usually located in sequestered spots along
secondary roads, although some of the most widely used ones
are on main highways. They are equipped with needed con-
veniences such as cooking places, fuelwood, a pure supply of
drinking water, sanitary toilet facilities, tables and benches and
rustic shelters. Bathing places are provided in many instances.
Quoit courts and ball grounds are also available.

STATE FOREST CAMP SITES

In order to provide places for those who desire to remain in
our forests for relatively long periods, such as a stay during the
summer or during the hunting and fishing season, legislation was
enacted giving the Department of Forests and Waters authority
to grant leases on special small sites within the State Forests.
This legislation was passed in 1913. These leases are for a term
of ten years, and the privilege thereof is open only to citizens of
Pennsylvania. A nominal annual rental of from seven to fifteen
dollars is charsred. Manv of thpsp raiY^r^ citoo ay^ Ipo^pH +n b-?^^
ing clubs and fishermen, and no group of citizens is more en-
thusiastic about recreation on State forest lands than the sports-
men of Pennsylvania. Each year sees more farm and private
wild lands posted with ''No Trespassing'' signs and it is becom-
mg an accepted fact that future recreation of this sort may be
had only on State lands. There are now 1,945 such leases in the
State forests of Pennsylvania.

GOOD HUNTING AND FISHING IN STATE FORESTS

During 1927, 505,600 hunting and 293,000 fishing licenses were
issued in Pennsylvania and it is safe to say that a large percentage
of these pursued their sport in the State forests. While only ten
per cent of the forest area of the State is contained within our
State forests, 45 per cent of the deer killed, 38 per cent of the
bear, and 31 per cent of the elk, were shot during 1927 on the
State-owned forest lands. Within the borders of State lands are
located 20 game refuges, aggregating 45,612 acres. In addition
to these game propagating areas are the State forest parks and
public camps, within which no hunting is allowed.

It is interesting to note the attraction Pensylvania's recreation-
al opportunities have had for the non-resident of Pennsylvania
Non-resident hunting licenses to the number of 4,880 were is-
sued in Pennsylvania during 1927, having a value of $73,200 and

Recreational Opportunities in the State Forests 43

4,500 non-resident fishing licenses. That more than 100,000 non-
resident hunters, fishermen, and tourists visited the woodlands of
Pennsylvania during 1927 is a conservative estimate. It would
be interesting to calculate what a commercial asset these visits
meant to the communities in and adjacent to our State forests.
If these visitors spent an average of $10.00 each in our forest
communities, there was a total expenditure of $1,000,000 distrib-
uted throughout these forest regions by people from outside of
Pennsylvania. If $1.00 was spent by each of the 1,500,000 Penn-
sylvanians who have visited our State forests during 1928, we find
that this army of visitors distributed $1,500,000 in the forest
communities.

RECREATION AND TIMBER PRODUCTION

It would seem that on some special areas recreation has come
to rival timber production. In places this development is liable to
bring serious conflict between the recreational interests on one
hand and the timber growing interests on the other. This danger
can be avoided through proper classification of our forest areas
as to proper uses. It will be necessary to distinguish between the
areas where timber production should be the primary use and
others that are potentially recreation areas.

When an attempt is made to make such a classification thp ques-
tion at once comes up as to what shall be the standard in measur-
ing the relative value of land for the diflferent uses. The returns
from outdoor recreation in the form of health, happiness, and
wholesome living, are admittedly great, but it is difficult to ex-
press this in monetary value. In order to have a basis from which
to calculate the value of recreation, let us assume that it is af-
fected by the law of supply and demand like any other commodity.
Ihen It will be fair to assume that recreation is worth at least
as much as the public pays for it. Using this as a measure of
value let us take the case of the Michaux State Forest, located
in the South Mountains in Adams, Cumberland and Franklin
counties. In this forest, conditions are such that it has been pos-
sible to collect fairly accurate data as to the extent of recreation-
al uses. For the year 1927 the classes of recreational use and the
number of persons reported under each class are as follows:

TCmd of Forest Users Number

Permanent Campers 3 3qq

Temporary Campers 455

Public Camp Users 2 500

l^^\ Users ::;:;: ^^^^^^

Hunters o Q^r^

Fishermen \cq

Transients g qqq

44

Foresters^ Conference

The largest class is made up of users of the park areas. This
includes chiefly picnic parties varying in size from the family
group to single gatherings of as many as twenty-five hundred
persons. These were people who used the forest for one day or
less. Under transients are included those who were reported at
the various inns, along with users of the public golf course.
Known groups who made automobile tours over the State forest
are also included in this class. This last class is admitted to be
incomplete because of the impossibility of getting full record of
all the smaller parties who made drives over the forest on holi-
days without stopping at the recreational centers. Many of the
people listed as campers spent weeks and even months in the
forest. It may therefore seem a conservative estimate to say that
the public spent at least 100,000 days of recreation in this forest
of 40,000 acres.

Taking our former estimate of one dollar per person in actual
expenditure for transportation food and lodging while in the
forest, including fees for dancing and golfing, and rentals for
permanent camps, it figures out that the public spends at least
$100,000 per year for recreation in this one State forest. This
calculation assumes that the entire acreage is uniform in recre-
ational value. As a matter of fact fully 90 per cent of the recre-

.4- ^-P -i-U

Ki:

J.\J pci cent KJi. tlic ctlCd. i-lie pUUllC IS

spending therefore $90,000 for recreation enjoyed on only about
4,000 acres.

Aviation is still in its infancy but already we can say that
people are flying to our State forests. We are living in the after-
math of a great war and are now confronted by unusual condi-
tions which are the result of that war. In the past 75 years,
which covers the period of our intensive timber explotation, we
have changed from a nation of a largely rural population to one
of an urban population. Less than 26 per cent of our population
is now actually living on farms, more than half of our people are
now living in towns of 2,500 or more and the tendency is toward
concentration in villages and towns and away from isolated sec-
tions. These facts are mentioned to show that with the increased
leisure of our modern civilization, our people, following an instinct
inherited from their pioneer ancestors, are taking more and more
to the great out-of-doors, there to breathe pure air, drink from
cold mountain springs, and revel in the freedom from their daily
tasks. For this worthy cause the State forests of Pennsylvania
are open at all seasons of the year.

State I^'orest Camp Site Program

45

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATE FOREST
CAMP SITE PROGRAM

Committee

R. W. S'TAUDEN

R. B. Winter

S. L. Kurtz
W. A. August

F. H. DUTLINGER

Presented by R. W. vStadden

PENNSYLVANIA'S State forests now comprise approximately
1,290,000 acres purchased at various times during the last
thirty-one years. From the very beginning of the adminis-
tration of these forest lands there were numerous requests for
camp site privileges. For the most part these were desired in con-
nection with the erection of tents during the deer season, but with
the passing of years the need of providing small recreational sites
for extended periods became apparent. This was a need which the
Department was very glad to fill since the providing of hunting
and recreational grounds for the citizens of the Commonwealth
has always been one of the principle objectives in the whole State
forest program. To make this possible the Forestry Commission
sponsored the act of March 27, 1913 which permitted the De-
partment "to lease, for a period not exceeding ten years, on such
terms and conditions as it may consider reasonable, to any citi-
zen, church, organization or school board of Pennsylvania such
portion of any State forest as the Department may deem suitable
as a site for a temporary building to be used by such citizen,
church, organization or school board for health and recreation or
as a site for a church or school purposes".

The first camp site was leased under the provisions of this law
on October 21, 1913. For some time the demand for permanent
camp sites was rather limited, but it gathered momentum as it
progressed and is now growing by leaps and bounds. This is in-
dicated by the fact that on January 1, 1919 there were less than
400 camp site leases in eflfect; on January 1, 1924 the number
was approximately 1,000; four years later it had increased to
1,840 while at the present time (January 1, 1929) there are
1,945 leases in effect.

46

Foresters' Conference

CAMP SITE REVENUE AND VALUE

In addition to the personal benefits accruing to those who use
these camp sites, and the increased favor which the Department
receives as a result of them, there are certain monetary advant-
ages which are sometimes overlooked. This is of great importance
from a local standpoint since, in accordance with present court
decisions, it is possible for townships and counties to levy taxes
upon buildings erected upon permanent camp sites. Hence, the
local revenue is increased in proportion to the number and value
of these camps. This necessarily applies to districts which are
usually poor and greatly in need of such revenue as they can pos-
sibly obtain, while the amount levied on each camp is quite nom-
inal. The State School Fund has also been a beneficiary of the
Department's camp site program to the extent of more than $100,-
000.00 since 1913. From a Departmental standpoint, the Delaware
Forest District, which has 486 permanent camps — the greatest
number of any district in the State— might be cited as an example.
In this district there are 64,597 acres of State forests which origin-
ally cost the Commonwealth $99,756.64 or an average of only $1.54
per acre. The revenue from camp sites in this district in 1928
amounted to $5,168.60 which is a return of slightly more than five
per cent upon the original land investment. In the Delaware

Forpst District as is +^^« r.oo.r> iy^ ^ii ^^u^v,.^ ^u „ „-, .• ,

-i-^L i-i^LiivL a;5 .S) vxxv. *^i*ov. XII ail Otneio, tliti iiiaAimuin return

has not yet been reached as there are still available a great num-
ber of desirable camp site locations.

NEED FOR FORWARD-LOOKING PROGRAM

The importance of the permanent camp site problem in its re-
lation to proper forest management has been fully recognized by
the Department of Forests and Waters. In 1927 a committee of
five foresters, of which I had the privilege of being a member,
was appointed to study conditions and to formulate a definite
camp site program, and many of the suggestions which will be
made hereinafter are the result of the efforts of this committee.
The purposes of the camp site program in the State forests of
Pennsylvania cited in the committee report are (1) to correlate
present practices and methods ; (2) to consider their adaptability
for future administration; (3) to assure a proper classification
of land use m the State forests in order to provide for public
and private recreational needs; (4) to raise the standard of recre-
ational use in the State forests; (5) to anticipate future needs;
(6) to ehmmate unnecessary details of administration and to
effect the fullest cooperation between the Department and its per-
mittees. The present intention of the Department is to endeavor
to foresee the future recreational needs in the State forests and
then to fill these requirements in an orderly and efficient manner

State Forest Camp Site Program

47

This can be done only by substituting a well balanced and properly
conceived program in place of the somewhat haphazard methods
that are usually followed at the inception of most newly organ-
ized activities.

FOREST LAND CLASSIFICATION

In view of the ever increasing demand for camp sites, it seems
imperative that a survey be made of each forest which will desig-
nate in general the forest areas that are not available for perma-
nent camp sites and will, in addition, specifically indicate areas
on which permanent sites will be granted. It is quite apparent
that in the former classification will be included such areas as
will be needed for future administrative uses ; areas desirable for
general recreational use, such as the State forest parks, State
forest monuments and scenic areas; lakes, dams and streams of
such a nature that they should be devoted to public rather than
private use ; and also such areas as may be needed for special pur-
poses, and those such as water sheds whose unrestricted use
would be contrary to public policy.

SURVEY OF AVAILABLE CAMP SITES

After all such areas have been excluded, attention may then be
directed to those remaining areas where the semi-private use by
individuals or groups will not conflict with administrative use by
the Department nor with public interest. Upon these areas each
district forester should designate certain locations as available
for permanent camp sites. Emphasis should be placed upon the
necessity of the forester's taking the initiative in the selection
of camp sites. He should suggest and direct rather than merely
acquiesce in the desires of those seeking camping privileges. Too
often in the past and even in the present, this latter condition
has existed when better results both from the standpoint of the
Department and also of the lessees would have resulted had the
forester played a more active part in the selection of the sites.

CAMP SITES AND WATER SUPPLY

When the present leasing system was begun in accordance with
the act of 1913, those applying for sites usually selected locations
in close proximity to good springs and frequently were granted a
lease which included the spring itself. This was soon recognized
as being highly objectionable, and definite instructions were issued
that no springs be included within leased ground. In the case of
leases which already contained springs, the boundary lines were
modified as soon as the site was re-leased. With the rapid ex-
pansion of the camp site movement, cognizance must be taken of

48

Foresters ' C onferen ce

the fact that the location of camps can no longer be restricted to
areas in close proximity to springs and streams but that in many
cases other means of providing pure drinking water will have to
be used.

HEALTH REGULATIONS

Nothing in connection with the camp site program is of greater
importance than sanitation, and the Department should make a
special effort to see to it that the camp sites under its jurisdiction
are models in this respect. In the first place, attention should be
given to the location of toilets and garbage pits and an active
effort must be made to enforce rigidly the recommendations and
rules of the State Department of Health with regard to their care.
Incidentally, these matters should be made clear to the lessee
prior to the execution of the lease, so that there can be no mis-
understanding on his part as to his responsibilities.

BUILDING REQUIREMENTS

As indicated in the provisions of the lease, plans for any build-
ings erected thereon must have the prior approval of the District
Forester both as to the location and the actual specifications of
the proposed structure. It should not be the aim of the Depart-
ment to make the buildings erected on the permanent camp sites

i/U Cum

fiply

with certain definite standards. This standard may vary in dif-
ferent locations and under varying conditions, but the final test
would be that the buildings themselves are presentable in ap-
pearance.

REGULAR INSPECTION OF SITES

Probably no activity is more vital to the success of the camp
site program than supervision. By supervision is not meant
police inspection, but it should have for its purpose friendly co-
operation between the Department and the permittee to the end
that improvements may result. At present the district forester's
office has to give to this whole program more attention than
should be necessary. This is partly due to the fact that those
making application for leases usually come to the district forester's
office and then are inclined to resent being passed on to one of the
rangers. The district forester, on the other hand, doubtlessly en-
joys the many personal contacts which he makes and, on his part,
is reluctant to lose that type of work which he finds so pleasant.
His time is so valuable, however, and so necessary for other pur-
poses that it becomes incumbent upon him to put aside his per-
sonal preferences and to so train his rangers as to make them
available for this kind of work.

State Forest Camp Site Program

49

The importance of the camp site program varies somewhat in
the different districts but in all districts it is now and will continue
to be one of the big jobs, in our State forestry work. It is,
therefore, necessary that the problems of each district be carefully
and conscientiously studied and that definite plans be made to meet
the conditions which are constantly arising. If this is done, there
can be no question but that the result will be an ever-increasing
benefit to all concerned, to the individual, to the forester, to the
Department and to the Commonwealth itself.

i

50

Foresters' Conference

STATE FOREST SIGNS

Committee

Chas. E. Baer
W. L. Byers

Ralph C. Wible
A. J. W. KuppE

Tom O. Bradley
Presented by Chas. E. Baer

SIGNS are used on State forest land to designate the names of
roads and trails and to point out the direction from a road
intersection to the nearest camp or settlement, or from a trail
intersection to the next trail. Such signs are known as ''direc-
tion" signs. Other signs are used to designate the names of
places and things, such as rangers' headquarters, springs and
streams. Signs so used are known as ''place" signs. State forest
signs enable people who frequent the woods, such as hunters,
fishermen and tourists, to travel through large forest areas with-
out becoming lost. Ihese signs are also intended to have an
educational value in acquainting the public with forestry practices.

STANDARD SIZES

The size of the signs used at the present time varies from that
of a small tree-label sign to that of a large sign bearing the
slogan, "Prevent Forest Fires— It Pays." This sign is five feet
high by ten feet long, and is made of a wooden frame faced with
galvanized sheet metal. The tree-label sign is three inches wide
in lengths of 12, 14, 16 or 18 inches, in proportion to the length
of the tree name. This tree-label sign is made out of No. 18
gauge sheet metal, with the top and bottom edges turned inward
and rearward, about one-half inch, at about an angle of 45 degrees.
A sign of similar construction but shaped like an arrow, with a
pointed arrow-head of three inches and the "feathered" end
notched with a one-and-a-half inch indentation, is used at public
camps to indicate the direction to springs, streams, garbage pits,
and latrines. The road and trail sign is of similar construction
and is an arrow sign with a six inch point and a three inch rear
indentation.

The flange sign is made of No. 14 gauge sheet metal. One
flange sign used is 12 inches wide by 20 inches long, with one long
edge turned over one and one-half inches at an angle of 90 degrees.

State Forest Signs

51

The sign is erected by driving supporting nails in this turned-over
edge. Wooden signs are made of one-inch boards, surfaced on
four sides, with strips one inch thick and two inches wide placed
around the four edges. The strips are then finished with one-
half inch quarter-round. When a wooden sign is made of more
than one board, the sign has a similar frame but is faced with
No. 14 gauge galvanized sheet metal, after which the quarter-
round is put over the top of the metal. The metal is used to
cover up the cracks between the boards that are caused when the
boards shrink after being put out in the weather. Paint also
sticks to metal better than to wood.

The size of the signs used on State forest land corresponds to
that of signs used in other lines of business, although there is a
tendency to lean to the smaller type of signs rather than to the
larger type. It is to be borne in mind that the small sign can
carry the message and serve the purpose intended without marr-
mg the beauty of the immediate landscape.

One of the largest signs, five feet high by eight feet long, is
now used to mark plantations, and gives figures showing the
kmds of trees planted, the number planted and the year in which
the trees were planted. Signs made for this purpose in the future
will be made four feet high by six feet long. All other State
^i.^^^. ^.^j..^ vvxii Mc u± uiis Size or smaller. There will be no
definite rules in regard to standardization in sizes of signs • but
signs used for similar purposes should be as near alike in' size
as possible.

Most of the signs are rectangular in shape. However there
are two arrow signs, the one used at public camps is three' inches
wide and 12, 14, 16 or 18 inches long; the other, used for roads
and trails, is six inches wide by 36 inches long.

WOODEN VERSUS METAL SIGNS

There is a marked tendency on the part of business concerns
either to use signs made entirely of metal, or to use galvanized
sheet metal on the faces of signs. One reason why wood is gain-
ing disfavor is because paint does not stick uniformly to spring
and summer wood. Wood usually has holes and depressions in it
and pamt catches in them. If the paint can find plenty of good-
sized pores or depressions in the wood into which it can'enter the
pamt will stick. Otherwise it will drop off in flakes. There is
no mherent "stick-to-itiveness" about paint. That is the con-
clusion of the Forest Products- Laboratory of the U. S. Forest
Service after making careful tests to find out why paints fail
iHese tests show that paint adheres readilv to spring growth of
wood and poorly to summer growth, because the former is porous
and the latter dense and comparatively poreless.

I

52

Foresters' Conference

If in the weather, a wooden sign will last only two or three
years. Then the paint will either crack off or show a streaked
or ''alligator" effect. On the other hand, a metal sign can be
painted so that it will still look good at the end of three years;
or if lacquered it will look good for six years, except for the fact
that the colored paint fades. This fading we escape by using
black and white paint.

Metal signs, for example arrow direction signs, are likely to
bend, and for some time were objected to for this reason. They
are bent by wind, ice, snow, animals, and man. This is now
largely prevented by putting turned edges at the tops and the
bottoms of such signs. As was previously indicated, sheet iron
of about No. 18 gauge is used, and the two edges are each turned
at an angle of about 45 degrees.

Wooden signs are more bulky than metal signs. Our standard
road and trail sign is six inches wide and 36 inches long. If
these signs are made of wood, a forest ranger can carry perhaps
ten when erecting them, but if they are made of metal, he can
carry fifteen. In no case should these signs be carried loosely.
Instead, they should be securely fastened together before they are
taken into the woods, to prevent rubbing. This can be done by
using two straps made of webbing or leather, with adjustable
buckles. One of these straps should hp fas+pn'^'l ovrMin^ oo^v.
end of a bundle of signs. Such a bundle can be carried by a sling
over one's shoulder. A No. 18 gauge sheet metal road and trail
sign six inches wide by three feet long weighs about three pounds.
The average wooden sign of the same size weighs a little more.

In most cases repairs can be made to damaged metal signs, but
usually wooden signs cannot be repaired satisfactorily. Sheet
metal signs with holes shot through them can be repaired by
welding or soldering. Dents made in metal signs can be pounded
out. Bent metal signs can be straightened. A blow that would
bend these turned-edge arrow signs (six inches wide by three
feet long) would split or break a wooden sign of the same size
and practically destroy it.

COLOR OF SIGNS

At the meeting of the Committee on Signs on April 27, 1928,
of which I had the privilege of being a member, it was unanimous-
ly agreed that the color of the State forest signs, excepting pos-
sibly fire prevention signs, should be a white background with
black letters and a black border.' This color combination seems
to look best for the longest period, as other colors invariably fade.
Experiments conducted by the U. S. Forest Service Laboratories,
and by Pennsylvania and other states, to determine the most

State Forest Signs

53

permanent color combinations for signs, show that black and white
are the most legible and durable combination for use in forest
areas.

Heretofore, most of our signs have been made with a green
background with white letters. But green is too nearly the color
ot the forest, and therefore does not present sufficient contrast
Green is one of the most difficult pigments to mix so as to pro-
duce a shade that is uniform in color. In mixing, too much tur-
pentine (synthetic or pure), linseed oil (raw or boiled), and too
many other factors enter into the problem, making it difficult to
produce a uniform shade. It has been shown that a gallon of
green paint of a certain shade, purchased in 1926, and a gallon
ot the same kind and grade purchased in 1927 from the same
company, produced different colors. One was a much lighter
shade than the other. This fact was shown when signs painted
at difl'erent times for use in the same forest were found to be of
different shades of green.

STYLE OF LETTKRING

The standard color for State forest signs, as has already been
mentioned, will be white with black letters. Some other" State ,
departments as well as the Department of Forests and Waters
are using me same combination of colors. The signs of the State
l^ame Commission are in black and white. But the type of letter-
mg and border will give State forest signs an individuality which
will make them distinct from any other signs. One advantage
of haying signs of all forest districts uniform will be that the
tourist or forest visitor upon seeing one of these signs will know
that he is within a State forest area.

A sign survey of the 25 State forest districts of Pennsylvania
reveals plamly that in no single instance are the road and trail
signs uniform. Even in a single district it has been noticed that
as rnany as three different styles of signs and lettering have been
used for roads and trails. The lettering in many instances was
done imperfectly, and in a few instances both spelling and ab-
breviations were incorrect. It is therefore quite apparent that a
definite sign policy and program was necessary in the Department
of Forests and Waters, especially for forest road and trail signs
Since each forest district had a distinct style of lettering it is
apparent that the lettering should be standardized and be uniform
tor all districts. In order to facilitate standardization it was
deemed necessary that the sign painting be centered at one or two
places m the State. In accordance with this plan, one sign painter
1 ""^..^"T'^'n^ in a central sign painting place in St. Marys, in
the Elk Forest District. The various foresters submit their

54

Foresters' Conference

needs to him and the signs are painted and shipped to them. In
this way the work is done more economically and satisfactorily
than if each forester had his signs done locally.

The style of lettering which has been made standard is the plain
block letter. This style was chosen because it is the plainest and
most legible letter. Therefore, all forms of fancy lettering are
barred from use in State forest signs.

The size of letters will differ according to the size of the signs,
but the block letter type will remain the same on all signs. So
far as possible, the lettering of certain kinds of signs will be made
uniform. For example, road and trail signs will have the main
titles in letters two inches high, made with one-half-inch stroke
and being on an average one and one-half inches wide. For con-
venience this is called the *'heavy face" letter. Main titles in
long names will be made with "heavy face condensed" letters that
have a stroke of three-eighths of an inch, and are on an average
one inch wide. The subtitles will be in letters one inch high, made
with a quarter-inch stroke, and with an average width of three-
fourths of an inch. Where the names of several places and the
distances thereto are to be given from a certain point along a
road, then the name of the road itself is placed on the standard
arrow road sign, while the names of the several places are each
placed on separate arrow signs three inches wide and of lengths
depending upon the names to be placed thereon. The names on
these small arrow signs are made in letters one inch high.

LENGTH OF SERVICE

State forest signs will be painted if they are large in size, and
lacquered if small. Large signs will be made with a background
of wood or a wooden frame and faced with No. 14 gauge galvan-
ized iron. The first coat will be a galvanized iron primer, then
will follow two coats of flat white paint, after which the letters
will be put on and the signs given a coat of spar varnish. Such
a treatment will keep a sign in good shape for several years.
Small signs will be made out of un-galvanized sheet iron and will
be lacquered. The first coat will be a priming lacquer for use with
white lacquer, then two coats of white lacquer will follow, after
which the letter^ will be put on with a black striping lacquer, and
the sign given a coat of clear lacquer. This treatment will keep
a sign in good shape for about six years.

