pest Kesom. 6. | SSRSEE Sat of oe Moor Sy ti het Sarees EESEeUse Sav) ~* bre eras Be SO Pacers sails Set ies! tet aes esi Sete 2% aham AT bay Peilvc ey f iffy Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from | Microsoft Corporation mye AMERICAN FORESTRY THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION VOLUME XVII—1911 8 vo ee ae ha 1 \ THE AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION PUBLISHERS WASHINGTON, D. C. CONTENTS OF VOLUME XVII INDEX OF AUTHORS Page Mashton» i H., address) by==----—2s=—— 38 Plien 1.» E. article by.-25s2e5---—— 329-665 Andrews, Gen. C. C.,.article by------~--_ 48 Baker, Hugh P., article by=22=3==-22 605-719 Besley, Fy W.; article’ by=--=22222222--— 325 Blanchard;:C. J., article .by2222-==2=2= 701 Brown oW.. R:, article by=--222=-====== 19 Bryant, R. C., article by---..--2 724 Chamberlain, Allen, article by_--------- 389 Chandler B.A. article’ by-:2_.-22 === 735 Chapuiam, ©: S:, article -by--.---=2=222= 584 Chapman, Herman H., article by_----- 82 Cheyney, Edward G., article by--------- 522 Clapp, sbanle vi. wanticle: by=_=-=-= 573-652 Cock A.M: article bys. 42-3 == 674 Coolidres E: ii. article bys ee 542 Cornwall, George M., article by_------- 587 Coxe Wier-L. santicle iby-= oe See eee OS Deckert, Prof, Dr.=., article by=---:--= 273 Ellicott, William M., article by--------- 317 BAlis; Won Carlos articles by=—.- == 509 Emerson, Ralph Waldo (poem) ------~- 196 agen, 3. a, article hyo seo eo 741 Putzeeraid, ©. W., article by2_=- = 2-2-— 646 Sayiora, ©. A, article by.-22222- 741 Ganord,. lohn, article. by__..-_ S22) 2e es 474 Graves, Henry S., article by---41-111-113-525 Green, Thornton A., address--_______-_ 3: aie BM. article by_2_-.22 ee 219 iat Ji. aurtis,. article ‘by... 67 Iidimel Ao G:;; article. by 22. 2see= ae 706 GENERAL INDEX Addresses, two. S: Gravess= 111 Adirondack Lumber Cut Decreasing__-_ 314 Aeroplanes to Protect Forests____-___- 569 Agricultural Education, course in_____- 566 Agriculture at Cornell University___--_ 567 American Conservation -_._._)--_. 171 American Forestry Association: Annual meeting announcement_-_ 64 Report of Resolutions adopted Presidency of. .._____. ee eee Page Hawes, Austin F) atticles hy - 2") = 191 Jackson, Edwin R., article by_._______ 3, 445 Kellogg, R: Si articles by===aae nes 348 Kirkwood, J. Es anticlesby=== 479 Knapp, F. .B., aride bya 204 Weyison, J. J., article: byasae== eee 91-611 MacDonald, ‘G, B., articlenbya2=2==—=—= 549 McLaren, John, article by2232252=eee 731 Melly Gx): article by. 280-590-663 Moody Brank 3B: article bys === 595 Moore, Barrington, article by--.------- 531 Moore, Sidney L., article by_-_------ 145-713 Page, Thomas Nelson, article ‘by-_=-—_- 133 Peters; § G, atticle by...) 383 Pettis, €eRS article, by_._--.___- see 155 Pollock; FSR stpgem ) =- 1.2. ee 40 Rane, F. W., sapien by___!_____ eae 160 Record, Samuel J9ageticle by... 2a 197 Rogers, D. N., article by2s._-_._ 22am 599 Roth, Filibert, article’ by= sa) ee 395-456 Shattuck, C; Be arnde )———————— 224 Sherfesee, W. E; articlesby=o==e=e 517 sponsler, O.°2,” ariiclegiyeeeeeeees- = 537 Start, EdwinVA., agielesays---=——-—-= 256 Sterling; EAy articlesbye=———-_ 667 Tiemann, BeeD., anmelewee oe 206 Tierney,. Dillon Piearutcle: py 2: _. 2a 656 Vincent, Harry, siecle by=.2) eee 343 Weber, WieHoyiearticle bys... sae 637 Wildes, Walter K., article by___________ 253 Young, Mgaearticle: bya |) eee 396 American Lumber Trades Congress---- 440 American Tropics, Forestry in the—John Simord _Sewee 2 474 Annual Forestry Council, New Hamp- Shite’s gates 2-222 557 Annual Meeting, Announcement of Partick (awe oe 64 Report (Ome =e 99 Resolutiofis, adopted ]22_--2-2---- 115 Annual Seed Crop, Harvesting the—Sid- ROY pane = ee 145 CONTENTS Page Appalachian Bill, The passage of the___ 164 Appalachian Forests, The 288, 363, 381, 473, 569, 685 Appalachian Forests, The People’s Pos- sessions in the HhomaseNelson Page....-2ee= Appropriation for the Forest Service_- : Allotment tor, District 4.2. aan Arbor Day, Catalpa by Wholesale for__ Aspects of Forests, Public—H. S. Graves Assistants Appointed, Forest___-__--__- Associations: See Conventions Pittacke A Plank. sats ee Bamboo Pulp as the Paper Material of the Future—Harry Vincent___-_- Banana Stalks for Paper Pulp-2.. 3. Basket Willow Culture in Maryland—C. Ds, Mie a. 2 eee ea Basket Willow, Purple—C. D. Mell____- : Bass, Hon. Robert Perkins (Portrait) __ Bass. Wecture’ byaGovernorme.—_______ 7 Better Country, The (review)—Dana Ws Bartle ttn Bio? Project: At ees Biltmore Forest School, The__-312, 439, Boundartesm(Chanwede! — -. = = ue 60, 178, < Bourbon "ef; Bourbons, A_222252 eee Boy With the United States Foresters, The (review)—Francis’ _ Rolt- Wheeler 2332 3 ae Bretton Woods, Forestry meeting at__ Building the World’s Highest Dams—C. lee Blanchard =. 22s... eae Galaverig Trees; The-_ 22a. See Califormiats Unique Forést2..--2_ 22 California National Forests, Reforesting Burnsiitive >) a _ ee Camera, The Pleasures of a small—R. S. Kellogg Canadian Forestry Convention_________ Canadian Borest Products29% _______. 2 Canadianimviteyi® Aa see! Care VWVithi tiie: iless copie > ee d Case of the State of Louisiana, The____ Catalpa By Wholesale For Arbor Day__ CO re) —— ee Changes in National Forests, President abeeaiakes@...... eees? Chesinut Bark Disease, Thes2g22___+__- City Trees and their Relation to Fores- Sloe ECC es eee a Collecting Lodge Pole Pine Seed—A. M. oC! AMA ka Colombian Mahogany For True Mahog- any, the substitution’ of._..-2..25- 674 756 ili Page Commercial Geography (review )—Ed- ward Van Dyke Robinson________ 366 CommercialgRetonestation;: =-.-="5--- | 747 Concrete and Steel, Mine Timbers vs.___ 411 Conservation, Amentean\- 5 ..2.---_____ ital Etro péareeescep | 761 int Haya eee eee 248 Of Natural Resources in the United#Stateswae =. ee ae 54 Penal) Imstitutionswands—- === 741 Congress, the Third National_-___ 557 Conservation, Penal Institutions and—F. A. (Gaylord... ME eee 741 Consumption of Tanning Materials_____ 246 Convention, Canadian Forestry._---___- 62 Conventions and Associations—See Con- servation; Pennsylvania Lumber- men’s; Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers; Hard- wood Manufacturers; National Lumber Manufacturers’; Yellow Pine Manufacturers’; American Lumber Trades Congress; Third National Conservation Congress; New Hampshire’s Annual Fores- try Council; Canadian Forestry; Bretton Woods; Eastern Fores- ters; Public Lands Convention; North Carolina Forestry, Co-operation in Forest Protection—E. T. Allene: 2228 x. aes. “ae 665 Co-operation With Lumbermen in New York Aa: ee 504 Co-operation With States in Fire Patrol —— Ji: Getta a __ 2 sh 383 Cornell University New York State Col- lege! GigeNoniGultire. see see 567 Corrections) Wage ae 762, 442 Cost of Growing Timber The (review) SR. -Sapcedbgre es 3) so 280 Council, New Hampshire’s annual for- CStry Zaee = =.-1222. 2. 2 ae 731 Fire Legislation in New Jersey, Forest 568 Pape Ws0sSes) 2-2 542_—. 2 2b ile Fire Patrol, Cooperation with States in— fear weters 22). vee 383 Fire Peril, Handling the—E. T. Allen 329 Bireweerotection 22-28 008 Ae ee 758 Fire Protection in the National Forests (Concluded)—Earle H. Clapp 573, 652 Page Protection Plan in the Southern Appalachians, A—W. Hoyt Weber Fire Supervision on the Deerlodge____ Fires, use of telephone lines in fighting First Purchase for Appalachian Forests Blank Attack, Aisa. 2s eee Floods, Over-Grazing Brings Miorida, the work 1neeeeeeee eee Florida National Forests Forced -Issde, A2ae eee Horest and the Farm) Dhes=ee Forest Assistants Appointed ~_____--___ Forest Divided, the Wallowa_____-__-_ Forest Enterprise, A Railway’s—Filibert Roth) £2.15)... ee Forest Experiment Station, The Minne- sota—Dillon P. Tierney__------~- Forest Fire Legislation in New Jersey_- Fire Forest Fire Season, opening of the__351,. Forest Fires, Federal Troops and__---~- Forest Fires in North America—Prof. DrmehasDeckert ... 2 eee Forest Fires, some new ideas in con- trolling—Samuel J. Record_----- Forest Fires, what Oregon is doing to prevent—C. §. Chapman________- Forest Lands, Taxation of—Edwin A. Start) 22:2...) 2S) Forest Law, Under Minnesota’s new— W.. TT. (Coxis 2 aeee Forest Legislation in Vermont_____--- Forest Legislation, State eee 2s2ee: __ Forest Life and Sport in India (review) Sainthill Eardley-Wilmot __------ Forest Problems of Massachusetts, Pres- ent—Allen Chamberlain Products, Canadian... sae Protection, codperation in—E. T > AMM of) Fo eee _ a Forest Protective Legislation Proposed by Wisconsin—E. M. Griffith___- Forest Ranger, The—E. R. Jackson_-_-- Forest Ranger, the strenuous life of thepses. __ Se ee _ eee Forest Reserve, Sunapee Forest Resources of Missouri__---~--- Forest School in the Philippines, A— Forest Forest 637 494 468 569 295 757 Werk. Shepteseeme 222 son ee es 52 517 Forest Schools, Individual Institutions: Biltmore Forest School_-312, 439, Colorado College Colorado School of Forestry__542, Cornell University Course in Agricultural Education Elementary School Forestry----- CONTENTS Vv : Page Forest School for Landowners, A 555 Hanvard, Eorest. ‘Schooli.g22-_-- Institution in New Haven__----- lewar State, College... =a 549, Michigan Agricultural Forestry Department, Summer Term___- Missouri, University of -_22222=-2 Montana Summer Cruise, Uni- Rpeeesey) OR a ee ee es 312 Montana Forest School, Uni- wersity:, Of ~lo822 2c See Sa Nebraska Forest School, Uni- MErSity) Ofi22. 22. ee Se 5: New Hampshire State College__- New York State Forest School_-_- Pennsylvania State College Out- lines a New Course of Forestry Philippines, A Forest School in Tne | Ped SE es ee a le 517 Forest Schools of the United States, Series : I. University of Montana—J. ld, komen 1nIDe 2s II. College of Forestry, Uni- versity of Minnesota— Edward G. Cheyney_-_-__ III. University of Nebraska For- est.) © chioioly— Onan. Sponslen = ess aaa IV. Colorado School of For- estry—P. T. Coolidge--- V. Iowa State College—G. B. MacDonaldi.== =e = VI. University of Georgia_-__-- VII. Biltmore Forest School_-_- Forest Service, appropriation for the___ Forest Service, a timber deal__________ Forest Service, recent publications_-___ Forest Trees, Insects Injurious to_____ 335 Forests, Aeroplanes to Protect._------- Hocests andsstteamflow 222. ...-._2.=55 Forests, The Appalachian_____- 288; ase Horests oi veanrador i222 eee. aa Forests of the Philippines, The____- a Forestry and Horticulture, Vermont Summer School of—B. A. Chand- ere Ge Se S| Forestry and the Utilization of Land— riaincet Eeotw,. ~~. Mee Forestry by Pictures, teaching__------- Bones nehaihiotoe Ome 566 Forestry Convention, Canadian____-~--_- Forestry Council, New Hampshire’s an- ARUN!) epee Rees, ee. A E Page Forestry in the American Tropics—John erotic Senne ieee 474 Forestry in Wisconsin, Progress of— Pronbe peviaouye 8 5. 585 Forestry, Institutions Giving Instruction In eee ee ee 659 Forestry Legislation, Uniform —__--~--- 442 Forestry Meeting at Bretton Woods, they Sees Pe ee 8s BG, 449 Borestry. MWiginicipale. seem 762 Forestry Organizations, State and Local 506 Forestry Problems of Today, The— Henry Gieaviege: Mee Se Forestry Progress in New Hampshire— WeRicBrowne= S52 oes See 19 Forestry, Public Aspects of—Henry S. Gravési Sse eS es 525 Forestry in the School, the place of— DonkCarlosy Hllishel==2: 2s ae 509 Frontispiece : January—Reproduction by Seeding. February—Original Forest in North Carolina. March—Forest in New Hampshire. April—Plantation of Norway Spruce in Vermont. May—The Crawford Notch. June—Great Falls of the Potomac. July—Looking up the Valley of Cane Creek, N. C. August—University of Montana and the city of Missoula. September—Governor Bass. October—Douglas Fir in Oregon. November—Fire Guard's House— Timber Destroyed by Forest Fire. December—Camp at Elephant Butte, New Mexico. Getting: -at athe es et 484 Gift to the Yale Forest School, A_-__-_ 248 Glennis), Reporte ieroresson 2 170 Government Timber Sale and Its Condi- tions, ‘WAGs: eRe REE kage PCED 627 Grazing and Fires in National Forests__ 435 Go ' ~ o Grazing Cases; Destined) -The-_-2-_<=..4 3! Grazine? A xcaminersmeeaee ase ese Eo 177 Growing Trees From Seed—C. R. Pet- CLS A eee erm iss Sb tals Ft 155 Guild, Curtis—Rorttait i a eee 107 Handbook of Conservation (review )— Mrs. Breede bigideker 2-222) 22 231 Handling the Fire Peril—E,. T. Allen____ 329 Hardwood Manufacturers’ Association__ 185 Hardy, Catalpassior Towa) == -2=2 =. 249 vi CONTENTS Page Harvesting the Annual Seed Crop—Sid- neyeVLOOpes -2 20-2222 2s eee 145 Tekory, ‘Hargett of 4-22-2225 ee 59 History and Present Task of the Ameri- can Forestry Association, The— Ee Soveremes 222.222) 22S eee 113 Elistory of Ties? mes... -- 42.23 ee 757 Hlomesteaders; relief for -222-22-22 2828 685 How One National Forest is Protected— Da Neskhogers -.. See 599 Idaho Experimental Stations-___---_--- 759 Illinois, a small forest reserve for_--- 313 Insects Injurious to Forest Trees_-__- 335 Instruction in Forestry, institutions giv- ing ee. eee 559 Interstate Commerce Commission, The-- 441 Lowar state: Gollece__...-=3. ae 624 Is Forestéy Bractical? +22). 22 ee 424 Kaibab, Seed Collecting on the_------- 492 Kennebec Valley Protective Association 698 abpraddimmeorests; (On = — =. ae 63 Lake States Fire Conference, the_----30, 52 Land Problems and National Welfare (review )—Christopher Turnor __ 687 Landowners, A Forest School for_--_-- 555 Lecture by Governor Basse2==2- = 760 Legislation in New Jersey, Forest Fire-- 568 Legislation, Uniform Forestry__----__-- 442 Lehigh University’s Useful Work __---- 120 Lessons From the Forest—Edwin R. Jackson? 222: 2 eae eee 3 Bist oft Schools. .22222 === eee 566 Lodge Pole Pine Seed, Collecting—A. IMS" Cook bea 2 eee 674 Logging on a National Forest—Sidney EE: “Moore: 228222. 3.2 ee 713 Lost River in New Hampshire_-__-__- 633 Lost Trail, The (poem)—F. L. Pol- HOt ee 2 Lote ee Sa 40 Boutstanay case of theStateot_ see = 414 Lumber Industry, The (Department of Magazine): 2.222222 ae 1€2 Lumber Industry, Report on______ 227, 440 Lumbering, Yale’s new professorship of 620 Lumbermen and Forest Legislation— iehotnton A... Green) =.) ee 33 Lumbermen, cooperation with in New Wii kae ee eee = oe SS 504 Mahogany for True Mahogany, the Sub- stitution of Colombian_________- 756 Maine’s Exhausted Fire Fund__-___-_- 618 Maryland, Basket Willow Culture in— ermiOeuviell: 252s: 590 Massachusetts Plantations _____________ 499 . Page Massachusetts, Present Forest Problems of—Allen Chamberlain —__--_--- 389 Massachusetts, Reforestation in—F. W. Rate. {Sewer Pepe ge 160 Meeting, announcement of thirtieth an- Tt, ey ee St 64 ‘Meetings, Forestry—See Conventions. Michigan Agricultural College Forestry Department Summer Term____--- 623 Microscopic Work on the structure of Wood—H. Dr tiemannyas === 206 Mine Timbers vs. Concrete and Steel__ 411 Minnesota Forest Experiment Station, the—Dillon P. Tierney ~-_----__- 657 Mannesota laws the mewos=2. eee 307 Minnesota's New Forest Law—W. T. Cox | 2203 se eee 593 Minnesota State Forest Service___--___-_ 376 Minnesota University, College of For- estry—Edward G. Cheyney_____-- 522 Mississippi River and its Wonderful Valley, the (review) — Julius Chantbersi 2s... ee ee 230 Missouri Chair of Forestry, University Of ee eee ee eee 566 Missouri College Staff, fifteen new men for (2.2): Sa ee eee 566 Missouri's Forest Resources --_------ 63 Montana, Forest School of the Uni- versity of — J. E. Kirkwood, Ph.D, 22. See eee 479 Montana Forestry Students, summer eriise fore: J. ae 312 Municipal Hoses) =a a 762 Nation and State—and Association____- 426 National Capital, a National Forest at the |S... ee SS. 352 National Capital Forest, a—William M. Ellicott 22! eee ee 317 National Conservation Congress, the third"... 22) eee _ ee S554 National Forest at the National Capital, Ate el. eee S. | 352 National Forest, Disposal of Fire Killed Timber on the Sopris—John Mc- aren .. seats By, pen 731 National Forest. Logging on a—Sidney le aNioore Seesaw. =e eee Bes W13 National Forest Work (Department of Magazine) ees soo eee 59, 125, 177, 235, 264, 304, 370, 435, 491, 569, 625, 685. National: -Forestguges.) s-— soes eS 60 Fire Losses and Range Use__-_-- 177 Neforestinepein+ 2 Sauer 2s 264 CONTENTS vil Telephones on the Pecos_------- 498 President Taft makes changes in 491 Reforesting Burns in California_ 467 What Oregon is doing to prevent ORES UMIIDES ies... 2 ere 584 Winlizing = troops) 1if_—..- =" ==eeee= 587 How one 1s protected___-__{_-_= 599 National Lumber Manufacturers’ Asso- Glamour he i_a__ 3b o fee 440 Nebraska Forest School, University of — Oe eee Ss ponsler 22 eee. _ P6387 Nebraska Forestry Students, field work [Dit = ene eae Ss _ Semeur ea 121 Nebraska, University of 25-2 ee 566 New American Aboretum, a-_------__- 696 New England Farmer as a Source of Sip ply. 5 se ee ee 697 New England Railroads Waking up_--- 313 New England’s Hope Deferred ---~-_- 616 New Grazing Regulations --.---------- 236 New Hampshire State College_-----__- 39 New Hampshire Timberland Associa- tens the pee 311 New Hampshire’s Annual Forestry Cotmnictieeere Sl) 55 New Jersey, Forest Fire Legislation in 568 New Occasions Teach New Duties_=_ 117 New @ppomeinitys 22a eee ee 294 New York, Cooperation with Lumber- mengan i222. A eS eee 504 New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell New York State Forest School______- 624 News and Notes (Department of Magazine) <2... Se... aes 62, 246, 313, 376, 442, 503, 570, 633, 695, 760. North America, Forest Fires in—Prof. Di vba Deckert =. ae _.. “aaa 273 North Carolina Forestry Association 180, 696 Northern Forest Protective Association 180 Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Man- LEACHMneLS) oats wee meek 2) 186 INO OUpply Bechaustless 22g! 22 698 Notch) Savedsathe Crawfordas = == 299 INoticenton Miennbers ssves seme 64 Oak as a Shade Tree, the Water—C, D. MIG A | ee 663 Obstguction, Otietal .... See 8 424 Official Account of the San Bernardino Ci i a 625 WiieialObsthwctione —_ seem Tt 2 424 Ohio State Forestry Society ~--______- 181 Oldivlimnestorest) Waste... Joe 505 Opening of the Forest Fire Season__- 351 Page Oregon's New Horest Law. 2---2--=+- 379 Orcantzatonseehorestrys=— 22 ee fas 506 Ornamental Shrubs of the United States (Review)—Austin Craig (ND dh, pee. 687 Over-grazing Brings Floods______------ 757 Ownership of Timberlands, the--_---_-- 171 Paper Material of the Future, Bamboo Pulp as the—Harry Vincent____- 343 Passage of the Appalachian Bill, the-_ 164 Passing; of the \Pioneers, the - == -- = 297 Pecos National Forest, Telephones on pets 2 DORs ee Mo 498 Penal Institutions and Conservation— BA. (Gaylord. aie 5 be ee 741 Penn State College Outlines a New Un- dergraduate Course in Forestry— FL Ry Balke rae see Re ee 719 Pennsylvania Lumbermen’s Association 187 Pennsylvania Railroad and Reforesta- tion Pennsylvania's Thrifty Forest Policy__ 314 People’s Possessions in the Appalachian Forests, the—Thomas Nelson Pagers melee Cie ie Jee 133 RersonalivVord eta = eee 684 Philippines, A Forest School in the— Woe Shentesee s2222 8 ees aah Si Phillips: tran ayes 2 Bees ee 314 Pictures, Teaching Forestry by_._..---- 546 Pike National Forest, Reforestation on the—@ W: Hitzgerald-_- 32 ea 646 Pine: Beetle; Che Southem === 633 Pine Seed, Collecting Lodge Pole_____ 674 IBines? sElistonyaro in thes eee 757 Pioneers, theyPassing | of the. 2 297 Place of Forestry in the School, the— DoneG@arlospElihs sae ee eae 509 Plans for Buying Eastern Forest Land 235 Plantings Campaicnhanvachives = 59 Planting for Pulp and Timber____._-_ 298 Planting Season, emoent.2- 6 282 2 88 499 Pleasures of a Small Camera, the—R. SS. Rieti ht ey 348 Pollution of Rivers and Harbors, The 484 Possessions in the Appalachian Forests, the People’s — Thomas Nelson Page gets rer wwe RL A ee 133 Present Forest Problems of Massachu- setts—Allen Chamberlain ___--_~ 389 Present Forestry Issues—Hon. Curtis PORTE Bc! Rig) ae a a 67 Present Situation in the White Moun- tains . Sepeeeeee 2 Teeth 118 Viil Page Presidency of the American Forestry _ Association President Taft Makes Changes in Na- foal iemests =.= 3.2. ae Prevention of Forest Fires in Minne- sota—Gen. C. C. Andrews__----- Principles of Handling Woodlands, the (review)—Henry S. Graves----- : Principles of Scientific Management (review)—Frederick W. Taylor- Products, (Canadian Horest=--2 2 ae Professor: Glenn’s Report ~------------ Professorship of Lumbering, Yale’s new Progress of Forestry in Wisconsin— FrankyiB: Moody — === Protection in the National Forests, fire— Barley Clappl. 222). 573, Protection of Forests from fire, the—H. SaiGravesr! . 22-2 aes Protective Associations, Timberland—E. AC OREnLIN ge! Seek seek! J ee Pruning of White Pine, the—F. B. Knapp yes tees Se oi. a Public Aspects of Forestry—H. S. Graves ee Ee 203i oe ye Publications of the United States Geo- logical Surveys 220= Pulp.and Timber, ‘Planting dora.2e ee * Purple Basket Willow—C. D. Mell_-_- Railroads Waking Up, New England_-_-_ : Railways and Forest Protection—R. H. Adshten, Ao... 22 2S. eee Railway’s Forest Enterprise, a—Filibert Roth’) 2262... ae eee Ranger Course at Colorado School of Forestry 2242) _-_. ae Ikaneer, Fall \Worketor thes--- == Ranger, the Forest—E. R. Jackson__-- Ranger, the Strenuous Life of the_____ Recent Publications—See Current Litera- ture. Reforestation, Commercial —-..------- Reforestation in Massachusetts—F. W. IRaiiie, (pete 1) 2 oe. Reforestation on the Pike National For- est—C, W. Fitzgerald_._--. Reforestation, Studies for—A. G. Hamel 7 Reforestation, the Pennsylvania Railroad Sheltie Rome S t Reforesting Burns in California National POPES GAN 2 oe oS Reforesting in the National Forests WENCEUTES 0. se Relief for Homesteaders ____________-- Report by Professor Glenn ____22220-- 555 491 CONTENTS Page Report of the Forester for 1912________ 125 Report of Thirtieth Annual Meeting___ 99 Report on Standing Timber, Commis- siofier @emgimrs ease, 2! Bee 182 Report on the Lumber Industry___--__- 227 Reports and Bulletins—See Current Literature. Reproduction of Engelmann Spruce After Fire—L. J. Young.___-____ 396 Resignation of District Forester Chap- Man! ....<2 522825 See ee ae ai Resolutions Adopted at Thirtieth An- nual Meeting, American Forestry Association 922234. 4+ ee 115 Reviews; Bools.c 22-223). ae 54, 55, 172, 230, 231, 365, 366, 429, 629, 686, 687, 688. ’ Rivers and Harbors, the Pollution of__ 484 San Bernardino Fire, an official Ac- Coumtof the <2...) 522s eee 625 Saw Mill Uncle Sam’s One,eeeeee 570 School in the Philippines, a Forest— Waa. Sherfesee __.4- Soeeeeeee 517 School, the Place of Forestry in the— Don, Carlospillis. 005+ Ieee 509 Schools: List of tiomestys =. 2222 ¥ “7. 1566, Scientific Management and the Lumber Industry —Rs CB ryan 724 Secretaryship of the Interior, the-_____- 228 Seed Collecting on the Kaibab_.---__- 943 Seed Eating Animals on the Tahoe____ 497 Shade Tree, the Water Oak as a—C. D. Mell 22822... US eee ee 663 Shade Trees in Towns and Cities (re- view)—William Solotaroff ______ 429 Shall States Regulate the Management of Private Forest—H., H. Chap- Man: e- .. 2ee eeee e 82 Sihlwald, the—Barrington Moore______ 531 Silence), Brokeny a2 25a eas 682 Small Forest Reserve for Illinois, a____ 313 Some New Ideas in Controlling Forest Fires—Samuel J. Record__-_-_--_- 197 Some Things a’Forest Ranger Should Know—C Sil, Shattuck 2=s=22222 224 Sopris National Forest, Disposal of Fire Killed Timber on the—John Mc- [aren —.. See: ees 731 Southern Appalachian Rivers, the------ 246 Southern Appalachians, a fire Protection Plan in the—W. H. Weber-_-_------- 637 Southern Pine Beetle, the--._-.-_______ 633 Spruce After Fire, Reproduction of Engelmann—L. J. Young_-______ 396 CONTENTS ix Page Standing Timber, Commissioner Smith’s eno s Gi ee 182 StaremC@olleseumloware=---= == <2 -_ 624 State Céntrol of Private Property__--- 313 StatembonestaeeciSlation 2-____--__=4 2 = 8 427 State Forest Service, Minnesota__------ 376 | State Forestry,—Its Relation to Conser- Taiion 2 ee Se 743 State Forests in Vermont—Walter K. \WWillla es: 5a re Se 253 State Ownership of Forests—Austin F. lawiesi 2 ol... 2 52. Se 191 State Work: California) 22862" ae 182, 306, 499 Plorida: a ee 59, 436, 437 Ela wala) oso ee eee ee 248 Thinoisi 224 ae ee eS ee. 502 To Waa ae SS 249 Malire (eee Nia 237, 306 Massachusetts ~~ ---- 60, 437, 499, 694 Michigan ese. oo TS 306 Minnesota 2 =e 307, 376 INebraskay ae 180 New Hampshire__61, 53, 311, 438, 499, 694 Nie wanViOnkee= ==. 2-4 182, 438, 693 Nothia@arolina _.- ae 180 Ohiog. = 232. -. Se eee 181 Oregon,’ .. 222) sae Peo), Silsl Sire Pennsylvanian === 61, 238, 693 WMerinont 22.2 2sav ae ae 179, 238, 501 Wiashington 2. Sa ees 439 Wrest ‘Virginia’ __ ee aes 61 Wisconsin ..._._ =. 438, 500 State Work (Department of Magazine) 60 179, 237, 246, 308, 437, 499, 568, 693, 758 Bidte SUI pieMeme ad __. Jae _ Sa 53 Statistics, a Suggestion for Fuller__-____ 53 tacLusuon mvviecks: Brlleeeea. eee 51 Stream Flow, Surface Conditions and__ 371 " Stream Blow, orests anges _.....--2 403 street. Trees—. J. devisan—e-) _.-._._ 611 Strenuous Life of the Forest Ranger, Give) 463 Studies for Reforestation—A. G, Hamel 706 Substitution of Colombian Mahogany togetnue Mahogany —Semee-__-— 756 Suggestion for Fuller Statistics, a_____ 53 Summer Meeting of Eastern Foresters, tie=—hivchinbuebaker —2aeme-. 2-2 605 Summer Term, Michigan Agricultural College, Forestry Department____ 623 Sunapeer borest) Reserve .__.--22e. 22 499 Supervision on the Deerlodge, Fire_-__ 494 Supervisors’ Meeting, A _____-____-___ 128 Page Supreme Court Decisions, the---------_ 353 Surface Conditions and Stream Flow-- 371 Tahoe, Seed Eating Animals on the_-_ 497 Paling, (Stock, wWwasconsin =. +22. 2.2.22. 500 Taxation of Forest Lands—Edwin A. Star tin eee ees ks 256 Mieachinc sHonestuveby bictures= 5 =-= se" 546 Telephone Lines, Use of in Fighting Rinegpeet eee | eet tee 468 Telephones on the Pecos National For- CSti hte. = hae ee ee ee 498 Third National Conservation Congress, . 557, 681, 695 Thirtieth Annual Meeting: ATnNOUNnCcEMent Olle eeee = ae = 64 Report (od 2 2= sae caer ae 99 Resolutions Adopted yas. -——— 115 Timber Deal, a Forest Service_--___-_ 482 Timber Sale and its Conditions, a Govy- CLNMGni a= Soe = Sa ee Se 627 Timberland Protective Associations—E. PA: Sterlite ates cpl ay eens BL a Ae 667 omGer inwUnderrNew, Wawa 2 249 dlomeave thes Crawtond) Notchz—-== 92s 119 Trail, The Lost (poem)—F. L. Pollock 40 cecum elantings Ee ncotnagit a === =a 759 Trees and How to Know Them (re- view)—W. A. Lambeth --______- 687 iNrees) Strect—J.. J. Levisone.-2-—--.-_. 611 Troops in the National Forests, Utiliz- ing—George M. Cornwall _______ 587 Tropics, Forestry in, the American— Join WGittord sts ae ue ee 475 Two ‘Addresses—H. S. Graves__------- 111 wion (Conventions ies. nee ene ees 681 Uncle Sam Owns Much Timber but has Only someway Mail = ee 570 Under Minnesota’s new Forest Law—W. Hie) C gimmeete ets 8 i ee 593 Undergraduate Course in Forestry, Penn State College Outlines a new—H. BS Balke tans uae ee ee 719 Wnitriendly Appointment, van —- = —= === 227 Uniform Forestry Legislation--.------ 442 Unique Forest, California’s University of Missouri, the-__._-_------ 691 University of Montana Forest School 479 University of Montana Summer Cruise 312 University of Nebraska imiversity. of Wermgont) 2.25). -.2 624 Wise ofs@dd. Weneths, thes. 629 lUiser ofm Polesmmy a 909Mee =. 2k 62 Use of Telephone Lines in Fighting EMGeS. ase ee Le od 468 Utilization of Forest Waste--_....-.-- 63 Page Utilization of Land, Forestry and the— Filibert Roth Utilizing Troops in the National For- ests—George M. Cornwall------- 587 Wealwesot VWindbreaks--.---.-----22 22" 756 Mermont Planting Season------.-2===_ == 501 Vermont, State Forests in—Walter K. Wades 22). __-._____ 22 eee 253 Vermont, Summer School of Forestry and Horticulture—B. A. Chandler Mernmont University of =a ee Wallowa Forest Divided Waste. Old Dime. Forest. Shade Tree, the—C. DieMell :..-:_.-/. 232. Weeks Bill 62, Weeks Bill, Its constitutional aspect 169, Weeks Bill, Work under Weeks Bill, Plans for buying land_--_- Weeks Bill, Putting into operation_-_-- Weeks Bill, The Appalachian forest-_-- Water Oak as a CONTENTS Page What Oregon is Doing to Prevent For- est Fires—C. §. Chapman-_-—_=--_- 584 White Mountains, the Present Situation 111 9 eee een eee yt 116 Willow Culture in Maryland, Basket— CSD AMIGE? . . (Sea eee pee 590 Willow, Purple Basket—C. D. Mell____ 280 Wisconsin, Forest Protective Legislation Proposed by—E. M. Griffith____ 219 Wisconsin, Progress of Forestry in— Frank B. Moody sae ee 595 Wisconsin. Takinp@pteceess ss 500 Woodnotes (poem) — Ralph Waldo - Emersoity 1202 2.26 cee ee een 196 Woodworking Safeguards for the Pre- vention of Accidents in Lumber- ing and Woodworking Industries (review)—David Van Schaack__ 687 Work Under the New Forest Law-_--- 226 Yale’s New Professorship of Lumbering 620 Yellow Pine Manufacturers’ Association, tiege asses... _..___| ee 440 A New Wear’s Resolutton for the American People: Chat we will, from this time forth, administer the forests and other natural resources of the country as a trust, consuming only the income and preeseruing the principal unimpaired, that the greatness and prosperity of the nation may not perish as long as the flag floats over tt and coming generations may still know the phrase A Happu New Bear ACNLS TYOINVLOG ONILSAYALNI NV—ONIGHAS AM NOILONGONdAY LSHXOA AHL WO SNOSSAT American Forestry VOL. XVII JANUARY, 1911 No. 1 LESSONS FROM THE FOREST By EDWIN R. JACKSON. UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. (This was delivered in substantially its present form as an address before the Iowa State Teachers’ Association at Des Moines, November 3, 1910.) problem of how to make the every-day work of the school interesting and profitable. If I fail to do so, it will be because of lack of ability to make you see from my viewpoint; not because my heart isn’t right. I would like to begin immediately to point out some of the interesting things which the forest offers in the way of “teacher’s helps,” but in order to make myself and my purpose clear, I find that a few words of explanation are necessary, so at the risk of being pedantic, I must take time for a short introduction. You have all doubtless been reminded many times of that rather vague but very comprehensive statement of Herbert Spencer, that “Education is the preparation for complete living.” We frequently misquote this, or at least misinterpret it, and tell our pupils that they must go to school in order to “prepare for life!’ How many school boys do you suppose have heard this statement from parent or teacher and secretly resolved to cut out the prepara- tion and get into the real thing as soon as possible? We make the school appear not as a very necessary part of life, but as a sort of purgatory which precedes that blessed state. Do you blame the boy for wanting to shorten his stay there? Then we have the audacity to tell him that school days are the happiest days of life. What hypocrites our children must sometimes think us! Let us first get on solid ground and teach that school work is as much the business of life as selling goods, and that education is acquainting ourselves with the field of our labors, quite as much as the first trip of the new salesman over his route or the apprenticeship of the tradesman. Assuming this to be true, we must at once conclude that familiarity with one’s environment is essential to success in life. By success, I mean not so much ability to outstrip one’s competitors as the ability to serve one’s fellow- men; to meet each situation which arises, with confidence; and to live happily and in content. I observed a curious incident recently in one of the magnificent hotels of an eastern city. Two men entered the building at about the same time. One was tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built. His tanned features and calloused hands showed that he was accustomed to hard work, and his muscles » vw au HAVE desired, in preparing this paper, to help a little in solving the t AMERICAN FORESTRY as strong as steel; yet he approached the clerk’s desk with every sign of timidity and even fear. There followed close on his heels a dapper little, undersized, sallow-faced person, lcose-muscled and physically insignificant— yet he walked forward with the utmost self-confidence and ease of bearing. The big man could easily have broken the little fellow in two, if it had come to a test of physical strength between them, but he allowed himself to be elbowed aside without a word of protest, and shrank back timidly while the clerk turned to the desk and greeted the more aggressive late comer first. What is the explanation of the conduct of these two men? Simply that the big man did not feel sure of himself; he was in surroundings which were un- familiar to him, while the little man was wholly at home. It is the same instinct which makes the country dog which has followed his master to town. turn tail from his city cousin until he reaches the shelter of the master’s wagon, when he faces his pursuer and stands at bay. The lesson I wish to draw from these illustrations is this: A serious part of the work of the teacher is to acquaint the pupil with his environment; to make him master of the natural phenomena with which he is surrounded, so that he need not be at loss to know how to make them serve him. Since the Almighty placed our common ancestor, Adam, on this world with the com- mand to take the earth and subdue it, man has striven to learn the secrets of Nature and to use the resources of earth, sea, and air for his own comfort and support. In part, he has been successful, yet how many of us, if cast away like another Robinson Crusoe, could hold our own in the struggle for existence? How many of us, when walking in the fields, hesitate to pluck the brilliant flower which blooms in our path, or to taste the tempting berries which the bushes hold forth to us, for fear they may be poisonous? The lesson is obvious. To paraphrase an old proverb—it is this: “Familiarity breeds confidence.” No one can be wholly successful in life who is the victim of discontent. I mean by this not the kind of discontent which sees in society conditions which are unjust and seeks to right them; this is the kind of discontent that is productive of “insurgents.” I mean rather the discontent that sees no beauty in the fairest landscape, but only trees and bushes; that hears no music in the singing of the birds, but only shrill noise. There are people who live amid scenes of the greatest beauty yet who wonder why tourists come to look on the rocks and hills with which they are surrounded. I have been told of people who have lived for years within sight of the Congressional Library in Wash- ington—that building which is said to have the most beautifully decorated interior of any building in the United States—yet who have never entered its portals. These same people doubtless complain because they cannot afford to take a trip to New York or Paris to see the sights. Here, then, is another part of the work of the educator—to teach an appreciation of one’s immediate environment, and to stir up an interest in Nature’s phenomena with which every one is surrounded, so that no matter where one finds himself, there is always something to entertain and instruct him. The ideal is that of Him who found “Sermons in stones and books in the running brooks.” THE PLACE OF FORESTRY IN PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION. You will readily perceive from what I have said why I have the temerity to suggest forestry as a subject for study in the public schools. Forestry is in no sense to be considered an unwelcome intruder begging to be admitted to the select company now comprising the public school curriculum. The guest chamber is already over-crowded, and there is no room for additional occupants in the places of honor. Forestry asks nothing more than admission to the servant’s quarters. It desires only to serve, and in the role of a good LESSONS FROM THE FOREST 5 servant, is glad to efface itself and lose its identity in order that its superiors may appear to better advantage and thus become more attractive. It seeks not to supplant but to supplement. While forestry furnishes material which is of the utmost value as sup- plementing many subjects, such, for example, as geography, history, botany, and civics, its special place is clearly as a part of nature study and agricul- ture. In the primary grades, the cultural qualities and the element of scien- tific observation which enter into the study of forest conditions are of great value in training young children to think clearly and observe accurately. In the upper grades and the high school, forestry again appears, this time as a very vital part of agriculture. The woodlot is coming more and more to be recognized as an essential part of every well-organized farm, and the products of the woodlot to be considered as one of the important farm crops on the same basis with wheat and corn. From an economic standpoint, the lessons of the woodlot are too significant to be omitted. May I suggest that any text-book on agriculture which does not include a chapter on the woodlot is, to that extent, incomplete. Now let us consider for a moment the advantages of the forest as a source of illustrative material. The study of trees is quite common in the public schools, but some times we see so many trees that we lose sight of the forest. The forest should be studied as such to be of the greatest interest. It is rich with interesting examples of the phenomena of plant and animal life. It is as though the Book of Nature were here issued in folio sized edition, printed in long primer type, for everything is built on a life-sized scale in the forest, so that he that runs may read. The teacher of botany or geography who is content to point out the pictures in the text-book, yet never takes the pupil outdoors to see the real thing depicted by the picture, deprives the pupil of a great opportunity which lies just over the brow of the hill. In this fact, that except in a very few localities, the forest does literally lie just over the brow of the hill, lies one great advantage of forestry as a supplemental part of school work. There are few regions of the United States in which some forest features are not close at hand to be studied. Where there is no group of trees