Since lacquer dries quickly, it must be put on with a spraying
machine. One reason why lacquer looks better for a longer time
than paint is because lacquer dries from the inside out while
paint dries from the outside in. Lacquer makes a smooth, neat-

State Forest Signs 55

looking sign, and is to be preferred to paint where it can be used
As automobiles have been improved in appearance and made to
look good for a longer time through the use of lacquer, so can
metal signs be made to look better and to give longer service.

HOW TO PLACE SIGNS

The tendency has been to place too many, rather than too few
signs m our State forest areas. A limited number of signs
judiciously placed, is far superior to a large number of signs'
placed promiscuously. Road and trail signs should not only con-
tain the name of the road or trail, but should include the distance
to the next road or trail. On long roads or trails, two or more
signs may be used advantageously in naming the particular road
or trail, but they should be placed for direction only. This helps
forest visitors to find their way through the State forests. Many
instances have been noted where hunters and recreationists have
easily found their way through some of the State forests that
were adequately posted with signs. Where these signs are made
to conform with the Department's Public Use Maps, people can go
into great stretches of forest land without fear of being lost

Forest road and trail signs, therefore, should serve two pur-
poses: first, to show immediate location; second, to indicate
direction and distance to the next road or trail. No district
forester can sit in his office and prepare a list of signs to be used
m a State forest area unless he has previously gone over the
area and knows where those signs are to be placed, and the dis-
tance from those locations to the connecting roads or trails
Therefore, great care should be exercised in submitting the in-
formation to be placed on each sign, so that the distance to the
intersection is stated as nearly accurately as possible. It should
be borne in mind that place and direction signs in the State
forests are the guide to forest visitors, and are just as essential
as road signs are to the tourist.

Road and trail signs may be placed on trees where it is possible
but if no convenient tree is at hand a post should be erected and
the sign placed thereon. These posts should extend six feet
above the ground and be painted black. They will be made out
of channel iron three inches wide, one and one-half inches deep,
and of No. 11 gauge iron, and should have three-eighth inch holes
every inch (centre to centre) for a length of four feet from the
tops of the posts. The posts will be made nine feet long, so that
they can be put in the ground three feet. To prevent these posts
from bending from their perpendicular position, a triangular piece
of flat sheet iron, six inches on each side, will be fastened on each

56

Foresters ' Conference

post at a point 3 feet from the bottom of the post. Sheet iron of
No. 11 gauge is about one-eighth of an inch thick and weighs
&bout 5 pounds per square foot. One of these iron posts weighs
18 pounds, while a four by four inch chestnut post nine feet long
weighs more than 24 pounds. The price of these iron posts will
be from 60 to 80 cents each, while a four by four inch wooden
post nine feet long contains 12 board feet of wood, which, at
$50.00 per thousand, costs 60 cents. Channel iron posts are
easier to carry to remote forest sections. They are cheaper to
erect as they can be driven into the ground, whereas a hole must
be dug for a wooden post. Also, they are not affected by heaving
from frost as are wooden posts, and therefore they remain
straighter and neater looking.

When signs are nailed on trees it is recommended that 16 penny
galvanized nails be used. When iron nails are used they will
rust, and the rust will run down over face of sign and discolor it.
These nails should be driven into the tree so as to allow one-half
of an inch of each nail to extend out in front of the sign, in order
to allow for the normal growth of the tree. Otherwise, in less
than a year, the growth of the tree will draw the nail heads into
the face of the sign and start to damage it.

In erecting large signs, two wooden posts, four by four inches,
should be put up with at least two cross-bars between them on
which the sign is fastened. These cross-bars not only serve as
braces, but also make it easier to erect and take down the sign.
In order to hold the side posts perpendicular, and therefore neat
and orderly, cement should be poured around each post to a point
about two inches above the level of the ground. This will also
prolong the life of the posts by preventing them from rotting off
where they would otherwise come into contact with the ground.

COST OF SIGNS

The materials used for painting 153 road and trail signs (six
inches wide by three feet long) consisted of one gallon of gal-
vanized iron primer, two gallons of flat white paint, one-half pint
of black paint, three quarts of varnish, and one-half gallon of
turpentine, making the average cost for material per sign six
and one-half cents. The No. 18 gauge sheet metal signs cost 29
cents each. The cost of labor for painting, at $4.00 a day, aver-
aged 40 cents a sign, as eight to twelve signs can be painted in
a day. This makes a total cost of seventy-five and one-half cents
a sign. In using lacquer to make a sign of this size, the cost is
somewhat reduced by the saving in time on account of the lacquer
drying quicker than paint and varnish as the various coats are

State Forest Signs

57

applied. The average number of letters for these 153 signs was
twenty-nine. It requires as much time to make the one-inch
letters as it does to make the two-inch letters, because more care
must be taken in making the small letters. In making signs with
white backgrounds and black letters, it costs twice as much to
make the letters as it does in using, for example, a green back-
ground with white letters, because of the different method that
must be employed. In painting black letters on a white back-
ground more time is required in making the sharp corners on the
A's, E's M's, etc. To make a sign with a green background and
white letters, the sign is first painted white and the letters are
outlined with a pencil, after which the green is easily and quickly
applied around the outline of each letter.

As the State forest sign program progresses, it is expected that
the best features now in vogue in the use of out-of-door signs
will be adopted. With one or two sign painters speciaUzing in
this work, they will be able so to systematize their work that the
best signs will be produced at a minimum of cost. It will be their
aim to develop a series of signs for State forest use of which the
Department can justly be proud. Some of the signs which we
now use we are proud of, and among these is one bearing the
words **You are welcome on the State Forests." May we, before
a great while, be able to discard this sign, and when that time
comes we may have many different signs, each so well adapted
to Its particular forest use, that in every one the forest visitor
v^'lll intuitively see the word-— Welcome !

58

Foresters' Conference

SPECIAL FOREST STUDIES IN PENNSYLVANIA

Committee
Dr. E. a. Ziegler LeRoy Frontz

Dr. J. V. HOFMANN J. A. AUGHENBAUGH

Prof. Geo. S. Perry Wm. B. Segraves

Presented by Dr. Ziegler

THE first stage looking toward forest restoration in any
country is necessarily employed in arousing the public con-
science to the evils attendant upon forest destruction. In
such a new public movement it is only far-seeing statesmen that
are able to judge large human processes and their results. These
men for a time work alone. If they spent their time on detailed
research the movement would die '^aborning," no matter how
exact and scientific such research might be. One of the greatest
examples of such statesmanship in Pennsylvania is seen in the
life of the late Dr. Joseph T. Rothrock. His argument for an
''about face" by the Commonwealth in its handling of its forest
resource needed at first no special studies nor detailed research.
His thesis was written by the giant hand of the demon fire from
one border of the State to the other.

However, along with the truly Herculean task of organizing
the sentiment of the Commonwealth in support of the rebuilding
of the forest resource and thus preventing the "Pennsylvania
Desert" from securing a death grip on about one third of our
entire land area, Dr. Rothrock saw the host of problems that re-
quired solution before forestry practice could be established on
a firm foundation. Along with his forest protection policy, his
State forest land purchase policy, his forest law problems, and
the problem of a trained forest personnel, he gave some attention
to special studies. Although there were then (1895) no trained
foresters in Pennsylvania to take up detailed work, excellent de-
scriptive reports were made on such subjects as maple sugar
and charcoal. In 1897 he had some investigations made of forest
insects attacking pitch pine and spruce, and a report on fungous
diseases of trees. These latter papers, valuable as they were
were frankly stated to have been largely drawn from research
elsewhere. Other excellent papers were written on the water

Special Forest Studies in Pennsylvania

59

influence of the forest, the use of timber by the mining industry,
and lumbering on the West Branch of the Susquehanna, as well
as compilations of statistics on the lumber cut and fire loss — all
subjects cognate to and of value in forestry but taking no field
study and showing the need of forestry rather than affecting
the methods of forestry. Their writers, such as Dr. Byron D.
Halsted, Prof. Charles W. Johnston and Mr. John Birkinbine,
were leaders in their fields. The first forester employed appears
to have been Mr. William G. Kohout in 1897, who made and
recorded some limited observational notes on forest composition
and carried out a few elementary growth studies. But again the
most profitable part of his work was the demonstration of timber
and money yields of the managed forests of Europe. All this was
most excellent and creditable and in keeping with that very early
development stage of the forestry movement — the time when
minds were being made up to accomplish something.

It was only after the Commonwealth began acquiring forest
land in 1898 and employed permanently its first trained forester,
Mr. George H. Wirt, in 1901, that forestry practice can reaiiy be
said to have been seriously approached in Pennsylvania. For-
estry was at once transferred from the region of observational
general discussion to efforts in the woods, and, it may be added,
has been there ever since in Pennsylvania and to an increasing
extent.

At once practical problems presented themselves and real forest
experiment was begun. In 1901, 1902, 1903 and 1904, thinnings,
prunings, plantings, nursery work and experimental forest fire
organization were begun by Mr. Wirt in the Mont Alto Forest
with the double object of training foresters and making the Mont
Alto Forest an experimental forest laboratory. It has been the
location of a considerable number of the forest studies since then,
though these studies, experimental work and forest research
have spread all over the state as foresters became available and
assumed responsibility for actual forest practice on other State
lands.

Next to the experimental work on fire organization and its
progressive development, the widely burned forest areas suggested
first of all forest planting, which required the immediate establish-
ment of forest nurseries. Nursery development brought a host of
problems for solution— some local, others general. Unfavorable
soil conditions for coniferous seedlings were made the subject of
numerous experiments. Brilliant success crowned many of these
experiments. As an example might be cited the charcoal soil-
modifier developed in the Mont Alto nursery, which, for conifers,

GO

1^'oRESTERs' Conference

decreases winter heaving-, spring damping-off and summer baking
on an otherwise difficult clay soil. In this nursery it has changed
failure with conifers to abundant success. In 1924 the last and
most elaborate work on chemical treatment of nursery soil to
prevent damping-off was carried out in cooperation with the U. S.
Bureau of Plant Industry. In every case the standard Pennsyl-
vania soil treatment on the check plots showed results superior
to the chemically treated plots. The nurserymen of our Depart-
ment were the first to show that proper soil drainage and soil
acidity were able to generally control the most destructive damp-
ing-off disease. Other nursery studies showed successful methods
of seed collection and extraction, normal seed fertility, best time
for sowing, proper shading, proper mulching, modified broadcast-
sowing as producing cheaper seedlings than rill-sowing (with
debatable maintenance of quality of seedlings), the proper periods
for holding young trees of various species in the nursery, methods
for control of weeds and fungous and insect enemies, that soil
fertility can be well maintained without chemical fertilizer, though
perhaps the use of raw bonemeal and phosphate rock may lessen
weed troubles emphasized with barnyard manure as well rotted
compost. Hardwood seedlings of heavy seeded species were found
easy to produce but difficult to transplant with the same success
as conifers on acroimt nf fbpiv ^r^r^o- i^^ ^^^^.^ o -f,-i-

^* vi^c^x xKjxi.^ Le*p xuOi/Cs. ouiiit; studies

have been made to find in nursery practice methods to reduce
this tap root development— such as root pruning and removing
the tip of the seed radicle as in acorns.

While all the nurseries— Mont Alto, Asaph, Greenwood and
Uearfield— contributed to this long series of nursery experiment
and study, the Clearfield Nursery deserves special mention in the
experiments and studies leading to the introduction of power
machinery in nursery practice and the consequent lowering of
costs Though there are many problems still to solve, and new
ones developing, it can be said that forest nursery practice in
i'ennsylvania has progressed to the point where by experiment
and special study it has attained a standard of success comparable
with the best in this country, and in other countries in which
torestry practice is more than a century-old.

Among the notable lessons in our nursery experience several
have shown negative results. Two of these, namely, (1) the
tailure of the small forest ranger nurseries, and (2) the insti-
tutional nurseries without trained nursery superintendents, should

dui'^r''.' '7- "^^ "^'^ ^^^ ^'^^"y <^"« *» the conflict of
duties at critical nursery periods, and the second to no trained

supervision at all, or to "garden" superintendence primarily Ster

Special Foreht Studies in Pennsylvania 61

ested in other lines of endeavor. But both failures were also in
part due to the lack of constant experiment and special studies
necessary to successful nursery work.

Forest planting began on the state lands in 1899 with the
planting of 1,000 Carohna Poplar cuttings in Pike County This
plantation was a complete failure. The oldest plantation now
growing it two acres of white pine on the old '*Monaghan Field"
in the Mont Alto Forest. Other plantings followed on a con-
siderable scale, first attention being given to old abandoned fields
m the State forests. These plantings were frequently used for
experiments on

(a) Planting methods and costs

(b) Spacing and size of trees

(c) Adaptability of species to soil and site

(d) Mixture of species

(e) Relative rate of growth and wood production

of different species of trees

As a result of these experimental plantings, methods have become
successful and more or less standardized. "Permanent Sample
Plots" are now laid off in the older plantations and the actual
wood production is ascertained each five years. The development
of the forest stand is accurately recorded in diam.eter and height,
and after some little time there will develop a sufficient bodT'of
data to inform a prospective planter what a given species will
produce at a given age, and the cost of any reforestation work he
may desire to do. A striking result of these plantation sample
plots and studies, which largely concern conifers, is that they will
produce much more wood per acre and year than natural hard-
woods, probably one and one-half to two times as much. This
means that we can increase the productivity of our forest land by
increasing the stand of conifers at every opportunity. This will
lead our new forests toward their original position with the
conifers predominating.

Special experiments have been begun, looking toward converting
poor hardwood and scrub oak areas to conifers. This has been a
more difficult problem and one not thus far attended by the same
success as old field planting. The harder and rougher soils and
competition for moisture and sunlight require a more careful
selection of species as well as stronger plants. Although much
work remains to b"e done on this problem results already secured
show that:

(a) Many burned hardwood areas that seem hopeless for
perhaps five years will again develop a good stand of
sprout timber without planting.

62

Foresters' Conference

Special Forest Studies in Pennsylvania

G3

#*•

(b) Where sufficient hardwood sprouts fail to materialize
and fully occupy the ground, and to take control from
dense scrub oak thickets, only the most tolerant
species are successful, such as Norway spruce. Hem-
lock and other tolerant species are expected to qualify
in later experiments.

(c) Where light conditions permit, the hard pines — par-
ticularly red pine, pitch pine and Scotch pine — are
showing much promise in early life.

The Department early began the study of forest increment by
permanent sample plots established in natural forest stands and
planted stands on both state and private lands. There are about
80 permanent sample plots recorded in the Department files.
Special species studies (like that of the Pitch Pine Study with
50 plots and the Beech-Birch-Maple Study with 50 plots — mostly
permanent) require many additional plots. It is impossible to
study the growth of single tree stems and assume a certain num-
ber to the acre and thus secure reliable acre yields. Sample plots
of one-tenth to one acre are laid off to secure wood increment
data,

(a) For comparing the production of different species in
pure stands and in varying mixtures.

(b) For studying the effect of different kinds of silvicul-
tural trpatment such as the nroner deeree of thinning
at different ages to stimulate growth, as compared to
check plots unthinned.

(c) For determining forest and working-circle yields so as
to determine how much timber may be cut yearly and
still increase the standing timber capital.

(d) For studying the best methods of securing young trees
by natural seeding as well as for the study of seed
production and the collection of seed.

These few illustrations suffice to show the function of sample
plots. Many others could be listed. Special studies on the total
amount of growing stock of various sizes or age classes, on admin-
istrative forest units of the state lands, are going on with the
intention of fixing a total cut per year, first as thinnings and
then as final cut for timber. Such a study is now complete for
the Mont Alto Forest. Tliis must now be followed up by a
marketing campaign to build up a permanent market for the par-
ticular wood products that must come out of the forest so as to
permit normal development. On the Mont Alto Forest the annual
cut is set now at 3,000 cords, practically all of which is made up
of thinnings.

Economic studies of costs of cutting, hauling, manufacture and
freight rates are necessary, and are being made. As an example,
a study made by the senior class of the Pennsylvania State Forest

School in August 1928, showed that on a large Pennsylvania mill
it took 15 minutes to saw 1,000 board feet of lumber from logs
ranging from 6 to 9 inches in diameter; 11 minutes for 10 to IS
inch logs, and 7 minutes for 14 to 28 inch logs. That lumberman
was undoubtedly losing hard cash in cutting 6 to 10 inch logs as
they had twice the cost of sawing, and probably twice the cost
of logging, of the more mature timber.

A study of freight rates shows intra-state rates in Pennsyl-
vania on extract wood, pulp wood and mine timber to be 50 to
300 percent higher than southern railroad rates, and inter-state
pulpwood rates into West Virginia, prescribed as fair by the Inter-
state Commerce Commission. This condition must be remedied
in the next few years, as the removal oi $200,000 worth of thin-
nings and salvage cuttings from the $80,000 Mont Alto Forest
(22,000 acres) alone in the past eight years, indicates the volume
of such low grade products that must come out of our 1,300,000
acres of State forests while we are bringing the main stands to
saw size. A special freight rate on blighted chestnut was a large
factor in the above thinning and salvage cutting. Economic
studies are probably in need of special attention more than any
other at the present moment.

A little experiment of scattering some bushels of soil from

successful forpst riiivsprv co^arJ h^^Hq n^^^v k^^^^ «flfl;^f^j „. ,-i^i.

with some obscure soil trouble in the Milton Nursery last year
showed some unexpected effects in improving the seedling-growth
and the stand. This reminds us that the world knows little as
yet about that basic forest element— the forest soil. In con-
nection with the soils course at the State Forest School, a study
is now being conducted on Mont Alto Forest soils, that will be of
great assistance in interpreting the results in reproduction,
growth, increment, and forest type investigations. The trail leads
not only through the chemical properties necessary to tree growth
but into soil bacterial life and activities. The agricultural soils
experts had struck this trail earlier in the case of the species of
nitrogent fixing bacteria on clover and alfalfa roots.

This paper could not cover, in the time allotted, the main lines
of research carried out by the Department in its first quarter
century of existence, nor sufficiently emphasize the tremendous
importance to Pennsylvania of the results thus far achieved.

In closing, several facts stand out. In agriculture there is
spent in special studies, research, experiment and education in
Pennsylvania, by the Department of Agriculture ; the State Col-
lege of Agriculture; the Agricultural Experiment Station, Farm
Agents, and related agencies, well over one and one half millions
of dollars of public funds. In addition, large amounts are spent

64

Foresters' Conference

Major Forest Protection Problems

65

by private individuals and agencies. And the government is now
being implored to help get rid of the surplus agricultural crops.
The forest resources, embracing an area equal to that of agri-
culture in our state and in the nation, and now growing only one
sixth of our consumption, receive about one thirty-third as much,
with little help from private forest owners. Assuming it takes as
much as 10 acres of forest to produce the same value as one acre
of farm, mere equality of state effort for the two resources would
demand an increase in forestry from $50,000 to $160,000 for the
closely allied functions of research and technical education. But
forestry requires at present much the greater relative effort.
Where there are now 80 sample plots on the State forests of
Pennsylvania there should be 800; where there are now two
full time research men, there should be six or eight.

Tlie Federal government is at the moment making much larger
provision for forest research. The National Lumber Manufac-
turers Association and the Pulp, and Paper Associations, the Na-
tional Chamber of Commerce and many other industrial organ-
izations are increasing research on the consuming end, but the
timber growing research is left largely to the National and State
Governments.

The second important fact that deserves comment is that in
the marked progress in forestry technique worked out by our
Department, through the very limited research and special study
we have had time and money to carry on, our foresters have
too often been satisfied to use the conclusions of the experiment
in carrying out our own work only. There should be much more
writing up of such results for the use of the profession at large
and the public. For this public use of our findings the studies
must have recorded in greater detail and system the facts and
conditions that bear on the problems. Mere unrecorded personal
observation of this contributory data may enable the investigator
to reach reliable conclusions for the prosecuting of his own work,
but the public needs more for their use of it. It is only in this
way that these results can be soldily built into the growing for-
estry art. Without this recording and publication, we lose too
much with the personal passing of the forester. It also makes
for friendly help and cooperation, and will prevent much independ-
ent duplication of effort. The lack of this writing up of our work
has secured outside recognition for our progress only by those
who have visited our forests. These visitors always seem to find
much more than their reading had indicated. The leadership in
this basic research and special study development in Pennsylvania
hes largely in the technical personnel of the Department of For-
ests and Waters.

MAJOR FOREST PROTECTION PROBLEMS

By George H. Wirt

WHEN some one mentions the subject of forest protection,
ordinarily the first thing thought of is forest fire. Like-'
wise, it is common these days to think of forest fire as
the only force against which the forest must be protected. Thus
far little has been done in Pennsylvania in regard to insect damage
m forests. Somewhat more has been done in regard to fungous
troubles. Foresters, however, as a rule have barely touched the
facts as to insect and fungous damage in forests past, present or
future, notwithstanding the several conspicuous examples of what
both insects and fungi may do. A few of the current troubles
of foresters and forest land owners are the chestnut blight, white
pme blister rust, Woodgate rust, sap and heart rots, weevils, saw-
flies, scales and beetles. Insect troubles seem to be on the increase
both as to number and as to extent of damage done. In my
opinion, a major protection problem is presented to us bv reason
of the lack of appreciation of and concern as to insect and fungous
damage. The problem now is, how a consideration of the subject
of the protection of forests from insects and fungi may be brought
about so that such protection activities can be given their proper
position in a well balanced forestry program. Unquestionably,
this Department needs technical men qualified for research work
in forest entomology and forest pathology.

The forester in Pennsylvania is facing also, the problem of
damage by deer, beaver and other animals. Some work has been
done in the study of deer and beaver but much more must be
done. Foresters need facts. Tlie experience of the last hunting
season is an indication of what may be expected in attempting to
solve such problems. This phase of forest protection is to my
mmd a major problem, because of the misconceptions abroad as
to the proper relations between forests and wild animals and
between forestry and forest animal regulations.

There are other protection problems such as those of trespass,
ice damage in young plantations, and soil influences, which are
forcing' themselves upon our attention but, right or wrong, we
do not now consider them as of major importance.

66

FOKESTERS ' CONFEREN CE

I IRE— THE MAJOR PROTECTION PROBLEM

There remains for consideration the forest fire problem. It is
the one major forest protection problem which is receiving some
consideration. Briefly stated the problem is: How may we elimi-
nate forest fires? Some one very properly may inquire as to
whether the problem can be solved, that is whether forest fires
can be eliminated. We are convinced that they can be. The
problem has been solved elsewhere, and it can and will be solved
in Pennsylvania. Its solution depends upon a number of major
factors and it i;3 these factors that will be considered herewith
more or less in detail.

EDUCATION— A PRIMARY FACTOR

The primary factor in the whole proposition is that of educa-
tion— education of landowners, of forest land users or frequenters,
of local county and State officials, of those who operate equipment
likely to set fire to the forest, of those who by their own acts are
likely to cause forest fires, of those who of their own volition or
by compulsion assist in forest fire extinction, of timber users,
of school children, -and so as not to miss anybody, of the general
public, and not the least in importance, of ourselves as foresters.
This factor in tlie problem of forest fire elimination is not a
simple proposition nor one to be met by a mere wave of the hand.
The subject matter must be considered. Shall we present to our
people facts or suppositions, guesses or hypotheses? I believe
that it should be our determined purpose to present nothing but
facts. The big problem, however, is to get facts. Until everyone
concerned in gathering the facts needed or likely to be needed
realizes the importance of the work and is actuated by the strict-
est personal integrity, the subject matter handled in educational
work against forest fires will be at fault and may lead to wrong
policies and expenditures.

NEED FOR EXTENSIVE RESEARCH

There is need for much more extensive research into number,
cause, damage and location of forest fires as well as more detailed
study of every phase of forest fire prevention and control. The
forester who is not alive to this urgent need will soon find himself
in the background.

EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION OF FACTS

The forms and methods to be used in presenting forest fire
facts demand important consideration. The whole subject of edu-
cational methods and of psychology stares the forester in the face
and usually he is not on speaking terms with the situation. It

Major Forest Protection Problems 67

IS a real problem or set of problems to know what facts sho.id
be presented to various groups and in what form so as to produce
results. Inerefore, it is for foresters to do more studying along
these imes or for them to follow the directions of those who ave
qualified as to such methods.

Briefly it may be stated that the more effectively the educational
fac.or IS handled, the less difficulty there will be in handling cor-
rectly the other factors of this major problem.

PROPER DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSIBILITY

Another factor which faces those interested in the protection
of forests from fire is that of the proper distribution and accept-
ance of responsibility for that protection. Fundamentallv there
13 the responsibihty of ownership of land. Ownership ^implies
protection and with most forms of property there is no hesitancy
upon the part of the owner in using ail of his resources to estab-
lish and retam his ownership and to mamtain his rights against
encroachments by others. How far the owner goes in maintain-
ing his property against the forces of nature, depends of co^irse
upon his character and resources. Ordinarily good sense or busi-
ness pressure brings it about that when property cannot be pro-
tected, ownership changes to some on^e who is in a positior/to
aiToia pio.cc.ion and maiiitenance. i^or a number of reacons
these usual economic principles have not been held applicable to
forest property. The problem of the forester is to find the reasons
tor this situation and how to change them.

COMMUNITY INTERESTS

It is now a generally but vaguely accepted fact that the com-
munity has some interest in forest property even when owned
by an individual. There are said to be certain benefits, some
fi?H ^"".^f^f'Y^^^^' hazy, which the community obtains

rZj!^L^^^^^^ ^^^''^^'^ ^he community should

piotect the forest, and some people even go so far as to say that
the owner should not cut his trees when he wants to do so.
C^ranted that the community has an interest in productive forest
property, no matter who holds title to the land, it has then- some
obligation and responsibility to protect its interests. These com-
mumty benefits are said to flow to the local community, to the

t^aTrrT I "' '' ''' ''"'""• '' ^'^'^ ^PP-^^ therefore,
that each of these governmental agencies has a share in the propo-
sition The question is "What is each one's share?" Taxes are
paid for protection and even without any special community bene-
fits each governmental agency which receives taxes is und^r obli-
gation to afford to each particular kind of property reasonable

68

Foresters' Conference

protection from the forces that are endangering its existence or
profitable management. Likewise, it is productive property which
furnishes taxes, therefore governmental agencies receiving taxes
from specific kinds of property would naturally take an interest in
seeing to it that such property be kept productive so as to continue
as a source of taxes and, if possible, in increasing amounts.

DISTRIBUTION OF PROTECTION COSTS

There is an economic principle that each party concerned should
pay in accordance with the benefits received. But who can figure
out the value of forest influences ? Another principle of American
law is that a community does for its welfare that which cannot
be done individually by its constituents. The State steps in when
the local community is unable to do for the common good the
thing that is necessary and so the National Government takes up
that which cannot be done by the Commonwealth. Some times
under this proposition 'Vill not" or merely "does not" may be
substituted for 'xannot." Ultimately of course the whole tax
paying populace bears the burden but with an unjust distribution.

COOPERATIVE RESPONSIBILITY

It has been demonstrated numerous times that for an indi-
vidual owner of forest land to completely protect his property
against fire he would be obliged to expend much more than can
ever be obtained from it. On the other hand it has been demon-
strated that through the cooperation of adjoining owners complete
protection from fire can be obtained for a moderate and reasonable
expenditure. But there are always a certain number of obstruc-
tionists who are willing to benefit by the other fellow's activities,
as long as possible, without incurring any expense. These people
block cooperation. How may they be handled in order to bring
about individual and community welfare?

LEGISLATION AND FINANCES

It is evident that any solution of this difficult proposition must
be found, in part at least, in legislation. Then it is apropos to
ask, who, how and when, with respect to getting proper legislation,
and its enforcement after the best possible compromise is obtained.
Another major factor in the problem is that of finances. How
much money is needed to protect the forests of Pennsylvania from
fire? From what source should the money be obtained? Who is
responsible for obtaining it? How shall it be spent when made
available? Other questions just as perplexing may be asked. The
first question can be answered only with an approximation after a
very careful and detailed study of the situation with respect to

m

I

Major Forest Protection Problems 69

fires has been made. Generalities are suflficient in order to get
started but for eflScient results details must be known. For ex-
ample, we have worried along to this time with only a hazy idea
as to the extent of forest area needing protection.

No forest map of Pennsylvania is as yet in existence, and every
year that goes by without a forest map of the State means that
much delay in a business-like determination of facts necessary for
a reasonable forest protection budget. In my opinion, an airplane
map IS the only type of map which will show what is needed for
forest work. Without reliable maps no rational forest policy can
be completed.

SOURCE OF NECESSARY FUNDS

The source of the money needed depends upon many things,
but whether it is coming from the right places it tied up with
the question of responsibility heretofore discussed. As for ex-
ample, in view of the facts that the majority of forest owners
are doing nothing to protect their forest property from fire, that
local governments as townships and counties are not assuming
their responsibilities, and that even in the absence of this help
the Commonwealth is able to and should protect the forests within
its borders, is it good policy for this State to accept money from
-11- _ __i — ^^ vjv^ , w^AxxxxCxxL ioi tiiio purpoat;, un tiie very general
pretext that forest protection in this State is a benefit to navi-
gable streams ? Should the representatives of the Commonwealth
solicit and accept contributions from certain individuals for spe-
cific protection activities carried on in the region in which such
individuals own forest land without soliciting every land owner
benefitted ? Is it not better to get funds from any source rather
than not be able to afford protection to a certain region, provided,
of course, the money is obtained honestly and expended efficiently ?

HOW TO ALLOT PROTECTION FUNDS

How shall the money available be allotted? We are face to
face with the fact that there are forest fires to be extinguishd.
This means men and equipment. There are plenty of men avail-
able for all kinds of labor in Pennsylvania if there is ready money
to pay for their services. There is plenty of equipment available
for purchase just as rapidly as funds are available to pay for it.
But the men available may not be efficient and much of the
equipment on the market now does not meet our needs. Men
can be trained and new equipment can be developed, but how
much money should be set aside for such work ? When it comes
to men and equipment, fundamentally there must be a detailed
study of the needs of each local community. In some places men

70

Foresters' Conference

are plentiful and in others scarce. If a satisfactory forest fire
fighting tool will make one man more efficient than four or five
men without equipment, then there must be a decision as to
whether man power is to be bought or whether tools are to be
obtained. The towers must be manned, but is it necessary for
them to be manned from the beginning to the end of the fire
season? An organization built up for extinction can also do
educational and other preventive work. How far should the
funds available be spent for prevention and detection in order to
reduce to a minimum the amount needed for extinction?

It is certain that extinction expenses are an unpredictable item.
No one knows where, when or how forest fires will start, nor
what it will cost to extinguish those that do start. It is a big
step in advance, therefore, when all parties concerned consider
such expenses as an emergency proposition and funds are pro-
vided in such a way that flexibility is permissible.

COORDINATION OF FORCES

There is also the factor of coordinating all the protective forces
of the local communities in order that they may work together to
the advantage of the forest. Time will, however, not permit its
discussion at this time.

These four factors in the protection problem., nam.ely, education,
division of responsibility, finances and cooperation, react upon
each other, but nevertheless must be dealt with specifically by
each forester no matter how large or how small his protection
unit. That progress has been made in Pennsylvania along the
lines of protecting the forests from fire is well known to all of
you. That it is still an unsolved problem worthy of the best
thought not only of every forester but also of every good citizen
is not so generally acknowledged. Just now protection from fire
must be stressed, but always with the idea that, with the develop-
ment of constructive work in the woods, the forest fire organiza-
tion as such will disappear.

There seems to be no such hope for the elimination of insect
and fungous problems, and others arising from disturbed natural
conditions. It is the part of wisdom therefore to '*be prepared."

Pennsylvania's Forest Observation Tower System

71

PENNSYLVANIA'S FOREST OBSERVATION TOWER SYSTEM

Committee

H. E. ClEPI'ER J. C. MlDDOUR

T. I. Shirey Charles E. Zerby

H. B. Rowland ^ W. S. Swinger

Presented by H. E. Clepper

WHAT were probably the first observation stations in Penn-
sylvania for the protection of State forest land were con-
structed on the South Mountains in Franklin county in
1903. Tall trees on the higher points of ridges were selected,
pieces of wood were nailed on them to form ladders, the tops
were cut out, and in some cases temporary platforms were built
in the tree tops.

In 1905 a forty-foot w^ooden tower with an open platform was
erected on a mountain near Mont Alto. During the following nine
^cctxo c* icw nic»xc Xcmpuiai^y wouueii structures were erected m
various parts of the State, but for the most part the early for-
esters took advantage of whatever they found available that
could be used for observation stations, and the tree top look-outs
continued to be their principal reliance for forest fire detection.
In 1914 this Department erected its first steel towers. These
were fifty feet high, with open platforms on top, but only four
were erected. Three years later the State built two steel towers
equipped with enclosed tops and ladders. These and all subse-
quent towers were equipped with telephone instruments connected
with the forester's office and some forest fire wardens. The open
top tower was not satisfactory, in that the observer was exposed
to high winds and cold and could not possibly stay on the platform
for very long periods. It became necessary to adopt some type
of tower with an enclosed top, which would provide greater com-
fort for the observer.

The passage of a State compensation law led to a consideration
of the possibility of State employees falling from the ladders of
these towers, and the fact that the public began to use these
towers suggested a change in the type of construction to insure
greater safety. Instead of using a ladder to mount the tower.
It was found desirable to erect only towers equipped with stairs
and guard rails. Towers purchased in 1919 and 1921 were of

72

Foresters' Conference

this type; many of these towers were sixty feet in height, of
galvanized steel with enclosed cabins on top. Incidentally, by
experience, it was found that to build wooden towers of the same
height was fully as expensive, and the wooden ones had the added
drawback of needing paint more frequently.

EQUIPMENT OF OBSERVATION STATIONS

Each top tower cabin is furnished with a telephone, permitting
communication with the forester, forest rangers, or forest fire
wardens. Most of the towers now have installed in the top cabin
an iron table with a movable top, upon which is mounted a cir-
cular map showing the territory under observation by the tower-
man. This map is covered with plate glass, and centered in the
map is a movable instrument called an alidade, which indicates
on a circular scale on the map the azimuth bearing of the observed
fire.

Each towerman is supplied with a pair of field glasses and
various blank forms upon which he keeps a complete record of
reported forest fires, and such other records as humidity and
temperature.

Near the foot of the towers are small cabins, in which the tower-
men stay when not on observation duty. These cabins are usually
equipped with stoves, cots, mattresses, tables, chairs, cooking
utensils and dishes. Fire tools are stored therein. In the cabins
on the ground there are no telephones, but instead a call bell is
installed. If the telephone in the top tower cabin rings when he
is on the ground, he will hear the call but will have to mount
the tower in order to answer the telephone. This arrangement
acts as a precaution against the possibility of the towerman fail-
ing to be on the top of the tower when he should be there, and
guards against his making reports from the ground instead of
from the point where fires should be observed.

The average cost of Pennsylvania's forest tower observation
stations, fully equipped, is approximately $1,500 each. The
State's total investment in tower stations is approximately $141,-
000. Approximately 1,000 miles of telephone line connect the
towers with commercial telephone companies, of which the De-
partment of Forests and Waters maintains approximately 800
miles.

THE PRESENT OBSERVATION SYSTEM

Of the 117 State manned observation stations in Pennsylvania,
111 are State-owned steel towers, four are manned in cooperation
with other organizations, and two stations are bare knobs. These
primary observation stations form the backbone of the forest fire

Pennsylvania's Forest Observation Tower System

73

detection and location system in Pennsylvania. In addition to the
State's system, the U. S. Forest Service maintains an observation
station on the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Penn-
sylvania.

Supplementing the State observation stations, private interests
have gone to the expense to construct seven towers, which are
designed primarily for giving protection to woodlands privately
owned. These towers have been erected by water companies for
protection of their watersheds, and by coal companies. Prob-
ably in no other way can the increasing interest in the need for
forest protection throughout Pennsylvania be shown more effec-
tively, than by the fact that seven private business organizations
have committed themselves to a definite policy of forest observa-
tion, and have been willing to expend funds to erect these towers
and to keep them properly manned during the forest fire seasons.

NEED FOR ADDITIONAL TOWERS

The forest fire observation tower system of the State is now
practically complete. Tliere are a few gaps to be filled, however,
in that there remain sections throughout the State which would
be better protected if they had the advantage of closer detection.
Fifteen additional primary towers (eighty feet high) and two
secondary towers could be used. The need for these seventeen
additional stations is not an immediate matter, as they can be
gradually added during the next five years, at the end of which
time the forests of Pennsylvania will be adequately covered by a
network of observation stations, practically insuring that no large
areas of woodland within the State would be without the range
of efficient fire detection.

HEIGHT OF TOWERS

During the early growth of Pennsylvania's observation tower
system it was believed that towers fifty feet in height were satis-
factory, if placed upon a high knob. Later it was found that a
tower sixty feet in height permitted more satisfactory observation,
and accordingly the majority of the towers constructed in recent
years are of the sixty foot type. Experiments conducted by
agencies in other states and within our own state show that sixty
foot towers have advantages over fifty foot towers, and that
eighty foot towers are greatly superior to the sixty foot type.
Accordingly, several eighty foot structures were erected during
the past two years, and these almost immediately proved their
worth over the lower types. Recent reports show that the ef-
ficiency of eleven towers could be greatly increased if they were
increased in height to eighty feet.

74

Foresters' Conference

IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY

In addition to the foregoing suggestions there are certain other
improvements within the detection system itself on particular
towers which need to be completed as rapidly as circumstances will
permit. Six towers are without proper or complete maps for the
territories covered by them, and six are not equipped to locate
fires by the triangulation system, which is standard for the De-
partment, and without which no tower can function at its greatest
efficiency.

Perhaps the greatest weakness in the operation of individual
towers is the fact that there are often certain areas within a
fifteen mile radius of theni which the observer cannot see directly,
and in which the smoke of fires might not be visible for a half
hour or more. These areas where detection is not possible at the
moment a fire starts are called blind spots, or spots of indirect
vision. It frequently happens that a towerman has such blind
areas within a fifteen mile radius of his tower. Accordingly, it is
suggested that the next step designed to increase the eflficiency of
the present observation system is that each blind spot within a
fifteen mile radius of each tower be marked on the tower map
with red ink or by cross-hatching. Each State-manned tower
should have such a visibility map as soon as possible.

The aim of a tower observer should not be to report smokes
from unusually long distances. Too much area should not be
assigned to one observer. A serviceable visibility range should be
established for each tower. An observer who is encouraged to
report smokes from long distances out of his useful range has a
tendency to concentrate on finding out how far he can see fires, and
thereby overlook and fail to report immediately fires springing
up within a few miles of the tower.

SPECIAL TRAINING FOR OBSERVERS

The initial training that an observer receives is the basis upon
which his value as an observer will depend. A man who, when
first employed, receives thorough, patient, and helpful instruction
from the forester, will invariably make a better fire observer than
the one who receives slovenly instruction, or receives no instruction
at all and is expected to pick up the necessary information. Perhaps
no other feature of the tower personnel is so important as this of
giving the observer adequate and early training. All towermen
receive general instructions concerning their duties and the prep-
aration of their reports, but in many respects even more important
than these general instructions, is the necessity for specific written
instructions for the guidance of each individual towerman.

Pennsylvania's Forest Observation Tower System

75

There are 117 State observation stations throughout Pennsyl-
vania, and there are, therefore, 117 distinct problems, each peculiar
to an individual tower. Unless a forester has absolute dependa-
bility in his tower observers, the forest protection activities of his
district cannot function at their greatest eflftciency. An observer
who is entirely dependable can be taught the necessity for accur-
acy, promptness, and persistence in the detection and location of
fires, and in reporting them. Too much stress cannot be laid
upon these qualities in observers. Granting that an observer is
reliable, his subsequent training is dependent upon the efforts of
the forester. Various plans for providing the observer with this
training have been suggested and attempted, but perhaps the
best method by which this training can be given is for it to be
given him on the tower, preferably when fires are burning, by the

forester or some other experienced member of the district
personnel.

The training of observers should not cease with informing them
how to detect and locate fires. It should go much further. A good
observer will know what to do during damp and rainy weather to
keep himself occupied, and will be employed at road building or
repairs, telephone line maintenance, or cutting brush. A good
observer will look after and follow up these duties, if the forester
brings them to his attention and constantly checks liis activities.

MOBILE DETECTION

Supplementary to the main tower observation system some
form of the old lookout system is still used in seven forest districts.
A patrolman or watchman is stationed on a high place on ex-
tremely dry days and watches for fires in a limited territory,
usually not covered directly or clearly by a tower. The average
number of such lookouts operated annually in Pennsylvania is
thirty-one, but they are needed for an average of only ten days
each during each year. These lookouts usually have telephone
service accessible near the point where they are stationed. They
form a valuable supplementary service to the towers, since it
frequently happens that when a lookout man discovers a fire he
will usually attack it with a crew of men and extinguish it at once.
Such dual service is very necessary in some districts and perhaps
will need to be continued for a number of years.

Carrying this idea further, the forester may, and often does, use
smoke chasers, who may be inspectors or forest fire wardens,
stationed at the towers. As soon as smoke is detected they proceed
at once to the location and find out whether or not it is a forest
fire. If it is, they procure men and extinguish it. The smoke-
chaser fills a great need in extending the eflficiency of the fire

76

Foresters' Conference

towers, and his position is that of a mobile secondary observer.
The tower observer is stationary, but the smoke-chaser, upon the
report of a fire, can proceed anywhere within the territory covered
by the tower, and determine whether the smoke reported is
actually a forest fire or a false alarm.

PERIOD OF SERVICE AND SALARIES

The average period of service per year for a State forest fire
observer is fifteen weeks, approximatly eight weeks in the spring
and seven weeks in the fall. In actual practice, the yearly period
of service varies in the 25 forest districts from eight to twenty
weeks. While it is possible, for the sake of saving allotted funds,
to defer putting towermen on duty until the very last moment
before the start of a fire season, this practice should be discouraged,
for in attempting to save money the forester often endangers

timberlands many times the value of the attempted saving. Since
the Commonwealth has gone to great expense in erecting its sys-
tem of observation stations and equipping towers with tools, cabins
and telephone lines, and since this system has been brought into
existence for the express purpose of protecting forest properties
and insuring them against destruction by fire, it is not consistent
with the aims of this system to keep the towers unmanned during
any part of the year v/hen there is a probable chance for fires to
occur.

In a few forest districts observers are paid on a daily basis for
tlie days that they are actually engaged in observation work,
although in the majority of districts observers are paid on the
basis of a regular monthly income, which varies between $75 and
$110 a month, the average being $85. Because a forest fire tower
observer in Pennsylvania must be a person of intelhgence consid-
erably above that of the ordinary laborer, and also because an
observer must know his territory intimately, be able to read maps,
use the alidade, take bearings on the direction of forest fires, know
how to use a telephone for long distance calls, make minor tele-
phone line repairs, and be able to use the thermometer and hygrom-
eter supplied him for taking temperature and humidity readings,
it is apparent that the scale of wage now paid them is not
excessive.

MEN VERSUS WOMEN OBSERVERS

It is of interest to know that of the 117 observers, 109 are men
and eight are women. The experience of foresters who have em-
ployed women as forest fire observers shows that they are ordi-
narily very satisfactory at this work. A woman is quick to detect
fires, and is usually careful in locating them properly. In addition,

Pennsylvania's Forest Observation Tower System

77

she is careful in taking humidity and temperature readings, and
can be depended upon to be thorough in the preparation of her
reports. A woman is, however, not always satisfactory, because
she is physically unable to do some of the heavier duties expected
of an observer, such as repairing telephone lines, building roads
leading to towers, and cutting brush.

HOLDING OBSERVERS FROM YEAR TO YEAR

The wage scale of observers has risen slightly during the past
five years, so that it is no longer the serious problem it was
formerly. District Foresters report little trouble in keeping the
same observer season after season. It is probable that by a
gradual increase in the number of women observers, who take
this position owing to its limited duration, and by attempting to
get observers from farming districts or from industries where the
fall and spring seasons for this work coincide with depression in
their usual occupations, the problem of keeping the same observer,
season after season, will largely be solved.

Some foresters, especially those having State forests in their
districts, report that by using observers from their regular force
of employes they can, by giving certain men regular work for
nearly the entire year, have observers on hand whenever they
need them. The forester who can give the observers additional
work during those seasons of the year when they are not engaged
at the tower, has less trouble holding his men than the forester

who must take the observer off the payroll just as soon as the
lire danger is past.

SPECIAL STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS OF TOWER DETECTION

While Pennsylvania's tower system is practically complete,
studies of its efficiency have not kept pace with the growth of
the system itself. We do not know definitely how much effective
fire detection we get from the towers and how much comes from
other sources. By effective detection is meant that which is the
immediate cause of putting into action the extinction forces. A
tower does not give effective detection that simply observes a fire
some time during its progress. The usefulness and effectiveness
of a tower is indicated by the number of fires for which it gives
the first effective alarm. Many forest fires in Pennsylvania are
effectively reported not by the towers, but by outside sources.
Just what this percentage is, of the total number of forest fires
in Pennsylvania for any one year, has not yet been determined.

Since the majority of forest fires burn during the spring and
fall seasons, when the towers are manned, it is not too much to
expect that practically all fires occurring then should be effectively
reported by the towers. There is urgent need for information

78

FOKESTEKS ' CONFEKEXCE

concerning the effectiveness of Pennsylvania's observation towers
in reporting first alarms as compared with first alarms from other
sources, and there is also need for similar information for indi-
vidual towers.

BEAUTIFYING TOWER SITES

Pennsylvania's observation system has proved its value in bring-
ing to the attention of the public the needs for, and the progress
made in forest protection. Thousands of people visit the observa-
tion stations yearly. The more accessible ones are often thronged
with visitors during suitable weather. There has already been
considerable work done leading to the beautification of tower sites
by planting ornamental and shade trees, by keeping the grounds
clear of underbrush, by painting and making more attractive tiie
tower buildings, and by painting the wood-work on the towo>s.
Notwithstanding the progress made, this work needs to be con-
tinued on a larger scale, especially at the observation stations
which are easily available to the public. It has been sugget^ted
that appropriate State-owned tower sites be developed to the
point where they would be comparable to the smaller public cam^js
on State forests, now equipped with tables, benches, fire places,
latrines and other improvements.

MAINTENANCE OF OBSERVATION STATIONS

The majority of the top tower cabins have been lined with
wood, and painted. This procedure should be made a part of the
program for tower improvement for all towers in the State. The
lining of the cabin not only is of comfort to the observer, thereby
increasing his efficiency, but reduces noises in the cabin to a
minimum, thereby making telephone conversations easier.

The painting of the exterior wood work should be done every
second year, and the painting of the interior wood work every
third year. Towers made of galvanized steel may not require
painting for as long as twenty years, but some steel towers, where
the galvanizing had not been of the best, should have the steel
work painted every five years. A definite painting schedule
should be worked out for all towers throughout the State, whereby
every individual station would get the benefit of periodic painting
to avoid excessive weathering and to decrease depreciation.

Pennsylvania pioneered in the creation of a forest observation
tower system and has achieved a position worthy of note. We
are justly proud of the high standard of service made possible by
our State-wide system of towers.

Aside from the part that the 117 towers play in protecting
Penn's Woods, they are also pillars of inspiration to the forester,
beacons of service to the public, and from them can be seen some
of the most expansive and beautiful views in the State.

Aerial Forest Surveys

79

AERIAL FOREST SURVEYS

By C. P. Wilber

State Forested' of Nctv Jersey

I AM always glad to have an opportunity to rub elbows with a
group of foresters, and I am always more glad when there
seems to be a chance, perhaps, to give them something of
interest and help. And whatever I can add to this meeting in
that way is very gladly brought to you. i want to say first, as
I told Mr. Illick when he asked me to come over here, that 1
don't stand before you as an expert on tne mailing of aerial maps.
As a matter of fact, not as an expert in an>^ way on aerial maps.
I know nothing of how to make a map from the air.