that could be dignified with the name of forest, there is at least the tree to study individually. Even in the most crowded city, there are parks to be visited, and I am glad to note the increasing ten- dency to at least simulate natural forest conditions in these parks and to break away from the stiff artificiality which has been characteristic of city squares and parks hitherto. Even the treeless regions of the western plains furnish ground for the solution of one great problem of the forest—that of afforestation, or tree planting with a view to producing forests. Again, the teacher who wishes to study the forest, or to make use of the illustrative material which it furnishes, need not wait upon the seasons—the forest is always ready to be studied; it is never out of season. The tree, unlike the flowers or vegetables studied in school gardens and otherwise, does not disappear during the winter. On the contrary, a great many of the most interesting phases of tree life and forest conditions can be studied best in the winter, just at the season when most other forms of plant life are unavailable. This applies especially to the winter buds and protective coverings of the trees, their forms and branchings. But the forest does not rest its claims for recognition as a candidate for educational consideration upon its botanic importance alone. It also begs to ‘present itself as worthy of consideration from an economic standpoint. The products of the forest enter largely into the commercial life of the nation. Every- where, despite the disastrous experience of Mother Eve, the fruit of the tree is being constantly partaken of by the sons of men. A thousand articles of 6 AMERICAN FORESTRY commerce, raw and manufactured, are daily the basis of trade in our markets and affect our lives at every turn. This is too important to be overlooked if the school is to teach what is going on in the world. No teacher of commercial geography, history, or arithmetic can avoid the consideration of problems and questions which deal with the forest and its products. Then, aside from the articles of commerce produced, the forests are coming more and more to be recognized as having an important influence upon the economic develop- ment of the country through the influences they exert upon climatic conditions, soils, and water supplies. In view of all these facts, it seems to me well worth while for the teacher who wishes to make the work of the class room at once broadly instructive, entertaining, and uplifting, to draw freely upon the forest for material to illustrate and intensify the studies of the school. FORESTRY IN NATURE STUDY. The tree has long been a favorite subject for nature study. It has so many points of interest, so many phases in its yearly life and is so constantly and universally available that it is invariably drawn upon by teachers look- ing for illustrative material. Each tree seems to have its own particular ef- fect upon our feelings. The oak, for example, impresses us with its strength, the elm with its grace, the weeping willow with a sense of humility or sorrow. We find a new cause of interest in the tree as the seasons change and with the coming of winter the leaves fall away, leaving the branches bare. Winter affords the best opportunity to study tree forms. An old chestnut or elm, for example, will show plainly the deliquescent or dissolving type of branching, while the poplar or cedar are types of the excurrent form. The student of nature study will want to know how the tree grows, and an interesting experiment is to dig and wash away the soil from the roots of a small seedling and learn by actual measurement how far the roots extend. Then occasionally in the forest we may find a large tree uprooted by the wind and see how the roots penetrate and hold the soil. No better evidence can be had as to the value of trees in preventing erosion. Considering the parts of the tree found above ground, we may compare the erect and self-supporting trunk to the stems of vines and herbs. When we study the growth of the tree, no more striking evidence of this growth can be found than the fresh shoots of the evergreen’s branches as they appear in the spring. Now let us leave the study of the individual tree and consider the forest. Here we find not only trees to study but whole colonies of smaller plants and of animals which go to make up the life of the woodland, and there are also for consideration a great many conditions of soil and water supply that depend upon the forest. We need to observe, for example, how the forest floor is interwoven with roots and enriched by the humus of vegetable decay. This can be easily seen in some place where the forest floor extends to the edge of a bank and is thus shown in vertical section. One of the most important lessons we may learn from the forest is the appreciation of beauty, not only of form but of color. No where can we find such rich and delicate colorings, such a variety of tints and such a procession of changes as our common hardwood forests produce with the changes of the seasons. When the season is mild and Jack Frost does not spoil the show, the autumn leaves set forth for our enjoyment a perfect symphony of color not excelled anywhere in nature. Even stern winter entering upon the stage cannot entirely quell the joyous riot, for the sturdy conifers in their coats of green stand erect amid the snows and continue to play their parts unmindful of the sharpest cold. NOILONGOddaY SINAADYd SASOdYNd DNIZVAD XOX LOTGOOM AHL DNIZITILN SWHOd GAYL AGALS OL ALINOLYOddO LSA AHL SGYOAAVY YALNIM,, “ec LISHYOd AHL WO SNOSSHT THE SQUIRREL IN HIS TRAVELS THROUGH THE TREE TOPS LESSONS FROM THE FOREST “THE STURDY EVERGREENS STAND ERECT AGAINST THE SNOWS ‘“\ LARGE TREE UPROOTED BY THE WIND SHOWS HOW THE ROOTS PENETRATE AND HOLD THE SOIL” LESSONS FROM THE FORESTS A COMMON TYPE OF WOODLOT—THE WINDBREAK THE WOODLOT HAS ITS PLACE ON THE FARM, AS WELL AS THE GRAIN FIELD LESSONS FROM THE FOREST “THE STUDENT OF GEOGRAPHY SHOULD KNOW OF THE EXTENT OF THE TREELESS REGIONS OF THE MIDDLE WEST LESSONS FROM THE FOREST . 11 It would be both unfortunate and unwise to study the forest without also studying some of the fascinating creatures that inhabit the wildwood. We may watch the squirrel in his travel through the tree tops; the wood- pecker, rapping as it were, for admission on the wooden door of the tree trunks or boring holes in the bark as a cache for his winter supply of acorns. We may, if we are bold enough, even venture into the realms of those larger and more ferocious creatures of the woods, such as the bear and wolves. All these go to make the story of the forest one of intense interest to the child. Before I leave the subject of nature study, I wish to emphasize again the importance of the tree from an aesthetic viewpoint. I need only to remind you of the beauty of a city street lined with beautiful trees to impress upon your minds what you already know—namely, the importance of trees in the beautification of cities. And what can possibly plead more strongly for the cause of the tree than the contrast so often seen of two school houses, situated within a few miles of one another, the first with grounds absolutely barren and uninviting; the other nestling cozily among shady maples, which shelter it in winter from the storms and furnish cool shade in summer? FORESTRY IN AGRICULTURE. Possibly the most important phase of the study of.forestry in so far as it is applicable to the public school is found in its application to elementary agriculture. We are coming more and more to realize that the woodlot is just as essential to the organization of the farm as the cornfield or the alfalfa patch; the products of the woodlot are just as much to be considered farm crops as grain or hay. Some farms are fortunate enough to include native timberland, but in the prairie states, more often, a plantation is necessary. The difficulty to be overcome in establishing a woodlot is that agricultural iand can be made more immediately profitable for the production of other crops than if planted to trees. The student of agriculture will at once see that one function of the woodlot is in the utilization of waste lands, such, for example, as are subject to erosion or cut off from cultivation by streams or other topo- graphical obstructions. It is well to realize also that trees will almost invariably grow on soil too poor or too rough to support any other crop. This is true also of sandy soils, where trees will not only thrive, if proper species are selected, but will also prove useful in preventing the shifting of sands by the action of winds. Perhaps the most common as well as the most useful type of woodlot plantation found in the Middle West is that which surrounds the home of nearly every prairie farmer. This type combines the advantages of the wind- break or shelterbelt, to that of the crop-producing woodlot. Its advantages are So obvious that argument is really unnecessary to convince any student of agriculture of its importance to the farmer. Study for a moment the utilization of trees as a protection for the or- chard. This is especially important in those regions where there are prevail- ing winds which will invariably distort and injure the fruit trees if they are unprotected. But the woodlot cannot be left to itself without cultivation or care if it is to be successful. The first thing, of course, to be consid- ered in establishing a plantation is proper planting methods. One common fault in tree planting for woodlot purposes is that often too much space is left between the trees. A plantation will not thrive when the trees are too wide apart to afford mutual protection, while a plantation closely planted will usually produce the best type of tree for posts, poles or lumber because of the clear straight boles which the trees develop. It is the custom in many places to utilize the woodlot for grazing pur- poses. This gives bad results in two ways. It prevents any possibility of 12 AMERICAN FORESTRY reproduction; and the trees are subject to injury by having the earth trampled away, exposing their roots and thus interfering with their growth. If the trees are young, it is the height of folly to allow cattle to graze among them, for the tops will be eaten back and the trees become twisted and broken from the rubbing and trampling they will receive. This fact is witnessed by the ruins of many a school ground plantation. The greatest enemy of the forest tree is fire. Fire may not so frequently find its way to the woodlot as to the forest primeval, but it is nevertheless to be reckoned with; not the great, flaming all-consuming forest fire, but the creeping, seemingly insignificant ground fire which burns slowly through leaves and humus. A furrow around the woodlot will frequently serve as an efficient protection from such fires and prevent much damage. The proper utilization and management of the woodlot is a broad subject. I shall have time only to mention a very few points. Proper cutting and judicious improvement thinnings are essential to promote the best develop- ment of desirable trees, especially if the woodlot is of native growth. In some types of woodlots, pruning is advisable, but frequently this will be unnecessary if not unwise. The most important feature is, of course, the harvesting of the crop of the woodlot, which will consist, so far as the ordinary farmer is concerned, of fence posts, fuel, poles, ete. A great many problems present themselves which cannot be solved satisfactorily except by a knowl- edge of silviculture and technical forestry. The students of agriculture may well become familiar with the fact that in such cases, advice may always be had at little or no cost from the Forest Service of the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture. The essential points which I wish to impress upon all teachers of agri- culture is the importance of the consideration of trees as a farm crop just as much as corn; and that the forest, in the form of the woodlot, has its place in agriculture which we cannot afford to overlook. FORESTRY IN BOTANY. The student of botany will, of necessity, make the tree the subject of a great deal of study. It is the best type of exogenous, or outside growing plant. The annual rings of the tree contain many an interesting story of the vicissi- tudes of its life history. We might dwell upon this interesting point for a long time but I must pass on. One type of inside-growing or endogenous tree is found in the palm family. It will interest the botanist to compare the form of the palm to that of ordinary outside growing trees and seek explana- tions for the differences. The life processes of the tree are full of mystery and of interest to the student. We shall find it profitable to learn why a girdled tree dies in a sea- son, but one whose entire trunk, except the bark and sapwood, has decayed will often thrive with no signs of injury for years, until blown down by some wind storm. In considering that most fascinating of botanical subjects, seed dispersal, the trees furnish us an infinite variety of studies. We might collect and study the winged seeds such as those of the maple, elm, and basswood. The repro- duction by seeding is well worth our attention, but we must not overlook that other type of forest reproduction, the coppice or sprout method, for this is not only interesting as a botanical study, but important from the side of forestry. Should we consider the ecology of the forest, we find the light relation of trees evidenced in striking manner by the self-pruning of forest trees in com- parison with the wide lateral branches developed in the same species where grown singly in the open. It is also clearly shown by the rapid reproduction which sets in when a clearing is made in the forest and the quick upshooting LESSONS FROM THE FOREST 13 of the undergrowth when it finds the upper story of the trees that cut off the light removed. Possibly the feature of the forest which is most unique and interesting in the study of light relations is the classification of trees into “tolerant” and “intolerant” species. To illustrate, we find the intolerant but quick-growing aspen rapidly covering burned or cut over areas, but it ulti- mately has to yield to the slow-growing but tolerant fir. The lesson which might be drawn from this natural phenomenon of the forest is obvious, but I am not given to appending morals to my stories. Another ecological phase of forest life is found in the study of water loving types of trees which form the tree societies that line the banks of streams. Compare this with the effect of ‘flooding upon similar trees, and we find the tree to be very temperate in its habits—it cannot stand too much to drink. Again, temperature relations are shown by the appearance of the forests at timber line on mountain sides; and soil relations by the stunted growth of trees in poor soil as upon bare hills or when, perchance, a seed finds lodgment upon granite rocks where there is almost no soil for it to feed upon. I remember that in the back of the text-book on botany which I studied, there was a chapter which was never looked into by students and which the teacher evidently did not care to tackle. The entrance to this chapter was guarded by a Cerberus-like word so formidable in its appearance that we never even attempted to find out what was concealed in those pages. The word was “Cryptogamia.” Many of the members of the family of plants designated by this formidable name are found in the forest. I wish merely to introduce you to one—a riotous, destructive chap whose given name is “Fungus.” If your excursions into the realms of botany are extensive enough, you may spend many hours studying the destruction wrought by fungi in the forest. Let us not altogether condemn him, however, for he is the scavenger which cleans up the aisles of the forest cathedral, and tears apart the fallen trunks of the monarchs of the forest, returning them to the dust from which they sprang, thus enriching the soil with humus and helping in a very important work of the forest. FORESTRY IN GEOGRAPHY. It would hardly be wise to close this rather hasty outline without adding a word as to the importance of the consideration of the forests in the study ot geography. It is of the utmost importance that the student of geography should know something about the classification of lands in the United States and their value and productive powers. It is also desirable that he should know something of the forest resources of the United States, where the chief sources of our pine lumber and our hardwood supply are now found and about the rapidly vanishing redwoods and big trees of the Pacific Coast. He should know about the extent of the treeless regions of the Middle West and the deserts of the Southwest, where only cacti and sage brush grow. The lumber industry, the fourth industry of the country in commercial importance, is treated in every geography worth mentioning and is full of in- terest in all its varied phases from the taking of the logs from the forest through the sawmill and lumber yards to their final utilization. But lumber is not the only product of the forest worthy of consideration. The long-leaf pine produces turpentine; spruce and poplar are used to make wood pulp for paper manufacture; the hemlock and tanbark oak are stripped of their bark for the tanner; and we are even paving streets with wood blocks very successfully. Each of these industries which I have briefly touched will fur- nish material for weeks of study if followed up in all its phases. 14 AMERICAN FORESTRY In closing I wish to present a subject which has lately come into great prominence in the affairs of the land, namely, the necessity for the preserya- tion of the forests for the future benefit of the nation. Destructive lumbering and wasteful use have wrought havoe with the forests. Forest fires have swept over thousands of acres of timberland, destroying not only the trees but even eating out the rich soil, the accumulation of ages. There follows the washing away of unprotected soil on deforested slopes and destructive freshets which cover the lowlands with deposits of sand and mud. To prevent this waste of the wealth of the nation, Congress has established the National Forests. The spirit which controls the administration of the National Forests is set forth in these words—Careful use. The rangers who patrol the forests are there to protect them from misuse and destruction. Thousands of head of live stock are grazed on these forests every year, but the number per acre is carefully limited so as to protect the range from permanent injury. Legiti- mate mining is encouraged, but miners are forbidden to take up mining claims solely to secure the timber which may be found on it. Water power is not cut off from use, as is often stated, and lumbering is carried on, but under the supervision of trained foresters who see that all trees cut are closely utilized, provision made for leaving seed trees to insure reproduction, and the brush properly burned so as to minimize the danger from fires. All these features should be known to the student of geography, for in them lies the real reason why geography is worthy of a place in the publie school curriculum; it is the study of man in his relations to his environment. ; ‘i ee ys | Bigg Ae een OO j > at ere thy | ae hes, ah 83 4 ts ie I ANP OM Bd LESSONS FROM THE FOREST THE HOLLOW TREE WILL THRIVE FOR YEARS TOLERANT AND INTOLERANT TREES—AN INTERESTING STUDY IN LIGHT RELATIONS LESSONS FROM THE FOREST WATER-LOVING TREE SOCIETIES THAT LINE THE BANKS OF STREAMS ! oO =) a4 = 2) kK =) w eo) e io) 4 > =) =) = Nn Nn 4 2 2) < Q Z. a o yn = < = 3) Zz io) LESSONS FROM THE FOREST REST THE FO N HT BY FUNGI I ROUG TION W IS FIRE EE TR FOREST PEGE ar oe Mates et; Chen MBE ate ie yo WP ibe ian Bape tthe py Re FO ERS we TY THE OF 3REATEST ENEMY THE ¢ be ie = Ser cmt les atta ae- r lire : aac SE Teer ROM THE ONS F SS 4 LE FORESTRY PROGRESS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE By W. R. BROWN SECRETARY OF THE NEw HAMPSHIRE FORESTRY COMMISSION of the measures and the men behind it, and of its present outlook, may be of general interest because, in a degree, it is typical of the growth throughout the country, and because the state is beloved of many; and of es- pecial interest because of the attention that has been drawn to its remarkable mountain country by the movement for the establishment there of national forests. Being naturally a wooded state, with forests that came well down to the shore of the ocean, and possessing an immense power of reproduction, the practice of forestry was not taken up in New Hampshire until after the Civil War. The great number of summer visitors, however, who came for the enjoy- ment of the wonderful scenery; the establishment of large lumber and pulp industries in the north; and the rapid increase of the portable mill, which diminished the stand of splendid pine that grew so abundantly in the middle and southern parts of the state, were the factors which brought the matter into the minds of a few thoughtful men after the state had sold its last timber- lands in 1867. One of the New Hampshire men to first conserve and replete was Honor- able Isaac Adams, who, in 1878, planted a tract of forty acres in the town of Moultonboro to white pine in parallel rows four feet apart each way. This plantation may be seen today, although it has suffered for need of thinning. Originally two-thirds of New Hampshire’s total area, or 4,000,000 acres, was in timberland, much of it virgin growth, but through the abandonment of old farms and their reversion to sprouts, this has since been increased so that now three-fourths of our state is covered by growth of some kind. The depreciation in the quality of the stand was the cause of chief concern to far-sighted citizens, as cut over lands replaced old growth, burned areas came up to cherry bushes, and old pastures became improperly seeded. Over the northern section of the state the most characteristic species, spruce and balsam formed vast unsettled forests which covered the mountains almost to their tops, and were treated as unlimited reservoirs by the large lumber and pulp companies and cut without attention to reproduction, while in the south- ern half where deciduous trees were in preponderance, accompanied with the white pine, the country was opened by settlement, with the characteristic woodlot left on the farm. Two distinct problems were therefore offered for the practice of forestry. First, protection against extensive conflagrations in the north calling for a broad policy to protect a large area, together with the encouragement of a disposition to leave small trees standing; and second, in the south the organization of each separate town to fight local fires, with en- couragement to replant the cleared lot, and perpetuate the rapid growing and profitable white pine. Sometime in the seventies the old growth forest in that part of the Ammo- noosuc Valley between the Twin Mountain House and Fabyans, and extending along the road from Fabyans to the Crawford House and westward to the base 19 Og history of the inception and growth of forestry in New Hampshire 20 AMERICAN FORESTRY of Mount Washington, was cut and completely burned and this loss of a much prized and well known region coupled with the growing interest to protect and conserve led the legislature in 1881 to appoint the first state forestry commission, consisting of Governor Hale and seven others, chief of whom was the Hon. Joseph B. Walker, who had worked assiduously in the state senate for its creation, helped largely in its investigations, and finally wrote out its findings in 1885 in an excellent and far-seeing report on the following sub- jects: (1) The area of forests; (2) their relation to the rainfall and climate; (3) trees and shrubs found therein; (4) forest management; (5) reforestra- tion. Their report being finished they disbanded. After the report of the first forest commission in 1885 nothing further was done until 1889, when the Governor and Council appointed a second commission, consisting of Joseph B. Walker, George B. Chandler and J. B. Harrison, who made a report in 1891, and forestry bills were introduced embodying their recommendations. Favorable action was not secured until 1893, when the legislature passed a law which created a forestry commission, to consist of the governor and four members, to investigate the extent and character of the original and secondary forests in the state; the removal and disposition made of the woods therefrom; all revenues derived; the damage done by fire; methods of lumbering pursued, and effects on the timber supply, water power, scenery and climate. This commission, which consisted of George B. Chandler, Napoleon B. Bryant, James F. Colby, and George H. Moses, got out the first official forestry map of the state, and for a few years thereafter laid the foundation of fact upon which to base a proper forestry policy. Little or no money was appropriated and the work done was left to the patriotism and loyalty to the cause of these men to awaken public interest. In 1895, however, the legislature empowered the commission to pay through the county one-half of the cost for fighting fire in unincorporated places, the other half to be borne by the owner, and passed more stringent laws against the setting of fire. They succinctly illustrated the general feeling of the times in their second annual report under the chapter heading: “Lumber vs. For- estry,” and found their first problem to demonstrate the mutual interests which should bind the two. Probably no one did more for the solution of this problem than Mr. Austin Cary, who commenced an exhaustive study of the northern spruce under the direction of Dr. B. E. Fernow, then head of the Forestry Bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. Mr. Cary applied himself to the practical solution of adapting foreign methods to American conditions; of demonstrating the practical value of conservation to pulp and lumber com- panies, and of securing the first practical cutting according to forestry meth- ods. His careful research also of the insect and fungus enemies of the northern woods was of much scientific value. Up to the eighties lumber companies had cut only the larger trees for saw logs and unwittingly had left a con- siderable stand for future growth and reproduction. Upon the first advent of the pulp companies, however, this condition was changed for a period to a strip cut, and Mr. Cary’s demonstration of the ultimate unprofitableness of this procedure was of inestimable value to the state. Studies by Henry Ss. Graves and others in 1894 of spruce under Adirondack conditions supple- mented his work and a meeting of the American Forestry Association at Plymouth August 24, at which Joseph B. Walker, and George 5. James spoke, aroused national interest in New Hampshire’s problem, and an offer of co-operative assistance was made in 1898 to interested owners of woodland by the Division of Forestry, Department of Agriculture, at Wash- ington, then under Gifford Pinchot. FORESTRY PROGRESS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 21 In 1901 the legislature authorized the appointment of discreet persons by each town to control and protect the shade trees on the highway and tag them with a New Hampshire tag. It was unfortunately afterwards found that, however discreet such tree wardens might be, this act as it stood, was unconstitutional if contested by abutting owners. But as provision was made also for purchase and contest was not frequent, it has been of very material service in the protection of shade trees. In 1901 the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests grew out of the general interest. The first president was ex-Governor Frank W. Rollins, Joseph T. Walker was secretary, and Gen. George T. Cruft, treasurer, Philip W. Ayers was and is the forester of the society. Allen Hollis of Con- cord, succeeded Mr. Walker and is now the secretary. The society started with 230 representatives and distinguished members, numbering among them Edward Everett Hale, who, as a young man in 1825, helped in the first survey of the state to run town lines over the ragged peaks of the White Mountains, and was throughout his life a warm exponent of all that made for the pro- tection of their forests and scenic beauty. It has continually added to its numbers and resources and has obtained strong support from outside the state, especially from the neighboring commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its unoffii- cial nature and consequent freedom to act and advise has enabled it to become one of the most potent factors towards progress in the state. The purpose shown by its initial constitution was: To encourage forest growth. To disseminate knowledge upon planting, managing and harvesting the forest crop. To establish a nursery for distributing small trees and seed. To establish demonstrating forests. To preserve scenic places and high and steep slopes of mountains. To conserve growing forests and secure legislation. Since its establishment it has given especial encouragement and aid to scientific reproduction of the forest and maintained its own nursery; has advocated state control, state forests, larger co-operation with the federal government and other forestry associations, and its annual meetings, which have lately been held in the White Mountains during the summer season, have brought together many distinguished guests and visitors. Working plans for improvement cutting have been made by Forester Ayres for many institutions throughout the state, such as the Concord Electric Company, Concord Water Works, and St. Paul’s School. The care of the Dartmouth College grant of 26,000 acres was placed in his hands. The society has recently been made trustee for the residents around Lake Sunapee of a forest reserve of 700 acres on Sunapee Mountain, which was generously purchased and given by Herbert Welch and Mrs. Covill of Philadelphia, Mrs. John Hay of Washington, and Richard M. Colgate of New York. Nineteen hundred and three also saw the commencement of the agitation for a national forest reserve in the White Mountains, largely through the influence of this association. Through the efforts of the Forestry Commission resolutions passed the legislature giving consent and approval to any action to establish such a reserve by Congress. Senator Gallinger presented a bill in the Senate in December, 1903, to the 58th Congress. This was favorably reported on from committee by Senator Burnham at the second session, but was not brought to vote before the opening of the 59th Congress. A bill which had subsequently been drawn up to combine the White Mountain reserve and the Southern Appalachian reserve was introduced again in the Senate by Sen- ator Gallinger and conjointly in the House by Representative Currier. This passed the Senate but was held up in the House Committee of Agriculture. The supporters of the bill obtained a two days’ hearing before this committee 22 AMERICAN FORESTRY at which Governor Glenn of North Carolina headed the petitioners, and New Hampshire had Governor McLane as its spokesman, together with the sec- vetary of state, council and members of the legislature and officers of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Both the Governor and Mr. Harvey N. Shepard of the Appalachian Club, spoke eloquently in its favor. The committee reported the bill favorably to the House, but it was held up by the Speaker until the House adjourned. Since then another modi- fied bill has twice passed the House and is slated to be taken up by the Senate at the coming session.* In 1903, through the joint efforts of Philip W. Ayres, for his society, and the commission, which then consisted of Henry O. Kent, George E. Bales, Marshall C. Wentworth and George H. Moses, an appropriation of five thousand dollars was obtained for a forest examination of the White Moun- tain region and the completion of the forest map which was commenced in 1893. This examination was prosecuted during the same year by Mr. Alfred kK. Chittenden of the United States Forest Service, who made a most excellent and exhaustive report on the character of the more important trees and of the conditions necessary to their successful reproduction. His study of the lumber and pulp industries, of the farmers’ woodlot, of forest planting, and his recommendations thereon, proved to be a classic of complete and wise advice, and laid down the fundamental lines along which all of the subsequent progress has been made. In conjunction with his work a study was made by N. C. Grover and H. K. Barrows of the United States Geological Survey of the hydrography of the White Mountain region. This investigation began the compilation of many tables on stream flow but was abandoned because of the time necessary to secure sufficient data. Owing to the cutting off of the appropriation for the purpose the work of stream measurements was stopped throughout New England, thus making practically useless the data already obtained, since observations for long terms of years are necessary to attain any results of scientific value. Another important report upon the forest and water conditions of North- ern New Hampshire was embodied in the report of the Secretary of Agricul- ture to Congress, under the act of 1907, appropriating $25,000 for an investi- gation of the Southern Appalachian and White Mountains, with reference to the proposed national forests. This report was prepared under the direction of William L. Hall of the United States Forest Service, and the material was gathered by the united work of Forest and Geological Survey experts, making a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the conditions and opportunities of this region. In this connection may be also mentioned the report issued in November, 1909, by co-operation between the New Hampshire Forestry Commission and the United States Forest Service. This was an accurate and comprehensive study of the “Commercial Importance of the White Mountain Forests.” It was prepared by Philip W. Ayres, Forester of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and issued as Forest Service Cir- cular 168 by the United States Department of Agriculture. The first public land under the new conditions came to the state through the exercise of their right of condemnation and purchase under the law, through the generous gift by Joel H. and Arthur E. Poole of Jaffrey, and Isaac Sprague of Boston, who made an offer of $8,000 for the purchase of 500 acres on the side of Mount Monadnock in the town of Jaffrey, which is now held as the state’s first public park. *A detailed account of “The Fight for the Appalachian Forests,’ by Edwin A. Start, was published in this magazine, then known as Conservation, for May, 1909. That article preserves the record of the hearings and of the succession of bills and their’ history up to the close of the Sixtieth Congress. adO1S LSM NAYNVA daaLS NO ODV SYVAA AAIM-ALYIHL GALNW1Id LSHYOd ANId ALIHM MUVd ALVLS AHL ONIMOHS SANIT UHL ‘ANIHSdNVH MAN ‘MOONGVNOW ‘LW DENSE YOUNG GROWTH OF SPRUCE ON OLD PASTURE, NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE DENSE REPRODUCTION OF PINE ON AN OLD PASTURE, SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE A MOUNTAIN FIRE LOOKOUT STATION IN MAINE WHITE PINE TRANSPLANTS IN NURSERY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FORESTRY COMMISSION, PEMBROKE, N. H. FORESTRY PROGRESS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 27 In 1905 Jason E. Tolles and Robert P. Bass were appointed on the for- estry commission and the fire law was revised to make the chief of the fire department in each town responsible for the extinguishment of brush fires, as forest fire warden. Penalties for setting fire were made more severe, but the towns or owners still paid all bills. In 1906, through the generosity of Gifford Pinchot and department, an additional study was made possible in the southern half of the state to sup- plement the work done by Chittenden in the north, and Charles A. Lyford, M. F., and Louis Margolin, F. E., conducted investigations and prepared tables on the growth of white pine, of particular scientific value to the whole country, giving the rotation and the expectation profit from planting, and data to show its advantage as an investment. Their report also showed the growing need of reform, especially in the southern part of the state, in the manner of tax- ing forest lands and the inequalities and abuses of the present system and laid down the general lines upon which procedure should be made towards exemption. In 1908 the state received an additional gift of the reservation of 60 acres of pine in the town of Jaffrey, generously made by Miss Frances A. L. Haven of New York City. Robert E. Faulkner of Keene, served on the commission as its secretary in 1907-1908, and by the disinterested gift of his salary made possible the establishment of the first mountain lookout fire station in the state. In the same year the commission, with the active co-operation of the United States Forest Service, instituted an investigation of the taxation of forest lands, and the efficiency of the fire laws in New Hampshire, and much original data was secured of great value in the scientific study of the taxation problem, both in the state and country at large. Through the efforts of many clear-sighted, unselfish citizens, of the able members of the forestry commission, and not least of the Society for the Pro- tection of New Hampshire Forests, the subject of scientific forest manage- ment and development, had by this time come to be a recognized public econ- omic question of the highest importance. Largely through the efforts of Mr. Robert P. Bass, then a member of the commission, the legislature of 1909 passed a much enlarged and improved forestry bill, which called for a smaller commission, a state forester, reorgan- ization of town fire wardens, and the state to share expense conjointly with the towns in fighting fire. Provision was made for educational and protective work, but the amount appropriated by the legislature was insufficient to cover anything but the actual expense of putting out fires and maintaining the department. Mr. Robert P. Bass, Mr. Jason E. Tolles and the writer, were appointed on the new commission authorized by this law. Mr. E. C. Hirst of the Yale Forestry School, was appointed state forester. Two hundred and twenty-five town fire wardens were then appointed by the state forester. Bulletins were issued and lectures given. » Sefisze Sis SBS: ans Na DT eal en capes gum mats ; a = oon nena: mem “ee 7; REA A 2 ean 7m pk a TE Ge eee See ee iwi ies pn Soares ane TT are SRST Sm Opens eee ~—= THESE WOODS GROWN FROM SEED HAVE BEEN a) a - a — op) A fy —_ | << IN NEW _ 4 1 PINE WHITE FOR MANAGEMENT eX CELLENT GENERATIONS THREE WHITE PINE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WHAT AN OCCASIONAL SEED TREE WILL DO IN THIS REGION IPSHIRE \ E IN NEW HAI E PIN WHIT FROM WHIcII J KEENE R D IN PE FOREST BEEN 64 PER CROP AS AVING $ 1s @: ACRE E I 8 THINNE ACRE $4 4 PHER ANO FOR American Forestry VOL. XVII MARCH, 1911 No. 3 THE PEOPLE'S POSSESSIONS IN THE APPALACHIAN FORESTS By THOMAS NELSON PAGE (Address before the American Forestry Association at the annual dinner, Washington, January 13, 1911.) HEN John Evelyn, in view of the impending disaster of the complete destruction of forests in England, was commissioned by the Royal So- ciety of Great Britain to address them on the subject of forestry, he delivered a book, and poss‘bly, if one should measure up to the importance of the subject of the preservauion of the forests of this country, especially of this older, eastern slope, he would endeavor to follow the example of that illus- trious predecessor and undertake likewise to give a complete essay on the subject. If he could prepare such a work as John Evelyn’s “Silva,” then, indeed, it might be worth while to hazard even taxing the patience of the public, for it is one of the quaintest works in the English language, and if one but have the faculty of skipping with propriety, he will find it one of the most thoughtful, charming and instructive works that the notable literature of our fathers can boast of. In view of the fact that our new interest in the preservation of our forests is due to the sudden forcing on our attention of the extraordinary disappear- ance of our forests with the disastrous consequences that are following it, it cannot but be interesting to reflect that this great contribution to our litera- ture grew out of the sudden realization on the part of the leaders of the Eng- lish people that their great forests, once the pride of their country, had been depleted far beyond the danger point, and that the public mind needed awakening to the peril that unless the waste were stopped England would soon find herself without the timber requisite to maintain the wooden walls on which her salvation depended. Here, after two centuries and a half, we find ourselves in this land which was once wholly covered with forests confronted by the same impending dis- aster, a disaster from which in turn the peoples of Asia and of Europe have suffered injury beyond the power alike of calculation and of repair and, as in John Evelyn’s day, every far sighted man is called on to take service in the cause of education in this vital matter. The most obvious argument which one might urge is of course that of material return; but there are other returns not less important than the one which may be measured by the lumber stand- ard. The influence of the forest and the grove on the human mind, and thus on human progress, is one which may not be directly measured, for it is im- measurable. . 