About three years ago we fir^t came in contact, through some
work we were considering in connection with fire pi'otection work
in New Jersey, with a first class salesman who represented an
aerial engineering firm. He finally sold us in the oflfice the idea
of mapping from the air. He brought samples and he brought
a line of talk that was irresistible. We had even more difficulty
than he had had in selling us, in persuading the fiscal officers of
the State to permit us to make what they considered a rather
expensive experiment in m.aking a map from the air. We had
an opportunity to get three maps for $2700. They finally pared
that down to one map, as an experiment, for which we paid $liOO.
What we wanted to do was to have maps made of the various
State forest areas in New Jersey, supplementing some of the best
topographic maps there are in the country, if not in the world,
which cover every inch of New Jersey and cover it very accurately
and thoroughly, but supplementing them in data that, so far as
we could see, no topographic map made through the ordinary
procedure of engineering could supply.

We went down into South Jersey — and I want to say before
I say anything more, that what I have to say is predicated purely
on our observations and experience in the use of these maps in
the coastal plain. I think from study and the consideration of
those maps and of sample areas that we have had before us for
the hilly country in North Jersey, that what I say as to the
advantages of this sort of a picture of the country for the coastal
plain will hold, if the same kind of maps and material are avail-
able, in a hilly country. I can't say this from actual working

80

Foresters' Conference

with maps in such territory. We hope in another year or so that
we will be able to, because we are so thoroughly sold on the air
map as an adjunct to the forestry work that just as fast as we
can collect the money for it, we are going to cover other areas.

This map, as I say, cost us $1100. It covers 20,000 acres. It
is made on a scale, the original photographs which we get from
the camera direct, of 500 feet to the inch. We have an enlarge-
ment of that map in atlas form showing the country on the scale
of a thousand feet to the inch. Those are the scales that we
specified should be provided because they are the scales on which
our State forest maps and working plans and all our data are
worked up and have been worked up previously. There was some
question in my mind whether these men would be able to give
us a map that would read 500 feet to the inch or 1,000 feet to
the inch. However, we can scale off distances on those prints
as accurately as we can on the state topographic maps that were
made by the most careful engineering practice. They read per-
fectly. So I am satisfied that for accuracy there is nothing to
be feared.

What can be read from air maps in the way of elevation, as
1 say I am not able to tell you from actual experience, but I
believe from samples we have read and gone over in the office of

the hil^^'' Of^^l^n^^^Y\r that olp\7Cifinr>a port Ko yckor\ turifln qlrnrkaf o/^iiqI

accuracy, by means of available instruments and machinery for
bringing up the elevations.

The thing I spoke about to Mr. lUick, and that he asked me
to talk about today, was not to attempt to describe the mapping,
but to give you some idea of what we had found as the result
of the use of this particular map that we have. And I want to
point out four different ways in which it has a value from our
standpoint.

The first is in typing and estimating; in other words, dealing
with the timber. We find on those maps that by using the
ordinary sample plot method which is used for any estimating
and any determination of types, we can locate an area of a certain
appearance on the map, go into the field at a cross-roads or where
a certain bridge crosses a stream, find out what the timber or
cover is, and then apply that classification to the same sort of
appearance on the map anywhere as being the same sort of timber,
the same sort of stand. We find we can tell from the map
reasonably closely, as closely as you would from the ordinary
field survey unless you were making a very careful research study,
the age and character of the stand from study of the map, after
we have been in the field and established our primary data from

Aerial Forest Surveys

81

sample plots. We find we can tell the species, separate hardwoods
from coniferous growth, separate cedars from pine growth. I
doubt very much if we could tell oak from hickory or separate
the hardwoods in that way, but that ordinarily is not necessary.

We find, therefore, that we can go over on the map this area
of about 8,000 acres which the State owns ; can mark out a certain
area; use the planimeter and say that we have so many acres of
merchantable pine or pine of certain sizes; we have so many
acres of cedar swamp that is of usable size; we have so many
acres of open land, brush land, scrub land, or something of that
kind that needs a certain regenerative treatment perhaps.

This means, so far as we are able to judge it— and we have only
had the maps for use since last April— that for $1100 on this
State forest area we have the equivalent of from three to five
years of surveying work for a crew of three men all done when
the map is put on our desk, except a very hmited amount of work
in the way of sample plots that has to be done to establish our
basic data for interpretation of the map. Therefore, it means a
tremendous saving in time, in getting the data that is necessary
for any effective use or study of the area, and it saves money, so
far as we are able to find out.

Second, there is the question of the topographic data, and
by that I mean not only the streams and the ridges and the high
and low places, but the culture— the roads, the railroads, the trails,
bare spots and all that sort of thing. We find that traverses,
which would have taken us years for a crew of two men to make
in mapping out these secondary roads, that are never necessary
for intensive development but which we have got to know and
be able to use for protection and development of the area, are un-
necessary. We find that these roads are shown as accurately on
the air map, probably more accurately, than they would have
been by a very tedious and a very expensive physical survey of
the land on the ground in the way of traverses and the subsequent
map.

Therefore, I think we have at least added half as much again
to the value of the air maps, from the topographic data that we
derive from them. We feel that the $1100 cost of the air map is
cut down just that much more. We are not able to state the
exact amount of saving, but I don't doubt that there would have
been a two or three years' job for a crew of frOm one to two
men in putting that material on paper, if we did not have this map.

Third, another element in the value of it is the work in land
acquisition, in adding to the State Forests. It has put us in a
position so that when we want to know where we had best go

82

Foresters' Conference

first in making additions (and may I here say that our purchase
program perhaps is sHghtly different from yours in that we have
no hmit whatsoever to the price we can pay and we are able
to go anywhere we want to buy land if we can justify the pur-
chase) we are able from this map to tell whether what appears
on an ordinary map as a jog in the way of an exception, is a
piece of land that we can forget for five or ten years without any
serious handicap, or whether it is the type of timber, the type
of location, or in some other way has a value that ought to be
assimilated into the area immediately. We can tell whether we
are getting merchantable timber or just scrub growth without
going on the ground, as we have had to do in the past on this
area, and as we still have to do on other areas to determine those
factors. We can't make the land survey, of course, from this
map. The metes and bounds must necessarily be worked out and
the corners established on the ground. But in determining in a
general way the acquisition program for a given area, certainly
this map has proven its value in that country and under those
conditions it has eliminated a great deal of the preliminary recon-
naisance necessary for acquisition work.

Fourth, and one of the most interesting and perhaps valuable
features of the map, is its influence on the protection work. As
T say, we have found roads — if you don't know the Southern
Jersey pines you don't know how easy it is to lose a road — but
we have found roads on that map that the men on the ground
didn't know of or had forgotten, old tote roads that went into
cedar swamps and hadn't been used for 20 or 30 years, the end
of which had been obliterated or lost, but the balance of which
lay on the ground, a valuable element when we have occasion to
work out a protection plan.

In working out our protection plan, dividing the area into
various blocks and units of one sort or another for protection,
for isolation of plantations, and for any general work of that
sort, we are able to say "There is a swamp lying along here,"
or "There is a ridge" — and of course in South Jersey there are
ridges, although the difference in elevation is not so great as you
find in the ordinary hilly country — "There is a road" and "there
is a railroad," or this, that and the other thing — a picture on that
map that reads so plainly that it doesn't take an engineer to read
it. It is far more easy to interpret and memorize than the same
data, put with 'the ordinary amount of detail on the ordinary
map, would be.

These, therefore, are the four elements of value as we see them
in this map from one year's experience in the field with it. They
are of tremendous help and a tremendous saving of time and

Aerial Forest Surveys

83

money, and the saving in time means a saving in getting work
started, of course, in typing and estimating. They are of real
help in building up a topographic and feature map; they are of
tremendous help and a tremendous saving in time and money in
doing our acquisition work, in locating areas for purchase and
deciding on areas for purchase. And they are going to prove
more and more of tremendous value from a protection standpoint,
and have already more than paid for themselves, to my mind, in
the readiness with which we have been able to make a complete
fire map, a complete working plan of that area which we haven't
been able to do and won't be able to do for several years to come,
on the other large areas in the same kind of territory through
the ordinary means of traverse and ground survey study.

There is this added feature to the maps that perhaps ought to
be mentioned. A new man coming into a territory, given a few
hours of opportunity to study such a map with a man who knows
how to interpret them, knows what the different types of color
and density in the map mean, can go into his area as if he had
been over it on foot, a very large part of it. Now there are very
few of you — and most of you have had a certain amount of
engineering — who can take a map, lay it out on the table and
from an hour or two of study tell what your territory looks like,
be familiar with it if you had to go in there, know that you v/ould
find good-sized timber along this road and scrub oak along this
stream and that sort of thing. The fellow who has an ordinary
memory can take these map sheets and as I say travel through
the country in the office before ever going into the field. And
although we haven't had occasion to put a new man on in this
area to try it out, I am confident that someone starting work
would move far faster and be efficient far sooner with this map
as an aid in starting him in his work on the area.

I would Hke to say, if I haven't talked too long already, just a
word that Mr. Illick didn't ask me to say in connection with the
use of airplanes for fire control. For three years now the State
Fire Warden in our State had available during the fire seasons
an airplane at his call at any time. This was very frankly an
experiment when we began it.

We didn't try it out in any way at all even from the beginning
as a patrol proposition, as we felt that it would be too costly, and
our experience has proven that a dozen fire towers would be more
effective than one airplane operated probably at greater cost.
From towers you get a continuity of observation that you can't
possibly get from the airplane, and you get an assurance of obser-
vation under all weather conditions that you can't possibly get

I

( ■
t

84

Foresters' Conference

because the airplane can't always operate and isn't always in
condition to operate. And then the cost favors towers, for if
you have to hire a plane, as we have been doing, or purchase a
plane and maintain a high priced mechanic and the helpers that
go with it, that makes it very excessive. But we have found this,
that it is a paying proposition to use an airplane when you have
a big fire. Colonel Coyle has been out over areas in both North
and South Jersey, so we know that both kinds of territory are
subject to the same kind of treatment. He has gone out and
made preliminary reconnaisances when a fire has gotten to a large
size, that probably would have taken three or four days for a
man in charge of the fire to make either in an automobile or on
foot, and within 20 or 25 minutes has been able to drop to that
man on the ground a complete map showing him exactly the
boundaries of the fire at that time, showing him the kind of
burning he can expect to the north or northeast or in any other
direction about which he wants to know, showing him what bar-
riers the fire is approaching in a certain direction so that he can
feel less concerned in that direction than in some others.

We are sold on this and are using the plane and shall continue
to use it, year after year, unless, perhaps the State, through the
National Guard, or even through the Department, makes it pos-
sible to own one of our own.

We have saved money in actual fire fighting costs and we have
saved a tremendous area from burning, and that is perhaps even
more important, by this prompt and certain knowledge of the
complete condition of a fire, when it gets big enough to mean a
real reconnaisance to get around the outside boundaries, to know
what you are doing.

Then, on those trips, the Colonel has also mapped previous fires.
Now we have always done this. I don't know how carefully your
men in the field, and your men that do have that sort of
work to do, measure areas of your fires. We are trying to get
them just as accurately as we can, but with the best intentions
in the world the men who are capable of estimating fires both
in the field and from maps, make considerable errors at times.
We made a correction of 3,000 acres in the area burned by a fire
last spring, by a five minute flight coming around from another
fire over the area that had been burned previously. That fire
was air mapped from the burned area on the ground just as
accurately as it could have been done if they had run a traverse
Hne around the boundary of the fire.

And then one peculiar thing about the use of the plane is fire
fighting and control, that perhaps does have some value and

Aerial Forest Surveys

85

perhaps doesn't have a great deal, is the influence it has upon
the morale of the men on the ground. The men on the ground
have always known when the State Fire Warden was on the way
up in a plane. They have always watched for him. They have
always known when the plane was overhead, and although they
are down there and in many cases under a heavy cover of foliage
and not at all visible from the air, the men on the ground say
it IS positively ludicrous to see the way a fire crew digs in when
that fire plane comes overhead because the boss is lookino- at
them from on top. (Laughter) And it has just that ratJier
nisignificant, perhaps, but rather pointed eflfect upon the morale
of the men who are in the field.

I might just sum up in this way. I am confident, in an area
where you have large contiguous areas of woods to deal with
whether it be a state forest or largely private land, that t^.e
money cost of making an air map at present rates, by the average
companies that do it, is more than repaid by the savings made in
time and m money for the various types of work that would have
to be done on the ground if it was not done that way from the
air. (Applause)

1 said at the beginning that we don't have at the present time
a map— a complete map— on a hilly section. The onlv map we
have worked with is one on the coastal plain. I am confident
trom inspection and study of samples that have been submitted
by these various concerns which do air mapping, that they will
be equally valuable and probably make the same savings in the
hilly country, I might say to you that the Regional Tri-State
Planning Commission of Philadelphia has just completed a sixty
or seventy thousand dollar map which will give vou a test area
around the Philadelphia District, which will permit you to make
a study personally that way. And I think that is now available
at small cost.

86

Foresters' Conference

A PRACTICAL REFORESTATION PLAN

Committee

H. E. Elliott
E. F. Brouse

li. R. IIOUPT

H. M. Nicholas

Presented by H. E. Elliott

IMMEDIATELY after the first State forest land was purchased
in Pennsylvania, it was recognized that upon certain areas
there could be no hope of reforestation within a reasonable
length of time except through artificial seeding or planting. This
fact led to the planting of 1,000 trees upon State land in 1899,
the beginning of a program which has resulted in the reforesta-
tion of 24,977 acres with a total of 36,257,000 trees planted. Ac-
cording to estimates made by district foresters there are still
about 30,000 acres on the State forests that should be partly or
wholly planted. Upon privately owned land that is suitable only
for growing trees there is unquestionably a huge area which must
be planted if it is to be brought back to a state of productivity.
In view of these facts, the need for a practical reforestation plan

is self-evident.

For a number of years after its establishment, the efforts of
the Department of Forestry were devoted almost entirely to the
State forests, and the entire output of the forest nurseries was
planted upon State land. With the increased interest in forestry,
came the demand for trees for use in reforestation projects upon
privately-owned lands. It was in 1909 that the Department was
authorized to provide trees to private individuals and corporations
for planting upon their own lands. At first the trees were sold
at cost. Then distribution was made free of charge, with the
recipient bearing merely the cost of packing and transportation.
More recently, the law has been changed again to enable the
Department to sell seedlings at a sum not greater than the cost
of production. Under these policies, the demand has increased
to such an extent that during the last nineteen years more than
75,000,000 trees have been distributed to private planters. From
this it will be readily appreciated that tree planting can be ex-
pected to take a very important place in the forestry program of
Pennsylvania. It is fitting, therefore, to review the past, ascer-
tain the results of plantings made heretofore, and then formulate
a program which may be expected adequately to care for the
future.

A Practical Keforestation Plan

87

RESULTS OF PLANTING

Periodical examinations have sufficed to keep the Department
well informed with regard to the status and progress of the plan-
tations that have been made upon our State forests. The planting
records are complete and in detail. It has, therefore, been pos-
sible to follow the various plantations from the very beginning,
observe the influences both favorable and adverse which have
affected them, and note any mistakes that may have been made,
in order that in the future these same errors may be avoided'
Such complete and accurate information is, however, not available
m the case of plantations made by individuals and corporations,
and until recently there has been considerable doubt as to the
results being obtained from private plantings. Consequently, in
1928 a systematized effort was made to examine representative
plantations in seven forest districts embracing twenty counties
of the State. Locations were selected which would include almost
every condition under which forest tree seedlings are planted in
Pennsylvania, and during the course of the survey 961 plantations
were examined, embracing 6,792,000 forest trees of 47 species.
It was found that 281 plantations had an establishment of 50 to
75 per cent or better and could be termed successful ; 21 had an
establishment of 50 to 75 per cent, while the remaining 659 were
placed in the class having less than 50 per cent establishment
In making these calculations, plantings for ornamental purposes
were classed as failures due to the fact that they were not plan-
tations for reforestation purposes.

CAUSES OF FAILURES

Reviewing more closely the 680 plantations below 75 per cent
establishment, it was found that 108 of these were ornamental
plantings. Of the remainder the causes of failure, in the opinion
of the examiners, were as follows :

Cause of Failure
Dense Shade
Poor planting
Grazing

Weeds and grass

Fire

Trees discarded

Poor planting stock

Heaving

Theft

Smoke and gas

Rodents

White pine weevil

Miscellaneous

Number of Plantations

118
107
81
67
44
80
38
22
12

7

6

5
46

jliiill

i

88

Foresters' Conference

in

From these statistics it is quite apparent that the results being
obtained from private planting fall far below those on the State
forests. The problem immediately arises as to practical remedies.

EXAMINATIONS BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER PLANTING

The first step that naturally comes to mind in preventing the
recurrence of existing conditions is the necessity of closer contact
between the planter and the Department. This can be effected
through examinations made before, during and after planting.
In the past, where the planting operation has been of any con-
siderable size, the planter has usually conferred with the district
forester and has been given the benefit of his advice and experi-
ence. This policy should be extended to include every private
planting. Too often trees have been planted where they have
been foredoomed to failure. An examination of a proposed plant-
ing site by a competent expert prior to the planting will not
always spell the diflference between success and failure, but it
will unquestionably result in planting operations not being at-
tempted except where there seems to be a fair chance of success.
Neither will the presence of a forester during the planting opera-
tion insure 100 per cent establishment, but it will afford the
opportunity for instruction in proper methods. Likewise, periodic
inspections after planting will frequently result in the correction
of damaging influences before much harm is done, in addition to
keeping alive the active interest of the owner, and assuring him
of the Department's desire to cooperate with him in his efforts.
It is important that proper and adequate supervision is given.
A distribution program of 12,000,000 trees annually means an in-
vestment of $200,000 on the part of the tree planters for planting
stock and planting costs. It is a better program to plant a smaller
number of trees well than to plant a larger number without
reasonable assurance of success.

CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION POLICY

In seeking a remedy for such unsatisfactory conditions as exist
with regard to our planting program, a number of changes in
departmental policy have been suggested. Many of the foresters
feel that all applications for trees should pass through the dis-
trict office before being approved at Harrisburg. By giving the
forester this advance information concerning the proposed plans
of private planters in his district, he would be in a much better

A Practical Reforestation Plan

89

position to supervise and direct their efforts along sound and
proper lines. Thus many possible mistakes in selection of species
and sites may be avoided, since the forester is afforded an oppor-
tunity of making an investigation where the conditions seem to
warrant it.

The present minimum iimat of 1,000 trees to each planter has
been criticized as being too low and 2,000 suggested as a better
figure. It is, however, much better than the 100 tree minimum
that prevailed several years ago. A change to a 2,000-tree mini-
mum might work a hardship upon a few small planters, who can
conveniently handle only 1,000 trees per year and yet who by
means of consistent small plantings year after year are obtaining
real worthwhile results. The opinion prevails, however, that the
area required and the effort necessary in planting 2,000 trees is
so small that this might well be made the minimum limit except
where only reinforcement is to be done. In the past, trees ob-
tained from the Department have been put to uses other than
those for which they were intended, while some have been planted
contrary to the Department's advice and instructions. To correct
this condition, probably some form of blacklist could be devised
which would make it impossible or at least much more difficult
for such persons to obtain trees from the Department in the
future.

In connection with complaints relative to the size of trees being
shipped from the nurseries, a special reforestation committee of
five foresters who served during 1928, made an examination of
trees at the Clearfield, Greenwood and Mont Alto nurseries. After
careful consideration certain seedlings of each of seven principal
species were selected as standards for those particular varieties.
If nurserymen are informed as to the number and species of
trees to be raised annually, and given a standard specimen seed-
ling to produce for shipment, then from his experience and his
knowledge of conditions in his nursery each nurseryman should
be able to so modify his nursery practice as to produce, under
average conditions, a seedling conforming to the established
standard. No trees should be shipped from the nursery that do
not meet the required specifications. After reviewing the nursery
production plan approved during the latter part of 1927 a number
of changes were suggested by the committee as to the percentage
of the various species to be raised in our Departmental nurseries.
These recommended changes follow:

90

Foresters' Conference

Species

White pine

Red pine

Scotch pine

Pitch pine

Norway spruce .
Japanese larch . .
Other conifers . . .

Red oak

White ash

Black locust ....
Black walnut . . .

Tulip poplar

Other hardwoods

Percentage in

Percentage

Present Flan

Recommended

27.50

22.00

27.50

30.00

10.00

7.00

8.00

10.00

11.33

15.00

7.00

7.00

2.00

2.00

1.33

2.00

2.00

1.00

2.00

2.00

.66

.66

.33

1.00

.33

.33

100.00

100.00

RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE

Although in the past, planting in Pennsylvania has been largely
confined to the spring season, there is a desire on the part of
some private planters to obtain trees in the autumn. Experience
in this State indicates fall planting should be discouraged and
that applicants should always be informed that greater chances
of success prevail in spring planting.

Many of the large plantations on State land contain only one
species, white pine. Subsequent events show that better results
would probably have been obtained by using a mixture of several
varieties rather than attempting to raise a pure stand of white
pine. Present knowledge relative to the various kinds of trees
that should be planted together is not extensive, but it is a known
fact that the greatest insect damage occurs in pure stands. Hence,
it seems reasonable to assume that any mixture of desirable trees
adapted to a certain site will in the long run prove more satis-
factory than a pure plantation. The selection of species adapted
to local conditions is a most important factor in the success of
any planting, and if the proper species are not available, it is far
better to delay reforestation for a year or more than to attempt
it with trees unsuited for the site.

Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the importance of
the planting operation itself, and it should be the first care of the
forester to give instructions with regard to the proper methods of
procedure. The mattock and planting mallet can well be recom-
mended as the best combination of tools. The examination of
private plantings indiciated that over-emphasis had frequently
been placed upon the Department's instructions to the effect that
the trees be planted slightly deeper than they had been in the

A Practical Reforestation Plan

91

nursery. Steps should be taken to correct the erroneous impres-
sion which evidently exists with regard to this phase of the
planting operation.

Many promising plantations are now complete failures due to
lack of protection. Proper protection consists both of prevent-
ive and remedial measures. On our State forests, fire, of course,
is the greatest danger, but in private plantations grazing doubt-
lessly ranks first. The private planter should be instructed in the
best methods of eliminating damage from these and other de-
structive agencies. He should also be encouraged to familiarize
himself with the appearance and habits of various insect and
fungus pests, and to obtain information concerning such other
conditions that may arise from time to time to militate against
the success of his planting. This again brings up the subject of
inspection and supervision, and it is only by frequent visits to
the plantation itself that its condition and progress can be deter-
mined.

92

Foresters ' Conference

DEMONSTRATION FORESTS IN PENNSYLVANIA

Committee
Paul H. Mulfokd E. C. Pyle

W. M. Nace H. B. Phillips

Presented by i'aul H. Mulford

THE demonstration torest area is probably the most effective
means by which we can "sell" the idea of scientific forestry
to the forest land owner and the general public. It is ef-
fective because it is many things in one. In the first place, it is
an advertisement, just as much so as a huge announcement on a
billboard or on the pages of a magazine or a newspaper. Secondly,
it is an exhibit, just as much so as a bushel of prize apples on a
stand before a fruit shop, or a window display in a store. It is
a complete sample of the thing we are trying to create. What
the ordinary commercial advertiser accomplishes by purchasing
a back-page display advertisement in a big magazine, by proclaim-
ing the virtue of his wares from the roadside billboard, and by
displaying those wares m his show window, we foresters can
accomplish through the creation and maintenance of well-located
demonstration forest areas.

No matter how ardently we may wish to convert people to the
idea of scientific and practical forestry, it is wholly impossible
for us to visit or correspond with all woodlot and timberland
owners of the Commonwealth. We cannot even attempt to in-
struct or convert them individually. We are defeated before we
begin if we attempt to go to the many thousands of forest land
owners in Pennsylvania and explain each forward step taken in
tmr forestry practice. Yet it is both important and imperative
that somehow we "get our message across" to them. There is
no more effective way to do this now than through the creation
of demonstration forests that will show the passerby just what
it is we are aiming to do. Then, he who runs may read, and after
he has read, he will spread the gospel himself.