133 134 AMERICAN FORESTRY A great physician (the late Dr. Hunter McGuire of Virginia), stated that he once performed an operation which restored sight to a child who had been born blind, and that soon afterward he asked the child what was the most beautiful thing in the world, and the instant answer was “a tree.” It must have been in the realization of this truth of nature that the Holy Record begins with the placing of a tree in the midst of the garden which God planted, and ends with the same conception of beauty—the tree of life whose leaves are for the healing of the nation. The discussion of the merely material advantages to be reaped from car- rying out the broad and high-minded plans of the Forestry Association for the conservation of the forests of the Appalachian range through means of great government parks will be left to those more familiar than the writer with the statistics of the subject; as will also the discussion of the technical, legal and constitutional questions which appear to be somewhat involved in the plan be left to those whose responsibility is to direct the destinies of this country by constitutional methods for the benefit of the people of the land. The writer proposes to present his plea for the preservation of the people’s possessions in the Appalachian forests on grounds which appeal to him in the hope that if sufficient interest can be aroused among the people of this great country, this important subject may be dealt with in such a manner as to preserve this priceless possession of the people to them and their posterity forever, without in any way impairing the even more priceless possession of procedure according to unquestioned constitutional methods. It is true that most people are touched through appeals to their material interests; but it is even more true that a great number may be touched through an appeal to their reason, and that yet higher motive power, their sentiment. The argument of loss through the waste of billions of feet of lumber may appeal only to the limited class of those who might profit by a mure conserva- tive and wise method of dealing with these resources. But the argument of saving from destruction at the hands of greed alike “the glory of the forest’ and the fertility—indeed, the existence of the soil of not only the contiguous territory, but of the whole surrounding region, will appeal to all lovers of their country. The only thing needed is to educate them—to bring clearly to their intelligent apprehension the fact that the present system of forest de- struction is one that, reversing the poet’s dream of the statesman’s work, “To scatter plenty o’er a smiling land,” is as certain as any other law of nature, to scatter ruin and turn the fertile places into a desert. The history of all countries, written in the unmistakable records of perpetual erosion shows this, where tracts of endless desert stretch in regions once as fertile as a garden and where the silence of the wilderness has succeeded to the life of a teeming population. The future of forest conservation in this country depends as does the future of constitutional government of the country on the education of the people. No branch of education has advanced with more rapid steps of late than has that which relates to forestry, and whatever may happen in the future the foundation of this branch of our national development was laid by one who was for several years a high executive officer of the American For- estry Association, who first brought the subject as one of national importance to the attention of the American people. No man in the world comprehends more fully and appreciates more highly the debt which this country now owes and which coming generations will continue to owe to the zeal and far-sight- edness of the man who is the true father of conservation in this country. Forestry is his passion and the ennobling influence of this noble pursuit was never more plainly manifested than in the enlargement of his mind to take in POSSESSIONS IN THE APPALACHIAN FORESTS 135 and comprehend the extended scope of the idea of conservation. “Nihil est homine libero dignius,” says Cicero, whom Evelyn quotes with delight, add- ing this from the poet of the Georgics, “Silvae sunt consule dignae”—‘No, not the majesty of a consul.” If at one time or another—if in this matter or that matter, he has been over-zealous—even wrong-headed, if his opponents please —this in no respect affects the basic fact that, owing to his zeal and his pas- sion and his patriotism, has come into being the sudden realization on the part of the American people that they have a great possession which was steadily passing away forever, and that they have awakened to the vital importance of so using it, as to preserve it for the future benefit of posterity. It is well for the American people that the alarm bell has been rung and that this trumpet note has been sounded haply in time. For the exigency is not less great in America today than it was in England when Charles II, amid the dissipations of his court, was suddenly awakened to the fact that the for- ests of England were being destroyed beyond the hope of resurrection, and founded the Royal Society of Great Britain with a view to establishing a great scientific society which should scientifically promote the reforestation of England. When the curtain which had through the ages veiled this western conti- nent from the peoples of Europe was drawn aside and the vision of America first dawned on their astonished view, nothing impressed them so much as the unimagined wonders of the products of this virgin land. The repor-’s of the first voyagers and of their successors not only for some years, but for some generations, were so wonderful that they were considered to excel the narra- tives of Mandeville, Marco Polo, and even to eclipse those of the redoubtable Baron Munchausen. Gold, of course, was believed to be here in such quan- tities that even the commonest vessels of the barbarous inhabitants were be- lieved to be formed of this precious metal. The sea shore was believed to be pebbled with precious stones, the rivers were reported to be so filled with fish that men might walk over dry shod upon them. Even now the dream of El- dorado remains in men’s minds and if the imagined city of the Incas has not been found, in desert regions long afterward discovered, gold has been found in quantities greater than even fancy imagined. As they penetrated further to the westward they found other products in equal magnitude. Wild fowl that filled the rivers, the forests and the prairies in qiantities which sur- passed the capacity of the mind to calculate. Wild game, not only such as kings and nobles were entitled to hunt in the old country; but of new species —the buffalo, the elk, and the antelope—filled the forests and covered the prairie. The quantity was beyond the previous reach of the imagination of man, and even today it staggers the credulity of a generation whose fathers saw them with their own eyes. But of all the wonders of America, nothing amazed Europe more than the vastness of the forests which covered the continent. All records and reports are filled with the proof of this amazing growth of forests from sea to sea, and from the icy north to the tropical regions of Mexico. But a few genera- tions ago, at most in the time of our grandfathers, this well-nigh fabulous condition as to game still remained. The buffalo, the elk, the antelope, though they had retired before the advance of the destroyer, man, still covered the prairies and filled the mountains of the west, in almost infinite numbers. The wild fowl in their flight, at times darkened the sun and quite blackened the waters and filled the forests. Today there are of the most noted species searcely left enough to stock the zoological gardens, while other species both of animals and fowl are rapidly disappearing and in a few generations will probably be not less scarce than the buffalo and the antelope are today. The same fate which has befallen the denizens of the forest at the hand of man, is now proceeding and with equal rapidity against the forest itself. With 136 AMERICAN FORESTRY the axe and the yet deadlier weapon, fire, the forests of the country are being destroyed in a prolonged fury of sheer wastefulness, the wastefulness which is one of the marks of that madness with which the gods visit alike men and nations whom they wish to destroy. Much of this destruction is due to sheer ignorance and heedlessness; but the end is the same and unless the people at large can be awakened to a full realization of the enormous folly of such de- struction, the time must come within a few generations when the forests of this country will have disappeared as completely as the forests of Western Europe and of Eastern Asia. The three great enemies of forests are storms and fire and man. There are others but these are the most destructive and of the three, man is easily the most deadly. Attention may be called to the fact that, though one of the greatest enemies in the world to forests is the storm which is always de- structive and often with its besom of destruction sweeps down everything in its pathway, yet this subject of forest conservation appear to have survived in full vigor and health one of the most threatening and violent commotions which has happened in our day, and all may rejoice that, though the lightning has been continually playing around and the thunder has sometimes been almost deafening; though, indeed, from time to time the forked bolts are still | flashing and the rolling thunder still reverberating, they are growing further and further away; the chief violence of the hurricane appears to have spent itself; the atmosphere appears to be clearing and the subject of forest conser- vation still survives apparently unimpaired. It is a good augury that pos- sibly there are a good many who like myself steadfastly endeavored amid the greatest commotion to maintain an equable frame of mind and to pursue that middle course which in most things is safest, who have never felt it necessary to accept the extreme view on either side, but have been glad to recognize the admirable and indeed invaluable work which has been accomplished by those who have so earnestly sought to preserve for the people—the people of this age and their posterity alike—their priceless possession which without their. zealous advocacy would have been lost forever. One of the chief dangers of this extreme contention was the apparent transference of all the thought and energy of the country from the general subject of conservation to the particular and distant subject involved in the controversy, and the advocates of conservation may felicitate themselves that there is some interest still left in the conservation of resources this side of Alaska and even of the Rocky Mountains. In my early life the mountains that I knew were those whose azure tops appeared on clear autumn evenings along the horizon’s rim to the northwest- ward—the mountains which Spottswood with his knights of the Horse-Shoe had crossed to plant beyond them the flag and establish the civilization of the Anglo-Saxon—the mountains amid which George Washington had spent his useful and sobering youth as a young surveyor in communion with Nature and God, and which he had penetrated at that age which seems so great to boys— the age of bare majority—to carry the message of the Anglo-Saxon to the Frank in his commanding fort at the junction of the Allegheny and the Mo- nongahela. An old map of North America used to hang on the walls of the sitting room in my old home in Virginia, nestled amid primeval oaks and hickories beneath which Tottapottamoy children must have played. It con- tained meagre details only as far west as a short distance beyond the Mis- sissippi River. All the rest was blank, save that there were large lettered names of territories with vague boundaries in the wide expanse to the west- ward and beyond was a mountain range sawed across the west, marked “Rocky Mountains,” with the fringe of the Pacific Coast beyond them. To the northwestward beyond a great blank, vague space, marked “British Colum- POSSESSIONS IN THE APPALACHIAN FORESTS 137 bia,’ was an even more uncertainly defined space marked Alaska, forever fixed in infinite distance by “The wolf’s long howl on bon Alaska’s shore.” Youth knew, therefore, something of geography even in our boyhood—knew, that is, where the Rocky Mountains were, though they were far beyond the region whence at Christmas time came the buffalo tongues and prairie chicken from cousins in far Missouri. The Rocky Mountains were, indeed, as far as the Mountains in the Moon are to us now, and the Allegheny Mountains were mountains of our youth and next to them were the White Mountains and the Green Mountains to the northward, where the name of Washington had been given as was fitting the highest peak that overlooked the Presidential moun- tain range of New England, and the waters of the Atlantic. Possibly, it is for this reason that the writer still retains an especial in- terest in these eastern mountain regions. There are, indeed, other reasons for his interest, only one of which he feels need be mentioned now, that is, that from a more intimate personal knowledge of them since he grew to man’s es- tate and long before this doctrine of conservation became such a national thought he has felt that they belonged in a peculiar way to the people of this country and that if properly cared for, preserved and utilized they would furnish a more invaluable asset to this country that even the average member of the Forestry Association dreams of. In the discussion of this subject it is not necessary and the writer does not wish to express an opinion upon that phase of it which would lead him into the technical, legal, or political questions relating to its occupation and legal ownership. If he has apprehended aright the discussion which has taken place we are in some danger of abandoning the proper and more essential ground on which to base our claim for the preservation of the treasures in this region for a more narrow, technical, and debatable one—that of the ex- tension of governmental powers based on the government’s right to control of navigable streams. I feel that the work of this great forestry movement is larger and less factional and less political and more national than can be measured by any appeal to possibly questionable governmental powers. Its strength, its breadth, its present and future vigor and its perpetuation are all dependent on its being so conducted that it shall avoid all questions of doubt- ful expediency and commend itself by its wisdom and breadth to the great body of American people and thereby become associated with their pride and their patriotism and become the ward of their national care. With regard to the forests of the White Mountains, the writer thinks that the able and shrewd representatives of New England may be counted on to lend their aid to what is so manifestly to the advantage of that section. But as one who, as a summer resident on that coast, participates in the benefits alike to body and soul of that charming summer air, he ventures to urge the preservation of the forests as even on the lowest ground of material return the plain part of wisdom. Those forests are worth more to New England every year than every foot of lumber in them would be worth sawed and dressed. They are a perennial source of income to the whole New England coast. Poets have hymned their beauty until they have entered into the heart and mind of the people and become enshrined in their literature, and however one may question the vaunted primacy of New England in other matters, he must acknowledge that in the autumnal glory of her mountain forests she stands unrivaled. If they shall be destroyed New England will suffer a loss which can never be made good. The White Mountains will in a few generations be- come the black mountains, and the most famous summer resorts of New Eng- land will in time be deserted by the teeming multitudes who now find recrea- tion and health amid their forest clad ranges. Leaving this branch of the subject to others the writer may take up the question relating to the Southern Appalachian range. When one speaks of 138 AMERICAN FORESTRY interest in tracts of forest, and in ore-bearing regions nowadays it behooves bim to make his position clear. His interest in the Southern Appalachian range is a patriotic and not a pecuniary one and the same may be said of his interest in the White Mountains. It is solely that they may be preserved for the nation. And first it is his belief that they, like the White Mountains of New England, are in the future to be the great health resort and the great pleasure ground—in its higher sense—of all the people of the eastern part of this great country. The parts that have been opened have already become a great health resort. Nor is this the least remunerative way of using moun- tains. The Land of the Sky in North Carolina has paid the country more than if every stick of timber in it had been sawed and shipped as lumber. So it will be of other portions of the range. Modern science has discovered that a certain elevation neither too high nor too low is best adapted for the health of the human race. Near enough to the sea to feel the influence of that ocean which “creates a climate with its breath,” and yet far enough away to have the rawness and the dampness strained through its fine-spun temse of forest, high above the influence of malaria; contributing with its beauty and its charm to the welfare alike of body, of mind, and of spirit, this region seems as if placed by God for the cure and abiding health of the race that inhabits this country. In considering this all important matter of the conservation of our national resources of forest in this region, the richest opportunity offered to the advocates of conservation—richer than the preservation of all the forests that clothe the Appalachians from one end to the other is one that has been little considered. No delicate questions of constitutional construction arise touching it. At a glance it will be seen to be the plain duty of every one of whatever view as to national powers to aid in the movement. It is the educat- ing and uplifting of the mountaineers, who inhabit this region. Like the Swiss mountaineers they are the greatest lovers of their homes in all the world. Without their co-operation the whole power of the United States can not save these forests. With their aid the thing will be done beyond a question. The writer declares his belief then that not only the best way, but the only way, to preserve the forests of the Appalachians is to avail ourselves of this richer opportunity and educate the strange and sterling people who dwell among the mountains and constitute their population. In this great region of the Appalachians dwells a race which needs only to have the mountain regions fully opened up to renew one of the most vital strains in our national life. Some three million souls inhabit the Appalachian range and its inter- vening valleys extending from the Pennsylvania border almost to the Gulf of Mexico. They are absolutely of Anglo-Saxon blood, whilst in other portions of the country, even in a portion like Massachusetts in the very heart of New England, which was once as absolutely Anglo-Saxon as is now this region of which I speak, foreign immigration has so changed the complexion of the population that 80 odd per cent are now foreign born or the offspring of for- eign-born parents. In the Appalachian range the foreign-born population is so small as to be absolutely negligible, in some of the states it being less than one per cent. it has been customary to apply to this mountain population such terms as “poor white,” and “mountain cracker.” Heaven knows they are in the main white enough and poor enough, but if the designation is intended to convey a term of reproach it is wholly misplaced. These people are the mountaineers of America—pure bred English, Scotch and Scotch-Irish stock. They have the names, they have the physiogonomy, they have the characteristics, they have the vices, to some extent only, and they have the virtues and more than the virtues of the rest of the body of the American people. Montani semper liberi. POSSESSIONS IN THE APPALACHIAN FORESTS 139 They are the guardians of liberty in this western world as they have ever been in the Old World. They are the custodians of the old speech and the old racial traits. The whole military force of the country would hardly suffice to turn their mountain region into a preserve against their will; but with their aid it would not require a corporal’s guard. It is of the utmost importance then, that in this movement their interest and their co-operation be enlisted. And the best way to do this is to enlighten them, to prove to them that the move- ment will be for their good—in other words to educate them. One of the most promising signs of the times is that our people as they make money are beginning to return to the soil. If our life should be con- fined to urban life this country would scarcely survive two generations, or at most a half dozen. The civilizations of France, of England, and of Germany, like indeed that of Rome, were all preserved from going to absolute ruin by the fact that their upper class who owned the land, after dissipating in the cities, returned to their rural estates for recreation. The tendency of the time has been absolutely in the direction of commerce, and if we have reaped the fruits of it that are good, so we have also reaped those that are evil. There was never a country in the world in which so large a portion of its wealth and of its thought and activity were applied to commerce and trade as in America. And we should all turn traders and go to bargaining and chaffering with each other till we had lost the principles on which all moral and physical advance are founded, if it were not for the country life. It is the panacea that Nature has appointed for the ills of violating her laws in the unwholesome atmosphere of city life. It would, therefore, appear to be the part of wisdom for every man in the nation to do what he can to uplift country life. Owing to the physical conditions of this mountain region they have been secluded and sequestered from the pathway of advance, shut within their mountain walls they have been cut off from all or nearly all the advantages of modern progress. A century or more ago they rendered an inestimable service to this coun- try in that they manned and held against the Indians and the French the outer bulwark of American rule on this continent. They furnished the pio- neers who crossed over and seized the Mississippi Valley. Again a half cen- tury ago they rendered to this country what I believe most of you here will esteem an invaluable service. Without them this Union would have been divided as surely as I stand addressing you tonight. Non-slave holding, par- ticipating little in the advantages of citizenship in the several states and therefore caring less for the divisions of state lines than for nationality and racial solidity, knowing little of history save that which their grandsires had handed down to them, with the rifles with which they fought at King’s Moun- tain and on the Kanawaha, they espoused by a great majority the cause of the Union. They furnished over 180,000 men to the Union armies, and they were not bounty jumpers or conscripts. But more than this they furnished to the Union cause a great friendly territory staunch for the Union through its breadth and length, extending for hundreds of miles down through the south and cut- ting the Confederate south in two. But for them Maryland and Kentucky would have gone out of the Union with a rush and Tennessee and Virginia would have been solid from east to west. You will perhaps get some estimate of what they merit at the hands of the Union if you but recall that in their territory Rosecrans, one of McClellan’s lieutenants, was able to withstand him who was possibly the greatest captain of the English speaking race. When the seat of war was shifted from the mountains of West Virginia to the low lands of eastern Virginia, Lee was able to sweep McClellan from the gates of Richmond. But for them Missionary Ridge and Chattanooga would never have given Grant his laurels; but for them Sherman could never have marched 140 AMERICAN FORESTRY across Georgia to find the south empty of men; but for them the cause of cecession would have inevitably succeeded. I do not wish any one to misunderstand my personal position on this sub- ject. In every fiber of my being—body and soul—I was with Virginia and the Confederate South. But as my people were Union men before the war, so they became Union men when the war closed, and however I may hold in my in- most heart the sacred memories of the unhappy and glorious past, I know now what the south is to this Union and I know how to honor those who were gallant foes even then. I therefore make no apology for advocating before you the claims of this great population. As they saved the Union in times past, so in face of the rising tide of foreign immigration I feel that they may be destined to save it again. And it is one of the chief causes of my interest in this discussion to- night that I am wondering what effect this movement in the direction of se- curing a national forest in the Appalachian mountains will have on this popu- lation. If it will benefit them, if it will carry to them the light of knowledge, if it will open that region for the diffusion of the better part of modern science and modern knowledge, then I shall be heart and soul for it, and I believe that it will tend to do so. What is needed is that the rest of the world shall know that this population is among her Appalachian mountains; that they shall know what a virile strain courses in their veins; that they shall know that all that is needed is that the light shall be carried to them. They are beginning to awaken themselves to the knowledge that they are in darkness; they are beginning to see the glimmer of the light afar off and are groping their way towards it, asking that it may be brought nearer to them. It has often been a cause of wonder to me that with philanthropy pouring out its lavish millions for the education and betterment of other races and other sections, so little of it should have gone to this race and region which saved the Union. All that they need is light and they may become themselves the torch-bearers of the future civilization. I have not had time to go fully into the history of these mountains and these mountaineers, but I will tell you a few men who have come from there and by them you may judge their possibilities. Andrew Jackson came from there; Stonewall Jackson came from there; Abraham Lincoln was the son of one who came from there. Do you think that the strain which produced these men has died out in the past generation? If so, you are vastly mistaken. No more virile strain of men and women exists in any quarter of the world than today inhabits the Appalachian range, and no one which promises more for the future welfare of this country. One of the most distinguished citizens of New York—a man of national reputation as an orator and a lawyer—was a mountain boy from the eastern corner of Tennessee, and what is more he was one of fifteen sons. His father never learned to write until after he was married and his mother never learned to write, but, mark me, this illiteracy did not necessarily mean ignorance. It was only that they had not had the opportunity. That father was a lieutenant in the federal army during the war and afterwards he reared fifteen sons in the fastnesses of the Appalachian range. Now, sirs, talk about conservation, here is something worth conserving. Conserve the American strain in the Appalachian range by bearing to them the light of knowledge and giving them the advantages of education and train- ing and you will have the basis of the greatest government park that this or any country has ever known. Few schools or colleges of any importance exist among them. The states give them their share of the taxes levied for common school education, but the southern states still have a great illiterate population and are still unable POSSESSIONS IN THE APPALACHIAN FORESTS 141 to meet with any adequacy their needs. Here and there private philanthropy and devotion has established some admirable schools, such, for example, as Miss Berry’s school in Georgia; Miss Pettitt’s school in the mountains of Kentucky ; and Archdeacon Neve’s school in the ragged mountains of Virginia. And there is a college or two, the most noted of which is Berea College in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. All of these are doing great work, but what are they among so many. They are but lights on the mountain to show the wanderer that human sympathy still exists and to encourage the lost not to despair. The writer feels that he could not render the cause of forest conser- vation a greater benefit than to call to public attention the fact that in this great forest clad region which so clearly demands preservation at this time is a population kindred to the best element of our people, constituting a great reservoir of conservation of those traits of the Anglo-Saxon which made this country the home of liberty and to which we may hereafter have to turn for the salvation of the Union as the Union turned to it in the fighting sixties. In those mountain regions, when the fire in the cabin has been extin- guished, they often have to send to a neighbor across the mountain to borrow fire. All they ask of us now is “Lend us fire.” Should we not do so? Let us apply ourselves and our powers along this line of conservation. If we do, we may be very sure that the time will come when they will return into our bosom a hundred fold for all the gifts that we now bestow upon them. It is interesting to observe in the literature of the ages the part that trees represent in the history of the race. In that wonderful record in Genesis, God’s first creation was the heaven and the earth. Light from the spirit of God was the primal act. In the first day and in the second He created the firmament and divided the waters from the waters, and in the third day he created the dry land and the sea and the grass and the tree before he created man, thus before He created the inhabitants of the sea and of the earth He created the tree. And when He had created man in His own image and had given him dominion “over every living thing that moveth upon the earth,” he said to him, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the face of all the earth and every tree in the earth which is the fruit of a tree yield- ing seed, to you it shall be for meat.” To the beast of the earth and the fowl of the air and the thing that creepeth upon the earth He gave the green herb for meat; but He gave to man the tree for meat. In the other and briefer account of the creation it is said that the Lord God planted a garden and there He put man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, the tree of Life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Thus the beauty of the tree was placed even before its usefulness. Now from this earliest record on down you will find that the tree is an object of peculiar reverence to the poet and the seer, and are they not the leaders of the race? There are those who would maintain that our aboriginal ancestors made their homes not only among but in the trees—were, to use the scientific phrase, “arboreal” in their habits. It is not necessary to enter on this discussion; it may be passed with the simple recall of the old woman’s speech to the young evolutionist, that “if he preferred to think his ancestors were the same with those in the ‘Zoo,’ well and good; but she preferred to think hers were in the garden of Eden.” So all the way down history sacred and profane we find the tree men- tioned with respect and with reverence; for even then without doubt in those regions inhabited by the older races the disappearance of the forests had be- come a matter of public concern. 142 AMERICAN FORESTRY The Greeks with their high poetic sense peopled the forests and groves and even separate trees with a supernatural and half-supernatural population of nymphs and satyrs and gods, and born of their conception have come to us the most beautiful and entrancing poetry of myth and fable that have en- riched human literature. The Roman adapted but somewhat coarsened the poetical conceptions of the Greeks touching the relation of forest and grove to the spiritual side of man, and in accordance with their more practical genius turned it to practical effect. It was in a grove that Numa Pompilius, the first of her thoughtful kings, was said to have met his Egeria and the “Bosca Sacra” is still pointed ont today to the credulous. Among our own ancestors the forest was held in equal awe, and the grove in equal reverence. The poetical conceptions of the Greeks and the Romans, however, were changed to suit their heavier and duller intelligence. Thor and Woden, and the thunderous hierarchy of Scandinavia supplanted in their imaginations the more graceful and ethereal conceptions of the south; but the priests of their religion celebrated their awful rites under the shade of the oaks which clad the hills of the north. If it should appear that this discussion of the forest is too fanciful to be of practical service in a movement in which the more practical and material use is the chief motive, it may be answered that after all the poetical is but a further and higher development of the practical and that it is a more inspiring power in that while the practical relates only to the lower motives of the in- dividual, that which touches the sentiment has a more far reaching and un- selfish result. If sentiment is to be discarded in the name of the practical, let every man get all he can at no matter what sacrifice of others, but even pa- triotism is founded on a sentiment which is high above the groveling personal demands of physical life. It must be through a sentiment higher than that of the self-seeker who destroys without remorse for his personal service the most beautiful things in creation that the blessings of liberty and the contentment of peace shall be attained. It must be through sentiment, the sentiment of generosity, of philanthropy and of patriotism, that those who have secured the advantages of education will extend them to others less favored. It must be through sentiment that man’s mind shall be extended to take in the great con- ception of his duty to promote the welfare of his fellow man and uplifted to take in the yet higher conception of his duty to the Supreme Being who has clothed the mountains with the majesty and the hills with the glory of the forest. As already stated, when Charles II founded the Royal Society of Great Britain, one of his motives was to establish a great scientific society which should scientifically promote the reforestation of England, for the disappear- ance of its oak forests had already become a public menace and it was at the instance of this society that John Evelyn wrote his great essay on forestry. In this work he alludes to the respect with which this subject is discussed by the great classical writers, and he deplores the indifference with which the English race regarded it. “Men seldom plant trees,” he says in his preface, “till they begin to be wise; that is, till they grow old and find by experience the prudence and the necessity of it.” And he recalls how “When Ulysses, after a ten year’s absence, was returned from Troy, and coming home found his aged father in the field planting trees, he asked him why, being now so far advanced in years, he would put himself to the fatigue and labor of planting that which he was never likely to enjoy the fruits of, the good old man (taking him for a stranger) gently replied, ‘I plant, against my son Ulysses coming home.’ ” I think it may be said of nations as John Evelyn said it of men, that they rarely plant until they begin to be wise. POSSESSIONS IN THE APPALACHIAN FORESTS 143 The great land of China with its teeming population is so denuded of forests that it is said that in many regions every stray weed and spray of grass is carefully collected and husbanded for purposes of fuel, and that men trundle hand barrows of coal for hundreds of miles to secure the fuel neces- sary to preserve life. Unless we shall awaken duly to the need of preserving our forests the time may come when this land shall be as China is today. There was a day when China had her forests, and though it may appear to us of a new country very long ago, a thousand years in China amounts to less than a century in the west. It is said that this danger of the disappearance of her forests became apparent to the rulers of China over 1,200 years ago, and that they set themselves to do what as has already been stated the king of England did after his restoration, to awaken the interest of the people in this vital national subject. A work on forestry was prepared by their direction which was so extensive that it is said to have contained over 50,000,000 of words, that is twice as much, possibly, as the most voluminous encyclopedia. It is said that three copies of this work were made and that the only one which survived was destroyed by the soldiers of the relief column of the allied forces which occupied the Chinese capital at the time of the Boxer rebellion. One cannot go over Europe without being made aware of the devastating effect of indifference to the preservation of forests. For example: one could hardly ever forget the impression made in traveling over the desolate and treeless waste in Spain that lies south of the Pyrenees. Through the improvi- dence and folly of former governments this region that was once reckoned the most fertile within the sweep of the Roman dominion has become, if not a desert, something that looks very near akin thereto. The very song birds have flown from a region where not a tree or shrub is left to protect them and fur- nish the choir for their heavenly music. All through southern Europe the proof meets the eye that man has been forced with infinite pains, with a re- pentance as bitter as that of Esau, to make atonement for the carelessness with which he sold his birthright, for throughout this country in regions which must once have been covered with forests and which, owing to their denuding had the soil washed away, we see how infinite must have been the labor that was required to reterrace and reforest. We may all rejoice that the attention of the American people has been formally directed to this great source of national loss before it is too late. It must often have struck every observant man not only how negligent the average American man is in the matter of preserving trees but how abso- lutely inimical he is thereto as in other departments of life. I think this state of mind is the result of natural causes and owing to that which at its best we term conservatism continues after the causes have passed away. England was once fully forested and then as its population increased the forests fell before them and tillage took its place; then came the Norman conquest, and in England, as in other countries, the conquerors and rulers, with a fine dis- regard for everything except their own wills, established forests not for the benefit of their people but for their own amusement, turning the cultivated lands that had been conquered from the wilderness back into wilderness and forest for their hunting ground. It was made a crime for the ordinary in- habitant to hunt any wild animal. To some extent this law, curiously enough in this age of democracy, still stands on the statute books. The forests there- by became identified with the power and tyranny of the court, and the com- mon people had no interest therein. Indeed such interest as they had was only of hostility. Then when our forefathers crossed the main and came to this new country with its apparently inexhaustible forests, they found for a time that the forest was the covert of their two deadly enemies, the Indian Savage, and his yet deadlier ally, malaria. So it was natural, possibly even 144 AMERICAN FORESTRY necessary, that the forests should be cut down. To conquer the wilderness and turn the forest into arable land which would support life was their first duty, and the toil which it entailed has remained to the present day in the memory of men to render them not only indifferent but hostile thereto. I think it is not too much to say that this is the state of mind of a large por- tion of our population, nor is it too much to say that the government could not proceed with its educational work in any direction with better results than by teaching the people of this country the principles of forestry. I fell in, not long ago, with a young man, a neighbor of mine and a man of industry, a sensible man and a thrifty man, who had taken a piece of wild woodland and had cleaned it up with his own hand. He had married and built a snug little house on a hill commanding a fair prospect, and then he had laboriously cut down every one of the fine trees which surrounded his house. Finding him one day in his new ground preparing for his tobacco crop I ex- pressed my wonder that he should have destroyed the fine oaks whose stumps about his house showed their former grandeur. “No,” he said, “I do not like trees, I want nothing about my house bigger than a bush except fruit trees.” I believe that he expressed the view of a considerable part of our population, and this view is not confined by any means to the laboring class. If you will take a ride around Washington tomorrow you will see such a cutting down of trees and destruction of the natural beauty about this capital of our country as possibly is not to be witnessed today within the same distance of any other capital in the world. I am happy to say that following the design of those broad-minded men who laid out this capital city on broad lines, its streets and avenues are beautified with trees in a way to do honor not only to their wis- dom but to the wisdom of those who have the capital still in charge. But, though much is done, much remains to do, and there is even now within the heart of Washington a region where beautiful trees still remain, which unless it receive the vast care and protection of the government which the govern- ment may well give here in its own capital, must soon pass away. I rejoice at this new movement in the direction of preserving our forests. No thoughtful man who recalls the destructions in half a generation of the buffalo and elk and canvas back duck and other forms of game, and who has seen the disastrous destruction of forests, especially no man who has traveled in other countries, can fail to be apprehensive of the effect of the universal indifference to the preservation of forests which essentially obtains in this country. My opinion is that the abiding work of the forestry department will be the awakening in the public mind of the necessity of preserving forests, and the convincing of the public mind, for we are a thrifty race, at least, if not an avaricious race, that it is to the individual’s interest to harvest his timber in a scientific rather than in an ignorant way. Show the American people that it is to their interest to do anything and eventually they will do it. Partly stupid and partly over-confiding, they are often misled as to their own inter- ests, but prove to them that it is to their interest and a thing will inevitably be accomplished in the end, and, above that, prove to them that a thing is right and it will be even more inevitably accomplished. HARVESTING THE ANNUAL SEED CROP By SYDNEY MOORE, ASSISTANT District FORESTER, UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. forested region of the West, which is not mentioned in any official “crop reporter;” a crop which few people outside of those directly concerned in its harvesting know much about, but a crop that is yearly increasing in quantity and value. It is the annual crop of forest tree seed, and the size of each year’s crop is of real concern to the country at large, since the seed harvested is chiefly used in the reforestation of the vast burned and denuded areas of the Rocky and Pacific Coast mountains. The collection of forest tree seed by commercial collectors has been carried on to a limited extent for many years in a few localities in the West. There is one professional collector in the Black Hills of South Dakota who for years has been gathering western yellow pine seed for sale to seed dealers, and has also exported quantities to Europe, especially Germany, where the busi- ness in tree seed is very extensive. There is a small village in the mountains near Pueblo, Colorado, where about a dozen individuals have built up a considerable industry of the collection and sale of tree seed. In 1909, the value of the seed crop from this one locality was about $8,000. These collectors sell their crops to seed dealers in this country and also to dealers in Germany. For a number of years there has been a very active demand from German dealers for seed from the United States, especially of Douglas fir. In fact, until the last two or three years, the export trade in forest tree seed has probably fully equaled the domestic trade, and the whole business has been very restricted. Recently this condition has changed, due to the fact that the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture has under- taken an extensive campaign of reforestation by seed sowing upon the national forests, which demands immense quantities of forest tree seed of desirable species. And while the government collects by far the greater part of its tree seed through its own forest officers, still a considerable amount is purchased from commercial collectors. The conditions and work of harvesting the seed crop described in this article are particularly typical of the Rocky Mountain region, and the work as carried on by the Forest Service upon the national forests of that region. The forests of the Rocky Mountains, as is well known, consist almost exclusively of coniferous species, in contradistinction to the prevailing broadleaf forests of the East. Consequently, the important seed crop consists of the seed of conifers, or evergreen trees. Although the forests contain a variety of species of trees, including western yellow pine, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, blue spruce, limber pine, bristle-cone pine, balsam, white fir, and junipers, only the first four named are of special commercial importance. Consequently it is the seed of these four species that is chiefly sought after for reforestation purposes. Even though the future forest is to serve pri- marily the purpose of protecting some watershed from floods and erosion, it is advisable to plant the seed of some species that will at maturity yield valuable commercial timber. GY roves fall sees the harvesting of one crop throughout the mountainous, 145 146 AMERICAN FORESTRY LOCATING THE CROP. Coniferous trees do not produce a full crop of seed every year, but only periodically, as every two, three, or four years. In a year when the production of seed by a certain species is very large, commonly called a “good seed year,” the heavy production will extend over a very extensive area, as for example, an entire state. In other years the same species may produce a full crop, or nearly so, over a much more limited area. For instance, the yellow pine has been found to produce a heavy crop of seed on a certain small watershed, when little or no seed at all could be found on other yellow pine trees outside of the particularly favored locality. During the past season, seed of Douglas fir in Colorado could be found in large quantities upon only one or two of the eighteen national forests in that state, although in 1909 its seed production was fairly widespread through the state. The fact that the production of seed is very apt to be localized makes it necessary every year to search the forests for the much desired crop. On the national forests the Rangers, each for his respective district, scour the forests to ascertain upon what water- sheds, large or small, the trees of the desired kind are bearing seed. The seed of the important conifers is borne in a cone (whence the name), and with the pines it requires two years for these cones to grow to maturity, while with the other species (spruces and firs) only one year is required. The new cones begin to form in the spring of the year, shortly after the year’s growth begins. Thus the forest rangers can begin to locate and take stock of the year’s seed crop during June, July, and August, although the crop will not be mature until September or early in October. Each ranger makes a report upon the kind and size of the seed crop upon his district early in the summer, and plans are laid well in advance for gathering in the crop. TIME AND METHODS OF COLLECTING CONES The seed crop matures naturally about the time of the first frosts in the fall, and in the mountains this time varies, of course, with the altitude. In the case of the desirable species, the cones open naturally while still upon the tree and release their seed. Accordingly, collectors must gather the cones before they open naturally, otherwise the seed would be lost. Since the seed are ripe in the cones for some little time before they are released naturally, it is possible to gather the cones with the seed in them. Collecting has been started as early as September 1, and continued as late as October 20, though this period varies somewhat with the season. The cones which contain the seed, then, are what is collected, and not the seed itself. There are several methods of collecting the cones, which shall be described briefly, as follows: (1) climbing trees and picking; (2) picking from the ground, from low scrubby trees; (3) picking from felled trees; (4) collecting from squirrel hoards. i i Climbing trees and picking: When the cones are gathered by this method, the collector is usually equipped with a pair of “climbers” like those ordinarily used in climbing telephone poles. The cones may be picked by hand from the branches, but more commonly the collector uses a sharp steel hook fastened securely to the end of a light pole about six feet long. With this hook he can cut the cones from the more remote branches or draw the smaller branches toward him so as to reach the cones by hand. As the cones are picked or cut off, they are dropped to the ground, to be gathered up later into sacks, or an assistant on the ground gathers them as fast as they fall. The quantity of cones which can be collected per day in this manner varies a great deal, depending primarily upon the abundance of the cones. Collectors have actually gathered from two to five bushels of yellow pine HARVESTING THE ANNUAL SEED CROP 147 cones per day, by steady work. However, as may be imagined, this method is slow and costly, and frequently the size and height of trees in the virgin forest prevents collecting in this way. 2. Picking from the ground, from low scrubby trees: While this method is much easier and less expensive than the former, it cannot be widely used, because the species most desired do not grow in open, park-like forests of short trees over any very extensive areas. Cones of yellow pine and lodge- pole pine have been collected in small quantities by this method, but it can never serve for obtaining any very large part of the seed crop. 3. Picking from felled trees: This method is, of course, restricted to picking cones from the tops of trees cut down where lumbering operations are in progress. As might be suspected, there are many limitations on this method. Even if there is a heavy seed crop where cutting is going on, only a comparatively few trees are cut in ordinary logging operations within the brief period during which cones must be collected. Occasionally, with all conditions favorable, a large quantity of cones can be collected very cheaply in this manner, where timber sales are in progress on the national forests. But at the best, the method can only be infrequently employed. 4. Collecting from squirrel’s hoards: Almost everyone has at some time observed the squirrels working very busily in the fall of the year, cutting off cones from the trees in forests of pine or spruce. These indefatigable little workers, chattering in the tree tops, scurry along the slightest branches and with sharp teeth cut the cones from the tips of the branches and drop them to the ground. The topmost, swaying twigs of the tallest pine in the forest hold no fear for the surefooted little creatures. In places where the squirrels are numerous and working their hardest, there is a continuous rain of cones from the tree tops, causing a noise and disturbance that must attract the attention of the most indifferent observer. After the cones are cut off, the squirrels collect them from under the trees and accumulate them in one place, the pile of cones constituting the hoard or “cache.” The squirrels show many peculiarities and much wisdom in locating and arranging these hoards of cones. In general the hoards are located at the base of a standing tree, against or under an old fallen tree, in a hollow log or stump, and often along the bank of a small stream under water. Some- times the hoards are located in the open, away from any trees or logs. Usually, the spot selected for hoarding cones has been used for the same purpose several successive years and is readily recognized by the deep accumu- lation of old cone scales, since the squirrels break up the cones to extract the nutritious seed. The cones, when freshly cut from the trees, are in a green condition and full of moisture. If these cones are piled in an indis- criminate mass they soon begin to mould, and in the course of time will decay and the enclosed seed will be spoiled. The instinct of the squirrels teaches them to guard against the possibility of such an unfortunate occurrence. Instead of piling cones in a solid mass, the squirrels’ hoards are carefully formed of many little bunches of cones, each bunch containing a dozen or more cones, buried in the forest litter and separated from the other bunches by surrounding litter. This arrangement insures the thorough aeration of the whole mass and prevents any destructive growth of mould. The hoarding of cones under water, which has been mentioned, is another clever scheme by which the squirrels preserve their winter’s supply from possible decay, a sort of “cold storage” system devised by these little animals. It is by taking advantage of the thrifty habits of the squirrels that seed collectors can gather cones most economically and in large quantities. The cone gatherers search through the woods for the hoards which have been described, and fill their sacks with the cones so conveniently cut from the 148 AMERICAN FORESTRY trees and collected together by the squirrels. The quantity of cones which may be gathered from a single squirrel hoard ranges from a few bushels to a dozen or more bushels. Among the large hoards recorded is one that yielded about sixteen bushels of yellow pine cones, another that yielded about fifteen bushels of Douglas fir cones. At different times a more or less hysterical protest has been raised by some people against this so-called robbing of the squirrels. Persons interested in the preservation of our wild animals have alleged that this method of collecting cones would result in the starvation of the squirrels. If such were the case, it would indeed be a calamity. As a matter of fact, such gathering of cones from the squirrels’ hoards as is done, while it may inconvenience the squirrels, has no disastrous results. The squirrels continue their labor after a hoard has been cleaned out, and in a very short time have a supply on hand equal to that which has been lost. In collecting cones, the gatherers work over an area only once, and then seek new fields, leaving the squirrels ample time to recuperate their losses before winter sets in. It would require a very strenuous and vindictive campaign on the part of man to steal from the squirrels of any locality so persistently as to reduce the winter’s food supply of these animals to a dangerous point. Assuredly the wanton destruc- tion of squirrels’ hoards is a thing to be condemned, but so long as man takes for himself only a portion of their supplies, and that for a most useful and beneficial purpose, the practice should need no further justification. EXTRACTING THE SEED. After the cones have been gathered, by any of the methods which have been described, and placed in sacks, they must be transported to some central point where the seed may be extracted. The sacks of cones gathered in the woods are carried out to the nearest trail or wagon road. Frequently the cones have to be collected in such inaccessible localities that it is necessary to pack them for miles on horses or burros, which is, of course, a tedious and expensive method of transportation. As soon as a road is reached the cones are loaded into wagons. In one region, the Black Hills of South Dakota, where about twenty-five thousand bushels of yellow pine cones were collected during the past fall, pine cones were shipped by railroad, in carload quan- tities, to a central point, the railroad company making a new rate for this unusual class of freight. After the cones have been gathered in large quantities at a central point, the most expensive part of the work of collecting seed is accomplished. But the work of extracting the seed from the cones, and cleaning the seed, remains to be done, and this part of the operation requires much care and attention. Mention has already been made of the natural opening of cones allowed to remain upon the trees. The ripening of cones is brought about by the sun’s heat, as with all other fruits, and when the cones are fully ripened they become completely dried out and the cone scales have curled back, releasing the seed, which is distributed widespread through the agency of the winds. Each little seed has attached to it a smail membranaceous wing, that serves to carry it through the air to a greater or less distance from the parent tree, depending upon the velocity of the wind and the weight of the seed. To obtain the much desired seed, it is, then, necessary to open up the cones that have been collected. There are two methods ordinarily employed to accomplish this, one method following Nature’s way, takes advantage of the sun’s light and heat, and the other method employs artificial heat. In the first method the cones are spread out thinly upon canvass sheets laid upon the ground, preferably on a gentle slope toward the southwest and the sun. Since the cones must be spread thinly, a large number of SCREENING PINE CONES TO FREE THEM FROM PITCH, NEEDLES, AND OTHER REFUSE BE- FORE SPREADING ON SHEETS TO DRY HARVESTING THE ANNUAL SEED DOUGLAS FIR CONES SPREAD ON CANVAS CROP SHEETS TO DRY IN THE SUN HARVESTING THE CROP ANNUAL SEED SEED COLLECTORS’ CAMP WITH CONES SPREAD OUT TO DRY UPON CANVAS SHEETS RAKING YELLOW PINE CONES OFF CANVAS SHEET AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN RUN OVER SCREEN AND SEED EXTRACTED. A SMALL AMOUNT OF SEED IS SAVED BY THIS OPERA~ ATION SEED COLLECTION CAMP IN A ROCKY MOUN- TAIN NATIONAL FOREST. SACKS ARE FULL OF CONES GATHERED IN SURROUNDING FOREST HARVESTING THE ANNUAL SEED FOREST RANGER WINNOWING YELLOW PINE CROP SEED AFTER TRAMPING IN A SACK TO SEP- ARATE THE WINGS HARVESTING SEED ANNUAL FOREST OFFICERS OPERATING A - FANNING MILL, THROUGH WHICH SEED IS RUN FOR ITS FINAL CLEANING. ALL DUST, BROKEN WINGS, AND LIGHT SEED ARE BLOWN OUT FROM GOOD SEED PLANT ON A EQUIPPED AND A PORTABLE CONE NATIONAL FOREST. WITH WIRE SCREEN, HEATING STOVE DRYING TENT TRAYS, ~ HARVESTING THE ANNUAL SEED CROP 153 canvas sheets are required to handle a comparatively small amount of cones. ‘The cones must be covered over on rainy days and during cloudy, damp weather. To open up yellow pine cones satisfactorily they must be exposed to the sun in the manner described for about a week. Douglas fir and Engelmann spruce cones, having thinner cone scales, ordinarily dry out and open in less time than those species with thicker cone scales. However, the time required to open up cones in the sun varies greatly, depending upon the weather conditions and the relative dryness of the cones at the time they are spread upon the sheets for final drying. The sun-drying method has the great advantage of being inexpensive, since the only equipment required consists of canvas sheets, the cheapest ob- tainable being used for the purpose. Furthermore, the drying sheets are easily transported (on pack-horses if need be) to remote places where the cones have been concentrated, and the extracting process carried out there, a very important consideration in our mountain forests, difficult of access. The great limitation upon this method is, of course, its absolute dependence upon a continuous period of fair weather, with sunny, dry days. By the second method of extracting seed, which uses artificial heat, tlie cones are subjected to a temperature ranging from 100 to 120 degrees Fahren- heit for a period sufficient to open them. The cones are spread out thinly on shelves or trays of wire mesh in a closed room, but with sufficient ventilation to insure the escape of the moisture given off from the drying cones. As with sun-drying, the time required to dry out the cones is variable. Yellow pine cones under ordinary conditions will open up satisfactorily with a tempera- ture of 100 degrees maintained for thirty-six to forty-eight hours. Two types of cone-drying plants may be distinguished, namely, portable and stationary. A convenient form of portable plant consists of an ordinary canvas tent, in which drying trays can be built and a stove set up. A perma- nent drying plant may be constructed in any tight building where trays can be built and a stove or furnace installed. Because of the cost, a stationary plant is only advisable where large quantities of cones are available for drying, or can be easily transported to the plant. The advantages of drying cones by artificial heat are apparent, the process being carried on independent of weather conditions. Whether dried by the sun’s heat or artificial heat, the cones, as they grad- ually open, release the seed and a large portion of the seeds from each cone fall out upon the canvas sheets or drying trays whenever the mass of cones is stirred or handled. However, a certain portion of the seeds stick in the cones even after they have opened and most of the seeds have fallen out. In order to extract these refractory seeds the opened cones must be given a special treatment. The cones are gathered up from the sheets or trays upon which they have dried, and put into a contrivance called a “churn.” This churn is merely a large box, about three feet square, mounted upon a frame so that it can be revolved by means of a crank. One side of the churn is cov- ered with wire screen or slats, which permit the passage of seed but retain the cones in the churn. As a man revolves this churn, the cones are rattled about vigorously and the remaining seed shaken out of them. This churning process is commonly spoken of as “threshing” the cones. CLEANING THE SEED From the drying-sheets or trays the seed collector gathers up the seed extracted and adds to the mass the seed he has shaken out from the churn. The material which he has thus obtained is not exclusively clean tree seed by any means. The individual seeds still have attached to them the little mem- branaceous wings, and intermingled through the mass are broken seed wings, 154 AMERICAN FORESTRY cones scales, bits of dirt and refuse matter of all descriptions. In addition, a great many of the seeds themselves, while perfectly good in external appear- ance, are in reality abortive or “light” seeds, that is the kernel has never fully developed, so that the seeds would never germinate. What the seed collector desires, and what he must have if he hopes to market his crop, is perfectly clean, sound seed free from all wings, dirt or other refuse. The next step, therefore, is to remove the wings from the seeds. This may be done by simply rubbing the seeds together with the hands, thus break- ing off the thin, brittle wings. Often the seed is rubbed over a fine mesh screen, by hand, or a small quantity of the seed may be placed in a sack and then rolled and rubbed with the feet. Sometimes the seed are dampened slightly with water and then rubbed, the effect of the water being to loosen the wings from the seed. After the seed has been handled by some one of these methods it is given the final treatment, which consists in separating the good seed from the “chaff,” the latter including wings, broken cone scales, and the other refuse. For this final cleaning the seed may either be winnowed in the open with a light breeze, or it may be put through a fanning mill, such as is commonly used in cleaning grain. The former method is a crude one, and a fanning mill is almost a necessity to clean seed satisfactorily and economic- ally on a large scale. Frequently the seed may be winnowed to remove a por- tion of the chaff, and later given a final run through a fanning mill. It has already been mentioned that in the Rocky Mountain forests it is often necessary to collect the cones in remote localities, more or less inacces- sible to cheap transportation. In such cases the seed is seldom put through the various processes in one place. More frequently the cones are opened by the sun’s heat in the locality where collecting is done, and the seed and chaff are then transported to some central place where the seed is given its final cleaning. By this scheme the transportation of the heavy, bulky cones is avoided, and the cost saved on the final product. When the seed has been satisfactorily cleaned, it is placed in seamless sacks and carefully stored, ready for distribution to the points where it will be used to grow new forests. The amount of clean seed which is ultimately obtained from a bushel of cones varies with the species of seed, with the favorableness of the season, and with the care used in the work of extraction and cleaning. Rocky Mountain yellow pine will yield on an average one pound of clean seed from a bushel of cones, though frequently it exceeds this somewhat. Douglas fir yields about one pound of clean seed per bushel of cones. The business of collecting forest tree seed is of large importance to pri- vate individuals in many localities, but the total amount of such seed collected privately is insignificant in comparison to the quantities being collected an- nually by the federal forest service throughout the west. As time passes, the annual tree seed crop will increase in amount yearly. With the perfection of methods for harvesting the crop, the cost per pound of the several important species will decrease, a matter of much moment, since an abundant supply of cheap seed is the first essential to the vast undertaking of reforesting the mil- lions of acres of burved and cut-over lands throughout the forest regions of the western United States. GROWING TREES FROM SEED By C. R. PETTIS, SUPERINTENDENT OF STATE Forests OF NEW YORK. a rapidly increasing demand for information how to best undertake the work. In the eastern states where conifers with shallow root systems will be most generally planted, the best method is to plant small trees grown in a nursery. On account of the importance of the conifers, hardwoods will not be discussed in this article. The size and kind of tree to be used will depend upon soil, demands of the owners and other circumstances, but the method will be the same. The first step in any reforesting operations will be securing the stock, and as the money is invested for a long period the cost of such plants should be carefully considered. There are certain kinds of trees that can be purchased abroad and imported apparently much cheaper than they can be secured in this country, but this is in the long run rarely, if ever true, of forest planting stock. The state of New York has imported a large quantity of various species and planted them. These plantations at first appeared satisfactory, but later examination showed that they are, in some cases, affected with serious diseases, and in others the per cent of loss is very high on account of the long transit and other factors. The quality of the stock is also a factor in considering price and final success. The stronger and thriftier the tree the more successful the plantation. If any owner desires to plant but a few acres each year it will be more advantageous for him to secure stock from his state forest commission, if it is in a position to supply him, or from a reliable nurseryman. Any successful nursery operated at reasonable cost requires a large annual output and experienced supervision. The most economical method for any small planter who desires to use transplants will be to purchase seedlings and then transplant them at home, thus reducing packing and transportation charges in the first instance, and having any advantage of local labor for their care. He will also be assured of the quantity desired when wanted. Four things are essential for a successful nursery: (1) good soil; (2) good seeds; (3) a water supply; and (4) proper methods. The soil should be a rich loam, free from stone, thoroughly cultivated, preferably with garden crops before using, well fertilized, well drained, and with sufficient slope to effect surface drainage. The better the soil the more vigorous and larger the plants. The absence of stones facilitates trans- planting and tends to reduce expenses. Previous cultivation, if the weeds have not been allowed to mature seeds, decreases the weeding. The produc- tion per acre is so large that any soil can be profitably used. Good seeds are absolutely necessary because no matter how carefully all the other work may be done, satisfactory seed beds cannot be secured without seeds of high germination per cent and full of energy. Seeds should be purchased only after examining samples. Good seeds are heavy, rich OR idea of reforesting land is, at present, most popular and there is 155 156 AMERICAN FORESTRY in oil and full of meat. Seeds should be purchased late in the fall and stored in tight tin cans in a cold building. A continuous water supply is essential. The control of moisture con- ditions in the soil is of greatest importance in securing success. The soil should be well drained and not heavy, in order to reduce the surface moisture, while water should be provided when necessary. In our practice we have found that the growth of seedlings can be increased at least two inches a year by the proper application of water. Water is also necessary to retain proper moisture conditions in the seed beds and effect germination. During periods of drought large quantities should be applied to the young transplants. The methods to be employed will depend upon the local conditions in minor points, but in general the following will apply to our northeastern states. The various portions of the work will be considered in the following order: (1) making the seed bed; (2) care of seedlings; (3) the transplant- ing; (4) care of transplants; (5) packing stock. The seed beds four feet wide and twelve feet long are the most convenient, and such a bed will produce from 5,000 to 12,000 seedlings, each depending upon the success of the work. Each bed should be enclosed in a frame* covered with wire netting to exclude the birds who destroy the young trees by eating the seeds which are on the tip top of the young plants. This box is placed in position, the soil carefully prepared, the bed is made with a gentle slope about one and one-half inches higher in the center than at the outside and the surface of the bed about four inches higher than the path. The soil should then be saturated with water and the seeds sown carefully broadcast over the bed. The quantity of seed to be sown will depend upon the size of the seed which varies with species and is as follows: White pine, 12 ounces; Scotch pine, 8 ounces; Red pine, 6 ounces; Norway spruce, 8 ounces; Euro- pean larch, 12 ounces. These seeds should then be pressed into the soil and covered lightly to a depth of about one-eighth of an inch with sterile soil carefully sifted. The box should then be tightly enclosed to retain the moisture and left for germination. Care should be exercised that the soil continues moist in order to supply the necessary water to germinate the seeds. The seeds should be sown about the time garden seeds would be planted. After two or three weeks the seeds will begin to germinate and at that time need careful attention. Up to this time it has been necessary to produce moist, humid conditions in the seed bed, but as soon as germination takes place it will be necessary to reverse the conditions and full ventilation and dry surface soil will be necessary in order to prevent “damping off.” This is the most serious difficulty in seed bed work. It is a fungus disease which destroys the tissues at the surface of the soil and the trees apparently wilt, but as a matter of fact are suffering from this disease. The best remedy is prevention effected by removing any unnecessary dampness. Just as soon as germination has been secured all the covering used to conserve moisture during the germination period should be removed and from that time on during the remainder of the first season only half shade of lath should be used. The beds should be carefully watched during the season. All weeds should be removed when small and the weeding done often. In case of dry weather, water should be applied late in the afternoon. Late in the summer the wire covering and lath shades should be removed to “harden” the trees for winter. In early winter, after a few inches of snow has fallen, the beds should be covered with one thickness of burlap over the snow. *Detailed information in regard to the construction of such boxes will be found in Bulletin No. 76, Forest Service, Washington, D. C SEED BED NURSERY AT LAKE CLEAR JUNC- TION, NEW YORK, CONTAINING THREE MIL.