Publishers will tell you that advertising alone never made a
great sale for a book. Theatre managers will tell you that adver-
tising never yet was responsible for a successful run of a play.
Publishers and theatre managers agree that the thing that sells
books and theatre tickets is the personal recommendations of the
people who have read the books and seen the plays. They tell

Demonstration P'orests in Pennsylvania 93

their friends about what they have seen or read. The thing that
will make forestry "go" with the people is an attractive and suc-
cessful example. Hence, the demonstration forest area is one
of forestry's best advertisements.

A demonstration area is a portion of a forest that through
scientific methods and practical application has been made into
a model area. It is a section of a woodland, set apart and rendered
distinct, whereon the forester endeavors to portray practical for-
est practices and good forest conditions. Such a section of the
forest IS as different from the woodland about it as a well culti-
vated corn field is diflTerent from a neglected planting'n which
the corn IS choked by weeds. A weedless, finely tilled corn field

sthtthnr . ^"^'"l ^'^' •''■"""^^ °*" ^^«t «t~-^^ °f food, is a
sight that at once pleases the passing farmer and arouses in him

the desire to possess a similar field of corn. In like manner a
cTeateTin'^h' '^'^l^^/f/o'-'^^t Pleases everybody that sees it, and
own hi/ I , •"•"<! of woodland owners a desire to have their
own bit of forest look as well. Like the little leaven that
eaveneth the whole lump, the demonstration forest helps to raise
the standard of forest practice in great stretches of our woodland.

oea.o,. .. natural lorest tnat has been set aside and improved by
artificial means. In such tracts the dead and dying timber is
first removed. Then "wolf" trees and crooked trunks that will
never make timber are cut away. Next the dead and dying lower
limbs are pruned. These trimmings are either dragged away to
other sections of the forest, or are piled and care^'ullv bZed
A piece of woodland that has been altered in this manner is like
u/'"""'l°'^", ''T^f *'^^t has been repaired and painted and had

rehn^H ^ • ^T ^"'^ ^^'''^^^^^ with lawn grass, its fence
rebuilt and painted, and its hedge freshly trimmed. No longer
IS the forest fioor of the demonstration area littered with down

^Zl7u "'°''^'^° '™°''''' *"''' ^^''^ 'J^fo™ «"d choke young

growth, or spreading crowns shut out the light. Neither do

obstn,;rtH' ''"'^" *™!:f ' "°^- "^^ ^^^^ ^-^ ^^^-^ 1°-- ^-nches
obstruct the vision. Through the aisles of the forest the ob-
server s eye can see afar. The straight and sightly tree trunks
a e pleasing to behold. The forest floor, now clean and smooth,
stretches pleasingly before the eye, here dark witli shade there
splashed with sunlight. The forest has been changed from a'
jungle into a woodland garden. It cannot fail to please and de-
light the beholder. Quite naturally the observer tells somebody
about the beautiful bit of forest he saw. And if that beholder

94

Foresters' Conference

happens himself to own a woodlot, inevitably he feels a desire
to have his bit of forest look as attractive as the area he has just
examined. And this is particularly true when we take a piece of
woodland that has been standing untended for years, meantime
growing rought and unkempt, and alter it into a pleasing, thrifty,
orderly stand of timber. The very contrast heightens the effect.
To accomplish its purpose, however, the demonstration forest
area must be properly located. Indeed, proper location is the
essential measure of success. The finest demonstration forest
in the world would be practically worthless if it were so located
that nobody could see it. Lock an advertisement up in your
safety deposit box, and it will never sell a cent's worth of any-
thing. But publish it abroad, in the proper advertising medium,
and see how it draws the dollars from the people's pocket-books.
Likewise, if we create a demonstration area deep in the heart of
an inaccessible forest, it accomplishes nothing. To be effective,
a demonstration area must be where it can be seen. And to be
most effective, it must be where it can be seen by the greatest
number of people. In this respect, the demonstration plots at
Caledonia Forest Park are particularly well located. They border
the Lincoln Highway, the main artery of motor travel across this
continent, where they are seen by uncounted thousands of people.

lilt; iiUt; ui QemaicatiOii, vvnii^n bL-j^cXicvtcu ixi.^ Ki^A.i.x^^..^i,Lc\.^^^.^^
area from the remainder of the forest, must be plain and distinct,
so that the demonstration area will stand out sharply. Thus we
not only avoid any possibility of having observers mistake the
unimproved forest for a part of the demonstration area, but
through the contrast between the two types of forest develop-
ment we heighten the favorable effect of the improved demonstra-
tion area. For this reason we should select, for demonstration
areas, suitable portions of forests that lie along well-traveled high-
ways. Demonstration forests accomplish far more than adver-
tising good forestry practice, for they actually assist in the de-
velopment of scientific forestry.

Many different kinds of forest demonstration areas are needed.
Among them should be areas showing:

1. The results of forest protection.

2. The effect of improving natural forest stands.

3. Different methods of thinning and pruning plantations, and

their effect.

4. How to plant forest trees, proper spacing distances, and

desirable tree mixtures.

5. Special study plots, visualizing the rate of growth of dif-

ferent trees and different tree combinations, and the yield
of different systems of forest culture.

iii|i

Demonstration Forests in Pennsylvania 95

6. Proper timber cutting and harvesting methods. In my

opinion, this IS one of the most important present day
problems m Pennsylvania forestry.

7. Model forest areas serving as an inspiration for sound

forest practices.

Scientific forestry has been practiced in Pennsylvania for more
than twenty-five years. If only demonstration plots had been
placed in all our State Forests where there were natural stands
far enough developed for the purpose, what a vast amount of
interest would have been created in the minds of the people by
this time. Again and again tourists have remarked: '*We saw
that fine planting at Caledonia which the Forestry Department
has improved, and we feel that if timber lands like that can be
developed, we want to start planting!" The "show window" at
Caledonia has certainly "sold" forestry to vast numbers of people

Fortunately the Department of Forests and Waters has taken
a very decided step forward within the past few years by estab-
lishing in both the State Forests and on private lands, study plots
for demonstrating special phases or problems of forestry. These
plots consist of areas that vary in size from a quarter of an acre
to several acres each. The lines of demarcation between these
plots and the surrounding forests are sharply emphasized, and
proper signs ffive the most imnorfnnf fa^fc fv.nf «v.p ,,-^,.4.1. i-„„„.
ing about demonstration areas.

The Chinese have a saying that one picture is worth a page
of type. Similarly we might say that one demonstration forest
area is worth a wagon load of bulletins on forestry. Professor
Joshua A. Cope of Cornell University, told the Society of Amer-
lean Foresters:

The-most effective tool to bring about the adoption of
improved forest practices is to take the farmer to the
torest, and when you get him there, don't say it with
words, but say it with thinnings, with improvement
cuttings already made, with the felled wood already cut
m lengths and stacked, or with stately rows of hand-
planted trees growing into a thrifty forest.

Some of our foremost educators say that ninety per cent of all
human knowledge is acquired through ocular avenues. Others
put the figure at seventy-five per cent. The exact percentage is
unimportant. The important fact is that most of what we learn
we learn through seeing. Hence it follows that in the develop-
ment of a broader plan for educating the public about forestry
visual methods merit full consideration.

During the three years 1926-1928, demonstration forest areas
were made in Tioga county in both planted and natural stands

flR

^ff"

96

Foresters' Conference

The work in progress brought forth much comment and many
questions by both the men engaged in it and by the passing public.
When the work was completed, and before a sign of any sort had
been erected to explain the situation, woodlot owners from all
over the county had grasped the meaning of what was done and
were talking about it. Merely to see this improved bit of wood-
land was enough to make woodlot owners desire to have their
timber stands like it. When calling upon a farmer at the extreme
end of the county upon some other matter, he straightway began
to question as to how he could improve his woodlot ''like the one
he had seen at Ansonia."

Within a month after the completion of this same improvement
demonstration in a natural stand, two farmers, who lived not five
miles distant from the plot, started like improvements in their
own woodlots, altogether on their own volition and initiative. Not
one word was said to them by any one connected with this Depart-
ment. When they were asked why they were improving their
woodlots, they said that they had seen the Department's demon-
stration area and were so impressed by it that they wanted to
improve their own woodlots in the same way.

In Morris township, Tioga county, lives a man who is nearing
the age of retirement from active work. For the past twenty
years he has been busy at odd times in improving his small wood-
lot. The planting demonstration in the nearby State forest at-
tracted his attention. Straightway he began to secure trees from
nearby stands, carefully lifting and transplanting them in his own
woodlot. Each spring saw an addition to his planted area. Not
satisfied with this one phase of forestry, he began to prune his
trees. Each winter he goes over his woods and removes dead
trees and carefully trims the living ones. Today his little private
woods is a home demonstration area that is worth while. Wher-
ever any one is led to create in his own woods a similar improve-
ment, he likewise helps to spread the gospel of scientific forestry.
That there is need for the demonstration area in forest work is
easily seen. Such an area provides a valuable field for study. It
furnishes a guide or standard for both the forester and the private
woodlot owner. It is a guide that anyone who sees can under-
stand. Persons interested in making a forest planting, or in
conducting a chemical-wood, mine timber, pulp, or lumber opera-
tion, can take the demonstration area as an example and so learn
the proper method for his operation from these demonstration
plots.

Particular attention should be paid to preparing proper signs
for demonstration areas. Unless a plot is properly marked, the
observer may not realize what the plot is intended to show.

Demonstration Forests in Pennsylvania

97

There is a very good sign that marks the Caledonia plantation
demonstration. It is a large sign, six feet by ten, that stands
directly in front of the plantation, close to the Lincoln Highway.
The sign bears this legend:

WHITE PINE PLANTATION

Planted 1906

P*"""**! 1923-1926

When 50 years old, will yield 35,000 board feet of timber

This simple sign has been very effective in telling the high
points of this forest tree planting of 1906. Motorists from every
state in the Union and from some foreign lands have admired
and many of them have stopped and studied, this orderly army
of young white pine trees. While this sign has done a lot of
good, it does not go far enough in telling the story of this inter-
esting tree planting. There should be supplementary signs, simi-
lar to those in use in the demonstration plots of the Finnish Forest
Service. These supplementary signs should be small signs rbout
18 by 24 inches in size, fastened to posts at a height of five to
six feet. They should be placed within the plot, and should give
general or specific information about it, so that the story of the
plot may be told in full to the searcher for information.

Inasmuch as the Department of Forests and Waters is respon-
sible, not only for the forests in the State forests, but also for
the forests that must be produced on the non-agricultural lands
of the State, it is highly desirable that we should ''sell" the idea
of the increased values that come through proper care of the
forest. This idea can be promoted best through the development
of demonstration forest areas. These should be so developed that
people of all stations of life and from every part of the Common-
wealth will grasp the idea and help to spread the gospel of better
forests for Pennsylvania.

We must look upon our work in creating demonstration areas
in the forest as far more than improvement work in the woods.
It is missionary work and advertising work and propaganda work
accomplished by forestry methods in the furtherance of a great
movement for human welfare. When the forester works in this
way he combines statesmanship with forestry. But he does not
deliver his message in the usual way. He says it with trees, by
establishing demonstration forest areas at as many stategic
points as circumstances permit. For just as the proper study
of mankind is man, so the proper study of the forest is the wood-
land itself.

98

Foresters' Conference

m

I
i

i

MARKING STATE FOREST BOUNDARY LINES

Committee

T. C. Harbeson
S. T. Moore

R. P. Fatzinger
Tom Williams

Tom O. Bietsch
Presented by T. C. Harbeson

THE WORD bound or boundary is taken from the old French
*'bonde," meaning a frontier line or that which serves to
indicate the limit or extent of land. A boundary is usually
defined by certain marks, or it may be ascertained by reference
to a plan or measurement. Pennsylvania State forest boundary
lines are ascertained by reference to deeds and drafts conveying
title, leading back to the earliest history of the Commonwealth.
On March 3, 1792, the last of thirty-three treaties and purchases
was consummated with the Indians, whereby full ownership and
control of all lands in Pennsylvania was given to the Common-

The conveyance of title to land from the Commonwealth is by
patent. Patent is obtained upon application to the Land Office
in the Department of Internal Affairs. From the description fur-
nished in the application, the Surveyor General, after satisfying
himself that the area applied for has not been patented, grants a
warrant to survey. Upon the return of the survey, accompanied
by the purchase price, a patent from the Commonwealth is granted
to the purchaser for the area surveyed.

ORIGINAL SURVEYS

References in the deed conveying title to the Commonwealth,
for State forest lands, lead back to the original survey returned
on the warrant issued. During the period of great land sales
(1790-1795), surveyors of all grades were deputized and sent out
to establish the boundary lines of land purchased. Each deputy
surveyor was given a district, the east and west lines of which
were run and marked from the Susquehanna river due north and
south to the State line. The interior lines of each district were
then supposed to be run and marked. In many instances these
interior lines were not run or marked at the time, but were plotted
on paper and are frequently referred to as ''parlor surveys." Re-
moval of timber, and subsequent forest fires, destroyed nearly all

1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

7.

8.

Marking State Forest Boundary Lines 99

marks and corners made at the time of the original surveys so
that when the Commonwealth regained title by purchase of such
areas for State forest purposes, it meant that approximately 3 400
miles of these lines had to be- re-surveyed and the original lines
and corners accurately re-located. This was an immense and
difficult task.

RELOCATION SURVEYS

The problems which faced the early State forest surveyors may
be summed up as follows :

Inaccuracies of the original survey.
Destroyed line blazes and corners.*
Large devastated areas devoid of ample tree growth to carry

markings of the relocated lines.
Rugged topography and inaccessible areas
Long distances from habitation.
Lack of means of transportation.
Antagonism of adjoining land owners, and illiterate people

holding adverse possession.
Meager appropriations.

These relocation surveys were nevertheless carefully planned
and made. Many of the lines were at first disputed, but disputes
resulted in only four lawsuits, all of which were decided in favor
of the Department. Considering the immensity of the task and
the difficulties encountered, this survey work marks one of the
Department's outstanding achievements. It is imperative that
this standard of work be maintained because it is more incumbent
upon the State to be sure of the location of its many miles of
State forest boundary lines than could be expected of the private
land owner.

Where foresters or rangers were assigned to the areas previous
to the time the surveys were made, they were instructed to assist
the survey crews as much as possible, in order to become well
acquainted with their boundaries. In some cases the surveyors
were instructed to hasten the line work in order to keep costs
to a minimum. Consequently, they made few marks and set up
meager stake and stone corners. Funds were later provided to
thoroughly remark and rebuild all the lines and corners already
established. This was to include full establishment of all State
forest boundary lines, with new markings on additional trees,
better corners, and ample use of white paint, which was approved
as a standard color to indicate State forest boundaries.

When one realizes the many additional miles of trial lines and
intersecting lines which had to be run to prove the accuracy of
the survey when no trace of any original marks and corners could

100

Foresters ' Conferen ce

be found, one begins to comprehend the difficulty of the task. The
cost of these surveys varied from $16.15 per mile in 1906 to an
average of $30.40 per mile in 1927. This relatively high cost of
a relocation survey is one big argument in favor of marking State
forest boundary lines in a permanent manner and in maintaining
them properly so that the work need not be repeated in the future.
Forest boundaries accurately established form a legal protective
barrier against encroachment by man. Therefore, boundaries
must be protected by continuous and open possession of all land
within their limits. This presupposes an accurate survey, prop-
erly demarcated, because in law the exact boundary of land is
always a matter of evidence; where no evidence is available, the
court acts on presumption. For instance, the boundary of land
on opposite sides of a road, whether public or private, is presumed
to be the middle line of the road.

MARKING STATE FOREST BOUNDARIES

In the marking of State forest boundaries, questions arise, the
correct answers to which should seemingly govern this work.
These questions are as follows:

1.

2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

Are the lines which are to be marked temporary or perma-
nent ?

Should the method used be temporary or permanent?

Is that method of marking, which gives the highest degree

of permanence with the least cost, the best method ?
Should the method used be practical?
Should the method used be systematic?
Should the method used be standardized?

When the first surveys for the relocation of State forest bound-
ary lines were made by the Department, serious thought was given
to these questions. They are answered in part by the markings
now placed on a big majority of lines which have been accurately
re-surveyed. The complete answer was not thus fully recorded,
but was necessarily postponed until sufficient men and money
became available to inscribe it in the forest. A recent compila-
tion reveals that approximately 3,200 miles of State forest bound-
ary Imes have been surveyed, 104 miles which had been lost were
re-surveyed, and 371 miles of additional lost line are in need of
re-surveying. A study of the causes entering into this neglect
reveals the following in the order of their degree of responsibility:

Lack of tree growth at the time of survey to carry line

markmgs and blazes. ^

Frequencies of transfer or change of personnel in districts,
i^ack ot sufficient men and money

Lack of full appreciation of the significance and importance
of well marked lines.

1.

2.
3.

4.

Marking State Forest Boundary Lines

101

It appears that the four above named causes can and should be
remedied. The solution to the problem presented by lack of
ample tree growth can probably be overcome by devising and pro-
viding some standardized form of permanent marker. Planting
of some suitable tree species on the line would take care of the
future. Red pine (Pinus resinosa) suggests itself for this pur-
pose.

State forest boundary lines naturally fall into two classes: (1)
Permanent, (2) Temporary. Permanent lines, where there seems
to be little or no possibility of the State acquiring the adjoining
land ; temporary lines, where there is no reasonable doubt but that
the land adjoining can and will be purchased under a contemplated
program of acquisition. Prudence and jurisprudence both demand
that all permanent lines be marked in a durable, practical, sys-
tematic and standarized manner. Economy requires that tempo-
rary lines be maintained and patrolled so long as they are State
forest boundaries.

The present system of blazing and notching trees and preserv-
ing them from cutting appears to provide the most practical line
marker. It has a high degree of permanence and the cost is low.
Many such marks would have probably stood the test since the
first surveys in 1776 had the original forest areas not been devas-
tated. Where a sufficient number of trees of proper size and
quality are not so situated as to serve for line marks and corners,
some durable form of marker must be provided. The following
plan is suggested:

1. For all well known and undisputed original corners from
which accurate surveys should start, provide a reinforced concrete
post six inches square at the base and four inches square at the
top, and having a total length of four feet. An inscribed metal
plate marked with a keystone should be counter-sunk in one side
of the post, near the top end. This plate should carry an in-
scription stating that this is a State forest boundary corner and
that there is a penalty for destroying it. It should be stamped
with the consecutive corner number, the adjoining warrant num-
bers, and the date of its erection. This post should be planted
firmly in a vertical position.

2. All other corners should be provided with a five foot section
of two-inch galvanized pipe to be firmly driven into the ground,
around which stones should be piled. Into the open end of the
pipe should be driven a durable wooden plug, upon which should
be stamped a keystone and the consecutive corner number.

3. All corners should be carefully witnessed. Where there are
no line trees nearer than fifty feet, the direction in which the
lines extend from the corner should be indicated on the ground

102

Foresters' Conference

Marking State Forest Boundary Lines

103

by an open ditch 10 by 10 inches by five feet, or pipe guiders
should be set approximately thirty feet away from the corner.

4. On all boundary lines of considerable length, sections of
pipe such as used for corners should be driven on the line at
various points. However, they should always be located in a
methodical manner. For example, where a line crosses a ridge
or considerable elevation of land, a pipe should always be driven
on the hne at the highest elevation. Where a line crosses a road,
trail or stream, a pipe should always be located on the line either
on the north or the east side, depending upon the general trend
of the road, trail or stream. A wooden plug should likewise be
driven into the open end of each pipe located on the line. The
plug should be stamped with a keystone and also support any
metal markers which might be in use.

5. At the time of survey the location for all concrete and pipe
markers should be determined and located on the finished draft.
Corners should be identified on the draft by consecutive numbers.
The draft should serve as an index to all permanent markings,
in order to facilitate all manner of forest surveys and in keeping
an office record of maintenance work done on boundaries.

6. All tree blazes made during the year of survey should be
stamped with a keystone. The hatchets now in use for marking
timber for cutting could be used for this purpose.

7. On areas devoid of desirable tree growth, a standard tree
species should be planted along the boundary line. The tree
selected should possess qualities of fire resistance and be fairly
free from insect and fungous attack, an abundant seeder, wind
firm, and desirable from an economic standpoint. Many of these
trees, if favored, should Hve to serve at least a two-fold purpose.
First, as Hving symbols of the State forest boundaries ; second, as
mother trees for natural seeding of new forests. Red pine is
suggested for this purpose.

8. Metal markers serve well to supplement tree markings and
identify the State forest boundary lines for forest visitors. Their
further use appears to be justified, but tree blazing should not be
dispensed with because of their use. The first metal markers
for State forest boundary lines were used in Tioga county in 1909.
They were instituted at the initiative and personal expense of
Forest Ranger Henry Cox, now deceased. These crude original
markers were nothing more than round tin can tops painted white.
After a period of nineteen years they still mark lines which would
be difficult to follow if it were not for these metal tags.

9. The younger forest rangers in the district where the survey
is being made should form part of the surveving crew in order
that they may become familiar with the lines.

10. There should be a definite understanding in running and
marking lines in order to place responsibility for negligence. The
surveyor should know just where his work ends and the district
forester should know where his work begins. Probably the best
solution would be to employ a marking crew to pick up work where
the surveying crew leaves off and carry it to completion.

11. Actual forest practice on our State forests should in itself
be such as to help distinguish between State and private land.
Our forest improvement cuttings should start at our boundaries,
particularly where they cross roads, trails and streams.

JVIAINTENANCE OF STATE FOREST BOUNDARY LINES

There are certain permanent State forest boundary lines in
remote regions which are little used. The idea has been advanced
that it would probably be cheaper and better to eliminate the cost
of frequent markings on such lines and make a relocation re-sur-
vey when future conditions demand it. Probably the best argu-
ment against such procedure is that every additional survey intro-
duces a chance for error. Such errors might culminate in liti-
gation in case the land became highly valuable, and this thought
suggests that the exactness of a re-survey should not be based
upon present acre value but rather on its highest expectation
value. When once a line has been satisfactorily relocated, it
should be held and maintained. The evidence of the line is that
it must count back to the original or previous survey. This is a
fact that should be kept in mind when making new blazes on trees
in later years. No blazes made at this time of the survey should
be freshened or chopped open, for this destroys their identity.
New tree growth must be marked from time to time to replace
the original markings which become indistinct or are lost because
of death and destruction of marked trees. The loss of all chestnut
because of the blight presents a problem and suggests the urgency
of new marks.

If a boundary line is to be opened and used as a trail or fire
break, the cost cannot be justly charged to maintenance of bound-
aries. Boundary lines used strictly as such require no great ex-
penditure for maintenance. Brushing of boundary lines can be
done quickly in conjunction with the erection of metal markers.
Tlie brush removed should be cut high so that the projecting
snags will help demarcate the line even when the ground is covered
with snow. Where no real destructive fires have swept across
previously brushed boundary lines, it is possible to follow the line
five or more years after brushing, with the snags serving as the
only guide.

104

Foresters* Conference

Accounting and Auditing Procedure

105

The placing and nailing up of metal tags or markers can be
done cheaply. Fifty tags can be placed per mile at an approxi-
mate cost of $1.50. A two-inch galvanized roofing nail is prob-
ably the best to use. The nail should be allowed to project one-
quarter to one-half of an inch, in order that the growth of the
tree does not strip the tag off the nail before it serves its full
usefulness.

In painting lines no paint should be applied to fresh blazes.
The blazes must season before they will take oil and cause the
paint to stick. Three years after the original painting, repaint-
ing should take place. Thereafter, re-painting at five year inter-
vals appears to maintain the visibility of all marks sufficiently
well. Painting can be done to good advtange by two men work-
ing together, each assisting the other in helping to fine in and
locate the blazed trees. Under average conditions two men can
repaint five miles of line a day. This would require at least one
gallon of good paint or its equivalent in white lead and oil. While
white paint has been selected as standard on all state forest
boundary lines, it is, however, commonly believed and supported
by observations that red paint is more permanent for this purpose.

An old custom observed in many English parishes is called
"Beating the Bounds." In former days when maps were rare, it
was usual to make a formal perambulation of the parish bound-
aries on Ascension Day or during Pvogation Week. In the north
of England the latter is still called ''Gang Week" or "Ganging
Days" from this "ganging" or procession. The priest of the
parish, with the church wardens and the parochial officials, were
headed by a crowd of boys, who, armed with green boughs, beat
with them the parish boundary stones. Sometimes the boys w^ere
whipped or even bumped on the boundary stones to make them
remember. The object of taking boys was obviously to insure
that witnesses to the boundaries should survive as long as possible.
This custom is thought to have been derived from the Roman
Terminalia, a festival celebrated on the 22nd day of February, in
honor of Terminus, the god of land marks, to whom cakes and
wme were offered, with sports and dancing taking place at the
boundaries.