- LION SEEDLINGS IN TWO ACRES ya wu ia, GROWING TREES FROM SEED THE STATE OF NEW YORK NURSERY AT PALAMANCA PLANTING STEPS IN FOUR THE IN MASSACHU- ATION LES SFO) RE NG SEEDLI A SETTS GROWING TREES FROM SEED 159 The coming spring after the danger from “heaving” of the soil has passed the burlap should be removed. During the summer the beds should be kept free from weeds and freely supplied with water. The two-year-old beds do not need covering during the winter. When the seedlings are two years old they are suitable for planting in the field, where there is but limited shade, and upon fair quality of soil. If larger and stronger trees are necessary they should be transplanted in the nursery. The seedlings should be taken up carefully in order not to injure any roots and the roots at all times kept from exposure to sun or wind. The transplant beds should be about seven feet wide and any length, but fifty feet has been found convenient. The paths should be two feet wide and the beds almost four inches higher than the paths. The “Yale Planting Board,” invented by Prof. J. W. Toumey, has proved a most valuable tool and greatly reduced the cost of transplanting. The work with this board is carried on with five men in a crew using two boards. The board consists of two strips hinged by arms at right angles, one of them continuously notched the space the trees are to be apart in the rows. In this the trees are placed and upon it the other closes, holding them in place. Two men are employed digging the trench, two placing the seedlings in the boards and one man carries the board to and from the trenches. While two are filling the boards, two others are making the trenches into which the fifth man places the board filled with trees, then the soil is packed around the roots and the board removed. The trees are placed rapidly and regularly and the roots in normal position. The trees should be three inches apart in the rows and the rows six inches apart. This process is continued until the transplanting is completed. The care during the season consists chiefly in weeding and watering in times of continued dry weather. A careful watch should be kept for insect pests or ground grubs. If the trees are not sufliciently large at the end of the one season in the transplant bed, they may be retained there another season. When the trees are ready for field planting they should be carefully taken up to prevent any injury to the roots, promptly “heeled in” and finally planted as soon as possible. Spring planting is, as a rule, more desirable than fall planting. The trees, if shipped even a short distance, should be carefully packed in order to prevent any drying of the roots. If shipped a long distance they should be packed right, the roots packed in moss and sufficient openings left around the upper parts to prevent heating. REFORESTATION IN MASSACHUSETTS By F. W. RANE, STATE FORESTER OF MASSACHUSETTS. S a result of the educational campaign carried on by the Massachusetts A Forestry Department there bas been a general awakening on the part of the public, especially land owners, to the opportunities which this field affords for profitable investment and future development by reforestation in the Bay State. This widespread interest has been manifested during the past year by the great number of requests that have been made by clubs, granges, boards of trade, and other organizations throughout the state for lectures on this subject, as well as innumerable requests received by mail for literature treating of the subject. The press has also been no small factor in urging upon the people the importance of reforestation. It must be quite obvious to every thinking person that to a state whose present stock of woodland is second and third growth, most of it consisting of sprouted trees which never become timber size, and which has nearly a million acres of land which may properly be classed as waste land, largely abandoned rough fields and so-called natural pastures growing up to brush, reforestation becomes a question of vital interest. Even forty or fifty years ago there were far-sighted men in Massachusetts who predicted the total extinction of our timber supply unless remedial measures were taken in sea- son to prevent it, and quite a strong feeling pervaded the state in favor of planting commercial trees, but with the decline in farm values the enthusiasm abated, not, however, until fifteen or twenty small plantations had been set out by individuals in their private capacity. These plantations were small, of course, averaging ten to twenty-five acres. As the white pine is a natural conifer of Massachusetts, a tree of com- paratively rapid growth, and especially adapted to the soil of this region with its lumber in great demand, it is very natural that it should be given preference over all others in the work of reforestation. In fact, the first work of importance done by the present state forester after taking charge of the forestry work in this state was to make a study of its growth, with the result that in “Forest Mensuration of White Pine,” a bulletin published under his direction, are to be found fairly complete data concerning the white pine. This bulletin shows, for instance, that the age at which a plantation should be cut to yield the highest net returns is 50 years, and that an acre of pine planted on average soil will produce at the rate of 900 board feet, or more, per year. This information is of great value to farmers, as it makes clear to them how the waste land of farms may be utilized and made to become of constantly increasing value. Supposing the value of land at the time of planting to be $6.00 per acre, the cost of planting $10.00, taxes at two per cent, an acre of pine will yield four per cent on the money invested, and $270 besides, a total of between six and seven per cent. These figures are based on the present prices of lumber, and not the probable prices fifty years hence. 160 REFOR War JT) TATION IN MASSACHUSETTS WHITE PINE SEEDLINGS, SET FIVE YEARS, ABOUT THE WACHUSET RESERVOIR OF THE METROPOLITAN WATER SYSTEM. A PINE PLANTATION THIRTY YEARS OLD THE SANDS OF CAPE COD MASSACHUSETTS STATE NURSERY AT AM- HERST; TRANSPLANTS IN FOREGROUND EALTHY WHITE PINE AND AT SUDBURY, ASSACHUSETTS. ANTED THIRTY-EIGHT ARS. THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE FORESTER’S MEN AT WORK PLANTING. REFORESTATION IN MASSACHUSETTS 163 Money Yield Table. Manufactured and stumpage values. Quarry I Quauity II. Quauiry III. AGE (Years). | vol- | Fe") Fo. B. | FT /stump-|| Vol- |Per| Fo. B. Ferlstump-|| Vol- | Fe"|F. 0. B.| \f™|Stump- ume. | Fy Value. Ft.| age: ume. | Fe. Value. Ft | 28e- ume. | F; Value. Ft,| ae: 25, ‘T0828 = {| $1732 4 $65 00 || 76,750 _, {| $108 00 4 s40 50|| 3978 $63 60 | $23 85 30, 19,900 5 {| 318 40 | |) 119 40 || 12,500 | 200 00 | {| 75 00|/ 7,500 |S || 120 00 |= 4] 45 00 35, 31,150 3 | 498 40 249 20 || 24,400 |~ 439 20 195 20 || 16,950 |= || 271 20} \ 101 70 40, 40,650 2 791 70 | 325 20 || 32,800 590 40 a 262 40 || 25,200 403 20 201 60 45, 49,350 | }| 888 30 394 80 || 40,600 |S || 730 80 324 80 || 32,100 577 80 |= || 256 80 50, 55,150 |~ 992 70 |S 551 50 || 46,500 | || 837 00 465 00 || 37,550 |_ || 676 00 |&% }) 300 40 55, 59,650 = 1,193 00 |& (| 596 50 |] 50,550 910 00 3 505 50 || 42,100 2 757 80 336 80 60, 63,600 |= }| 1,272 00 |S ¢| 763 20 || 53,200 |S (| 1,064 00 |z% || 532 00 || 44,550 802 00 = 445 50 65, 67,050 |~ \ 1,341 00 =| 804 50 || 56,600 a 1,132 00 566 00 || 46,150 830 70 |= (| 461 50 The legislature, within the past five years, has recognized the immense possibilities of forestry as a factor in adding to the wealth of the state, and has enacted several laws based upon recommendations of the state forester, intended to advance it. The reforestation act of 1908 has enabled the state forester to make a most promising beginning, about forty separate planta- tions covering 2,000 acres at an average cost of less than $10.00 per acre having already been made. Much of this land was acquired by the common- wealth under the provisions of the law which allows owners to turn over land to the state for the purpose of reforestation, reserving the right to redeem the land at any time within ten years, for the actual amount expended. Nearly fifteen hundred acres of land are now in the hands of the state forester ready for planting next season. Previous to this year most of the trees planted were purchased from nurserymen, but last spring our nursery at Amherst, established three years ago, Supplied about half of the one million seedlings used, and henceforth will furnish a large percentage of those required. This nursery, which is on the grounds of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, covers seven and one-half acres, and has in stock about two million pine seedlings, one half million Norway spruce, and several hundred thousand other species. Another nursery has been laid out at Sandwich on Cape Cod, but so far only one-half an acre has been utilized. The plantations scattered all over the state have been of great interest to property owners, and have done much toward stimulating private enter- prise along this line. The records at the office of the state forester show that in addition to the 2,000 acres planted under his direction, 2,000 acres have been planted by private parties and 1,500 by other agencies, principally the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Boards. So gratifying has been the progress made in the work of reforestation up to the present time, and so wide are the possibilities in this direction that a much larger appropriation has been asked for this year in order that operations along this line may be greatly extended. THE PASSAGE OF THE APPALACHIAN BILL N THE 15th of February the long struggle for national legislation look- C) ing to the perpetuation of the forests of the Southern Appalachian and White Mountains was ended when the bill known as the Weeks, or Ap- palachian bill, was passed by a vote of 58 to 9. As it had been passed by the House in June of last year and was enacted by the Senate without change, it only remains for it to receive the signature of President Taft to become a law. Between twelve and one o’clock, immediately at the close of the morning hour, the bill was called up by Senator Brandegee of Connecticut, who had it in charge. Senator Stone of Missouri, who had offered an amendment, with- drew it. Senator Brandegee then reviewed the legislative history of this bill in the Senate and the bill was read. The Senator from Connecticut made a brief and admirable opening statement and answered several questions, after which Senator Burton of Ohio addressed the Senate for over two hours in op- position to the bill. During this time he adduced nothing new. The Senator’s secretary sat beside him with a ponderous array of volumes, pamphlets and documents, but his arguments and citations, which were numerous, were the old familiar ones which have been answered again and again. Senator Newlands of Nevada spoke about an hour. He explained that be was in favor of the bill and desired its passage, but that his purpose in op- posing it in its present form at the last session was “not to defeat the bill, but to anchor it more firmly in the interstate commerce power of the Constitution, and enlarge its area so as to provide a comprehensive scheme of legislation that would involve the regulation of the flow of all the navigable rivers of the country in aid of navigation, and accomplish that ultimate object by the stor- ing of the flood waters of these rivers, including the sources of streams for purposes of irrigation and power; by the protection of forested areas included within the watersheds of such rivers and their sources, so as to prevent pre- cipitate run-off and safeguard against denudation and erosion; by the protec- tion of the river banks by revetment and levees, so as to confine the rivers to their channels, and thus aid in the reclamation of vast areas of swamp and overflowed lands within the drainage basins of such rivers containing an alluvial soil of enormous fertility and requiring only protection from flood waters to insure their highest agricultural development.” He further ex- plained that since there seemed to be a well grounded fear that the pressing of amendments at this time would endanger the passage of the bill, which he did not wish to do, he should withdraw his amendment and seek to accom- plish his object through a more comprehensive piece of legislation at a later time. He summarized with much skill and clearness the arguments for the bill and devoted considerable time to the plan of a great national waterways system which is his special interest in legislation. Mr. Newlands’ position was a matter of gratification to friends of the bill because he has always been accredited a friend of progressive forestry legisla- tion and it was a great disappointment to find him ranged apparently with opponents of this bill at the last session. The next speaker was Senator Simmons of North Carolina, a long-time supporter of the various Appalachian forest bills. He made a carefully pre- 164 THE PASSAGE OF THE APPALACHIAN BILL 165 pared argument, reinforced by observations from his own state which is so largely interested in this question. Senator Heyburn of Idaho, strengthened the case for the bill by his oppo- sition. The point of his remarks was that this bill proposed to buy several counties entire, counties with a large population, of which he gave the figures, and turn them into solitudes. He denounced it is the “most radical piece of fancy legislation that has ever been proposed in the Congress of the United States.” Senator Smith of South Carolina, replied effectively to certain remarks of the Idaho Senator on the effects of erosion. Senator Burton offered two amendments, the first providing for an exam- ination of the lands to be purchased by the Engineer Corps of the United States Army instead of by the Geological Survey, and the second providing “that on lands acquired by the Commission timber shall be sold and water- power shall be granted only at prices and on terms approved by the National Forest Reservation Commission.” Both amendments were rejected and roll calls were refused. The roll call was then ordered on the passage of the bill and it was passed by a vote of 58 to 9. The vote concluded at about half-past five o’clock in the afternoon. The record was as follows: Yeas—58 BAcon CurRTIS LopGE SmiryH, Md. BEVERID6E Dick MARTIN SMITH, Mich BoraHu DIXON NEWLANDS SMITH, S. C. BouURNE DUPONT NIXON SMooT BRADLEY FLETCHER OLIVER STEPHENSON BRANDEGEB FLINT OVERMAN SUTHERLAND Briceés FOSTER PAGE SWANSON Brown FRAZIER PENROSE TALIAFERRO BUuRNHAM FRYE PILES TAYLOR BURROWS GALLINGER PERKINS WARNER CARTER GAMBLE RICHARDSON WARREN CHAMBERLAIN GUGGENHEIM Root WATSON CRANE JONES Scorr WETMORE CRAWFORD KEAN SIMMONS YOuNG CUMMINS LA FOLLETTE Nays—9 BRISTOW CULLOM GRONNA PAYNTER Burton Davis McCUMBER SHIVELY CLARK, Wyoming Not voting—24 ALDRICH CLARK, Ark. HEYBURBN PERCY BAILEY CULBERSON JOHNSTON RAYNER BANKHEAD DEPEW LORIMER STONE BULEKELEY DILLINGHAM MoNeEY TERRELL BURKETT GORE NELSON THORNTON CLAPP HALE OwEN TILLMAN Of the Senators not voting all but four, Senators Hale, Lorimer, Nelson and Tillman, were placed on record by their pairs. These showed Senators Aldrich, Bulkeley, Burkett, Clapp, Depew, Dillingham, Johnston, Money, Rayner, Terrell and Thornton in favor. of the bill, and Bailey, Bankhead, Clark of Arkansas, Culberson, Gore, Heyburn, Owen, Percy and Stone opposed. There is evidence in this large senatorial majority in favor of the bill that its friends have been very successful in presenting the arguments for it dur- ing the last few weeks, because there was undoubtedly a much larger oppo- sition to the measure some months ago than the vote shows at the present time. This is a matter for great congratulation. The bill was in charge of Senator Brandegee who has worked for its success faithfully and efficiently during the session. Closely associated with him on the floor was Senator 166 AMERICAN FORESTRY Gallinger, who has been actively in the service for this legislation since it was first proposed. For the final success much credit is due to the work of Senator Crane, whose wise counsel and service has always been available in its behalf. On the Democratic side Senators Chamberlain, Fletcher, and Overman have been particularly strong in their support. The text of the bill, as enacted, follows: AN ACT To enable any State to cooperate with any other State or States, or with the United States, for the protection of the watersheds of navigable streams, and to appoint a commission for the acquisition of lands for the purpose of conserving the navigability of navigable rivers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the consent of the Congress of the United States is hereby given to each of the several States of the Union to enter into any agreement or compact, not in conflict with any law of the United States, with any other State or States for the purpose of conserving the forests and the water supply of the States entering into such agreement or compact. Sec. 2. That the sum of two hundred thousand dollars is hereby appropriated and made available until expended, out of any moneys in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to cooperate with any State or group of States, when requested to do so, in the protection from fire of the forested watersheds of navigable streams; and the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized, and on such conditions as he deems wise, to stipulate and agree with any State or group of States to cooperate in the organization and maintenance of a system of fire protection on any private or state forest lands within such State or States and situated upon the watershed of a navigable river: Provided, That no such stipulation or agreement shall be made with any State which has not provided by law for a system of forest-fire protection: Provided further, That in no case shall the amount expended in any State exceed in any fiscal year the amount appropriated by that State for the same purpose during the same fiscal year. Sec. 3. That there is hereby appropriated, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ten, the sum of one million dollars, and for each fiscal year thereafter a sum not to exceed two million dollars for use in the examination, survey, and acquirement of lands located on the headwaters of navigable streams or those which are being or which may be developed for navigable purposes: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall expire by limitation on the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred and fifteen. Sec. 4. That a commission, to be known as the National Forest Reservation Com- mission, consisting of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, and two members of the Senate, to be selected by the President of the Senate, and two members of the House of Representatives, to be selected by the Speaker, is hereby created and authorized to consider and pass upon such lands as may be recommended for purchase as provided in section six of this Act, and to fix the price or prices at which such lands may be purchased, and no purchases shall be made of any lands until such lands have been duly approved for purchase by said com- mission: Provided, That the members of the commission herein created shall serve as such only during their incumbency in their respective official positions, and any vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the manner as the original appointment. Sec. 5. That the commission hereby appointed shall, through its president, annually report to Congress; not later than the first Monday in December, the operations and expenditures of the commission, in detail, during the preceding fiscal year. Sec. 6. That the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized and directed to examine, locate, and recommend for purchase such lands as in his judgment may be necessary to the regulation of the flow of navigable streams, and to report to the National Forest Reservation Commission the results of such examinations: Provided, That before any lands are purchased by the National Forest Reservation Commission said lands shall be examined by the Geological Survey and a report made to the Secretary of Agriculture, showing that the control of such lands will promote or protect the navigation of streams on whose watersheds they lie. Sec. 7. That the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to purchase, in the name of the United States, such lands as have been approved for purchase by the National Forest Reservation Commission at the price or prices fixed by said com- mission: Provided, That no deed or other instrument of conveyance shall be accepted or approved by the Secretary of Agriculture under this Act until the legislature of the State in which the land lies shall have consented to the acquisition of such land by the United States for the purpose of preserving the navigability of navigable streams. THE PASSAGE OF THE APPALACHIAN BILL 167 Src. 8. That the Secretary of Agriculture may do all things necessary to secure the safe title in the United States to the lands to be acquired under this Act, but no payment shall be made for any such lands until the title shall be satisfactory to the Attorney- General and shall be vested in the United States. Sec. 9. That such acquisition may in any case be conditioned upon the exception and reservation to the owner from whom title passes to the United States of the minerals and of the merchantable timber, or either or any part of them, within or upon such lands at the date of the conveyance, but in every case such exception and reservation and the time within which such timber shall be removed and the rules and regulations under which the cutting and removal of such timber and the mining and removal of such minerals shall be done shall be expressed in the written instrument of conveyance, and thereafter the mining, cutting, and removal of the minerals and timber so excepted and reserved shall be done only under and in obedience to the rules and regulations so expressed. Sec. 10. That inasmuch as small areas of land chiefly valuable for agriculture may of necessity or by inadvertence be included in tracts acquired under this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may, in his discretion, and he is hereby authorized, upon appli- cation or otherwise, to examine and ascertain the location and extent of such areas as in his opinion may be occupied for agricultural purposes without injury to the forests or to stream flow and which are not needed for public purposes, and may list and describe the same by metes and bounds, or otherwise, and offer them for sale as home- steads at their true value, to be fixed by him, to actual settlers, in tracts not exceeding eighty acres in area, under such joint rules and regulations as the Secretary of Agricul- ture and the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; and in case of such sale the jurisdiction over the lands sold shall, ipso facto, revert to the State in which the lands sold lie. And no right, title, interest, or claim in or to any lands acquired under this Act, or the waters thereon, or the products, resources, or use thereof after such lands shall have been so acquired, shall be initiated or perfected, except as in this section provided. Sec. 11. That, subject to the provisions of the last preceding section, the lands acquired under this Act shall be permanently reserved, held, and administered as national forest lands under the provisions of section twenty-four of the Act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one (volume twenty-sixth, Statutes at Large, page eleven hundred and three), and Acts supplemental to and amendatory thereof. And the Secretary of Agriculture may from time to time divide the lands acquired under this Act into such specific national forests and so designate the same as he may deem best for administrative purposes. Sec. 12. That the jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, over persons upon the lands acquired under this Act shall not be affected or changed by their permanent reservation and administration as national forest lands, except so far as the punishment of offenses against the United States is concerned, the intent and meaning of this section being that the State wherein such land is situated shall not, by reason of such reservation and administration, lose its jurisdiction nor the inhabitants thereof their rights and privileges as citizens or be absolved from their duties as citizens of the State. Sec. 13. That five per centum of all moneys received during any fiscal year from each national forest into which the lands acquired under this Act may from time to time be divided shall be paid, at the end of such year, by the Secretary of the Treasury to the State in which such national forest is situated, to be expended as the state legislature may prescribe for the benefit of the public schools and public roads of the county or counties in which such national forest is situated: Provided, That when any national forest is in more than one State or county the distributive share to each from the proceeds of such forest shall be proportional to its area therein: Provided further, That there shall not be paid to any State for any county an amount equal to more than forty per centum of the total income of such county from all other sources. Sec. 14. That a sum sufficient to pay the necessary expenses of the commission and its members, not to exceed an annual expenditure of twenty-five thousand dollars, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Said appropriation shall be immediately available, and shall be paid out on the audit and order of the president of the said commission, which audit and order shall be con- clusive and binding upon all departments as to the correctness of the accounts of said commission. Passed the House of Representatives June 23 (calendar day, June 24), 1910. Passed the Senate February 15, 1911. EDITORIAL THE APPALACHIAN BILL HE passage by the Senate on Wednesday of the bill commonly known as the Weeks, or Appalachian, bill ends the first stage of a long struggle for national forests in the eastern mountains, a struggle that began in 1899. The bill now enacted bears little resemblance to those that preceded it up to the time of the Sixtieth Congress, although its purpose has been well understood to be the same, that is, the perpetuation of forests upon the great watersheds of the Appalachian ridge. It is a general law, providing for no particular locality, but there can hardly be a question raised as to its intent or as to the regions whicb are in present need of action by the nation. Imperfect as it admittedly is, this new forest law marks a distinct step in advance, and may be said in some sense to be the beginning of a new de- parture in that it makes our national forest policy really national, although me application of the principle under the new law is greatly circumscribed. This aspect of the question is discussed in another connection. Under its provisions much good may be accomplished in the nature of forest preservation and protection if it is broadly and generously interpreted by its administrators; but it has been frankly admitted by its advocates that it is acceptable only as a beginning and a means of testing the application of a most important economic principle. As passed by the House last June, the bill carried an appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910, of one million dollars, and for each suc- ceeding year until 1915 of two million dollars annually, making an aggregate of eleven million dollars. Because of legislative conditions, it was necessary to pass the bill in the Senate without amendment and this provision was there- fore unchanged. It is, therefore, probable that the first million dollars which was allotted for 1910 will be lost and that only ten million will be available for the purposes of the act. It is not certain, however, that the intent of the bill may not be considered and the full appropriation made available. The passage of the bill is a notable triumph of enlightened public senti- ment over political obstruction. Here was a measure which had the endorse- ment of three successive Presidents of the United States, of intelligent citizen- ship all over the land, as voiced by practically every great national organiza- tion that is working for the public welfare, by commercial and industrial bodies, by the federated women’s clubs of America and an almost unanimous periodical and newspaper press. Notwithstanding such support as would seem to have assured its prompt enactment, it met in Congress from year to year a most stubborn opposition, directed by the leaders of the party organiza- tions on both sides of the House. In the Senate there was a bitter sectional hostility from the northwest, which finally melted away leaving Senators Heyburn of Idaho and Clark of Wyoming, as its sole exponents. Notwith- standing its importance to the south, there was from that section a consider- able opposition on the part of adherents of a strict, old-fashioned states rights- ism, and the unfavorable influence of party leaders was strong in the middle 168 EDITORIAL 169 west. So far as evidence has appeared, this opposition in our national legis- lature has had no support outside of Congress, and it is remarkable that it has held out so long against an unusually broad, national and non-partisan public demand. It is a weakness of the American people to develop great enthusiasms, embody them in law and then forget them, to become absorbed in their daily vocations and in fresh interests. This disposition has nullified many good laws. Let it be remembered in this hour of triumph that the ultimate success of this new forest law will depend upon the continued interest and intelligent support of those whose efforts have secured its enactment. In the face of pub- - lie indifference it will become a useless instrument. Forcefully and intelli- gently sustained, it may be the beginning of greater good to the people of the whole country than even its most ardent friends have claimed. ITS CONSTITUTIONAL ASPECT HE new forest law in its present form must be regarded as partial, since it provides for maintaining forest cover only on drainage areas neces- sary for “conserving the navigability of navigable rivers.” This is in deference to an opinion given by the Judiciary Committee of a former House of Representatives, and to the views of many constitutional lawyers as to the powers of the general government. We have always deemed it unfortunate that the discussion of this great public question was forced as a matter of ex- pediency into so narrow a channel by the dictum of a political committee which is in no sense a judicial body, although made up of very able lawyers. Its members sit upon the committee as advocates rather than as judges in many cases, and this was especially true in connection with the Appalachian bill, which involved so many points of controversy and had aroused strong feeling. At the time that the opinion was rendered upon the Appalachian bill, several members of the committee, including its chairman, represented the spirit of intense hostility to the measure which guided the action of the lead- ers of the House organization. Under these circumstances we could hardly expect that an opinion would be rendered such as we should look for from the Supreme Court of the United States. The views expressed by the committee are not unquestioned and we be- lieve that time will teach the American people that an adequate timber supply, the preservation of the flow of streams for water power and the public health, and the sanitary influence of the mountain forests, are as necessary to the people as the navigability of their rivers, that is, that they are essential to the gen- eral welfare. In the debate last summer in the House no arguments for the bill were more gratifying than those of Mr. Mann of Illinois and General Keifer of Ohio, both of whom took a strong stand for the power of the general government to preserve our forests on the ground of the general welfare. Hoke Smith, Secretary of the Interior under President Cleveland and twice elected governor of Georgia, is on record with a similar declaration. None of these men is a radical, or a dangerous loose constructionist. They have with them many lawyers equally able and learned with those on the other side. It is the lesson of our whole history from the time of the Louisiana Purchase, made by the greatest of all the strict constructionists, that when a great national need has arisen, the provisions of the Constitution have been found to be ample to safeguard the nation. In academic constitutional discussions, the general wel- fare clause is but little regarded. When practical need arises, it is realized that the wise and cautious statesmen who debated almost every word of our great instrument of government, did not insert those words for mere verbiage. They knew what some lesser interpreters of the Constitution seem to forget, 170 AMERICAN FORESTRY that any such instrument, to be permanent, must provide for national growth and changing conditions. Nothing is more instructive in our history than the prophetic vision with which Washington, Jefferson, Marshall and others of our elder statesmen, looked forward through the years to the development of the nation they were founding. They would never have circumscribed that development by any provision which could have prevented the guarding of the people’s welfare against any unfavorable conditions that might arise. The nation that can purchase lands for national parks, as has been done several times, can purchase lands for national forests to maintain a permanent timber supply, protect our waterpowers and preserve the public health, whether such forests affect the navigability of navigable rivers or not. It was decided by the Supreme Court in the Gettysburg case that the national govern- ment could purchase land for the inculcation of patriotism. This was a broad interpretation, but one which need not cause terror in the heart of any citizen of the United States or admirer of the Constitution. It is distinctly in the line of the maintenance of national dignity and good citizenship. Not to go back to old purchases of land in the early history of the country which have already been cited, to provide timber for the Navy, there are on record the following purchases of land within recent years which certainly do not come under the interstate commerce clause in any sense: Sully’s Hill Na- tional Park, North Dakota, was purchased from the Devil’s Lake Indians by virtue of an act dated April 27, 1904. Platt National Park was purchased from the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians by authority of acts dated July 1, 1902, and April 21, 1904. The National Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation was authorized by act dated May 23, 1908. By this act $30,000 was appropriated to enable the Secretary of the Interior to pay the confeder- ated tribes for the land according to an act dated April 23, 1904. The same act provided ten thousand dollars for fencing the range and putting up build- ings. An act dated March 4, 1909, provided $47,000 for the maintenance of the Montana Bison Range. If the government can do these things with its money, it is idle to claim that it cannot spend it equally for lands in any of the states of the Union for the important economic purposes connected with forestry as understood in these modern times. The fact is, we strain at gnats and swallow camels in appropriation of money for national purposes, and whenever it suits legis- lators to oppose a measure which is otherwise meritorious, the cry of uncon- stitutionality is almost always resorted to. Notwithstanding all the agitation, argument, and education of recent years, we have much to learn as a people in regard to the economic importance and necessity of scientific forestry. This lesson is being rapidly learned, however, and when it is fully understood the resulting enlightenment will lead to a development of our forest policy which will not endanger the Constitution, but will give greater permanence to the nation, strengthen the United States treasury, and infinitely add to our re- sources as a people in the years to come. PROFESSOR GLENN’S REPORT HE comprehensive report of Professor L. C. Glenn on denudation and erosion in the Southern Appalachian region and Monongahela basin, which is briefly reviewed this month, comes most appropriately at this time when the long sought law making possible national action to preserve the forests of this region has been enacted. The report is a mine of informa- tion which will now be of the greatest service. Professor Glenn’s first-hand knowledge on the subjects treated in the report has not been equaled by any EDITORIAL 171 one, and the authority of his statements has not been successfully challenged. Here we have the expert testimony of a competent geologist, based on a long and patient reconnaissance on the ground, as to the actual soil conditions in these important drainage areas. The report has a direct bearing on the work of salvage and development now to be undertaken by the general government. THE OWNERSHIP OF TIMBERLANDS HE first part of the long awaited report of the Commissioner of Cor- porations on the lumber industry is a document of great interest. The facts which it presents are not new or surprising to those who were at all informed on the subject, although they probably are to the country at large. They show in a striking way the facilities which our public land methods have offered for the development of large, private holdings; that the government, in fact, has been engineering a magnificent get-rich-quick enter- prise from which many men have naturally profited. It also points out the possible consequence in the future of development along the same line. This is what really concerns us as a practical problem. What is done cannot be undone. What is to be done is at least partially within our control. The first deduction, and the only one to which we now wish to call atten- tion, is the unanswerable argument that this large control of our timber- lands by a few private holders makes for the maintenance on as large a scale as possible of national forests and of state forests in every state for the se- curity of the people’s interest by maintaining healthy conditions in the lumber industry. This is the only practicable check that can be put upon the power of great private owners. AMERICAN CONSERVATION HE new magazine announced sometime ago by the National Conserva- tion Association has appeared for the month of February under the title American Conservation. It should be a valuable instrument for the association that publishes it in keeping its public in touch with various phases of the conservation work. We extend to it a cordial welcome and the best wishes of AmpricaAN Forestry for wisdom to guide its course and power to enforce the great principles for which it stands. CURRENT LITERATURE REVIEWS Denudation and Erosion in the Southern Appalachian Region and the Mononga- hela Basin. By Leonidas Chalmers Glenn. Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey. Pro- fessional paper 72. Page 137, Washing- ton, Government Printing Office, 1911. This report, as stated in the introduc- tion, presents “a brief summary of the re- sults of an examination of the Southern Appalachian region during the field sea- sons of 1904 and 1905, and of the Monon- gahela Basin in West Virginia and Penn- sylvania in 1907, made for the purpose of studying the effect of deforestation and consequent erosion of the steep mountain slopes on geologic, hydrologic and economic conditions, both in the mountain region itself and in the surrounding areas through which the many streams that rise in the high Appalachians flow on their way to the Mississippi, the Gulf or the Atlantic.” It will be seen from this statement how important a bearing this report has upon the subject of the preservation of the Ap- palachian forests which has been so much before the public and so much a matter of controversy during the last few years. Pro- fessor Glenn’s method was closely scientific. He traveled from valley to valley through the southern mountains, noting and re- cording with great exactness hillside and mountainside wash and wear, soil removal by gullying and soil burial by overwash and stream overflow, the filling of mill- ponds and the wrecking of dams and bridges, and numerous other evils that are attributed by many observers to reck- less deforestation and injudicious attempts to cultivate slopes that are not adapted to agriculture. The report is liberally il- lustrated from photographs that show in the most graphic manner the conditions described. His studies included parts of eight states, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. Pro- fessor Glenn holds that the problems studied by him from the standpoint of the geologist must be solved by methods that relate chiefly to forestry and to agriculture. The agricultural problem involves the se- lection of the areas best suited for agri- culture because of fertility and character of soil and moderate slope of surface, and 172 the study of the ways in which such areas may be handled to prevent their own de- struction through erosion, as well as the destruction of other lands and property by the waste material they deposit and the floods they help to generate. Among other facts noted in the course of his study was the interesting one that steep slopes formed of certain rocks can be safely cultivated, while others no steeper, composed of other rocks, were cultivated with disastrous re- sults. Much of the area examined is not suit- able for agricultural land and should not be cleared and forced into agricultural use, because that forcing means destruction both of the area itself and of the lower- lying areas on the same stream. Such misuse means also slower but none the less sure interference with navigation on the more remote parts of the major stream system. The report describes the physical fea- tures of the country examined, discusses the relation of industries to erosion and denudation, taking up in succession agri- culture, lumbering, mining, and power de- velopment. The nature, effect and reme- dies of erosion are considered and several pages are given to a discussion of the de- bated subject of changes in stream regi- men. Professor Gienn says that “the for- ester would protect steep slopes by keeping them clothed with timber, coax back tree growth on denuded areas, keep down forest fires, protect and perpetuate the supply of hard wood, protect the game and fish, and enhance the beauty and charm of the region as a health and pleasure resort, as well as prevent the navigable streams that flow from these mountains from filling up with the sand and silt whose removal is now costing annually large sums of money.” Then follows a study of the details of conditions in the region, prefaced by a de- scription of the method of treatment. This, with a table of streams and the index, occupies the remaining hundred pages of the report. We shall probably have occasion from time to time to make use of the facts in this report, which is a valuable reference volume and should be near the hand of everyone who is engaged in the study of the problems connected with these moun- tains. It can be obtained by application to the Director of the Geological Survey. CURRENT LITERATURE MONTHLY LIST FOR FEBRUARY, 19811 (Books and periodicals indexed in the Library of the United States Forest Service) Forestry as a Whole Forbes, A. C. The development of British forestry. 274 p., pl. London, England, BE. Arnold, 1910. Schermbeek, A. J. van. Hinige leitsatze beziiglich der forstwissenschaftlichen forschung. 30 p., il. Bruxelles, Ch. Bulens, 1910. (Internationaler ver- band forstlicher versuchanstalten. Pub- lication.) Forest Education Forest schools India—Imperial forest college, Dehra Dun. Progress report for 1909-1910. 23 p. Calcutta, Supt. of government printing, 1910. India—Imperial forest research institute. Progress report for 1909-1910. 25 p. Calcutta, Supt. of government printing, 1910. St. Petersburgh—Lyesnoi institut (Forest institute). Izvyestiya (Contributions), vol. 20. 152 p. St. Petersburgh, 1910. Forest Legislation Zaleman, Nikolai, comp. lLyesnoi ustav (Forest laws). 2 volumes in 1. St. Petersburgh, 1910. Forest Description Hutchins, D. E. Report on Cyprus for- estry. 93 p., pl., fold. map. London, Waterlow & Sons, I’t’d., 1909. Forest Botany Deutsche dendrologische gesellschaft. Mit- teilung, no. 19. 410 p. il. Bonn- Poppelsdorf, Germany, 1910. Jepson, Willis Linn. The silva of Cali- fornia. 480 p. Berkeley, Cal., 1910. (University of California. Memoirs, vol. 2). Maiden, J. H. The forest flora of New South Wales, pt. 41. 20 p. pl. Syd- ney, Govt. printer, 1910. Winkenwerder, Hugo. Short keys to the more important trees and shrubs of Oregon and Washington. 8 p. Seattle, Wash., University of Washington. Silvics Forest influences Glenn, Leonidas Chalmers. Denudation and erosion in the southern Appalach- ian region. 137 p. pl., maps. Wash., D. C., 1911. (U. S. Geological survey. Professional paper 72.) Studies of species Vadas, Eugéne. Die bedeutung der robinie (Robinia pseudacacia) fiir die forst- 173 wirtschaft Ungarns. 18 p. pl., diagr. Selmecbénya, Hungary, J. Agost 6zv. és Fia, 1910. (Internationaler ver- band forstlicher versuchsanstalten. Publication. ) Zederbauer, Emmerich. Zusammenfassung der resultate tiber die in Mariabrunn ausgefuhrten versuche betreffend weiss- fohren verschiedener provenienz. 2 p. Mariabrunn, Austria, 1910. (Interna- tionaler verband forstlicher versuch- sanstalten. Publication.) Seeds Crahay, N. I. La question des semences en sylviculture. 14 p. Bruxelles, F. van Buggenhoudt, 1910. (Interna- tionaler verband forstlicher versuch- sanstalten. Publication.) Engler, Arnold. Influence de la provenance des graines du pin sylvestre; recapitu- lation des résultats obtenus jusqu’ici par la Station suisse de recherches forestiéres. 14 p. Bruxelles, Ch. Bulens, 1910. (Internationaler ver- band _ forstlicher versuchsanstalten. Publication. ) Forest soils Buhler, Anton. Untersuchungen iiber die bildung von waldhumus. 70 p. Stutt- gart, E. Ulmer, 1900. (Wiirtember- gische forstliche versuchsanstalt. Mit- teilungen, 2. heft.) Roth, Jules and Zemplén, Géza. Beitrage zur stickstoffaufnahme des _ waldes. 20 p. Bruxelles, F. van Buggenhoudt, 1910. (Internationaler verband forst- licher versuchsanstalten. Publica- tion.) Vater, H. Die erforschung des zulangens der nahrstoffe im waldboden. 7 p. Brux- elles, Ch. Bulens, 1910. (Internation- aler verband forstlicher versuchsan- stalten. Publication.) Forest fertilizing Grahay, N. I. and Durieux. engrais chimiques en_ sylviculture; résultat des expériences. 31 p. pl. Bruxelles, F. van Buggenhoudt, 1910. (Internationaler verband forstlicher versuchsanstalten. Publication.) Schwappach, Adam. L’emploi des engrais dans la grande culture forestiére. 14 p. Bruxelles, Ch. Bulens, 1910. (In- ternationaler verband forstlicher ver- suchanstalten. Publication.) Verstraete, O. Plan-type de champs d’ex- périences 4 établir sur l’emploi des en- grais en sylviculture. 14 p., diagr. Bruxelles, L. Pternotte, 1910. (Inter- nationaler verband forstlicher versuch- sanstalten. Publication.) Forest experiment stations Sweden—Forstliche versuchsanstalt. teilungen, heft 7. 2388 p. il. holm, Sweden, 1910. L’emploi des Mit- Stock- 174 Forest Protection Insects Chittenden, F. H. The oak pruner. 7 D. il. Wash., D. C., 1910. (U. S. Dept. of agriculture, Bureau of entomology. Circular 130.) Diseases Mayr, Heinrich. Schiittekrankheit und provenienz der fohre (kiefer). 11 p. Miinchen, Kastner and Callwey, 1910. (Internationaler verband forstlicher versuchsanstalten. Publication.) Fire MacMillan, H. R. and Gutches, G. A. Forest fires in Canada. 40 p. il. Ottawa, 1910. (Canada, Dept. of the interior, Forestry branch. Bulletin 9.) Forest Management Poskin, Arthur. Conversion des peuple- ments purs d’épicéa en peuplements mé- langés. 14 p. Bruxelles. F. van Bug- genhoudt, 1910. (Internationaler ver- band forstlicher versuchstanstalten. Publication. ) Quairiére, C. J. Des mélanges d’essences feuillues a réaliser dans les futaies de hétre. 13 p. Bruxelles, F. van Bug- genhoudt, 1910. (Internationaler ver- band forstlicher versuchsanstalten. Publication.) Statistics United States, Bureau of the census. Cross- ties purchased, 1909. 11 p. Wash., D. C., 1911. (Forest products, no. 8.) United States, Bureau of the census. Pulp- wood consumption, 1909. 15 p. Wash., D. C., 1911. (Forest products, no. 1.) Forest Administration British Columbia, Royal commission of inquiry on timber and forestry, 1909- 1910, Binal report... 116.-p.-.il, pl: diagr., fold. map. Victoria, B. C., 1910. Canada, Dept. of the interior, Forestry branch. Report of the Supt. of for- estry, 1909-1910. 77 p. pl. Ottawa, 1910. Maine, Forest commission. Highth report. 111 p. il., pl. Augusta, Me., 1910. New Hampshire, Forestry commission. Bi- ennial report for the years 1909-1910. 105 p. pl., maps. Concord, N. H., 1910. Philippine Islands, Bureau of forestry. An- nual report of the director of forestry for the period July 1, 1909, to June 30, 1910. 25 p. Manila, P. I., 1910. United States, Forest service. January field program, 1911. 34 p. Wash., DC. L918, Wisconsin, State forester. Report for 1909 and 1910. 136 p. Madison, Wis., 1910. AMERICAN FORESTRY Forest Utilization Crumley, J. J. The relative durability of post timbers. 36 p. il. Wooster, O., 1910. (Ohio, Agricultural experiment station. Bulletin 219.) Ricard, J. H. Au Pays Landais; exploita- tion des foréts résineuses. 252 p. il., map. Paris, J. B. Bailliére et fils, 1911 Auxiliary Subjects Irrigation National irrigation congress. Official pro- ceedings, 18th. 412 p. Pueblo, Colo., 1910. Periodical Articles General Bulletin of the Pan American union, Jan., 1911.—Cocoanuts in the Americas, by Charles Melville Brown, p. 238. Canadian century, Jan. 7, 1911.—Further reciprocity in timber products unneces- sary, by H. R. Macmillan, p. 10. Collier’s weekly, Dec. 17, 1910.—Exploring the Philippine forests, by C. A. Gil- christ, p. 14. Country life in America, Jan., 1911.—Our native trees; the red cedar, by A. O. Huntington, p. CXCIV, CXCVI. Field and stream, Nov., 1910.—EHuropean forestry, by W. H. Miller, p. 618-23. Illustrirte zeitung, Nov., 1910.—Die hoheren forstlichen bildungsstatten in Deutsch- land, Osterreich, Ungarn und der Schweiz, by A. Remelé, p. 21-4. Muhlenbergia, Nov., 1910.—The pine, by A. A. Heller, p. 128-32. Plant world, Dec., 1910.—Notes on growth of pine seedlings, by J. C. Blumer, p. 296-7. Proceedings of American society of civil engineers, January, 1911.—Timber preservation, its development and pres- ent scope; discussion, by R. Lamb and J. M. Schreiber, p. 141-51. Progress magazine, Dec., 1910.—Conserva- tion of the Christmas tree, by Cather- ine Frances Cavanagh, p. 9-12. Rural spirit, Jan. 25, 1911—Live stock grazing aS insurance against forest fires, by D. P. Smythe, p. 3-6. Scientific American, Jan. 7, 1911.—Breed- ing successful strains of basket wil- lows, p. 20-1. Scientific American, Jan. 21, 1911.—Drain- ing the Everglades, by D. A. Willey, Ds Oi, Torreya, Jan., 1911.—Additions to the tree flora of the United States, by J. K. Small, p. 11-14. Trade journals and consular reports American lumberman, Jan. 14, 1911.—Fell- ing trees with hot wires, by A. Scheible, p. 41; New source of pulp; efforts of the federal government to extend and limber CURRENT LITERATURE economize manufacture, p. 42-3; Wis- consin engaged in practical reforesta- tion, p. 43; Strength, durability, adapt- ability of white oak, p. 1, 83. American lumberman, Jan. 21, 1911.— Manufacture and use of lumber in China, by O. M. Clark, p. 36-7; To pre- vent waste; new process invented and in operation to conserve material in the manufacture of wood pulp, p. 39; Inspectors’ work, by J. W. Martin, p. 56 American lumberman, Jan. 28, 1911.—Log- ging yellow pine, by W. T. Whiteman, p. 41; largest government: timber land sale; federal authorities dispose of over two hundred thousand acres in California, p. 44; Why natural repro- duction is better than planting, by A. Akerman, p. 81; Conservation of the state’s timber resources, by C. W. Fair- banks, p. 84-5; Cypress and its uses, by A. T. Gerrans, p. 85. Canada lumberman, Jan. 1, 1911.—Passing of the square timber trade, p. 24-6. Engineering and mining journal, Dec. 31, 1910.—Combination steel and wood mine timbers, p. 1293-4; Creosote as a timber preservative, p. 1295. Engineering news, Dec. 29, 1910.—Repaving the “Loop” district in Chicago with creosoted wood block, by W. W. Marr, p. 718-22. Engineering news, Jan. 5, 1911.—Marine wood destroyers in the waters of the South Atlantic ports, by W. D. Fau- cette, p. 12-13. Hardwood record, Feb. 10, 1911.—Band saw- ing, by E. C. Marshon, p. 69-71. Lumber trade journal, Jan. 15, 1911.—Eco- nomical stump destruction a problem, p. 27-9. Municipal journal and engineer, Jan. 11, 1911.—Oil for preserving wood blocks, p. 54-5. Municipal journal and engineer, Jan. 25, 1911.—Work of Buffalo’s forestry dept., by H. B. Filer, p. 115-17; Creosoting wood blocks in England, p. 122. Pacific lumber trade journal, Jan., 1911.— Possibilities of Pacific Coast logging by electricity, by F. Mackean, p. 45-6; Logging chances in national forests of Pacific northwest, by G. H. Cecil, p. 47-8; Our logged-off land problem and its solution, by C. J. Zintheo, p. 55-61. Pioneer western lumberman, Jan. 15, 1911. —Cut-over lands west of the Cascade Mts., by G. H. Emerson, p. 13, 15. Pioneer western lumberman, Feb. 1, 1911. —Patrol methods, telephone lines, trail building and supply depots, by D. P. Simons, p. 7. Railway and engineering review, Jan. 21, 1911—Depths of penetration in wood preservation, by D. Allerton, p. 44-5. Railway journal, Feb., 1911.—Results ob- tained in prolonging life of railway tie, by F. J. Angier, p. 7-8. 175 Southern lumberman, Jan. 21, 1911.—Yel- low pine from log to dry kiln and yard, by W. W. Warren, p. 31; Yellow pine drying in dry kiln and on yard, by F. R. Gilchrist, p. 32-3; Address on con- servation in Louisiana, by H. T. Hardt- ner, p. 33-4. Timberman, Jan., 1911.—Pioneer lumbering in Montana; story of early days graphi- cally told, by A. M. Holter, p. 20-24; The climber locomotive, p. 29; Com- mercial opportunities in China for trade development and expansion, by O. M: Clark, p. 35-9; Portable tree felling machine, p. 48L; Lumber trade of Australia; large importations of American product, p. 52. United States daily consular report, Feb. 2, 1911.—Foreign lumber in Natal, by E. S. Cunningham, p. 448. United States daily consular report, Feb. 4, 1911.—White oak staves and timber in foreign countries, by J. I. Brittain and others, p. 465-70. United States daily consular report, Feb. 10, 1911.—Paper in the far east, by G. #. Anderson and others, p. 549-50; Wood pulp and paper in Japan, by T. Sammons, p. 551. United States daily consular report, Feb. 15, 1911.—Timbering in eastern Siberia, by L. Maynard, p. 618-21. West Coast lumberman, Jan. 1911.—Tree felling machine, p. 195. Wood craft, Feb. 1911.—English oak; its place, peculiarities and power, Dp. 154-6. Wood worker, Jan. 1911—The making of hardwood mantels, by G. D. Crain, p. 27; An electric tree-felling machine, by A. Scheible, p. 34-5. Forest journals Allegemeine forst- und jagd-zeitung, Dec. 1910.— Untersuchungen und betrachtun- gen liber das verhalten der humusart- en, by C. Emeis, p. 425-32. American forestry, Feb. 1911.—Present for- estry issues, by Curtis Guild, jr., p. 67- 81; Shall states regulate the manage- ment of private forests, by H. H. Chap- man, p. 82-8; City trees and their re- lation to forestry, by J. J. Levison, p. 91-8; American forestry association; 13th annual meeting in Washington, Jan. 12 and 13, 1911, p., 99-116; The forestry problem of to-day, by H. S. Graves, p. 111-14. Canadian forestry journal, Dec. 1910.—For- estry for municipalities, by H. R. Mac- Millan, p. 99-104; Ontario’s forest fires, by J. F. Whitson, p. 107-9; A uniform log rule for all Canada, by A. H. D. Ross, p. 110-13. Centralblatt fiir das gesamte forstwesen, Nov. 1910.—Ueber das wesen des wald- kapitales und tiber die ermittlung von durchschnittlichen waldrenten, by A. Schiffel, p. 475-85; Neues aus der na- turgesschichte des maulwurfes, by F. Knauer, p. 485-92; Moosdecke und holz- zuwachs, by Bohmerle, p. 5238-6; Vor- ginge bei der holzverkohlung in mei- lern und .ei der trockenen destillation des holzes, by F. Denz, p. 526-48. Forest leaves, Feb. 1911—Some recent phases of the forestry problem, by “yi Rothbrock, p. 8 14. Forestry quarterly, Dec. 1910.—Two new in- sect pests in Nebraska, by L. Bruner and M. H. Swenk, p. 411-14; The pro- gress of reconnaissance, by A. B. Reck- nagel, p. 415-18; Determination of qual- ity of locality by fiber length of wood, by C. D. Mell, p. 419-22; Exploiting tele graph poles in Colorado, by A. T. Up- son, p. 423-6; A comparison of Maine and Blodgett log rules, by I. G. Stetson, p. 427-32; Water powers in the north- west, by W. E. Herring, p. 433-8; For- estry in Ohio, by E. C. Hirst, p. 439-49; New Jersey forests and forestry, by D. E. Lyon, p. 450-61; Height and domi- nance of the Douglas fir, by T. C. Frye, p. 465-70; Forest and soils of Caldwell parish, Louisiana, by J. A. Larsen, p. 462-4, Forstwissenschaftliches centralblatt, Jan. 1911.—Schiittekrankheit und proven- ienz der fOhre, by H. Mayr, p. 1-14; Ueber diingung im forstlichen betriebe, by Helbig, p. 40-2. Hawaiian forester and agriculturist, Jan. 1911.—The part played by the forest in conservation, by R. S. Hosmer, p. 10-13. Indian forest records, 1909.—The sylvicul- ture of Hardwickia binata, by D. O. Witt, p. 75-135; Germination and growth of sandal seedlings, by R. 8S. M. Rama Rao, p. 137-57. Ohio forester, Jan., 1911.—A rare and dan- gerous disease of pine trees, by B. Fink, p. 5; Planting forest tree seedlings, by AMERICAN FORESTRY H. C. Rogers, p. 5-7; A plan for the treatment of the woodlot of Eugene Cranz, by E. Secrest, p. 7-10; Forestry. as a profession, by C. H. Goetz, p. 11-12. Quarterly journal of forestry, Jan. 1911.— The roadside poplar in Belgium, by E. R. Pratt, p. 3-9; Forests of the far west, by H. R. Beevor, p. 9-17; Valuation of standing timber, by W. Forbes, p. 17- 27; The oak forests of Sclavonia, by H. J. Elwes, p. 27-34; Some measure- ments of larcn in the Forest of Dean and neighborhood, by C. O. Hanson, p. 34-42; Acclimitization of trees, by W. R. Fisher, p. 42-4; Sixth conference of the International union of forestry ex- perimental stations, by W. Somerville, p. 45-8; Royal English arboricultural society’s excursion to Ireland, 1910, p. 49-68; Mr. W. R. Fisher, p. 79-83. Revue des eaux et foréts, Dec. 1, 1910.— Un nouvel ennemi du méléze, by E. Henry, p. 705-10; Les bois de lutherie a Mirecourt, Vosges, by Claudot, p. 710-13. Revue des eaux et foréts, Dec. 15, 1910 — Le jardinage est-il rentable, by A. S., p. 737-8. Revue des eaux et foréts, Jan. 1. 1911.— Les foréts de l’arrondissement d’Al- bertville, by D. Mourral, p. 1-20. Schweizerische zeitschrift fiir forstwesen, Dee. 1910.—Die hagelfrequenz in der Schweiz, by J. Mauer, p. 345-52; Weiche und harte bedachung, by F. Fankhau- ser, p. 358-65. Zeitschrift fiir forst- und jagd-wesen, Dec. 1910.—Die witterung in Eberswalde im jahre 1909, by J. Schubert, p. 722-9; Forstliche buchfiihrung, by Kautz, p. 749-54; Der Werdauer wald im 16, jahrhundert, by F. Tetzner, p. 757-770. NATIONAL FOREST WORK The Resignation of District Forester Chapman Cc. S. Chapman, district forester of Dis- trict 5, United States Forest Service, has resigned from the Service to become secre- tary of the Oregon Forest Fire Association. He is succeeded as district forester by George H. Cecil, formerly associate district forester. In one sense Mr. Chapman’s resignation is a loss to the Forest Service and to the government. In another it isa gain, for he carries into his new field of work the principles and methods of the Service and through him these are really extended over a broader field. It is worthy of note that when these large associations of lumbermen in the Northwest undertake to deal with this problem of fire protection and forestry on a large scale, they select men from the Forest Service to take charge of the work. This is not only a high com- pliment to the efficiency of the Service and the value of its work, but it is the best possible answer to the criticisms of the Service that are so frequently made by politicians and others in that section of the country. Mr. Chapman entered the Forest Service in 1900 when not over a dozen men were employed in its work. He, therefore, represents all the best tra- ditions which have grown up in the Service. Grazing Examiners Examinations, which were held February 23 and 24 for three grazing examiners for the Forest Service, indicate the establish- ment of a new position in the Service. These positions will pay a salary of twelve hundred dollars a year at entrance. The applicants must be at least twenty years old and possessed of not less than one season’s experience in handling range stock, together with one year of technical training in specialized botanical study. Through the work of these examiners it is intended to make every acre of national forest range produce as much forest as it is capable of doing, consistently with the carrying out of the other purposes for which the na- tional forests are maintained. In times past the ranges have been abused by over- crowding. To enable overgrazed areas to recuperate and to prevent the extension of overgrazed conditions in new areas, the amount of stock was everywhere carefully prescribed. The results were then observed and if it appeared that there was still over-use of the range, the numbers were cut down still further. On the other hand, where recuperation had taken place the allowance of stock was correspondingly in- creased. Through the appointment of trained botanists and men of practical ex- perience, the best scientific knowledge will be applied to the study of the problems of forage production and utilization in the forests. It is hoped by the introduction of new forage plants to increase the area of range available. National Forest Fire Losses and Range Use The final reports by national forest offi- cers of their examination of lands burned over in the forest fires of last summer in Washington and Oregon show that the national forest timber loss in these states is about 700,000,000 feet, somewhat less than was indicated by the estimates made shortly after the fires. Of the forests in these states that on which the fires extended over the greatest area was the Colville, where 160,000 acres were burned. These fires were chiefly surface fires which are far less destructive than fires which travel through the crowns of the trees. It is considered by the forest officers that the fires in this forest show the value, from the standpoint of fire pre- vention, of proper utilization of the range under regulated grazing. Large parts of this forest and also of the Chelan, Ok- anogan and other forests are not used by stock because of their inaccessibility. The dry grass and other herbage both spread the flames and made them fiercer and more destructive than they would have been if the land had been grazed. One of the ob- jects of national forest administration is to open all available range to the fullest use consistent with the preservation and protection of forest growth and water supply. An Eucalyptus Experiment The rangers of the United States Forest Service, under the direction of F. M. Grant, are to make an experiment in the planting of eucalyptus in the southern California foot-hills. One hundred thousand trees of selected and hardy varieties are to be set out where they cannot be irrigated and will be left to shift for themselves. This is wholly an experiment and represents an effort to put into use large areas of soil that is proven to be fertile by its perennial crop of undergrowth but is useless for any ordinary purposes because of its rough- 177 178 ness and inaccessibility. The trial plant- ings are to be made on about seventy acres in the bottom of little Tujunta canyon, northwest of Sunland, one hundred acres in the foot-hills beyond Del Rosa in San Bernardino County, and about fifty acres in Santa Ana canyon. — The Experimental Wood Puip Mill The experimental ground wood pulp mill which the United States Forest Service has been equipping at Wausau, Wisconsin, in cooperation with the American Pulp and Paper Association, has begun to grind. The carrying on of the tests now announced as under way was provided for by a special appropriation, placed at the disposal of the Secretary of Agriculture by Congress last winter, to conduct tests of the suitability for paper making of plants and woods which seem likely to become valuable sources of supply of new material. Secretary Wilson considered that the best use which could be made of this money would be to conduct experiments on a commercial scale, with various kinds of wood. Some of these have already been studied in the laboratory, and found to be intrinsically suitable for pulp manu- facture. Indeed, the Forest Service has actually made paper by one of the chemical processes from several of them. But in order to know whether they can profitably be utilized, under present conditions, it is necessary to test them under methods of manufacture comparable to those employed in actual business operations. In particu- lar, it is desired to find out to what extent new woods can be used for ground pulp, the cost of which is usually less than that of chemical pulp. The Wausau mill has been built espe- cially for the use of the government as long as the experiments may require. Its in- side dimensions are 40 by 100 feet, and it is equipped with electrical machinery and all necessary apparatus of the most up-to- date type. Part of the equipment is con- tributed by the American Pulp and Paper Association, and part is furnished by the government. The association will also fur- nish the wood for the tests. The wood now on hand includes carload lots of jack pine, spruce, hemlock, and tamarack. The jack pine is to be the first wood tested. AMERICAN FORESTRY While the experiments are intended to cover woods from all parts of the country which, from the standpoint of physical properties and available supplies, promise to furnish new material for the paper- making industry, a special point will be made of tests of Western woods which are abundant in the national forests. There are enormous supplies of various softwoods in these forests for which there now exists little demand. In order to have forests produce timber steadily they must be cut; but if there is a market only for timber from the most valuable kinds of trees the result of cutting is likely to be the disap- pearance of these trees and their replace- ment in the forest growth by species which are not in demand. Since the pulp mills take material too small for the lumber mills, species suitable for paper making can be cut to a low timber diameter, and thus the balance may be turned in favor of the reproduction of the more valuable kinds of trees. In addition to the benefit which the pub- lic will derive from the advancement of forest conservation in consequence of the wood pulp experiments of the government, there is the further benefit of cheaper paper which it is believed these experi- ments should make possible. Boundary Changes Recent announcements of additions to and eliminations from national forests, are as follows: Elim. Add. Forest STATE Acres | Acres Ozankees 2 esa anee Arkansasint scopsnalseamecss 563,331 WMEr ees. sane nets Calitorniavcrs: pacoieenee 33,526 TABBED Ets si ieaie ce California... 2.245. 38,709 6,107 Monterey .......... Californials:: se. 7,690 | 21,527 IBOIBG Hak eemusave & 2 Tdalhoise thd ee oulere oes 9,940 Mampi Cersons coh New Mexico....... 245,450 | 22,333 Sevier.y.8. so es pcss Utah desis seas 93,730 2,560 385,579 | 659,324 STATE WORK The_Year’s Forest Legislation in Vermont By A. F. Hawes, State Forester. The Vermont Legislature of 1910 has on the whole taken a progressive stand in forestry matters, and as indicative of the growing sentiment throughout the State in favor of forestry, this is especially en- couraging. The law of 1908 creating the office of state forester, appropriated $12,000 annually for the departments of agriculture and forestry. By increasing this appropri- ation to $20,000 the new legislature virtu- ally stamped its approval upon the forestry work of the first two years. These funds are divided between the two departments by the State Board of Agriculture and Forestry; and the amount alloted to for- estry was $9,000 in 1909; and $7,500 in 1910. The increasing demands upon the Commissioner of Agriculture will make it impossible for the board to grant as large a proportion of the new appropriation to forestry, but it is hoped that at least $12,000 will be available, which would al- low about $5,000 for the purchase and planting of demonstration forests in vari- ous parts of the state, and in the im- provement of the fire warden service made possible another bill passed by this legis- lature. The strongest supporter of the for- estry movement in the legislature was Hon. Allen M. Fletcher of Cavendish, chair- man of the Ways and Means Committee and for a long time an active member of the Vermont Forestry Association. The amendment of the present fire war- den law provides that in addition to the first selectman, who is at present fire war- den, the state forester has authority to appoint additional wardens in mountainous towns particularly liable to fires; and to pay their expenses to local meetings for the discussion of forest fire topics. It also provides that if any forest owner will estab- lish a lookout station on top of a moun- tain and connect the same with telephone, that the state will maintain a watchman there during a dry season. An amendment was added in the House compelling any railroad to establish a fire patrol at the request of the state forester in danger seasons, with a penalty of $25 a day for disobedience. This was killed in the Sen- ate by the Boston and Maine R. R.; and while it would not have worked a hardship on any railroad, it is of little importance since there are comparatively few railroad fires in Vermont. In its enthusiasm for forestry the Gen- eral Assembly passed one or two measures, the wisdom of which may be doubted but which illustrate very well the growing in- terest along this line. Such a measure was the bill reestablishing a bounty on porcupines. The last time this bounty was in force it resulted in an expenditure of several thousand dollars a year of state funds. Now the animals have been al- lowed to breed unmolested for several years and will be a profitable source of income for many hunters. While it must be ad- mitted that porcupines do considerable damage to growing timber in certain re- gions, it probably does not compare in money value to that done by woodchucks and house rats, yet there is no state bounty on these animals. One of the most curious forestry situa- tions has been the growing opposition throughout New England to the Christmas tree industry. From Vermont about 300,000 trees have been shipped annually to Cin- cinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Washington, and other points west and south. All of these trees could easily be grown in fifteen years on 300 acres, and yet coming as they do from many parts of the state they have attracted undue attention. Lumber- men and pulp men have made the most of it to distract attention from the damage done by them in cutting small trees, and the press has been energetic in its attacks. The result was that a law was passed without opposition requiring a dealer to pay a license of twenty-five cents a tree if he cuts over twenty evergreen trees less than seven inches at the butt on land not his own. As the dealers have been paying little more than a cent apiece this license is intended to be prohibitive. There is apparently no reason why this law would not apply equally to trees cut for pulp or lumber, if they were under seven inches on the stump and cut by a lumberman simply owning the stumpage without the land. It is, of course, regrettable that the farmers have not been able to get more profit out of the Christmas tree industry. A natural sequence of this law, and one which any lumberman might have fore- seen, was a bill introduced by the legis- lative committee on conservation, providing that on certain sized tracts no spruce or hemlock trees under fourteen inches on the stump should be cut and no hardwoods under ten inches. Of course, no Dill of such a nature could pass and it would 179 180 probably be proclaimed unconstitutional af passed, but it is regrettable that there is a tendency in such legislation to disregard entirely the experience of other nations which have had centuries of experience in dealing with this problem. No hard and fast rules can be laid down for forestry any more than for farming and any such rules are diccated only by ignorance of the subject. One of the most interesting situations of the session arose over two bills in- troduced by the International Paper Company to allow the driving of pulp logs on two streams draining large forest areas owned by them in the mountains. There is, of course, no question but what this lumbering is to be done. The only ques- tion from a forestry standpoint is whether the company can be induced to practice forestry. The privilege of driving the logs to the mill would reduce the cost of transportation between $1.50 and $2.00 per cord. On a cut of ten cords per acre this would mean a big saving and, of course, a large inducement to the company to invest money in forestry, either planting or leav- ing seed trees. This company has shown a better disposition to practice forestry than any other concern in the state and offered in this bill to bond itself heavily to cut only under the direction of the state forester. Here was an opportunity of get- ting forestry practiced on 30,000 acres, but the opposition on the part of various busi- ness interests, probably including a railroad interested in the freight of the logs, and of summer residents who feared a disfigure- ment of the rivers, prevailed. It is to be hoped that the company will not retaliate by slashing their forests, which would probably have a worse effect on the stream; but may practice some forestry measures even without being required to do so. Governor Proctor appointed four years ago a Conservation Commission of which Hon. Joseph A. DeBoer was the chairman. This Commission took an active part to- ward the creation of the state forester’s office. A second Conservation Commission was established by the past legislature, the members of which, appointed by Governor Mead, are President John M. Thomas of Middlebury College; Hon. C. P. Smith, Treasurer of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College; and Colo- nel F. S. Billings of Woodstock. No ap- propriation was made for investigative pur- poses aside from the general funds avail- able for the state geologist; the state for- ester; and the appropriation for an investi- gation by the United States Geological Sur- vey of the water powers of the state. The State Board of Agriculture and For- estry is made up as follows: Gov. John A. Mead, Chairman; Professor Joseph L. Mills, Director of the Experiment Station and Dean of the State Agricultural College, Secretary; and Hon. Clement F. Smith, AMERICAN FORESTRY Master of the State Grange. Governor Mead has traveled extensively in Palestine and other countries, where he has been impressed with the damage done by de- forestation, and is a strong supporter of the state forestry policy. — The annual meeting of the Vermont For- estry Association was held in Burlington February 23. In the afternoon there was a business meeting, a talk on the forestry course in the Agricultural College by Pro- fessor J. L. Hills, and a discussion, opened by Austin F. Hawes, state forester, on state control of privately owned timber lands, In the evening there were ad- dresses by Professor J. W. Toumey of the Yale Forest School, and others. Nebraska The Nebraska Conservation and State Development Congress held its second an- nual meeting in Lincoln, February 23rd and 24th. The program embraced a very broad and complete discussion of the state’s resources and their development and the ig of different agencies looking to that end. The death of Prof. F. J. Phillips of the University of Nebraska, who committed suicide last month on account of despon- dency due to illness, is a loss to his pro- fession and his associates. Professor Phil- lips was a young man who was doing a good work and doing it well. North Carolina Forestry Association _ The North Carolina Forestry Associa- tion was organized at Raleigh on the first of February with Dr. D. H. Hill of the North Varolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, president, and J. S. Holmes, state forester, secretary and treasurer. The association will open a general state cam- paign for better forest laws and their en- forcement. An effort will be made to have instruction in forestry given in the public schools. An interesting program of prac- tical papers on forestry subjects was pre- sented at the meeting. Northern Forest Protective Association Thomas B. Wyman, forester of the Cleve- land-Cliffs Iron Company, Munising, Michi- gan, has become chief forester of the new Northern Forest Protective Association, the organization of which has been pre- viously noted in these pages. To obtain the funds with which to carry out the forest patrol plan, which is a pri- mary feature of the protective work, the directors have voted to levy an assessment of one-half cent an acre on the lands in the association, in addition to which each member pays a membership fee of $5. As there are now, approximately, 2,000,000 STATE WORK aeres of land signed up, the amount avail- able for the coming year’s use will be about $10,000. It is expected that this amount will soon be doubled. The hold- ings of the present members of the associa- tion are fairly contiguous, being located principally in Alger, Marquette, Baraga, Houghton and Ontonagon counties, which makes the patrol much more feasible and less expensive than if the lands were widely scattered. As fires broke out in March last year, an effort will be made to get things in readi- ness for actual work as soon as possible. The chief forester will engage a number of assistant foresters and patrols. Protection from and precautions against forest fires, however, will not be the sole purpose of the association. A campaign of education will be conducted to impress upon the public the value of forest pro- tection and conservation, not only to timber owners, but to the public at large. Home- steaders and campers will be taught to take precautions that will prevent fires, and the necessity of prompt action to quench them when once they get a start. No effort will be made to keep hunters and fishermen off, but the patrols will see to it all trespassers take timely precautions re- garding fire and will endeavor to enforce the state laws. Ohio State Forestry Society The Ohio State Forestry Society held its seventh annual meeting at Columbus on Friday, February 3. The meeting was held in connection with the fourth annual na- tional corn exposition, which brought to- gether in the Ohio exposition buildings at Columbus noteworthy agricultural exhibits of thirty-five states. The exposition was open from January 30th to February 11th. There were some interesting forestry ex- hibits from the United States Forest Serv- ice, the Ohio Experiment Station at Wooster, and the Ohio State University. The most striking feature of the Forest Service exhibit was the model, first shown in the Appalachian exposition at Knoxville, showing the action of rainfall on wooded and denuded slopes. On one side of the model is a hillside covered with evergreen, and below in the level open country farm lands. On the other side is a bare gravelly hillside. A spraying arrangement with two arms produces rainfall on the two slopes. On our side the water runs off clear in the well-defined banks of a stream to a lake. On the other side the hill is suffering con- stant erosion, the stream that drains the area is muddy, with shifting bed and banks. Stones and silt are carried down and scat- tered along the banks and the lake, which furnishes the outlet, is muddy. The whole area is desolate and in striking compari- son to that beside it. This model is an absolute reproduction of natural conditions and cannot fail to carry a most impressive lesson. 