It is possible to learn a lesson from this old established custom
which could well be revived in the maintenance of our present
day State forest boundary lines. We, too, might set apart a
"Gang Week" or "Ganging Days," during spring or autumn, when
our forest personnel might perambulate their boundary lines and
offer white paint and shiny medals to the god of land marks.

T

ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING PROCEDURE

By W. E. Montgomery

HE PRINCIPAL fiscal functions of the Pennsylvania Depart-
ment of Forests and Waters are naturally divided into:

1. Operation of departmental cost accounting system.

2. Control of departmental allotments.

3. Examination and auditing of district accounts and records.

4. Supervision of expenditures in connection with the State

budget system.

The last-named although of great importance, does not hold
the same interest for the field personnel of the Department as do
the first three of the functions enumerated. Consequently, in this
brief paper, we shall omit all other reference to the State Budget,
and confine our attention entirely to those activities which more
closely concern the district foresters and their assistants.

For a number of years after the establishment of the Depart-
ment of Forestry, bookkeeping in the Harrisburg Office con-
sisted to a very large degree, in a mere journal entry of
expenditures from the various appropriations together with
such memoranda and records as were necessary to properly
explain and substantiate the disbursements in question. In the
field the bookkeeping practice varied from that used by one for-
ester in the northern part of the State who kept most of his
accounts in his head and the remainder in a loose-leaf note-book,
the pages of which were usually either loose or lost, to a rather
elaborate system evolved by Forester Robert G. Conklin when
in charge of the Caledonia Division of the South Mountain State
Forest. This system was described in a paper read by Mr. Conklin
at the First Convention of Pennsylvania Foresters held at Harris-
burg in March 1908. In answer to a statement that the Depart-
ment had never informed the foresters as to the manner in which
the accounts were to be kept, the then Commissioner of Forestry
replied that as soon as work on the new reserves had been reduced
to a system, uniform accounts would be required, but in the mean-
time each forester would have to determine his own needs. In
general, there was an attempt on the part of each forester to
account for his own time and that of his rangers together with
the limited funds placed at his disposal, on a project cost basis,
by charging certain amounts to administrative expenses and to

i(

106

Foresters' Conference

the various buildings, plantations, roads and trails upon which
work was done. To a large extent, the bookkeeping was single
entry and although similar in form, yet there were almost always
such variations in the procedure used in the various forest re-
serves (now State forests) that seldom were the accounts them-
selves really comparable.

FIRST ATTEMPT AT COST ACCOUNTING

The first attempt to estabhsh a cost accounting system in the
Department and to co-ordinate the various methods used in the
districts was made in 1919, when a card of accounts was devised
and instructions issued relative to its operation. How well this
preliminary work was done is evidenced by the fact that the
accounting system now in use is based entirely in its fundamental
and more important phases upon the system started ten years
ago. This system recognized the differences that characterize
capital as against administrative, maintenance and operating ex-
penditures. I might digress for a moment to say that greater
care should be exercised by the district offices in preparing their
distribution sheets, for frequently expenditures are charged to
maintenance, which, from their nature, are unquestionably capital
charges. Tliere are doubtlessly numerous other items not recog-
nized because the character of the services rendered or the ma

teriais purchased is such that it could be either an operating or an
asset charge.

This card of accounts formulated in 1919, used the numerical
system of identification and was subdivided in such a way that it
covered every phase of activity in which the Department was then
engaged. In addition it made provision for such other operations
as might be conducted in the future. The bills forwarded to the
Harrisburg office were accompanied by distribution sheets similar
in purpose, if not in form, to those now in use. Tlie system
provided however, that only the main or controlling accounts
should be kept in the Harrisburg office and that only the various
sub-accounts be recorded in the district ledgers. No vouchers
were used, but loose-leaf sheets were prepared in the Harrisburg
office and forwarded to each district for insertion in the district
ledger. No inventory was taken at the outstart. The system
consisted of merely a running account of classified expenditures
from the date of beginning. As of January 1, 1921, however,
physical inventories of all land, stumpage, buildings, equipment
and improvements were taken and set up as capital charges upon
the records. At this time the voucher system now in use was
started and certain elaborations were installed. Considerable
trouble was experienced however, in reconciling the individual

Accounting and Auditing Procedure 107

district accounts with the control accounts kept in the central
office, with the result that in June, 1922, it was decided to keep
district ledgers in the Harrisburg office as well as in the field.
This necessitates a certain duplication of work, but experience has
shown that the additional expense entailed is justified in the
results obtained.

REVISION OF ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

During several years' use, frequent suggestions were made as
to revisions and elaborations, with the result that in 1924 a
number of changes were put into effect. For the most part, these
consisted in breaking down numerous accounts into their compo-
nent parts and in the establishment of sub-accounts covering the
activities involved. Later it was found that this action for the
most part was ill-advised, since the information thus made avail-
able was seldom needed, while the addition of the numerous sub-
accounts had resulted in creating a more complicated and cumber-
some system. Consequently, on June 1, 1927 the system as now
used was put into effect. This eliminated most of the sub-divi-
sions made three years previously and in addition it combined
quite a number of kindred accounts previously kept separate and
distinct.

-I.- ^v. p^ ^iiv,ipi>^o cilia inOoi ui tilt: riiaiii accounts 01 tne

original system of 1919 are still retained at the present time. The
main changes have been due principally to an effort to ascertain
just what is needed in the way of statistical accounting data and
then to adjust the card of accounts in such a way that the desired
information can be obtained with the least amount of work. To
cite a few general instances, this has resulted in (1) bringing
together the maintenance charges of a number of roads into one
road system account instead of ten, fifteen or twenty separate
accounts ; (2) combining of a group of buildings into one account
instead of six, eight or ten; (3) reducing nursery operating
charges from thirteen to five accounts and (4) consolidating
numerous protection and public assistance charges. It should be
emphasized that these combinations and consolidations were not
made arbitrarily nor for the sole purpose of decreasing the work
involved, but were made only when experience had shown clearly
that an extra-fine subdivision, as then existed, had created a
superfluity of accounts. The present system offers an excellent
example of a card of accounts which gives all the essential in-
formation with a minimum outlay of time and effort.

WHEN ALLOTMENT SYSTEM STARTED

Until 1921, the Department had no system of allotments. Prior
to then appropriations were so small and the number ©f forests

108

Foresters' Conference

so numerous, and consequently the funds at the disposal of each
forester were so meager, that a system of allotments would have
been little short of an absurdity. With the sub-division of the
state into twenty-four districts, and with the increased funds
available for maintenance and improvement work upon the state
forests and for general protection purposes throughout the State,
the absolute necessity of a departmental budget became apparent.

INTRODUCTION OF BUDGET SYSTEM

The present budget system, like the accounting system, is the
result of evolution (Arkansas and Tennessee to the contrary not-
withstanding). The first intra-departmental budget was put into
effect June 1, 1921, at which time certain amounts were allotted
to each of the districts, although no attempt was made to keep a
control record of expenditures in the Harrisburg office. This pro-
cedure provided no check upon the districts and, beginning June 1,
1923, funds were allotted in accordance with the classification of
accounts although no separate record was yet kept of expendi-
tures, the plan being to ascertain the status of the allotments
through the accounting system. In this procedure, however,
numerous difficulties arose. By June 1924, it was evident that a
separate and distinct record of allotments was absolutely essential.

SIMPLIFICATION OF ALLOTMENTS

The Department administration policy at that time was to exer-
cise a very close check upon all district expenditures. For this
reason, in the system of allotments that was established, there
was a much greater number of allotment captions than would
otherwise have been deemed necessary. As a result of this sys-
tem, it was possible to make only very small allotments in the
great majority of cases. This, in turn, made necessary the con-
stant transfer of funds, frequently only a dollar or so in amount,
so that in the end there were many more transfer entries than
those covering actual expenditures. The faults of this system
were quite evident, and early in 1927 an effort was made to correct
them so that the necessary bookkeeping would cease to be a
hardship, and also that the district foresters might have greater
latitude in expending moneys allotted to them. To attain this
end a new budget system was put into effect which reduced the
field allotments from seventy to twenty-two, with only thirteen
additional allotments for the Harrisburg office in place of thirty-
nine. Rules were also put into effect which permitted foresters
to make transfers within certain limits without the necessity of
first obtaining authorization from the Harrisburg office. Through
the present system those in charge of fiscal aflfairs have what

Accounting and Auditing Proceditre

109

they consider an adequate control over all expenditures, and the
work now necessary, both in the Harrisburg office and district
offices, to keep the allotment record up-to-date, is not burdensome.

AUDITING DISTRICT ACCOUNTS

The auditing of the district accounts began in November 1921
The original plan called for the covering of the twenty-four forest
districts in a period of two years, thus making a biennial audit
of each district. The work was to be done by the regular
personnel at such times as they could be spared from their cus-
tomary duties. On this basis in the eighteen month period ending
May 1923, sixteen audits were completed. The following month,
by reason of a decrease in appropriations, it was necessary to
reduce the accounting personnel with the result that it was im-
practicable to make any audits with the diminished force during
the remainder of 1923. Only one district audit was completed
during the entire year of 1924. In 1925 five district audits were
made. During the first eight months of 1926 only one audit was
completed, and during the next eight months the records of fifteen
districts were examined. From this record it can be seen that
during the several periods of audit activity the biennial standard
was maintained, but the difficulty was in the impracticability and
lack of sustained effort, due in some instances to insufficient help
and in others to pressure of current and special work. This con-
dition was unsatisfactory from two standpoints : First, the audits
were not sufficiently frequent; and second, the work had to be*
done chiefly at odd times when routine work would permit the
auditors being absent from headquarters. Both of these diffi-
culties were overcome at one and the same time by the employ-
ment of a traveling auditor in October, 1927.

PRESENT AUDIT SCHEDULE

When the traveling auditor began to function it was decided
that the records of each Forest District should be audited once
within every six months. Now, after approximately a year of
auditing on this basis, all back audits have been made, and at
the present the work is proceeding on a basis of semi-annual
audits or better. In addition. District Foresters were instructed
to reconcile their accounts at the end of each month, a procedure
dictated by good business. Most of the foresters had, however,
already been following this practice. Special forms were pre-
pared for making periodic district reports upon their reconcilia-
tions. In this way practically all of the difficulties encountered
under the old system have been obviated. Due to the compara-
tively short intervals between audits, the trouble in finding such

110

Foresters' Conference

mistakes as may occur, has been reduced to a large extent, and
through the system of reconciliations and reports, the possibility
of errors occurring and being carried through many months, has
been much reduced. Thus, where formerly the audit of a district
may have covered the accounts of several years, and required an
enormous amount of work, it is now reduced to a routine procedure
usually not taking more than a day or so to complete.

This short statement summarizes briefly the origin, develop-
ment and present status of the methods used by the Pennsyl-
vania Department of Forests and Waters in regulating its fiscal
affairs. There are no claims to perfection in the accounting and
auditing procedure of the Department. As the years pass by,
alterations will doubtlessly be found advisable, but just now no
changes suggest themselves. Such information as is deemed
necessary and desirable is provided at a reasonable expenditure
of money and effort by the present system — a system in which we
take a pardonable and justifiable pride.

Addresses and Greetings

111

112

Foresters' Conference

Addresses and Greetings

113

ADDRESS

By Col, Henry W. Shoemaker

Member, State Forest Commission

LIKE Lough Neagh in Ireland, where you go out in a boat on
a clear day and are supposed to see the spires of a buried
city of long ago, the lost lumber towns of Pennsylvania are
buried under the debris of industrial waste. I have always been
very fond of old maps and old lists of post offices, and I have
speculated upon what has become of those towns shown on those
old maps, and those lists ot post offices — where they have gone
to, these vanished cities of central and northern Pennsylvania.
Here today we have heard much talk about making the lumber
business continuous, making forestry perpetual. And that is
emphasized by these cities which rose and fell and disappeared
completely. Out of the "Fifty Years Ago" columns appearing in
one of the Potter county papers, I have compiled now and then
lists of towns which were mentioned in that column. Some were
in Potter County, others in McKean County, in Tioga and Clinton
Counties, and surrounding counties. I wonder how many* of you
can tell where every one of these is. I can tell where a few of
them are. Dr. Illick can probably tell where more of them are.
Mr. Emerick and Mr. Elliott and others could probably tell where
still more of them are. i will give them to you: Mina, Clara,
Alexandra, Electra, Sweden Valley, Lymansville, Costello, Cross
Forks, Gardeau, Cammal, Leetonia, Liberty, Cherry Mills, Turrell,
Trexler, Hillsgrove, Norwich, Colegrove, Conrad, Cameron,
Granere, Barclay, Morris, Slate Run, Cedar Run, Betula, Jamison
City, Nora and Cartee Camp.

Some of them have small remnants of their former glory, a
battered old hotel or railroad station, but others are wiped com-
pletely off the map. I can't find any trace at the present time
of Granere or Barclay or Alexandria or Electra or even Lymans-
ville. And I have two very interesting pictures of Gardeau, both
taken by that great old mortal of the Pennsylvania lumber woods.
Major William T. Clarke, who traveled from 1880 to about 1918
through the forests, photographing these passing lumbering
scenes. He took pictures of every phase of life, camp hfe, groups
of families, interiors of homes, their kitchens and implements,

and horses and oxen, and the great virgin forests as they looked.
The first picture of Gardeau was taken in 1897 when that lumber
town was in its prime. There were several'big hotels and stores
in evidence, wagons and people crowding the street, and in the
foreground the ornate tomb of Col. Parker, the pioneer of the
town, with the masonic emblem on the top of the mausoleum.

The last picture was taken in 1921 and shows that all that was
left of the town was the tumbling down home of Col. Parker and
the tomb with the masonic emblem all awry, with trees and
bushes grown up all around it. The lumber town had completely
disappeared. The distant sawmills and their stacks, and the
stores and hotels were gone, one by ojie.

It will be interesting, I think, for Dr. Illick to reconstruct and
resurrect these old lumber towns, and I suggested to him that he
ask each district forester to compile a list of lumber towns that
had been in his forest, and also try to locate a number that we
have found the names of but don't seem to have any existence
on maps. I have searched the maps for several of these towns
and they apparently came and went so quickly that they didn't
get on the maps. But according to the Potter County Journal
there was a good deal of activity in them at certain times, because
it tells of the number of people living there and the amount of
lumber that was sawed up.

But to bring back the lumber towns with their human interests,
what happened there, the great lumber operators that had charge
of them, I think will make a very fascinating booklet, and the
cooperation of every one of you good friends here will make it
probably as fascinating a booklet as the Department has brought
out. I congratulate the Department on these frequent bulletins
appearing from the pens of different members of the Department.
They are getting better looking. The State Printer is using better
judgment and better taste, and I always take a supply of these
books with me on my travels. I travel about 800 miles every ten
days in the trains, and I carry a supply of these forestry bulletins
with me, and if I make even the slightest contact with anybody
in the train, I shove a few forestry books on them.

I believe in the publicity idea, that people must think forestry,
talk forestry and live it, in order to back up to the fullest extent.

This is a wonderful gathering today. One can feel the thrill
and inspiration of meeting the men here today that we find in
remote spots, now all together, working for a common purpose in
the great cause. And they will all do greater work as a result
of conferences of this kind. (Applause).

SZSSi

114

Foresters ' Conference

REMARKS

By Irvin W. Gleason

Chief, Bureau of Lands
Pennsylvania DeiKirtment of Forests and Waters

SECRETARY Dorworth in his remarks has given me a lot of
credit for buying forest land. As ''Al" Smith says — I am
going to give you the **low down" on this land-buying propo-
sition. When Secretary Dorworth came to Wiiliamsport and
wanted me to be purchasing agent for the Department, I frankly
told him I didn't care about serving. The main reason why I
didn't care about the job was because of my experience with a
political job I had one time up the river, when I was elected
school director in a little town for a period of three years. The
next year a fellow member on the board ran for re-election and
they beat him on account of claiming the school board had done
some grafting in buying chalk. Ever since then I have had a
horror of political jobs.

I want to say frankly that I did not want to serve, because I
had an idea, like most laymen, that politics would enter into it,
and for that reason I did not want to get mixed up with it, but
I will say now, that I have the honor of serving on a number of
important industrial boards, and I have never been on the board

^■^ ^^^^ ^^ii.ciL»_ iaiuumi/xj i,i%.fX\j lo X uii Oil pi iin^ipico tiicit art ciiiy

better than those of our Department of Forests and Waters. It
has been a pleasure to me to be associated with Secretary Dor-
worth and the rest of his organization. Just take the State For-
esters who are here today, they are the boys that are leaders in
their field. I often think that these conscientious young men
would make cracker-jacks for any private concern in purchasing
timber or any other similar work. The whole Department is run on
a sound business basis. I want to say frankly that I do not consider
myself as a purchasing agent, but rather as a buffer between the
State Forest Commission and the land owner. When the State
Forest Commission has a meeting and act upon some of the land
offered they say: 'Irve you go out and buy this land and do
not pay over $1.75 an acre for it. It might be worth more, but
do not pay it." So you see it is up to me to see these people and
do the best that I can. So often the landowners say : "We have
carried this stuff for twenty years and paid the taxes on it during
all this time," and then they come down to Secretary Dorworth
and State Forester IlHck and tell them that, and these fellows
say: "We know it is worth more, but you can't do much with
that man Gleason." So what I am is a buffer to decoy a lot of
my friends, fellows who are old, honest, but poor lumbermen, into
sellmg their lands to the Commonwealth at a low figure. I feel

Addresses and Greetings 115

I am like the old steer out in the stockyards who leads the cattle
up to be slaughtered. (Laughter)

In concluding, I- want to say very frankly that I am delighted
for the privilege of serving in this capacity, because it is entirely
a different job than I had anticipated. I find the whole thing is
run on business principles and every dollar spent could not have
been spent more economically if the men who did the buying had
bought it for their own personal use. (Applause)

ADDRESS

*

By Hon. Frederick T. Gelder

Cfmirman of Senate Committee on Forestry
Forest City, Pa.

1 COME from a section of Pennsylvania that they call the rural
1 section, and so just naturally I am interested in problems like
forestry. We have miles upon miles of territory that prob-
ably should go back to the forests. There is a great stretch along
the railroad that has been denuded from trees and no effect made

St/t?Pn . T,f 7''^' "'""' interested in hearing tlie report of
State Forester Ilhck as to the number of fires, because it has been
my experience that about every second year fire does come in and

:£15!i'-!" ^; " ^- -"'<» l^-P the fire out, without any
,-i«n^i„6, wc wodiU soon nave torests again

I notice that your Forester is interested in roads. We feel
that the prosperity of the country districts-and that is where all
of roads*""^ "^ """"^ from-must come first from a better system

But I feel that the forestry development of Pennsylvania is one
development in which we are simply "plowing-in" the money of
the State, and that it is going to come back in dividends. I think

^llo74T7 "V'^t'^'^"'"*"''^ ^'^^"''^ appropriate gener-
S f f f^^^^- ^ "^^'"'t ^'^ '^een «n a bond issue for

?erL!T "^ Z \T ^"^ '''"'' °'^'' t'^'"^^' '^«<=^"«« I felt that
hS. '^ fi, ?" * ^^ ^ ^°°^ thing to dangle too much money

for the bonf"' ' "^" ""f *'" '""•* '"^ ^^"' ^'thou^h I did vote
for the bond issue and advocated the bond issue. But I feel that
the Legislature ought to be able to appropriate the money that is

coXuTto' ma? r r " ^"""^^^^ '^"'^' ^^* ^-° years and stm
continue to make the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania one of the
outstanding forest reservation states of the Union

Now I had no idea that I was coming here to talk, and I was
sitting here feeling peacefully secure in the idea that I wouldn't

I knorthat thTv.' ^"^ *'n' '"" '"^^'-^^t^ in ^""^ Problem, as
1 know that the Chairman of the House Committee on Forestry

01 "heXe t ' n "°f ""* ^^ '''' ^ ^''"^'^ ^^equate finals
toi the Forestry Department. I thank you. (Applause)

116

Foresters' Conference

ADDRESS

By Hon. George Williams

Chairman of House Committee on Forestry
Wellsboro, Pa.

I CAME here to listen and to learn something of the needs of
the Forestry Department, and to pledge anew my cooperation
to the fullest extent in bringing about the things that are
needed to further the splendid work that has been done for a
number of years by the Department.

I have been particularly interested in State Forester Illick's
report of the work that has been accomplished, particularly in the
last two years. I feel that the $500,000 appropriated by the Leg-
islature two years ago for the purchase of lands has been wisely
expended. And I hope and have no doubt but what the liberal
appropriation that may come from the Legislature this session
for use during the coming biennium, will be as carefully invested
as was that $500,000 of the present biennium.

Two points developed by Dr. Illick appeal to me, and I want to
say just a word on them.

One pertains to the extent to which the State lands have been
used and are being used for recreational purposes. Having had
something to do with the introduction of the original bill that
authorized the Forestry Department to open up the lands for
such purposes, it has been very gratifying to me to see the extent
to which they have been used, and I firmly believe that the health
of the people of the Commonwealth, because of the use of these
lands, has been greatly benefitted.

Also I would bring to your attention a point that District For-
ester Mulford, State Forester Illick and Col. Shoemaker are
familiar with. That is the Leonard Harrison State Forest Park
which was a gift of my fellow townsman and public benefactor,
Mr. Leonard Harrison, who recently passed away in the Johns
Hopkins University Hospital. In 1927, 14,000 people visited this
picturesque park. The drawback to its proper development is the
matter of roads, as Col. Shoemaker can testify, and I do feel that
as a memorial to Mr. Harrison, who was so generous in his gift
to the Forestry Department, that some way should be worked
out to improve the road leading from Wellsboro into that park.
The Forestry Department has done a splendid work in equipping
that park for the convenience and comfort of tourists. I earnestly
ask for the cooperation of Secretary Dorworth and Colonel Shoe-
maker and the other members of the Forestry Commission, in
working out some scheme by which that park may be more easily
reached by the thousands and thousands of people who desire
to visit it. (Applause)

Addresses and Greetings 117

ADDRESS

By Hon. Prank J. Baldwin

Member, Pennsylvania State Senate
Austin, Pa.

IT IS not necessary for me to say that I am glad to be here I
know that conferences of this kind must be of great benefit
to you foresters and to all others, because after all, I don't
know of any occupation that young men can take up where there
ought to be so much inspiration and so much vision as that which
should come to the forester. And I want to say of those for-
esters with which I have been acquainted, which have been quite
a number, that I have been glad to number them as my friends
and we have been glad to count them among our most aggressive
citizens, public spirited fellows, fellows that were a help to every
county and every community. And I would say that after these
men have their education and are engaged in this wonderful work
they are doing, that I think it is the duty of the State and of
your Department to make it so that it is worth while for them
to follow up through their life the occupation they are engaged in
And that means that they can't live on love of their work entirely
but from time to time they should be encouraged in the way of
^ --!!. ^a.ci..^^ 10 fy^i ciioiig yjii ana to interest tnem.
Now Mr. Chairman, you know that I have been interested in
forestry from its very beginning, i knew your good friend the
Father of Forestry, Dr. Joseph T. Rothrock, and there was no man
that I admired more. After looking over some of the forests
not only in our own State, but in our neighboring states, and
after seeing some forests in some of the European countries I
want to say to the Forest Commission of Pennsylvania that I
believe that our State is further advanced than any other State
m this Union, and I believe that we are going at this forestry
problem m just as practical a way as any other country in the
world.

There are a good many things that would be of interest, that
I am mterested in, and that you boys are interested in, and that
your Commission is interested in or considers of a great deal of
importance. I want to congratulate the State of Pennsylvania
and your Commissioners upon the position that I consider your
Department is in today, and tliat the State is in in establishing
forest lands that are really going to be worth while, and in
acquiring these lands in a manner so that it is an investment for
our State. And it cannot be said that we have paid prices larger
than we should in acquiring them, but the purchases have been
advantagously made. It has seemed to me that the purchasing

118

Foresters' Conp^erence

of waste lands in Pennsylvania should be through one Department,
and that through your Department.