181 The state experiment station had an in- structive exhibit, illustrating by photo- graphs and by wood sections the condi- tions existing in Ohio. A great deal of interest was shown in these exhibits and the representatives of the station were kept busy explaining and giving practical talks to visitors throughout the day. The meeting of the state forestry society Friday afternoon was held in one of the lecture rooms. The program began with an address by the President, Professor William R. Lazenby of Ohio State University, re- viewing the work of the association and its problems. Following this Professor Bruce Fink of Miami University reviewed the subject of “Forestry at the Saint Paul meeting,” bringing out the salient features of the forestry discussions at the Second Conservation Congress. Assistant Profes- sor C. H. Goetz, who has recently come to Ohio State University from Washington, spoke on “Timber Waste of the Northwest.” The speaker attributed the great waste in that section to greed for wealth and to transportation conditions. It is not a vol- untary waste but is due to economic causes Mrs. Clara Murdock of Akron, represent ing the Ohio t'ederation of Women’s Clubs, spoke on “Unused Forces,” showing the work done by the federated club women along all lines of effort, as an evidence of the great force here latent and ready to be used at need. An interesting address followed on “County Forestry Societies’ by George W. Miller of Bucyrus, president of the young but active Crawford County Forestry So- ciety. County organizations play a con- siderable part in affairs in Ohio and the State Forestry Society proposes to organize branch societies in each county. Two counties, Crawford and Morrill, are al- ready organized and Mr. Miller presented a very definite and well-conceived program for county work. Edwin A. Start, executive secretary of the American Forestry Association, who was present, spoke of the work of that or- ganization, its relation to the state work and the desirability of mutual understand- ing and close cooperation between the two bodies. There was a general discussion of the work of the association. The following officers were elected: President, William R. Lazenby of Columbus; vice-president, W. J. Green of Wooster; secretary, J. J. Crumley of Wooster; treasurer, H. C. Rogers of Mechanicsburg; these, with George W. Miller of Bucyrus, to constitute an execu- tive committee. The state forestry work in Ohio has pro- ceeded along lines peculiar to itself. The state was once covered with rich and varied forests, which have been almost entirely removed. Its great agricultural possibili- ties have been antagonistic to forestry and the forest needs and opportunities of the state have been disregarded or not under- stood, yet they are great and this is just 182 coming to be realized. Provision for the state work has been made in connection with the agricultural experiment station, so that this work has been and is entirely educational and experimental. This is well. It is gradually developing a solid ground- work of popular interest and understanding so that when the time is ripe for the de- velopment of a forest service and a com- plete state forest policy, there will be knowledge and popular support to make it effective and to prevent its being drawn into politics. Present indications are that the work that is being done is bearing good fruit. Forest Fire Losses in California Figures prepared by State Forester Ho- mans show that during 1910 there were 738 brush, grass and forest fires in Cali- fornia, as against 638 for the same period of 1909. The excess for 1910 does not show an actual increase for the year, but greater efficiency in fire-fighting, asserts Deputy State Forester Hodge. In other words, wardens reported a greater percentage of the fires in 1910 than were reported the year previous. Fires were of three clases, as follows: Small fires, put out by one man, 172; fires runing about ten acres, 25, and fires which gave considerable trouble, 351. The aver- age fire burned over 654 acres of land and AMERICAN FORESTRY 326,000 feet of lumber, worth $814,000, be- sides damage to new growth and the water- sheds. In other words, the average fire burned more than a section of land and took seventy-four men ten hours to ex- tinguish. The total number of acres burned over in 1910 was 482,562, against 357,269 in 1909; but again, Deputy Forester Hodge says, this is because the wardens reported more accurately last year than they did the year previous. August, as in 1909, was the worst month of the year. During August 30 per cent of the fires occurred, and during July, the next worst month, 15 per cent of the fires occurred. It was on August 24th that the disastrous fires in Idaho and Montana were in full flame. New York Dr. Charles G. Wagner, superintendent of the Binghamton State Hospital, has just filed with the Forest, Fish and Game Commission an application for 3,000 white pine saplings, and trees of other varieties, making a total of 5,000, for planting on the hospital farm. Two years ago the hospital got about 5,000 trees and last year about 3,000 more were added, both shipments being chiefly of white pine. j THE LUMBER INDUSTRY Commissioner Smith’s Report on Standing Timber The first part of the report of investiga- tions of the lumber industry by Herbert Knox Smith, commissioner of corporations, has been submitted to the President, under date of February 18. This part of the re- port deals with standing timber. It is quite fully summarized in Mr. Smith’s let- ter of submittal to the President. In this letter Mr. Smith says: The foremost facts shown are: (1) The concentration of a dominating control of our standing timber in a com- paratively few enormous holdings, steadily tending toward a central control of the lumber industry. (2) Vast speculative purchase and hold- ing of timber land far in advance of any use thereof. 3) An enormous increase in the value of this diminishing natural resource, with great profits to its owners. This value, by the very nature of standing timber, the holder neither created nor substantially enhances. These are the underlying facts, of tre- mendous significance to the public welfare. They are primarily the results of our public-land policy, long continued. The laws that represent that policy are still largely operative. The past history and present status of our standing timber drive home upon us the imperative necessity of revising our public policy for the future management of all our remaining natural resources. That history is here outlined. FROM GOVERNMENT TO PRIVATE OWNER- sHIp.—Only 40 years ago at least three- fourths of the timber now standing was (it is estimated) publicly owned. Now about four-fifths of it is privately owned. The great bulk of it passed from gov- ernment to private hands through (a) enormous railroad, canal, and wagon-road grants by the Federal Government; (b) direct government sales in unlimited quan- tities at $1.25 an acre; (c) certain public- land laws, great tracts being assembled in spite of the legal requirements for small holdings. Such laws were wholly inap- propriate to forest regions; but, though vigorously condemned in several public re- ports, they are still largely in force. In theory, they were intended to distribute the public lands in small tracts as homes LUMBER INDUSTRY for freeholders. In fact, they actually fur- thered timber concentration in vast hold- ings. The 1,802 largest holders of timber now own 88,579,000 acres of land, as com- pared with a vastly wider distribution of public lands in non-timbered agricultural sections. During this interval, and chiefly in the latter half thereof, the value of standing timber has increased tenfold, twentyfold, and even fiftyfold, according to local con- ditions. The present annual growth is only about one-third of the present annual cut. Replacement by new growth is very slow. Examples of the increase during this in- terval are: From $5 to $3U an acre, $7 to $40, $20 to $150, $1 to $13, $4 to $140, $1 to $50. Specific tracts have been sold first for $24,000, and later for $153,000; $10,000, and later $124,000; $240,000, and later $2,- 500,000; $23,000, and later $50vu,000; $19,000, and later $1,125,000. These examples il- lustrate the remarkable profit made by certain individual holders. What did the government get for the timber? Of the southern pine sold for $1.25 an acre, much is now worth $60 an acre. Large amounts of Douglas fir in western Washington and Oregon, which the government gave away, or sold at $2.50 an acre, now range from $100 to $200 per acre. The great redwood belt in California was alienated on similar terms, and some of it is now worth hundreds of dollars an acre. Practically none of the great forests in the public-land states was sold by the government for more than $2.50 an acre. The great increase of value gives grave importance to the concentration of owner- ship. The former Chief of Field Service of the General Land Office, H. H. Schwartz, stated officially (1909) that the Timber and Stone Act— “has resulted in the sale of over 12,000,000 acres of valuable timber lands, of which fully 10,000,000 acres were transferred to corporate or individual timber-land in- vestors by the entrymen. These lands brought to the people or general govern- ment a gross sum of $30,000,000. At the date of sale they were reasonably worth $240,000,000. The profit of over $200,000,000 went not to the needy settler engaged in subduing the wilderness, but to the wealthy investors. Not over a fractional part of 1 per cent of the timber purchased from the United States under this act is held, con- sumed, or even cut by the men and women who made the entries.” An effective illustration of what has hap- pened under our land laws appears in the report of the United States Forester for 1910: “An investigation emphasizes the proba- bility that heavily timbered lands, if opened to entry, would pass into the hands of large owners of timber. Of 705,000 acres eliminated from the Olympic National 183 Forest in 1900 and 1901 on the ground that the land was chiefly valuable for agri- culture and that the settlement of the country was being retarded, 523,720 acres passed ultimately into the hands of owners who are holding it purely as a timber spec- ulation. Three companies and two indi- viduals own over 178,000 acres, in holdings of from 15,000 to over 80,000 acres each. Of timbered homestead claims on this elim- inated area, held by 100 settlers, the total area under actual cultivation is only 570 acres, an average of but 5.7 acres to each claim. It will be seen that the original purpose of the elimination was defeated, and the bona fide settlement was not ma- terially advanced.” CONTROL OF THE TIMBER CONTROLS THE WHOLE INDUSTRY.—Whatever power over prices may arise from combinations in manufacture and distribution (as distin- guished from timber owning), such power is insignificant and transitory compared to the control of the standing timber itself or a dominating part thereof. The Senate and House resolutions, to which this in- vestigation is responsive, ask for the causes of the high prices of lumber and the effect of combination upon such prices. The resolutions, therefore, required determina- tion of both the amount and the control of standing timber. AMOUNT OF STANDING TIMBER.—There is now left in continental United States about 2,200 billion board feet of privately owned standing timber, of which 1,747 billion is in the “investigation area,’ covered in great detail by the Bureau. This area in- cudes the Pacific-Northwest, the Southern Pine Region, and the Lake States, and con- tains 80 per cent of all the private timber in the country. In addition, there are about 539 billion feet in the national forests and about 90 billion feet on other non- private lands. Thus, the total amount of standing timber in continental United States is about 2,800 billion board feet. The present annual drain upon the supply of saw timber is about 50 billion feet. At this rate the timber now standing, without allowance for growth or decay, would last only about 55 years. The present commercial value of the pri- vately owned standing timber in the coun- try, not including the value of the land, is estimated (though such an _ estimate must be very rough) as at least $6,000, 000,000. Ultimately the consuming public will have to pay such prices for lumber as will give this timber a far greater value. This is the first comprehensive and me- thodical investigation of the amount and ownership of our standing timber. It rests on the best information obtainable from records of timber owners or the knowledge of men in the industry, information which daily forms the basis of actual business dealings. (A physical canvass of the for- ests was out of the question.) The data, collected by field work in about 900 coun- 184 ties, assembled, mapped, checked, and weighed in the office, are reliable within a relatively small margin of error. All fig- ures relate to merchantable saw timber, in terms of lumber yield. The unit “board foot” is a foot square and an inch thick. CONCENTRATION OF TIMBER OWNERSHIP.— Three vast holdings alone, the greatest in the country, those of the Southern Pacific Company, the Weyerhaeuser Timber Com- ber company, and the Northern Pacific Railway Company (including their sub- sidiary companies), together have 238 bil- lion feet, or nearly 11 per cent of all our privately owned timber. They have 14 per cent of that in the “investigation area.” With the five next largest they have over 15 per cent of the total privately owned timber and over 19 per cent of wnat within the investigation area. Finally, nearly one- half (48 per cent) of the private timber in that area is held by only 195 great holders. The term “holder” covers any single interest—individual, corporate, or group—which is so united as to be under one control. The Pacific-Northwest.—Five-elevenths of the country’s privately owned standing timber is in the Pacific-Northwest (Cali- fornia, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana), 1,013 billion feet. One-half of this is now owned by 37 holders; many of these are closely connected. The three largest holders (named above) alone have nearly one-quarter. This section now fur- nishes only one-sixth of the annual cut. Thus its timber is being largely held for the future, and the large owners there will then be the dominating influence in the industry. The Southern Pacific Company holding is the greatest in the United States—106 billion feet. This is about 6 per cent of the private timber in the investigation area, and 10 per cent of that in the Pa- cific-Northwest. It is difficult to give an adequate idea of its immensity. It stretches practically 680 miles along that railroad between Portland and Sacramento. The fastest train over this distance takes 31 hours. During all that time the traveler thereon is passing through lands a large proportion of whicn for 30 miles on each side belongs to the railroad, and in almost the entire strip this corporation is the dominating owner of both timber and land. The second largest holder is the Weyer- haeuser Timber Company (including its subsidiary companies), with 96 billion feet. This does not include further very extensive timber interests of the Weyer- haeuser family and close associates. These two holdings would supply the 46,584 sawmills in the country for four and two-thirds years. They have one- eleventh of our total private timber. The third largest, the Northern Pacific Railway Company, has 36 billion feet. These three holdings have enough stand- ing timber to build an ordinary 5 or 6 room frame house for each of the 16,- 000,000 families in the United States in AMERICAN FORESTRY 1900. If sawed into lumber and placed in cars, their timber would load a train about 100,000 miles long. The holdings of the two railroad com- panies are government grants, and 80 per cent of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company holding was bought from the Northern Pa- cific grant. Many other large holdings (here and in other regions) were mainly purchased from some land grant. Southern Pine Region.—In the Southern Pine Region there are 634 billion feet of privately owned timber. Concentration in total timber is much less than in the Pa- cific-Northwest. There is, however, a high concentration in the more valuable species, longleaf yellow pine and cypress. Sixty- seven holders own 39 per cent of the long- leaf yellow pine, 29 per cent of the cypress, 19 per cent of the shortleaf and loblolly pine, and 11 per cent of the hardwoods. The Lake States—In Minnesota, Wis- consin, and Michigan there are 100 billion feet of privately owned timber. In Wis- consin 96 holders have three-fourths of all the timber. In Michigan 113 holders have 66 per cent. In Minnesota 6 holders have 54 per cent of the very valuable white and Norway pine, 16 per cent of the other coni- fers, and 2 per cent of the hardwoods. Taking all three states, 215 holders have 65 per cent of all the timber. EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION.—Such concen- tration in standing timber, if permitted to continue and increase, makes probable a final central control of the whole lumber industry. A few strong interests, ulti- mately holding the bulk of the timber, can set the price of timber and its products. The manager of the National Lumber Man- ufacturers’ Association recently said to lumbermen on the Pacific coast: “The day of cheap lumber is passing and soon will be gone, but the men who make the money will be those who own timber and can hold it until the supply in other parts of the country is gone. Then they can ask and get their own price.” Certain further factors, not exactly measurable, increase still more the real concentration. First, a further interweav- ing of interests, corporate and personal, connects a great many holdings which the Bureau has treated as separate; second, there are very large totals of timber so scattered in small tracts through larger holdings that they are_ substantially “blocked in” or “controlled” by the larger holders; third, the concentration is much higher in the more valuable species. General information obtained indicates a very high concentration in timber owner- ship outside the investigation area. PoLicy OF GREAT HOLDERS.—The largest holders are cutting little of their timber. They thus reserve to themselves those in- calculable profits which are stili to accrue with the growth of the country, the dimin- ishing of timber supply, and the further concentration and control thereof. Many of che very men who are protesting against conservation and the national forest system LUMBER INDUSTRY because of the “tying up” of natural re- sources are themselves deliberately tying them up far more effectively for private gain. The fact that mature timber is thus with- held from use is clear evidence that great additional profits are expected to accrue through further increase in value. LAND MONOPOLY.—Standing timber is not the only question. When the timber has been cut the land remains. There has been created, therefore, not only the framework of an enormous timber monopoly, but also an equally sinister land concentration in ex- tensive sections. This involves also a great wealth in minerals. The Southern Pacific has 4,318,000 acres in northern California and western Oregon, and, with the Union Pacific, which controls it, millions of acres elsewhere. (The government, however, is now suing to annul title to the Southern Pacific lands in Oregon for non-compliance with the terms of the original grants.) The Northern Pacific owns 3,017,000 acres of timber land and millions more of non- timbered land. The Weyerhaeuser Timber Company owns 1,945,000 acres. In Florida, five holders have 4,000,000 acres, and the 187 largest timber holders have over 15,- 800,000 acres, nearly one-half the land area of the State. In the whole investigation area the 1,802 largest holders of timber have, together, 88,579,000 acres (not in- cluding Northern Pacific and Southern Pa- cific lands in non-timbered regions) ; which would make an average holding of 49,000 acres, or 77 square miles. Finally, to timber concentration and to land concentration is added, in our most important timber section, a closely con- nected railroad domination. The formid- able possibilities of this combination in the Pacific-Northwest and elsewhere are of the gravest public importance. THE FUTURE.—These are the facts of the lumber business in its most important feature, the natural supply. The para- mount consideration remains still to be stated. There are many great combinations in other industries whose formation is complete. In the lumber industry, on the other hand, the Bureau finds now in the making a combination caused, fundament- ally, by a long-standing public policy. The concentration already existing is suffici- ently impressive. Still more impressive are the possibilities for the future. In the last 40 years concentration has so proceeded that 195 holders, many interrelated, now have practicaliy one-half of the privately owned timber in the investigation area (which contains 80 per cent of the whole). This formidable process of concentration, in timber and in land, certainly involves grave future possibilities of impregnable monopolistic conditions, whose far-reaching consequences to society it is now difficult to anticipate fully or to overestimate. Such are the past history, present status, and apparent future of our timber re- sources. The underlying cause is our pub- lic-land policy, resulting in enormous loss 185 of wealth to the public and its monopoliza- tion by a few interests. It lies before us now as a forcible object lesson for the future management of all the natural re- sources still remaining in the hands of the government. — Hardwood Manufacturers’ Association The Hardwood Manufacturers’ Associa- tion held a great meeting at Cincinnati, January 3lst and February ist. The ad- ministration of President Carrier has been most successful. In his annual address Mr. Carrier referred to the alarming decrease in the hardwood supply shown by government statistics, verified by the association, as meaning “constantly increasing values of stumpage, with little hope of practical re- forestation—a condition the gravity of which must be recognized by every oper- ator.” The report of the secretary, Lewis Doster, gave the amount of lumber shipped in 1910 by members of the association at 659,- 022,000 feet. W. B. Townsend presented a report for the committee on forest conservation, in which he said that the subject was many sided, and in the current discussion of it too much ill-feeling and slander had been stirred up to accomplish the maximum of public good at the minimum expense. He alluded to the forests still remaining in Oregon and in the South from Maryland to Texas as refuting the pessimist who is constantly crying “Wolf! wolf! where there is no wolf and, who, with sanctimonious air and grieved expression, claims that with present methods of manufacture— which he calls destruction—we will have no standing timber left in a decade.” He took up the question of forest fires and criticised severely the expenditure of its funds under a former chief, claiming that of its $20,000,000 vast sums had been used to employ and pay lecturers, etc., which should have been used to provide fire pro- tection. In closing, he said: “The costly lessons of this year I trust will result in sub- stituting practical for theoretical methods— for it surely has been demonstrated that lectures, editorial, or news articles cannot stop the ravages of a forest fire. I am glad to note a change along these lines, and I believe we may expect very material improvements from the present adminis- tration of this important department of our government.” A vote was taken en- dorsing the sentiments expressed by Mr. Townsend. In his comments on the pessimist, Mr. Townsend seems to have hit President Carrier, for the latter’s statement in his annual address regarding the hardwood supply certainly challenged Mr. Town- send’s confidence in our security. In re gard to his criticisms of expenditure by the Forest Service Mr. Townsend seems to have got his inspiration from the article by Senator Carter of Montana, which was given so much publicity last autumn. The L386 AMERICAN carelessness and injustice of this article were clearly shown in an editorial in AMERICAN Forestry for December, 1910. We do not care to traverse the ground now, but in view of the fact that Senator Car- ter’s article has evidently been taken seri- ously in a quarter that should have been better informed, we call attention to two facts—the restriction put by Congress upon the manner of expending the appropria- tions, and the comparatively insignificant amount which was really expended for lec- tures, and for the necessary educational work done by the department. It will be worth while for members of the Hardwood Manufacturers’ Association to read the article referred to in connection with Mr. Townsend's report. It is on page 735 of this magazine for December, 1910. : A resolution adopted by the association approved and promised support to the For- est Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis- consin, called the attention of the Univer- sity of Wisconsin to its great opportunity for establishing a school of forest utiliza- tion, and urged upon Congress the need of developing more highly the work of this branch of the Forest Service to enable it “to take up at once the many vital prob- lems now confronting the lumberman, the solution of which will result in such great benefit to the whole nation.” Another resolution opposed the reciprocity agree- ment with Canada on the ground that it singles out for reduction of tariff the pro- ducts of the soil, both forest and agricul- tural. The officers and executive board elected are: President, W. B. Townsend; vice- presidents, W. E. Delaney and C. E. Ritter; treasurer, C. M. Crawford; R. M. Carrier, Clinton Crane, W. A. Gilchrist, F. F. Fee, J. H. Himmelberger, C. H. Lamb, John W. Love, G. M. W. Buehrmann, J. W. Oakford, A. 8. Ransom, W. M. Ritter, R. H. Vansant, William Wilms. There were also chosen an executive grading commission of four- teen, twenty-one state vice-presidents, and state directors for seventeen states. The attendance was 368, the largest in the ten years’ history of the association. Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufact- urers The Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers’ Association held its second annual meeting in Milwaukee, January 31. Among other subjects in his annual report, the secretary, R. S. Kellogg, discussed the need of more complete utilization of pro- duct, declaring that there are possibilities yet undreamed of in all kinds of timber. Referring to the work already done by the United States Forest Service and the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, he asked why the state of Wisconsin should not be requested to provide at the university a school of forest utilization, where men can be tech- nically trained in the manufacture of for- est products. On this point he said: “The laboratory studies, investigates, invents and discovers. The school teaches men how to FORESTRY apply scientific principles to the problems of production. Wisconsin has no need for a school in which to train foresters: there are plenty of such schools already in ex- istence, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They should be strengthened and made more efficient, not weakened, through the multiplication of small schools. But there is no college or university in Wisconsin or in any other state to which we can send a man for thorough instruction in the manufacture of forest products. The for- estry schools teach us how to grow timber. Is it any less important that we should be taught how to utilize it? It is likely that the present session of the legislature will be asked to establish a forest school at the university. Should we not grasp the opportunity before it is too late to secure instead the school that is by far the most needed, a school of forest utilization? Would it not be well for us to have our legislative committee present this view to the governor, the legislature and the uni- versity, and for us to ask other state or- ganizations to join us in our efforts to make the most of our timber resources?” Thornton A. Green reported for the for- est fire committee, reviewing the work of the Lake States Forest Fire Conference and the formation of the Northern Forest Pro- tective Association. . William L. Hall, chief of the division of products of the United States Forest Serv- ice, made a comparison between the in- crease in population and the increase in lumber production which was enlightening. He said: “In 1880 the lumber production was 18,000,000,000 feet. In 1890 the in- crease was 31.5 per cent. In the decade from 1890 to 1900 the increase was 47 per cent, and between 1900 and 1910 the increase was 27 per cent, representing a production of 44,484,000,000 feet. The total gain in these thirty years was 146 per cent. The population of the country in 1880 was 50,000,000; in 1890 it was 63,000,000, repre- senting a growth of 25.5 per cent, and in 1900 it was 76,000,000, showing a growth of 21 per cent; and in 1910 it was 92,000,000, showing an increase of 21 per cent. The total increase in population for the thirty years has been 83 per cent, as against 146 per cent for the increase in lumber pro- duction. Sawmill capacity apparently has also in- creased to a large extent. We do not know how much the capacity of the mills ex- ceeded actual production in previous de- cades. Taking the figures for 1909, I have studied this subject with reference to two states, Louisian and Washington. In Louis- iana 383 mills out of a total of 658 reported their capacity as well as their actual pro- duction. In that state actual production amounts to only 62 per cent of the rated capacity of the mills. In the state of Washington the actual production was somewhat lower, amounting to 51 per cent of the capacity of the mills. With such a margin of capacity over actual produc- tion it is easy to see how strong is the tendency toward increase of production. LUMBER INDUSTRY The plants are upon the ground, the opera- tions are all laid out. It is perhaps just as easy to produce 75 percent of the nom- inal capacity of the mills as it is to pro- duce 50 percent. Of course, the industry, on this account, will respond to every im- provement in market conditions with an unnecessarily large increase in production unless there be a sufficiently strong con- trol of production to prevent it, and that control the figures clearly show to be lack- ing.” Officers elected were: President, W. C. Landon; vice-president, M. P. McCullough; treasurer, George E. Foster; secretary, R. S. Kellogg; directors, W. O. Brightman, George H. Atwood, T. A. Green, and R. E. McLean. Pennsylvania Lumbermen’s Association At the nineteenth annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Lumbermen’s Association in Philadelphia, Thursday, January 26, the association’s forestry committee reported, through its chairman, J. S. Hess, as fol- lows: The crusade for the conservation of our natural resources received a strong impe- tus during the administration of President Roosevelt. The necessity for the conserva- tion of the forests of the United States for the proper use of them by the present and future generations of American citi- zens was brought to the attention of the whole country. No class of people more faithfully seconded the movement than the lumbermen of the United States. At all meetings of lumbermen during the last de- cade the subject received their earnest at- tention, but agitation without action that will tell is of no avail. As Pennsylvanians we may well be proud of what our state is doing in the direction of conservation and reforestation. Nearly 1,000,000 acres are now in the possession of the state and no forestry department of any state has done more effectual and systematic work than our own great com- monwealth. The forestry department has quietly gone forward with the work so nobly begun by Professor Rothrock, and so ably continued by the men at the head of the department today. New forest re- serves are being added as the means afford, and men are at work sowing seeds and preparing seedlings for the replanting of the state forest reserves and the private forest lands in the state. Our state is engaged in the education of young men for the work of forestry and the management not only of our state reserves but also of the forest land owned by private in- dividuals. From an article in the Public Ledger I gleaned the following: “Although the scientists of the federal and of some state governments have long recognized the growing danger in the rapid spread of the chestnut blight, Pennsylvania 187 is the only state which has organized a thoroughly systematic study of the disease and applied practical methods to check its spread.” Seeing what the forestry department is doing with the small amount of money ap- propriated, our association should join with the friends of forest conservation in urg- ing larger appropriations by the legisla- ture to further and continue the great work so nobly done with the limited means at their command. The national government has been spend- ing a large amount of money in the main- tenance of national forest reserves in the West. An equal amount should most justly be spent in the acquisition and maintenance of similar national forest reserves in the South and East. The national reserves in the West amount to 194,505,325 acres. They are cared for by 1,500 national forest offi- cers. The total expenditure during the last year was $3,908,249. They yield a revenue, but as the larger proportion goes to the states in which they lie the actual expense of maintenance is paid for by the whole country. The states in which the national forest reserves are situated are Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Michi- gan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mex- ico, North Dakota, California, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wy- oming. Not one of the original thirteen states, not one of the states that fought the war of 1812, not one of the states that assisted in the purchase of Florida or the Louisiana country, not one of the states with the exception of Florida that fought the Mexican war ever received a dollar for the conservation of forest lands from the national treasury. The extensive forest reserves in the West were taken out of the national do- main and paid for by the whole country. Common justice would dictate that the South and East should also be taken care of. The West is seeking further expendi- ture on the part of the national govern- -ment for the irrigation of her arid lands. If the national treasury should provide for the conservation of the forests of the West, then also should the national government assist in the establishment of national for- est reserves in the Appalachian range in the eastern part of the United States. We lumbermen and other citizens of the East should join in this appeal for simple justice and equity. The two things needed then are: 1. An appeal to the legislature for further appropriations to the state for- estry department for the efficient prosecu- tion of the work so well begun. 