There are so many things that we are interested in. You people
are making Pennsylvania, and our county of Potter has more
State forest lands at the present time than any other. My district
has its full share of acreage, which we are glad to have. But
where we have these lands where growth is coming in so nicely
we want to make them attractive. In doing that you have got
to be able to get around in those forests. We want Pennsylvania
to be so attractive that our people will realize that they cannot
see more in the Adirondacks or in any other State outside of
good old Pennsylvania.

There are sections in Pennsylvania where you have forest lands
which should be renewed by the planting of forest tree seedlings.
Probably I am converted to that position by the fact that I have
seen those trees that have been planted. I have watched them
grow. On a great many tracts of land you are getting a growth
of hardwood, and it is a protection. You are getting a forest as
well as protection to our waters and streams and attractiveness.
But in other sections to some extent we should renew the planting
by the Commonwealth. Why should we as a State say to the
individual and the corporation, you are planting eleven or twelve
million crees a year anu on our part not doing anything at all?
I at least think that the State of Pennsylvania should do enough
planting to let the individual and the corporation and others
understand that we as a State, and the Forestry Department, do
believe in reforestation to the extent of doing some planting where
it is needed. And you foresters who are familiar with your
sections know where those sections are.

But, Mr. Chairman, I didn't come down here with any particular
thought in mind, except one, and that is that where you have
these beautiful lands and the valleys, the streams and the roads
that go with them, that we ought to be able, and the people of
our State and other States should be able, to get where these
growths are. And I would like to see your Department have
enough money so you could make these roads wherever you have
any large quantities of forest lands so that people can get to them
with cars, that they should be accessible at all times of the year.

And I only want to pledge, gentlemen of the Commission and
others, my support to anything that is in the interest of the
Forestry Department. I do think that today your Department
is in a wonderfully fortunate position because I think that over
the State of Pennsylvania today the people are educated to the
fact that the Forestry Department is worth while and they are
going to support it. You are going to have other means of

Addresses and Greetings 119

support that is coming in anyway, and you must have a program,
as I say, so that you can acquire a reasonable acreage of waste
lands year and then make the most of them.

And to these forestry boys here, and to you, I can say that
from what little that I have been able to see, Pennsylvania has
opportunities, as far as forests are concerned, that are not ex-
ceeded any place throughout the world.

If I can be of help any time, call upon me. (Applause)

ADDRESS

By Hon. Harvey G. Bowers

Member, Pennsylvayiia State Senate
Picnxsutawney, Pa.

I AM glad that I took the time and the opportunity to drop in
at this conference, and further acquaint myself, through lis-
tening to your papers and talks, with the steady progress
being made by the State in this important problem of forest con-
servation. You are not satisfied with the fine progress that you
have already made, but you are constantly looking ahead and
planning for the future. That is the secret of success in any
venture. I am very glad, indeed, to be here with you.

I am mightily interested in forestry, I was born and raised in
the woods. As a matter of fact, I followed the lumber business
and destroyed a good many trees in my time— perhaps I made
more stumps than I should have. Today, we have greater oppor-
tunities than ever, for helpful assistance from you foresters as to
the proper and accepted methods of handling our forests I am
glad that this is so, for I know that it promises a better future
lor them. Old methods have been discarded for new ones and
that, as we know now, is absolutely necessary. You are to be
congratulated.

The grand forests that were formerly found on every hand in
Pennsylvania, have been greatly reduced. Timber of all kinds
was, of course, necessary. It was put there to be of service to
us, to satisfy our wants and meet our legitimate needs. Our
mistake, it seems, was that we did not cut our forests in a legiti-
mate way and, more than that, care for them afterwards, to
protect and assist the second growth. After lumbering followed
fires, repeated fires that destroyed everything. As a result we
have vast areas of old waste land that ought to be taken up by
the State and reforested.

I can speak from experience, for I have worked somewhat
myself along these lines. The Punxsutawney Hunting Club
bought 4,700 acres from Charlie Steele of Sunbury, and there were

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a lot of barren places on it and we started to replant them, and
a fire broke out four years ago and burned over about 3,000 acres
and destroyed these young seedlings we had planted. Many trees,
oaks and maples a foot through on the stump, were also damaged
and destroyed. This fire came from an unknown cause, but no
matter what the cause, the result is just as serious. Today, there
is some new growth coming along, and we are very anxious to
protect it. We know that the State is doing everything possible
to prevent forest fires, and to put them out, but that does not
excuse the private owner from doing his share, and all he can
to stop fires on his own land. I have fought fire a good many
times myself, and stayed out all night and many a time it has
broken over and we had to fight it again. Fire is the most serious
enemy of the forest that we have to contend with. It is a very
creditable thing that this great Commonwealth of ours, through
your Department and you men, take such great precautions to
control fire in the woods. You have fire fighting equipment and
forest fire wardens all over the State, and I know this, that they
gladly and immediately respond to very call.

Then there is the need for roads, good roads that reach into
the forest and make it accessible for the fire fighters and for
those who wish to enjoy our forests, I am glad that the State
is beginning to give more attention to this very matter of roads,
on a scale that justifies the use of our forests. These forests
mean more than we realize to our people. And that will be more
true as time goes on. I am a lover of the forests. I think all
of us here are, and I think that more than we may realize, moat
of the men, women and children who compose our great Common-
wealth are really lovers of the forest. Going back into the deep
woods of a forest, and hearing the trees singing beautiful songs
through their branches, the lure of the woods is very inspiring.
We need good roads, and more of them, to protect our forests,
to open up their beauties for the enjoyment of our people, as
well as in the business of growing trees, from the planting of
the seedlings to the days of logging operations.

I believe in tree planting, and I think it behooves each one of
us to help to boost the reforesting of the waste lands in Penn-
sylvania. It pays. You can go out and buy a lot of waste land
selling around from a dollar-and-a-half to three dollars an acre.
You can reforest in the next 50 years, land that cost two-and-a-
half an acre at the present time, and in the next 35 to 50 years
there will be a ten per cent investment, provided you can keep
fires out.

I sincerely hope that you keep up the good interest which the
people of this Commonwealth have at the present time in trying

Addresses and Greetings 121

to preserve and take care of our forests. In the meantime you
always want to speak to your neighbor and fellow sportsman as
you go around through the forest, relative to protecting the for-
ests from fire.

I want to thank you that I have met you here, and to reassure
you that m anything I can do to promote the preservation of our
forests m Pennsylvania, I am at your service. Thank you
(Applause)

ADDRESS

By Hon. C. J. Goodnough

Member, Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Emporium, Pa.

LIKE some men of old, I came here not to talk but to listen,
and I always find it profitable to listen in on the discussions
of a body of men such as have gathered here today for the
discussion of the problems incident to their profession.

To my mind, forestry service is one of the greatest institutions
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We are apt to think of
this Department as engaged solely in the growing of trees, which
at some time may be converted into lumber for building purposes
and supply wood for many uses. To my m.ind, forestry is a m^uch
bigger and broaded business, for the general welfare of the Com-
monwealth depends, in a large measure, upon its forests. Well-
cared for forests are of great value to agriculture and have a
favorable influence on the flow of water in the streams. If we
restore and maintain forests on our hillsides, we will avoid the
damage that comes from floods and extremely low water. There-
fore, I say that the work in which you men are engaged is very
important, and it is a great pleasure to me to come here and spend
a few minutes with you to ascertain as far as I can what you
are doing and how you are doing it.

If I recall correctly, at the last session of the Legislature an
appropriation of $500,000 was made for the purchase of additional
lands. This appropriation had my hearty approval, and I am
glad that there now appears in the general appropriation bill an
Item, which of course is subject to amendment, of one million
dollars for the purchase of additional land. It is important that
additions be made to the State forests as rapidly as possible, but
It IS perhaps of greater importance to protect those forests from
the great danger that comes from fire, and I am glad that the
forest protection work of the State is achieving such commendable
results, and it is a pleasure to know that the money appropriated
to this Department is used so well and spent in a large measure
for the protection of the forests.

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Foresters' Conference

The paper on "State Forest Roads and Trails" to which I have
just hstened is just along the line in which I think our forests
need development. These roads and trails will be a great help
in forest protection. How true it is that the best time to control
a fire is right after it has started ; then it is a comparatively small
matter to extinguish it, but in a few hours it may gain such
headway as to be practically impossible of control. Unless we
can have these roads and trails, we cannot come immediately
upon the scene of the fire, and there is so much precious time lost.

Permit me to thank you sincerely for the privilege of saying
these few words to you and particularly for the privilege of
listening to the practical and worth while things that I have
heard here about this important work.

REMARKS

By Hon, North Shellenberger

Member, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
McAllisterville, Pa.

1 REALLY am not very familiar with forestry work, but did
especially try to get on this Committee. I am interested in
it. Juniata County is bounded on the north by Shade Mount-
ain and on the south by the Tuscarora Mountains, about 60 miles
long and perhaps 8 miles wide — a real forest region that means
much to our people. There is considerable State Forest land, too.
I wanted to appear yesterday, but had some appointments and
couldn't get around and the same was true this forenoon. I
want to say as a member of the House that anything I can do
to advance forestry will give me great pleasure and am very
glad to have had the honor to say just these few words. I thank
you very much. (Applause)

ADDRESS

By Dr. Ralph D. Hetzel

President, Pennsylvania State College

MR. CHAIRMAN, Ladies and Gentlemen: I had thought to
make my contribution this morning merely by silent and
humble testimony of interest by my presence here. I am
sure I need not say to you that I know that I am totally unworthy
of the introduction your generous Chairman has given me. I
can explain it only in this way, that I think no one on earth
more needs education than an educator. And so a wise educator
seeks always to find those who are capable of contributing to
his proper education.

As I came on into this great Commonwealth two years ago
from a very much smaller state, I felt greatly in need of finding

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123

those who might lead me somewhat into the light. And I selected
as one of my guides the Honorable Secretary of this great Depart-
ment. He has insisted that my education will not be complete
except that I should sit in here with this group to make ap-
praisal of the great and constructive service that is being done.
And he has understood, I know, that I have accepted in large
measure because I felt that it afforded me opportunity to testify
to my deep appreciation of the splendid service which is being
rendered by those who have chosen to make forestry their pro-
fession, and chosen to make forestry their profession in the spirit
in which Mr. Wirt described it, and there is nothing more glorious
than that type of spirit of devotion; and also, if I could, to some
of those splendid generous souls who have been devoted for many
many years to forestry, and who have given of their wisdom and
their counsel out of no consideration except that they deemed
it a large and valuable contribution to the general welfare.

I find here a very congenial group. I find this atmosphere a
congenial one. When I get a sniff of the woods or of newly cut
lumber, then I presume I am emotionally more stirred than at
any other time in my hfe, because I am a product of one of those
lumbering towns, not of Pennsylvania but of Wisconsin. I recall
days of glorious adventure, rough days, rugged days, davs when
1 lived m an atmosphere of magnificent virility, a time when we
were engaged in that process of wasting, that denuding, that
profligacy which was criminal but which we thought only natural
and proper. I recall a lumbering town, the buildings, what there
were, all of lumber of course, raw looking— most of them without
pamt; the sidewalks, where there were sidewalks, were all of
planking; the store fronts were projected upward to delude us
into believing that we had something more than one story estab-
lishments—great bald things whose countenances reminded you
of a contemporary highbrow. The sidewalks and the floors of
these buildings were all chewed up from the calks of the river
hogs and the lumber jacks. In a community in which every other
building was a saloon, and if it proved inconvenient to go next
door you could be accommodated in the building in between with-
out any trouble. (Laughter.) A time when bawdy houses and
their occupants were accepted as possibly evil— although I am
not sure that they were considered evil— but if evil, a perfectly
necessary evil. When the rivers were full all the time of great
logs.

And so I had a most wonderful apprenticeship in the days of
that great adventure. And I recall, too, that I paid a little for
it. I can remember days in the summer when the thermometer

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Foresters' Conference

registered 90 outside of a freight car and 120 inside, and I was
just a youngster, and outside was one of these Norwegian lumber-
men who had shot boards for years and years, and I was trying
to keep from being buried by the stream that came on and on and
looked not like a series of boards but like a perfect ribbon, un-
interrupted by any break. In fact they came sometimes in such
manner that it seemed to me that the ribbon had buckled back.
And then I spent some time in the lumber woods; I learned how
to pull a cross-cut saw. I have seen that great process of waste
go forward, and I have seen the regret that has followed upon it,
and I have sensed the petitions for help, such as the Governor
called attention to this morning when a delegation from Minne-
sota came back here to Pennsylvania to ask in what manner they
might heal their wounds.

Then I went from Wisconsin out into the real Northwest. The
Governor referred to Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin — that
isn't the real Northwest — but out in Oregon and Washington.
And there again I got into this atmosphere of a harvest, a crop-
ping, where the only thought of scientific forestry, perfected for-
estry, was that of efficient forest engineering, except this, that
out there I sensed for the first time the positive and constructive
ministry of our great National Government, running somewhat
parallel with this process of deforestation and waste. And it
was rather an odd thing to see them commg together. This new
ministry didn't find a very congenial atmosphere, but within a
few years it became evident that the process was making an im-
pression, even on those whose greatest interest was to cut with
no thought of the future.

Then I had the interesting experience of going back, into New
Hampshire, where we found timber lands, forests, cut over even
before, I presume, the forests of Pennsylvania. I found them
there struggling with this question of what they were going to
do with these lands. And 1 had the satisfaction of offering the
suggestion to them some ten years ago that I thought they would
be entirely justified in many sections of the State in having either
the town or the county or possibly the state make large pur-
chases of this land, much of it which was still being made the
homes of settlers who were trying to live on what they called
farms, farms which couldn't possibly give any considerable
measure of support to a family but which required that the com-
munity should maintain roads and schools-that these sections
should be purchased and these roads and schools closed, the land
reforested in a very much larger measure than ever before, and
that the settlers should be taken to those sections where land

Addresses and Greetings

125

gave greater agricultural promise. And I find now that New
England is acting on that proposal.

It is for these reasons that I am interested in this meeting.
And also, and I presume this is the more significant, because I
happen to be charged with a measure of responsibility for the
administration of one of the State's great public institutions, the
State College, and I find here in Pennsylvania that its true char-
acter hasn't always been understood, that that type of institution
had its birth in the West, and so here we haven't actually sensed
it in true character. So I am anxious to take this occasion to
testify to you that this institution of higher learning, a public
institution, finds its true function in service, in public service.
It is an institution designed to do public servce through educa-
tional processes. And so it is a part of this service which you
render, entirely sympathetic, exceedingly anxious that it shall
give what it has to contribute in the way of educational processes,
in the way of scientific research, without the desire of wasteful
duplication but with the desire of rendering true and generous
service to the great cause of forestry, as well as to all of the
various functions of the State which finally contribute to the
well being and happiness and prosperity of our people. It is to
that thing that our institution is pledged, above everything else.
Its objectives, its Durnoses, its r»rnppdnve« ar*^ t^nco fi-iof ov

\^Ck

defined by the State need and the well being of our people. I
come to offer that to you knowing that we have as much to learn
from you men who are rendering service in the field, a» we have
to contribute and possibly more. I hope you will accept my
sincere petition that we may be one of you in spirit and in* fact.
That is my compliment to you gentlemen.
Thank you. (Applause)

REMARKS

By Russell Edwards

American Tree Association, Washington, D. C.

IT IS like a burst of sunshine to come in contact with members
of a legislative body who seem to have some regard for the
dear old public back home. You know down in Washington we
sometimes think that the guardians of the public welfare down
there come a long way from their well known constituents and sort
of lose sight of them. And when forestry appropriations come up
down there it is rather hard to get the law makers to pay any
attention to them because of their distance from their public.
Public opinion is the most powerful agent, if it can be applied to
forestry, that forestry has. The function of the American Tree

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Foresters ' Conference

Association is to turn the thought of the American people to
forestry and trees. Now I am going to take just about three
minutes to talk about forestry. My job is to keep the word
"forestry*' and the word "tree" in the newspapers and the maga-
zines of the United States, and make people think about them.
Consequently, I want to give one or two illustrations of the power
of public opinion and show how valuable it is to you men who
are in the field if you can talk forestry as well as work at it.

As one example of the power of public opinion and turning
public thought, I will recite a personal experience. Every after-
noon at five o'clock I call up my wife and tell her I am coming
home, so she can put on the pork and beans. Once, perhaps twice
a year, she will say, "Stop and bring home some soap, I forgot it."
I will stop at the corner grocery store and thinking about what I
going to do tomorrow, and without any mental stress, I will say
to the groceryman, "Give me two bars of Ivory soap." Procter
& Gable have spent millions on billboards and magazines and news-
papers of the United States just to make me say "Ivory" when
the time comes. That is publicity, working on public opinion,
selling a man an idea, making him think about it.

Public opinion does strange things. It gave women the vote,
put vestibules on the front and back of street cars, makes the
doors of public buildings swing outward, following that terrible
school fire in Cleveland. It has almost brought prohibition, and
I presume it is going to do a lot of other strange things.

So I merely want to get over this one idea to the forester in
the field. Your State Forester touched upon it when he talked
about the educational value of selling this idea to the public, the
fellow who sooner or later has got to pay the freight. But I
want to impress on you that you have taken a remarkable step
forward when you give a little time to talking forestry to this
group of women or that school or this Rotary Club, ^and still
further spread the message of the trees.

REMARKS

By Prof. John A. Ferguson

Head, Department of Forestry, Pennsylvania State College,

State College, Pa.

I ^•T^.J^-^ "" ^''®^* "'^"^' "meetings on forestry, but none just
1 like this one. I have attended meetings of forestry educators
and forestry administrators, but I believe that this is the first
.Ta^'a I i'""^ ^''*"' *"^nded a meeting of what somebody has
called dirt foresters." that is, a meeting of men who are aciuallv
handhng forests.

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127

Some of you have been in the State forests to my knowledge
for more than twenty years and it is a great pleasure to me to
listen to your papers, to hear the discussions, because after
twenty years' experience in handling forests a man should be
able to speak with authority on the subject. It must be an inter-
esting thing to you young men to be associated with a Forestry
Department that is considered the best in any State of the Union,
and to be associated with a State that has a real forestry policy.

It is a great privilege to be here today and to enjoy the program.
(Applause)

ADDRESS

By Prof. Nelson Courtland Brown

Syracuse University

1HAD come here to look and listen and learn and not to talk,
and just this morning Mr. Illick very kindly suggested that I
might tell you something of the things we are trying to do
in New York.

Before I do, I would like very much to congratulate you, par-
ticularly Mr. Dorworth, Mr. Illick and the administration, on the
splendid progress that you have made and are making in this
great State of Pennsylvania. I am not trying to flatter you nor
w^ i.^^yi. jKJKA.,. »axixoj vviifcii X octj^ tiicit luie&itjis generally looK upon
Pennsylvania— and I say this as a neighbor to the North— as
probably having the most effective state organization and putting
into effect the best all around forestry program of any state in
the nation. And I say that as a loyal son of the Empire State.

As you know, we have about 2,000,000 acres of forest preserve
in New York, but it is all locked up. You can't go in and even
cut a stick of timber. You can't build any of these roads and
trails we have been hearing about, because the law states that it
shall remain as wild forest land forever.

We have just come in from dinner and I am reminded of a
little story of the great wide open spaces where men are men
and women are sometimes governors.

A wild-eyed man with disheveled hair rushed into the sheriff's
office in the country court house with a smoking revolver in his
hand, which he laid on the desk. The sheriff took his feet down
from the top of the table and said, "Well, what is the big idea?"

'Why," this fellow said, '1 just shot a man."

'Did you? Who did you shoot?"

'Why," he said, **I shot an after dinner speaker."

"Oh," said the sheriff, 'That is all right, but you are in the
wrong office. They pay the bounties down in the Treasurer's
Office at the end of the hall." (Laughter)

<<i

n\

128

Foresters ' Conference

I

So I come here with more or less fear and trepidation, because
you men know such a great deal more about this forest business
than I do. I have listened with great pleasure to your Governor
and the many other distinguished officials of your State, on the
progress you are making. And I want to congratulate you sin-
cerely on the really magnificent progress that Pennsylvania has
made and is making.

If you are interested, I would like to take a few moments of
your time to tell you of some of the things we are trying to do in
your neighbor State to the North.

Two years ago this month. Senator Hewitt, Chairman of the
Finance Committee of the State Senate, introduced a resolution
to bond the State for $100,000,000 for twenty years, to spend
$5,000,000 a year during that time for the purchase and planting
of abandoned farm land. As you know, that is a lot of money,
and there was more or less comment upon it in the papers. The
next year Senator Hewitt introduced it in the Senate again, and
he told me a little later, '1 wanted to see what the reaction would
be, what people would say about it, and I had no dreams myself
even that it was going through." They held a hearing on it,
and there were about 250 people, representing every possible
interest in the great out of doors, including the Izaak Walton
League, State Forest, Fish and Game Leagues. Women's Clubs.

■ — ■ /

the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks and many
others. Every interested organization in the State was invited
to come in and have their say. There wasn't a voice raised
against it. It had an excellent chance of going through, but
they did decide to appoint a State Reforestation Commission, as
it is known, to investigate the whole problem and to report back
this year and advise the Legislature as to what to do.

Let me rehearse to you briefly the three fundamental reasons
why this idea of planting up the idle lands of New York State
has been brought forth in this form.

In the first place, there has been considerable sentiment in
favor of reforestation in New York, as you know, just as in
Pennsylvania and throughout the eastern part of the country.
Mr. J. S. Whipple, Commissioner of Forestry in 1900, was a great
crusader for the cause. He talked to the legislature and to
everybody who would listen to him, and told them of the needs
of reforestation. And since that time we have expanded our
nurseries and have something like 107,000,000 trees in three large
State nurseries, with an annual capacity of 30,000,000 trees. Last
year we planted 25,000,000 trees and private corporations from
their own nurseries planted about 4,000,000 in addition. So that

Addresses and Greetings

129

sentiment has been gradually increasing and supporting the re-
forestation movement.

The second fundamental reason, as I see it, is that two years
ago a State Industrial Survey Commission was appointed by the
Legislature to inquire into the reasons why New York had lost
so many industries. As you know, the textile industries of
New England have disappeared, and in New York we have lost
a great many industries, including textile, steel and many lumber
and pulp and paper industries that have gone to Canada and
other states. It was worthy of note that this Industrial Survey
Commission, which had nothiing to do with forestry, should come
to the conclusion that one of the finest ways to rehabilitate the
industries was to plant a lot of trees so they would bring back
the lumber and the pulp and paper and wood-working and many
other industries associated with the forest.

In 1850 we were the leading lumber producing State in the
Union, turning out about 20 per cent of the total lumber supply
of the country. I believe Pennsylvania was the leader in 1860,
and then the leadership went out to Michigan. The pulp and
paper industry was a very important one in New York from ten
to thirty years ago, but we have been losing ground. But I cite
that as an important contribution to the sentiment in favor of
planting trees.

The third reason is our idle land problem. I won't go into
that exhaustively, but briefly we have been abandoning farm land
in New York State since 1880, at the rate of 100,000 acres a year
up to 1920, and from then to the present, at the rate of 161,000
acres per annum. If that goes on you can easily see that it is
going to become a very serious HabiUty in our county administra-
tion. Idle lands will constitute a liability instead of an asset.

The agricultural economists tell us that the peak of this rate
of abandonment has not been reached.

The first job our Commission decided to do was to make a
survey of that reputed 4,000,000 acres of land to find out how
many acres we could buy in blocks of 500 acres or more, and at
a price of ten dollars or less per acre.

That was a very rough survey and it was a difficult thing to do,
but we found that there are at least a million acres in New York
State that can be purchased at ten dollars or less per acre in units
of 500 acres or more. And on the basis of that sui-vey, completed
this fall, our Commission has held a good many hearings and
sessions and we have decided to recommend two bills to the Legis-
lature. One is to actually start a plan of State purchase of these
lands and the planting of them. We are also recommending an

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Foresters' Conference

increase in the number of nurseries. We have four now, and
this year our Commission made it possible for the Conservation
Department to have a fifth. So within four or five years, or
as soon as those two additional nurseries can be put into producing
capacity, we will have an annual output of probably fifty to sixty
million trees. Our Commission feels that eventually it is within
the realm of possibility that we may have an annual output from
our nurseries of 150 to 200 million trees a year. If you say that
is a lot of trees, it is, but at that rate it will take us 20 to 30
years to plant up the idle and cut-over lands that ought to be
planted in the State. At the present rate of planting it is going
to take us 200 years to plant up the idle lands in New York. So
we feel it is something to get busy about.

The second piece of legislation that we are recommending this
year is to aid the counties in a system of county forests. It
seems to be a brand new idea in this country, although an old
one abroad. Sixty-seven per cent of all the forests in Switzerland
are communal forests and they are a pretty well forested nation,
as you probably know.

Ten counties of New York State have already made appropria-
tions for planting forests. We have two county foresters in
New York and Erie County has appropriated $50,000 for a period
of three years, Otsego $30,000 for period of three years and so on.

As the result of that initial movement in that direction we
have decided to build up a system of county forests. So we will
introduce in a week or two a resolution appropriating $5,000 from
the State Treasury to any county which will match it with a like
amount, up to $5,000 for the purchase of any land and the planting
thereof. There are about 60 counties in New York State that
may take advantage of this law, so it means the institution of a
progressive form of county forests. The title to the land is to
lemain in the county and the timber is to belong in the county.
The State will have no strings to it except that the plan of pur-
chase, planting and of subsequent management, must meet the
approval of the officials of the Conservation Department at Albany.
In other words we are not disposed to hand out State money to a
county and then perhaps not have them spend it efficiently, or
manage the forests according to accepted forestry principles.

Incidentally, we are working on two additional laws, to make it
mandatory upon succeeding legislatures to continue to appropriate
money for the State purchase and planting of these lands. Our
Commission feels that New York, bonded as it is already for
around four or five hundred milUon dollars, is pretty well loaded
with this form of indebtedness. And we feel the State is well

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131

s .

enough off financially to take care of this expenditure out of
current revenues. So it is our plan to meet those expenditures
out of the annual appropriation, but this mandatory legislation
will require future legislatures to continue this policy.

The other proposed law is to open up the constitutional prohibi-
tion regarding the Catskills and the Adirondacks. We have got
some of the important people previously bitterly opposed to doing
anything of that sort, to tentatively agree. The idea is to permit
the planting and cutting of lands outside of the Adirondack and
Catskill Parks, but within the sixteen Forest Preserve counties
as established by the Constitution.

So I think we are making progress and I think in the right
direction.

I have come down here to learn something of what you people
are doing and have done, and I hope to take back, after conferences
with Mr. Illick and others, some very helpful thoughts to New
York. (Applause) I have enjoyed very much being here with
you and want to thank Mr. Illick for his many courtesies and to
congratulate you all on the splendid work you are doing.

REMARKS

By Hon. Lex Mitchell

Title Attorney, Pennsylvania Department of Fore fits and Waters

THERE is a part of the work in connection with the Forestry
Department with which many of you are probably not ac-
quainted. I refer to the abstracting of titles for forest
lands. These lands were originally purchased for the purpose of
taking off the timber. Little attention was given to titles; deeds
were not recorded, and throughout these titles were more irregu-
larities, more apparent defects and matters which if not given the
most careful attention, would have foisted upon the Common-
wealth a lot of bad titles.

We have had any number of difficulties in straightening out the
abstracts. But when they came in finally they were approved by
the abstractor in the field, reviewed and approved by the Title
Attorney of the Department, also by the Attorney General's of-
fice, and the titles to them are absolutely good when taken over
by the Commonwealth.

The great good you men and women are doing is beyond my
expression. When you come in contact with somebody like Dr.
Illick who is talking forestry, thinking forestry, continually doing
forestry things, and who has done, I think, as much for the
advancement of the conservation of forestry in Pennsylvania as
any other in Pennsylvania today, you can't help but get that
feeling.

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1^'oRESTERS ' Conference

There is one man that has done a great deal for the Forestry
Department, and that is Mr. Irvin Gleason. He didn't make a
long speech — not nearly as long as I am making — but I want to
tell you he can buy forest land. He can go out and get it, and
when he starts on the proposed program I haven't any doubt
that there will be no trouble about purchasing all the lands for
which money will be available.

I wish to thank the district foresters who are here today for
the help they have rendered me. They know the facts; they
can find things that I could not find, and that the title abstractor
can't find. You will likely be called upon during the next two
years a great deal more than you have in the past, because you
know the land and know where to go to find information. You
can be of great assistance to the abstractors in your particular
country, by assisting them in getting the information they must
get outside the records, because there is a lot of information we
must have outside the records to straighten out these titles.
(Applause)

REMARKS

By Charles R. Meek

Chief, Bureau of Forest Extension,
Pennsylvania Dcpat Vnient of ForesLa and Waters

IAJVI glad to have this opportunity of expressing to the District
Foresters and other members of the Department of Forests
and Waters my appreciation for their very helpful cooperation
in my work.

We have heard today something about the planting of forest
trees and as there is another paper to come I must be careful
and not encroach upon the paper that will be offered this afternoon.

As to the State Forest planting, I might state that from 1909
to 1919, considerable planting was done on the State Forests.
For good reasons little planting was done between 1920 and 1927,
on account of the War and the fact that most of the accessible
State-owned lands had been planted up, besides the increased
demand for tree planting stock for private individuals. During
the last year, however, State forest planting has increased con-
siderably and nearly a million trees were planted, and it is ex-
pected that over a million will be planted this year. Owing to
the improvement of the road system more inaccessible areas are
being opened up and further planting on fields made possible by
the new land purchases.

In order that there might be a check-up on the reforestation
work being done in Pennsylvania, nearly 1,000 private forest tree

Addresses and Greetings

133

1

plantations were examined and reported upon, and a reforestation
committee was appointed to study the reforestation problem. The
results of these studies I am sure are going to help materially
in increasing the percentages of success secured by private forest
tree planters.

REMARKS

By John W. Keller

Forester, Pennsylvania Department of Highways

1AM glad that I dropped in here just when Mr. Elliott was
reading his paper on A Practical Reforestation Program. It
is a subject that has always been dear to my heart, and since
I have left the Department of Forests and Waters I haven't lost
interest in it. I lost a little sleep in the last few years worrying
over those points, and I suppose maybe some of the rest of you did.

I was particularly interested in the Committee that was ap-
pointed to look into the size of planting stock. If I had to name
one thing that is more important than all the others put together
in making a successful plantation, I would say it is the size of
the planting stock. If that question is settled I believe it is
going to do a whole lot towards solving the problem.

ixlQ Si/imulus that was given to reforestation by Dr. Illick in
trying to find out a little more about why we are doing these
things, than just the fact that we are doing them, is an excellent
idea. We ought to plant for results, and when he made a study
and found we were not getting results, then what is the answer
to it? And if Mr. IlHck doesn't do anything else in his whole
administration more than solve that question, he will be doing
a wonderful thing for advancing forestry in Pennsylvania.

I always have thought and still believe that reforestation will
ever be a factor in Pennsylvania, and the people throughout the
State are looking to you fellows for the answer. If they can't
get it from you fellows where are they going to go for it? So
from an outside standpoint I am delighted to think that you are
going after it and trying to find the reasons for success or the
reasons for failure. It isn't so much going out and finding all
successes as it is going out and finding failures, but it is very
important to find out what you are getting and then decide why
those results have come about.

I am very glad to be with you this afternoon and I certainly
hope I will have a chance to shake hands with you again. It
makes me sort of homesick to get here and see your faces again.
(Applause)

134

Foresters ' Conference

REMARKS

By S. T. Moore

In Charge of Land Records,
Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters

1JUST want to say a word to all of you here as to how pleased
I am to again look into your faces. It doesn't seem so very
long, and yet when you come to think back to 1900 when some
of these boys first came up to my office and commenced to draft
those wonderful drafts that they have made (laughter), I tell
you it makes me feel a httle old. But though I have passed my
73rd year, I feel as young as the rest of them, and I do like to
get to these meetings. I think they are a wonderful help to the
foresters as well as to us in the office. I am very glad indeed to
meet you all.

I will tell you a little circumstance that happened years ago.
We bought 176 acres of forest land in Miffln County. I took the
check of the Auditor General with me to pay for that land, and
I handed it to the owner .^ He said, 'What is that?" I replied,
"That is your check for the land."

''Huh! I don't want that; I want the money. I want the
solid cash. I ain't going to take no paper."

For a moment I didn't know what to do. I was ready to close
the deal. The deed was ready to be executed, and he wouldn't
take this check. So I went into the office to see my old friend
George Russell, and said: "Look here, George, I am in trouble.
I bought a piece of land out here for the State, only 176 acres,
and that man refused to take the Auditor General's check, and
I don't want to go back to Harrisburg to get it fixed up What
can I do?"

"Why, he said, "I will give you the amount."

Then I said, "If you do I want it in silver dollars."

"All right" was Mr. Russell's reply.

Well, I had my little old buggy and horse— that is the way we
traveled in those days, we didn't have automobiles then— and I
got that amount of money. I went out and saw the fellow and
said, "Here, I have your money. Come up to the squire's and we
will execute that deed." So we went up and executed the deed
and I went out and got this bag of money. "There's your money "
I said, "I want the deed."

He looked at it. "My God," he said, "what am I going to do
with all that stuff?" k i'" uo

"Well," I said, "that is up to you; that is what you wanted
that IS what you've got and I want the deed."

So he signed the deed, his wife signed also, and I took it and
stuck it in my pocket.

Addresses and Greetings

135

"Now what am I going to do with this money?" he said.
"To hell with you and your money," I said, "I don't give a
damn what you do with it." (Laughter and applause)

REMARKS

By E. F. Brouse

District Forester, Valley Forge District
Norristown, Pa.

1HAVE prepared a short statement outlining the Department's
obligations to private tree planters. Figures show that private
individuals and corporations in Pennsylvania spend annually
more than $200,000 for forest tree planting. The cost of the
trees, the planting and the interest in the investment, brings the
total to the above sum. This is in excess of the amount made
available to any other Bureau of the Department. We should
be charged with the proper spending of this money just as surely
as if it were appropriated to different districts. In reality it is
an indirect allotment for the furtherance of work which if prop-
erly handled will be of mutual benefit to the planter and the
Department. The importance of the Department help can be
further stressed by the fact that in order for the private planters
to break even on their investment it is necessary that 42 per cent
of the planters produce in 50 years 35,000 board feet of" lumber
on every acre, which will sell for seventy-five dollars a thousand,
excluding the cost of manufacture. It is unlikely that 42 per
cent of the plantations will be so successful. Consequently, to
produce an equal amount of lumber the number must increase if
the private planter is to break even.

To break even today is not enough, but rather we must make
him a profit, and besides show a margin of safety. When this
is done the corporation and the business man will plant increasing
numbers of trees. After all these are the ones that represent
industry, and the ones who will plant trees when we come in
and in an unqualified way show that it will pay. Successful
plantations will return a profit. Consequently we must ever work
toward the goal of a higher percentage of successful plantations.
According to the figures just used, if 75 per cent of the planta-
tions were successful in that they produced 35,000 board feet
per acre m 50 years, a good profit would be produced. This and
more is attainable, but it will require constant supervision and it
is worth it.

The Department is charged with the promotion of forestry in
Pennsylvania. Tree planting is one phase of it. No matter
whether planting stock is available free of charge, at cost or

13G

Foresters ' Conference

whether sold at commercial nursery prices, our obligation for the
establishment of successful plantations does not change. We
should guide the tree planter in such a fashion as to insure the
success of the planted trees. It is largely within our power to
do it. We owe it to the private tree planter in view of his large
expenditure to put forth our best effort by furnishing first class
planting stock of the kind best adapted to reforestation in Penn-
sylvania, by inspecting the area and offering our suggestions,
based on practical tree planting methods supplemented by the
proper follow-up work. (Applause)

REMARKS

By LeRoy Frontz

Assistant, Bureau of Management
Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters

AT THE request of the Chairman I will give a brief description
of the exhibit which the Department had at the State Farm
Products Show during the past month.

It has been our experience that most of the farmers inquire as
to the best methods of handling their woodlots, not only with
regard to planting but of improving existing stands.

With this in mind, an exhibit was planned which portrayed the
proper handUng of woodlots, planting and thinning operations
Seedlmgs were exhibited, showing the sizes and kinds furnished
by the Department. Trees five to ten years of age were on display
A stacked cord of wood showed what each acre of a well managed
forest m the State of Pennsylvania can produce, and in contrast
to this was a stacked quarter-cord, which is the amount the aver-
age acre of forest land is producing in Pennsylvania at the present
time.

Three panels depicting Penn's Woods in three epochs were
shown, first original stands of white pine and hemlock; second
extensive and destructive cutting and fire; third, processes of
restoration Two large maps showed the forest areas of the
btate the State Forests, forest districts, District Forester head-
quarters and fire observation towers. A miniature fire observa-
tion tower and cabin, together with forest fire fighting tools
were also displayed. ^ '

It has been our practice in working up these exhibits to try
and visualize the answers to questions most frequently asked by
those who visit our exhibits, and to this end we feel that our
recent exhibit was more successful than ever

Addresses and Greetings

137

REMARKS

By W. A. August

Assistant, Bureau of Management,
Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters

DURING 1928, the Department inaugurated a definite perma-
nent camp site program. In order that this program might
move forward, there are, in my opinion, three things that
need particular attention.

First. On the 2,000 camp sites now under lease, there are a
great many buildings that do not present a creditable appearance
In order to correct this condition in the future, all applications for
camp sites should be accompanied by a sketch of the proposed
building plans.

Second Inspections have revealed that many camps have been
so located in the past that they offer a hindrance to proper forest
management, particularly in reference to forest road improvement.
This situation might be avoided if all building locations were to
be designated by the forester.

Third, Our rules require that camp site code numbers be
p aced on all buildings, but inspections show that this is not
always done and there is also a widely diversified system of
numbermg m use. I believe that the numbers should Hp npif^v.^.
tor all districts and that they should be provided and pi;c;d^;;^
the buildings by this Department. (Applause)

REMARKS

By L. L. Bishop

Forest Supervisor, Allegheny National Forn^t

Warren, Pa.

1 AM very happy indeed to have the opportunity of bearing thi
1 greetings of the United States Forest Service, and for the
opportunity of expressing my appreciation of the admirably
conceived, adequately financed, and very effectively interpreted
State forestry policy and program of Pennsylvania. It is one of
SLir^fJ'^',*,' "^ '"^' *'''* *h^t I Ji^^e the chance to work

It is a' St mnSrif'; ''' '^' *? ''''' ^"'^ '^^' State organization.
It is a stimulus that is very desirable. It certainly is beneficial
to me personally and I am sure it is reflected thro^hout om-
en tire organization The paper of State Forester Illick could wi
but a very slight change in caption, be adopted as our Allegheny
National Forest program. "egueny

I was particularly interested in the clear enunciation of the
fundamentals which now govern and will govern Pennsylvania's

138

Foresters' Conference

Resolutions

139

^!l.

forestry program. I have been especially interested in your land
purchase program. It is a fine thing to know what someone else
is doing, what someone else is able to do. I have the highest
admiration for the effectiveness of that portion of your program
in particular, and your whole organization and its work in general.
(Applause)

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution presented hy Mr. Harheson

'^RESOLVED, That the District Foresters of the Department
of Forests and Waters express our grateful appreciation to His
Excellency, Governor John S. Fisher, who by his splendid co-
operation is advancing the cause of forestry in Pennsylvania; and
be it further

"RESOLVED, That we extend to him our sincere thanks for
his inspiring address upon the occasion of this conference."

"It was regularly moved and seconded that the resolution be
adopted, was put to a vote and carried.

Resolution presented hy Mr. Mulford

'' Whereas, In His infinite wisdom. Almighty God has seen fit
to summon from this life into the Life Eternal, that public bene-
factor, philanthropist and true friend of forestry, Leonard
Harrison of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania; and

^'Whereas, By his kindliness of nature and uprightness of
character he had endeared himself to all with whom he came in
contact, and had become an outstanding and conspicuous figure in
the forestry movement of his native State, through his staunch
support as well as by reason of his numerous acts of generosity
niost notable of which was the donation to the Commonwealth of
the Park afterwards named in his honor, from which thousands
of people each year are enabled to enjoy a view unrivalled in the
i^ast in scenic grandeur; therefore be it

"RESOLVED, That this conference of Pennsylvania Foresters
iLTf 1".^ assembled, hereby give expression to their apprecia-
tion of the high Ideals and lofty principles that were so well

rnn^rfuX^ "'- ^^^ '''''-' -' '^^ ^^^^ ^— ^ ^-^^ ;

"RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be spread upon
the record of this conference and that copies be also forwarded to
his family."

The motion was seconded, put to vote and carried.

Resolution presented by Mr. Winter

"RESOLVED, That the District Foresters of the Department of
Forests and Waters convey to the Legislature now in session our
grateful thanks for the use of the Senate Caucus Room for the
several sessions of this conference; and

"RESOLVED, That we express our thanks to the Senators and
Representatives for their helpful participation in our program of
activities, assuring them that they have rendered valuable assist-
ance in advancing forestry in Pennsylvania."

Upon motion regularly made and seconded, it was voted that
the resolution be adopted.

Resolution presented hy Mr. Williams

''Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the foresters, I wish to make a
motion that by a standing vote we show our appreciation to the
btate Forest Commission and fo Secretary Dorworth and to State
Forester Illick and the personnel of the Harrisburg office for the
cordial reception they have given us and the thoughtful con-
sideration of our efforts in making this, the first conference we
have had as a body since Secretary Dorworth has been in charge
afl ^ts ^So^T' ''''''' ^ memorable one and very pleasant in

The motion was seconded and carried by a rising vote.

Appendix

141

APPENDIX

142

P^ORESTERs' Conference

STATE FOREST LAND PURCHASES BY THE
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

(Biennium 1927-1929)

County

Bedford

Cambria

Cameron

Centre

Clearfield

Clinton

Cumberland . .

Elk

Franklin

Fulton

Huntingdon . .

Jefferson

Lycoming . . . .

Mifflin

Perry

Potter

Snyder

Somerset

Tioga

Union

Total ....

Area (Acres)*

2,802

15

5,273

14,240
3,924

31,040
362

14,277
1,292
3,022
460
3,199
3,333
1,095
1,720

50,253

2,429

4,697

3,898

• 204

147,535

'••Acquired or in process of acquisition as of February 1, 1920, with $500,000
appropriation made by the Legislature of 1927.

Appendix

143

STATE FORESTS OF PENNSYLVANIA
(By counties and areas)

County Area (Acres)*

^^,%"^s 20,887

^^^f^rd 13558

Cambria ^5

^a^eron :.':.'.'.*:; 88,329

^arbon 43g

^f^^^l,- 93,628

^ ?^5fi^ld 68^993

Clinton 175381

Cumberland 22 082

^fj^phin :::::: 3;808

^1^ 37 044

Franklin 36172

Fulton .*.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' 9 418

Huntingdon 62,891

Jeiierson , _ 8 ^^^

Juniata 3534

Lackawanna 5275

Lycoming '/.'/.][][[ 1081063

Luzerne -. ^

Mifflin ■.•.■.•.■.•.•.•.•.•.•.:■.■.■.•. 51,935

fZS' 6.400

pfk7 31,187

Potter J^'^'^'^

q^"?L 209,038

Snyder 22 749

Somerset irt'o/i'?

Tioga ;:;;:■■■■ loiil

Union ••• ^^,967

Westmoreland I'tU

Wyoming .■.■,■.■.'.■.': i;i77

'^^*^' 1,280,585

February 1, 1929

144

Foresters' Conference

STATE FOREST LAND PURCHASED BY
THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Year

1898

1900

1901

1902

1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

1911

1912

1913

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

Total ...

Area (Acres) Total Cost

0
77,018
44,146

174,321
87,947

142,243
86,625
67,848
50,808
75,231
88,301
17,074
32,408
15,971
11,726

8 000
,i)oo

3,639

8,136

5,593

14,351

16,459

59,728

17,537

2,912

0

329
100
203
0

0

$130,944.20

71,817.57

406,768.79

234,081.33

363,138.94

177,252.75

169,459.97

119,831.51

182,222.97

194,866.48

44,492.81

67,377.74

49,782.36

44,647.20

19,632.16

8,296.81

22,891.70

11,191.69

28,118.67

41,909.54

122,728.13

31,824.84

12,832.02

0

859.08

200.84

1,014.59

0

Average cost
per acre

0
$1,700
1.627
2.333
2.662
2.553
2.046
2.498
2.359
2.422
2.207
2.606
2.079
3.117
3.808

2.280
2.814
2.001
1.959
2.546
2.055
1.815
4.407

0
2.611
2.008
5.000

0

1,109,587* $2,558,184.69

$2,306

1 1 ooo addition to the 1,109,587 acres acquired through regular purchases,
14,^88 acres and 154 perches were acquired at tax sales, 4,275 acres and 54
peix^hes at Commissioners' sales, 970 acres and 97 perches as vacant land,
^,288 acres and 124 perches as gifts, and 1,698 acres and 147 perches through
exchanges and resurveys. ^

Appendix

145

RECEIPTS OF PENNSYLVANIA STATE FORESTS

1900-1928

-^^^^' A7nount

im $1,227.87

1 ono 1,951.57

inno 1,578.70

tqnf 9,758.02

]Zk 1,373.94

11^ ■ 5,001.24

1 nrvQ o,955.89

loXf 2,473.76

lo?^ 5,267.11

J^JV 9,176.09

iail 6,460.08

lati 12,585.67

}%]° 13,076.07

;^}i 15,066.64

]^]^ 13,483.84

h}^ 21,459.97

joTa 21,569.69

}t]^ 24,410.24

nil 34,517.15

J^o? 50,633.80

ilil 48,261.63

|x;f 45,311.57

iai^ 80,275.90

ilii 88,199.56

}li^ 68,607.28

lofS 50,943.44

itil 62,263.66

^^■^'^ 61,780.10

Total $762,918.15*

*0f this amount $467,258.64 have been deposited in the State School Fund.

146

Foresters' Conference

REDUCTION IN AVERAGE SIZE OF FOREST FIRES

IN PENNSYLVANIA

Year

1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928

Average Size of Forest Fires

(Acres)
412
305
316
141
150
140
133
160

78

91
105

48

49

77

80

45

CAUSES OF FOREST FIRES IN PENNSYLVANIA

(Five Year Record)

Five-Year

Average

Num- Per

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

her Cent

.... 1,062

650

737

805

505

752 30.6

1,257

541

656

891

259

721 29.4

rning 212

92

283

266

103

191 7.8

.... 178

124

218

189

68

155 6.3

65

7

31

47

6

31 1.3

• • • • ^^

8

62

22

6

24 1.0

)us . 245

209

230

265

131

216 8.8

498

366

345

432

168

362 14.8

Transients

Railroads

Brush Bu:

Incendiary

Lumbering

Lightning

Miscellaneous

Unknown

Total .... 3,539 1,997 2,562 2,917 1^ 2^ lOOO

Appendix

147

STATE AND PRIVATE FOREST TREE PLANTING

IN PENNSYLVANIA

Year

1899

1900

1901

1902

1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

1911 .

1912 .

1913 .

1914 .

1915 .

1916 .

1917 .

1918 .

1919 .

1920 .

1921 .

1922 .

1923 .

1924 .

1925 . .

1926 . .

1927 . .

1928 . .

On

Total

Number of Trees Planted

State Forests On Private Lands''
1,000
1,500

5,000
1,600
7,700
40,000
99,550
36,930
100,628
738,461
1,092,213
1,663,661
1,890,404
3,164,637

Q Qoo rrrr-i

4,315,436
5,492,020
3,595,720
6,033,760
2,132,547
238,298
177,960
133,221
551,462
424,380
362,100
560,525
559,635
926,649

37,740,568

66,374
25,360
66,854
47,770
108,685
115,577
1,471,875
1,812,997
2,186,899
3,139,531
2,543,374
3,041,710
3,670,621
5,437,817
8,577,464
8,604,091
9,768,879
13,926,018
9,882,310

74,494,206

♦Trees supplied from State forest tree nurseries.

148

Foresters' Conference

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