2. An appeal to the Congress of the United States for our Appalachian forest reserve. The officers were reelected: President, Henry Palmer of Langhorne; vice-presi- dent, F. S. Pyfer of Lancaster; treasurer, T. J. Snowden of Scranton; secretary, J. Frederick Martin of Philadelphia. AMERICAN FORESTRY’S ADVERTISERS Adopted by the Cornell Forestry School Every Forestry Library Should Own at Least One Copy of Trees and Their Life Histories By PROFESSOR PERCY A. GROOM, M.A., D.S.C., F.L.S. (Cantab. et Oxon.) The Most Superbly lllustrated Tree Book Ever Issued. ( With 512 Reproductions of Photographs of Trees by Henry Irving, the Result of Years of Study ACCURATE, THOROUGH, READABLE A MARVEL OF ILLUSTRATION 6 ag == exceptionally complete and magnificently Mr. Henry Irving has been engaged for a number of illustrated work is meeting with the highest commendation and approval from the numerous Tree authorities and Forestry students who are acquainted with it. Numbers of our Forestry Schooi Libraries have already purchased it. It is pre-eminently a work for Nature Lovers, practical Tree Experts and students of Tree Life. Analytical tables, diagnoses of families, and numerous illustrations, together with a brief mention of distinctive features, enable the reader to identify each of the seventy-five varie- ties of trees that are here fully treated. Particular trees have been selected for more detailed discussion. For example, branching of the tree is specially illustrated by the Larch, Yew, Horse Chestnut, and others; branching of a shrub and weeping tree, by the Elder and Laburnum; the repair of injuries, by the Scots Pine; the shape and conduct of a_ light- demanding tree, by the Larch and Birch; the degeneration of flowers, by the Sweet Chestnut and Ash. And s0 on. Price, $10.00 Net, Sent on Approval LET US SEND YOU THIS VOLUME WITH THE UNDERSTANDING that should it fail to substantiate all our claims, you may return it to us by Express Collect. & We will in this case refund you the full amount of remittance upon the arrival of the volume in good condition. CASSELL & COMPANY Established 1848 43-45 East Nineteenth Street NEW YORK years in making an exhaustive series of photographs of Trees, a field in which he is acknowledged by leading nature photographers without a peer. The finest results of his work are embodied in Professor Groom’s “TREES AND THEIR LIFE HISTORIES” This book contains over one hundred large plates and four hundred smaller ones, showing each tree in its summer and in its winter appearance, also of each tree the trunk and bark, the bud and twig, the leaf spray, the flower spray, and the fruit cluster. Neither pains nor expense have been spared to make the illustrations, as they have never before been done, complete, typical, and true to nature. The work is a large Octavo, printed with great care on the finest quality surface paper and strongly bound in green +5 silk cloth and gold. x © Cassell & Y y Company, RS) 43-45 Past re) 19th St., 'S New York. Gentlemen: > Find enclosed $10.00 ¥ (check, money order, or currency), for which please a send me, carriage paid, 1 copy of “TREES AND THBIR LIFE oe HISTORIDS,’”’ by Professor id Percy Groom. I reserve the privi- “S lege of returning the volume to you if unsatisfactory, and if I should, you agree to refund me at once the full amount of my remittance. ADDRESS... . ccccccccccviesscssecsessesecssess ee ee ee ee ee | ee eee ew eserseeseeeeereree In writing to advertisers kindly mention AMERICAN ForEsTRY ‘(Dp has thus happened in northern China, what has happened tn central Asia, in Palestine, in North Africa, in parts of the Mediterranean countries of Europe, will surelu happen in our country if we do not exercise that wise forethought which should be one of the chief marks of anu people calling itself civilized. Nothing should be per- mitted to stand in the wau of the pres- eruation of the forests, and it ts crtminal to permit tndtutduals to purchase a little gatn for themselues through the destrur- tion of the forests when thts destructton is fatal to the well-betng of the whole countru tn the future.” Roosevelt ‘G10 SUVGA OML-ALUIHL ‘LNOWUGA NI GAONUdS AVMUON AO NOILLVLINV Id American Forestry VOL. XVII APRIL, 1911 No. 4 STATE OWNERSHIP OF FORESTS By AUSTIN F. HAWES, STATE FORESTER OF VERMONT. (This survey of a most important branch of state forest policy was originally read at the annual meeting of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests in 1910. The author has been state forester of Connecticut, as well as of Vermont, and is thoroughly conversant with this question from the standpoint of eastern conditions. We have moved very slowly in the acquisition of state forests, but we must address ourselves to that side of forestry development in all the states, as Pennsylvania has notably done. The great forestry trilogy at present is fire protection, taxation, and state forests.—Editor.) WO periods in the history of the lands of this country will probably be recognized by future historians. First, the period when disposal of public lands was the only policy of state and nation; and, second, the period upon which we are now entering, distinguished by the policy of reser- vation or acquisition by state and nation. The original states of the union upon the birth of the nation found them- selves rich in lands with only a scant population to utilize them. It was natural that public debts, such as those due to soldiers, should be paid in land grants, that public bequests, as those founding Dartmouth, Bowdoin and the University of Vermont, should be in the form of land grants; and that the federal government should follow the policy of granting lands as a bonus to railroads building in pioneer regions. Massachusetts, with its great domain of wild lands in what became Maine, disposed of great areas by lottery. By the Civil War most, if not all, of the lands in New England had been disposed of to private owners. In other parts of the country a similar course was followed, and the United States has now disposed of practically all of its agricultural lands. Shortly after the centennial and the census of 1880, which first touched upon the forest resources of the country, there began to be an interest among far-sighted men in the preservation of the forests. As the best measure toward this end the bill was passed by Congress making national forests possible. This marked the beginning of the period of reservation and acquisi- tion—a movement which has resulted in the creation of national forests amounting to nearly two hundred million acres and which has recently been broadened out to include other natural resources. It is naturally easier to secure from a legislative body the reservation for special purposes of lands already belonging to the public than the purchase of such lands. This is the 191 192 AMERICAN FORESTRY main reason that Congress has thus far neglected to provide a few million dollars for national forests in the east, while the government has been reserv- ing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of land in the west for that pur- pose. While it is probable that this winter provision will be made for such national forests in the east, it is doubtful whether these will ever be on a scale of great importance to our states. Probably national forests in the east will always be intimately connected with the question of interstate commerce and the protection of the headwaters of navigable streams. Fortunately, with the movement for the reservation of lands in the west by the government has grown up the idea of state ownership of forest lands through purchase. New York and Pennsylvania have now acquired immense areas partly for the purpose of water protection, partly for the preservation of the beautiful wild scenery and partly for the production of timber. Other states have started in a less ambitious way the same policy and it is already evident that the most striking feature of forestry development of the present century in the east, is to be the acquisition of large tracts by the various states, as reservation by the government has already been in the west. It seems to me that these state forests will fall into several different classes ac- cording to the reasons for founding them and the method of management which the purpose of their existence would dictate. EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION FORESTS The first of these classes in importance for us in New England is the edu- cational or demonstration forest. With the exception of northern Maine and certain mountainous regions of New Hampshire and Vermont, our forests are more or less cut up by agricultural lands and roads. We have easy trans- portation, either by water or rail, to the best markets of the country, which gives our stumpage a value exceeding that in any other region. We have valu- able and rapid growing trees, such as the white pine, spruce, chestnut, ete. In fact, our natural forest conditions resemble more closely those of Europe than any other part of the country, and private forestry development can, therefore, be counted on if demonstrations of forestry operations are available such as state forests would furnish. These demonstration forests need not be large but should represent one or two important types of land of the vicinity. Every such tract should contain some waste land suitable for planting as private owners can more easily be interested in planting than in any other branch of forestry. The experimental element may well be combined with the demonstration. Different species can be planted on different classes of soil. Mixtures and pure planting and vari- ous distances apart may be tried and thus a great deal of valuable data secured in a few years. A local demand for forest seedlings can often be built up by the main- tainance of a small nursery on the tract. But planting should by no means be the only line of work carried on. The demonstration forest should have a few hundred acres of woodland in which thinnings and improved methods of cuttings can be practiced so that land owners will see the various phases of forestry. Thinnings of different degrees can be practiced; the various silvical methods, such as the selection system, stand method, group and strip systems, can be developed so that in a few years the relative results will be apparent. Of course accurate accounts must be kept which can be published in bulletin form from time to time. In all these ways a tract of five hundred acres may serve as well as a larger one. It does not matter particularly whether it is immediately self supporting or not as it is primarily an educational estab- lishment and not a money making scheme, but the sooner it becomes self sup- porting the sooner will it win the respect of the New England farmer and STATE OWNERSHIP OF FORESTS 193 lumberman. On some such tracts it will be advisable to give short courses in forestry dealing only with such lines of work as would be of use to the farmer. I can speak from personal experience of the efficiency of one such forest of 300 acres in Connecticut. In 1905 I purchased this tract in a portion of the state where forestry was scoffed at by everyone, and in 1906 started planting. In less than two years three thousand acres of private forests in the same town- ship were under forest management and a nursery with a capacity of 100,000 trees was kept busy catering to the local demand. The sentiment of the whole county has been changed by this small beginning. We have at present two such state forests in Vermont, one of 450 acres in Plainfield near the center of the state, purchased at an average price of $4 an acre, and one of 350 acres given by Mr. Charles Downer, who has long been interested in forestry. Not the smallest mission of these demonstration forests above described, is to educate the legislators so that they will forward laws in favor of forestry. TIMBER RAISING AND REVENUE PRODUCING FORESTS The kind of state forests advocated above are chiefly valuable indirectly for the influence that they have upon the people who will be led to practice forestry and pass favorable legislation. They will not be on a sufficiently large scale to bring in a revenue of any material value to the state except for supporting the forestry branch of the state government. European states have proved that forests can be maintained more profitably under state and com- munal ownership and the large areas thus owned pay a considerable share of the current expenses of the various governments. Thus Saxony, which has very extensive state forests, derives an annual net income of $5.25 per acre from them. The Saxon forests are largely of spruce and pine and are chiefly managed under the method of clearing and planting, as distinct from the natural reproduction methods in use in Baden and the coniferous forests of France. Prussia, as the largest German state, is interesting, especially from the fact that it is still purchasing waste lands for reforestation. The net income from its 7,300,000 acres increased from $1.53 to $2 per acre between 1900 and 1908; i. e., net income of $14,600,000. Wurtemberg and Baden are the two German states which produce the highest net results from their state forests. In Baden eighteen per cent of the state’s wooded area or about 235,000 acres belongs to the state, and much of the remaining forest is under state supervision. The annual cut in the timber forest is now equivalent to about 500 board feet per acre. The revenues from these state forests come not only from the sale of wood but from hunting licenses, the sale of grass, berries and other products, while the expenses are for planting, road building, salaries, etc. In 1902 the net income from these forests was $5.08 an acre. In Austria the state owns seven per cent of the total forested area and between 1874 and 1903 the net income from this 1,800,000 acres rose from $525,000 to $890,000. During this period over 85,000 acres were reforested. Of the 6,464,000 acres in Bavaria the state owns about one-third. The total gross income from the 2,815,000 acres was $10,387,000, the expenditures, $4,593,000, leaving a net revenue of $5,894,000 or $2.54 per acre. Although there were 79 forest fires in 1905 not more than 240 acres were burned. Similar figures might be given for the various other states of Europe showing that state ownership of forests not only pays, but that the revenue from these forests is steadily increasing, due to the ever improved condition of the forest. For the most part these forests have been crown or common lands since earliest history, but during the past century the areas have been considerably augmented by purchase. 194 AMERICAN FORESTRY In launching our New England states on a policy of state forests for timber raising and revenue, we are confronted from the first with the problem of purchasing the lands. In this connection it should be said that land in this section will probably never be as cheap again as it has been during recent years. In many sections the demand for this class of land is already improvy- ing and the price beginning to rise. On this account the sooner these lands are acquired the less the initial investment will be. The natural result of any extensive purchases on the part of the state will be to raise land values in the region. It will, therefore, be advisable from the standpoint of economy, to secure large areas gradually as money affords in a few localities, rather than to scatter small purchases all over the state, thereby raising values every- where. Of course this raising of values is in itself a benefit to the state speak- ing in a broader sense. The individual owners are enriched, the assessable property of a town is increased, and the rate of taxation lowered. What would be the probable investment for the state for the purchase of 100,000 acres, say, in New Hampshire or Vermont? This brings up a ques- tion of policy. Shall the state buy the cheapest land available or aim to get the best possible investment just as a private individual would? At first thought it might seem the state’s duty to acquire cut over and burned over land of which there is such a great area in every state. It is a peculiar fact that the price at which most of this worthless land is held is usually from $1 to $4 an acre, while land of real value worth ten times as much can be pur- chased for $4 to $6 an acre. It is, therefore, a much better investment for the state as well as for the private purchuser to acquire this land covered with pine or spruce reproduction at these prices or sometimes even at $10 an acre, than to buy mountain tops from which the soil has been burned with the for- est. Experience has convinced me that the committees of a legislature will be much more apt to approve this kind of an investment which appeals to the members personally than a purely altruistic proposition such as the acquiring of slash and burns. There are in all of our New England states considerable areas of good timber still standing. In my opinion some of this class of land should be in- cluded, in the first place, because the people expect that the old forests are to be saved and will not be satisfied unless some scenic points are preserved; and, secondly, because by this means an income in the near future will be assured which will appeal to the business sense of the legislators and people. So in the purchase of 100,000 acres there should be a variety of classes of land divided something as follows: 50,000 acres waste land at $2.00 per acre.................. $100,000 30,000 acres, second growth, at $5.00 per acre.............. 150,000 10,000 acres timberland at $10.00 per acre................. 100,000 10,000 acres good timber at $15.00... ..0..... se. oe 150,000 ORB i aia wei de baw Wee Ge ale he Bo ae ie SRR $500,000 Something the same proportion would hold for larger purchases, i. e., an average price for purchases made during the next decade of $5 an acre. Of course, in order to get lands at these figures, local agents would be em- ployed and considerable diplomacy required in order not to inflate prices. Two or three suggestions can be made for raising the funds to finance such a policy during a decade. The first and simplest is. of course, to appro- priate from money in the state treasury $50,000 a year for the ten years. This is probably out of the question for either Vermont or New Hampshire at present, but then the results may be gradually accomplished by smaller appro- priations. Another suggestion is a bond issue maturing in forty or fifty years when the forests become productive; and still another is to levy a special tax. STATE OWNERSHIP OF FORESTS 195 This might be a light income tax which falling only ou private persons or corporations with incomes exceeding $5,000 would not be opposed by the mass of the people; or a small tax of, say 2 cents per thousand feet on all lumber manufactured. A tax of this nature applied only to concerns sawing half a million feet or over would not be heavy ($10 on 500,000 feet), and, as it is pri- marily for the ultimate benefit of lumbermen, should not be opposed by them. Many lumbermen would thereby be able to dispose of cut over lands which are now only a source of taxes. To be sure a tax of this amount would hardly afford $50,000 either in Vermont or New Hampshire, but it might supplement what the legislature was willing to spend from other sources. It must be remembered that all this expenditure is in the form of an investment for the state; one which should bear good interest—it is safe to estimate from four per cent to six per cent. The question in the management of these state tracts will come up as to whether it is best to manage them for the greatest possible profit (which would dictate a short rotation) or whether other features should be given im- portance. In my opinion a part of the area at least should be devoted to rais- ing large dimension timber, such as those required for large telegraph poles, derrick sticks, bridge timbers, etc. This would require a longer rotation, probably 100-150 years, but the industries of the state would be greatly bene- fited by being able to rely upon a permanent supply of such materials. For similar reasons some slow growing trees, such as hickory and white oak should be fostered by the state in regions where they are adapted, even though they cannot be recommended for private planting. PROTECTIVE FORESTS In the above I have discussed state forests for educational purposes, for raising of timber and have not touched upon the protective use of forests. I believe this latter side is over emphasized and that forests are principally valuable for the raising of timber and the support of the industries dependent on them. Of course it is hardly possible to acquire 100,000 acres of forest any- where in New England without its having a material effect upon the springs and brooks of the region. How much this would affect any large river is prob- ably simply a question of the proportion of the forest area to the entire water- shed of the river. So, too, these forests acquired for these other reasons must add greatly to the beauty of the country and tend to make it a popular resort. There are, however, in every state certain areas which should be acquired for protective purposes even if not from the standpoint of revenue. All steep mountain slopes in danger of being denuded should be owned by the state as clear cutting on such sites is disastrous to the soil and water supply held by it. So, too, there are areas of shifting sand which should be checked by forest planting that would not be profitable and is, therefore, a proper state duty. In regions like northern New England and New York where scenery is such an important feature, many particularly beautiful forests should be saved from destruction by state acquisition. This is not sentiment on the part of the state but simply a matter of good far sighted policy. In all these lines for which we have advocated state forests, it is to be noted that while the state will surely benefit from such a policy, the com- munities in which the forests are located will benefit still more. Many men will be employed in road building, forest planting, cutting and hauling and a population maintained larger than is at present found in many of these back regions. Local industries long since dead will be revived and maintained on a permanent supply of lumber not again to be abandoned as when forests 196 AMERICAN FORESTRY have been depleted in the past. All this prosperity in regions now nearly abandoned means happier homes and better citizens. This local effect reminds me of the advisability in some cases of establishing town forests like the com- munal forests of Europe which are of such great assistance to the small vil- lages and the peasants who live in them. What could be a finer monument for a wealthy man to leave to his native town than a forest tract of five thousand acres to be managed under state control, the income to be used for town purposes ? WOODNOTES 1 fe As sunbeams stream through liberal space, And nothing jostle or displace, So waved the pine-tree through my thought, And fanned the dreams it never brought. “Whether is better, the gift or the donor? Come to me,” Quoth the pine-tree, “T am the giver of honor. My garden is in the cloven rock, And my manure the snow; And drifting sand-heaps feed my stock, In summer’s scorching glow. He is great who can live by me. The rough and bearded forester Is better than the lord; God fills the scrip and canister, Sin piles the loaded board. The lord is the peasant that was, The peasant the lord that shall be; The lord is hay, the peasant grass, One dry, and one the living tree. Who liveth by the ragged pine Founded a heroic line; Who liveth in the palace hall Waneth fast and spendeth all. He goes to my savage haunts, With his chariot and his care; My twilight realm he disenchants, And finds his prison there. —Ralph Waldo Emerson. SOME NEW IDEAS IN CONTROLLING FOREST FIRES By SAMUEL J. RECORD EN Daniel W. Adams last July became supervisor of the Arkansas National Forest the principal problem confronting him was that of protecting the forest from fire. The previous fire season had been par- ticularly disastrous, due largely to incendiarism. The enforcement of laws pertaining to the disposal of the public lands and timber made many enemies for the Forest Service. It seems typical of a lawless mountaineer never to fight in the open and true to their instincts the enemies of the service fought from ambush. They burned the woods, they slashed and tore the posters and notices, they destroyed telephone lines, all with wanton disregard for the wel- fare of their law-abiding neighbors. The majority of the people in and near the national forests of Arkansas are opposed to forest fires and to all forms of lawlessness, but have hesitated to openly oppose such acts for fear of a crim- inal few. The unfortunate forest agitation at Washington was directly re- sponsible for two-thirds of the fire damage on the Arkansas forests last season. The enemies of the service encouraged and incited by baseless charges and distorted rumors went to excesses that proved their own undoing. When Mr. Adams assumed charge his main efforts were directed to a so- lution of the fire problem. First attention was devoted to organizing the better class of forest users in a fire protective association. In union these people have found the moral strength to oppose the lawless element and thus make woods burning unpopular. The dues of the association are devoted largely to establishing a fund to provide rewards for information leading to conviction of incendiaries. The value of the organization in reducing the fire danger through enlightened public sentiment has been fully demonstrated and will increase with growing membership. A disastrous fire season has taught the farmers an expensive lesson, that the incendiary menaces not only the forest but their property, their homes, their very lives as well. Favorable public sentiment is essential but not in itself sufficient to elim- inate the fire danger. Even under the best conditions fires will occur through accident or lightning or other uncontrollable source. Adequate protection requires (1) means of prompt discovery and location of fires; (2) ready access by trails and roads to all parts of the forest; (3) efficient means of fire fighting. Supervisor Adams, with years of practical training and with no small inven- tive genius, has been concentrating his attention on improvement of require- ments (1) and (3). For months he has worked unceasingly, but good results are rewarding his industry and application. He has prepared a report de- scribing his equipment, apparatus and protective devices. While some of his ideas may, at first blush, appear rather fanciful, they mark the most advanced step in the application of science to forest fire control. Mr. Frank Rush, of the Wichita National Forest, has demonstrated the importance of water in fighting the hot prairie fires of his locality. He hauls the water in a tank to the scene of a fire and applies it by means of large sprinkling pots. In the mountains and rough forest lands water could not be hauled on a wagon, and there is usually a scarcity of water in the vicinity of 197 198 AMERICAN FORESTRY a fire making carrying by hand impracticable. A pack saddle device carrying two tanks of fifteen gallons capacity each and connected under a horse by hose attachments was tried out in the Ozark Mountains. The water was drawn from the tanks to knapsack sprinklers that fit over a man’s shoulders. From this device was evolved an arrangement for throwing the water direct from the saddle to the fire. This was first accomplished by means of a small air pump capable of a pressure of 25 pounds, later abandoned in favor of iron cylinders in which the air has been compressed to 2,400 pounds per square inch. This high pressure is reduced, by means of a simple valve, to a working pressure of from 10 to 25 pounds, and one cylinder is capable of ex- hausting the 30-gallon tanks 25 times with one charging. The entire appa- raus is quite simple, the cost very reasonable, and the expense of operation almost nothing. Mr. Adams’ fire fighters look like warriors of old, for each carries a shield to protect him from the radiation and allow him to work close enough to put the water on the fire rather than on the flames. These shields are made of 20- gauge tin with asbestos cloth cover, and with a spiral wire hand-hold. A three by four-inch mica window is inserted near the top. The whole weighs two and a half pounds, costs only a trifle, and is in detachable sections which may be conyeniently carried under the saddle stirrup leathers. In the course of experiments it was early demonstrated that water in sufficient quantities was too hard to get and when used alone did not have the extinguishing qualities of certain chemicals, especially when used on very hot fires. No chemical apparatus on the market, however, had provision for re- filling except by hand. Their use was further hampered by the fragile devices for mixing the acids and other chemicals. Mr. Adams overcame these objec- tions and has applied for patent for a self-charging chemical equipment for shoulder support and an automatic charging equipment for pack saddle sup- port. In this connection it may be interesting to note that the claims made by various chemical engine manufacturers that their engines throw a gas charged water whose fire quenching efficiency is forty to one over ordinary water, seems erroneous in that the water delivered by such apparatus is taken from below the gas line and not charged with gas at all. Necessity for economizing the supply of water and using more of the flame stifling gas, either alone or in mixture with water, led to the invention of a valve and double hose arrangement whereby pure gas, pure water, or a mix- ture in any desired proportion can be obtained. By addition from time to time of small amounts of alkaline solution and sulphuric acid the entire charge can be re-energized with great economy of water. But improvements did not stop there. To obtain a more intimate mixture of gas and water a special nozzle was perfected, which gave a rotary motion so great that the charge comes finely atomized to virtually a gaseous vapor. This should have especial merit in combatting fiercely burning forest fires. To make the apparatus practicable on a large scale, several horses may be used in tandem. The leader carries the chemical engine while the rear horses tote the supply tanks containing the sodium solution. The tanks are connected by a common delivery hose coupled by lever valves similar to air hose couplings on cars. Such apparatus is designed for controlling the lee of back fires in dangerous places and fighting other fires in a high wind. This idea of using several horses in tandem is an adaptation of the old principle of the “packer’s hitch.” In the mountainous mining regions it is customary to pack ore out and machinery in on mules or burros so hitched that the head of one is close to the tail of the next, making what is known as the “packer’s head-and-tail hitch.” In this manner the “jack whacker,” as the man in charge is called, can lead fifty or more animals, and where the leader SHIELD AND FIRE NGUISHER Gul EX ¥ USIN( OUT FIRES ATING BE METHOD OF OLD IDEAS IN FIRE CONTROL FIGHTING A SURFACE FIRE WITH A KNAPSACK SPRINKLER AND FIRE SHIELD IDEAS IN FIRE CONTROL CHEMICAL ENGINE ON HORSE MR. ADAMS IN BUGGY TESTING CHEMICAL ENGINE ON A BURNING TREE SNAG. THE IN- VENTOR, MR. ADAMS, IN FORE- GROUND IDEAS IN FIRE CONTROL IDEAS IN P > i‘. CONTROL FOREST OFFICER SIGNAL- PACK SADDLE READY FOR LING TWENTY MILES BY HELIOGRAPH FROM RANGE FINDER STATION. NIGHT SIGNALS ARE MADE BY POWERFUL ACETYLENE LIGHTS WITH REFLECTOR OUTFIT QUICK MOUNTING ON HORSE NEW IDEAS IN CONTROLLING FOREST FIRES 203 goes the pack must necessarily follow, since the animals are hitched so close in that they have no room to get behind trees or other obstructions. An organized force of fire fighters and proper apparatus are not in them- selves sufficient for adequate fire protection. For them to do effective work a fire must be located as soon as possible and there must be means of getting to it promptly. On the Arkansas National Forest fires are now located by means of range finding towers set on prominent peaks overlooking as much country as possible. The towers are connected by telephone with each other, and also with ranger stations and towns in some instances so that when a watchman sights a fire he can give warning or summon assistance. The upper part of the watchman’s tower is a sighting hood with a four- foot opening extending entirely around. In this opening are set, with mathe- matical exactness, 144 wires, each space corresponding to 2° 30’ of a circle whose exact center is marked by a plumb bob. When a fire is seen the watch- man sights by the plumb bob to the wire in line, notes its number; then by telephone or signal exchanges this number with the corresponding number of another tower from which the fire is visible. A map with all the lines plotted is before him so that with any two numbers a fire may be definitely located. A hurried plan of action can be telephoned or signalled, since the map shows the roads, creeks, and fire lines. In planning to handle a fire, the velocity and prevailing direction of the wind, which are noted on a dial over the watch- man’s chair, are taken into account. Forest rangers, fire guards, and special employees without telephone facilities are notified by heliographic flashes by day and signal lanterns at night. This range finder is extremely simple in op- eration, designed especially for use by unskilled laborers, thus obviating the necessity for men skilled in the use of instruments who would command much higher salaries. Supervisor Adams is of the opinion that the national forests could be better protected if the Forest Service had a special fire department separate from the general administration. He proposes “that a fire department of the Forest Service be organized, which should, with one notable exception, bear the same reaction to the service that the fire department of a city bears to the city government. The exception noted is that the members of the forest fire force should devote their extra time to designing and experimenting with equipment and apparatus, in field studies of local problems, and in laying out trails and fire lines. Supplementing this nucleus would be the regular forest officers, the rangers and guards, who would correspond to a volunteer force when the fire occurred.” Such reorganization of the Forest Service would largely relieve the tech- nical men of that most unpleasant of all work, fire duty, leaving to them the solution of forestry problems for which they have specially trained. The men of the forest fire force, being freed from the multitudinous cares of adminis- tration, could devote their whole time to a study of fire problems and to ef- fecting their solution. When one realizes that fire is the greatest of all im- pediments to forest conservation and the practice of forestry everywhere the importance of securing protection becomes obvious. Too much attention could hardly be given to the subject and no plans for the lessening of the danger should be denied a hearing and perhaps a trial. Whether or not Mr. Adams’ plans prove successful he is at least entitled to credit for doing some original thinking. THE PRUNING OF WHITE PINE By F. 5. KNAPP DIRECTOR OF THE ERIC Forest ScHOOL esters that live branches must not be cut from evergreens. As the result of experiments by Mr. Nathaniel Morton, of Plymouth, Massa- chusetts, begun in 1891 and later investigations by the Eric Forest School, we hold exactly the reverse position with reference to white pine at least, and are convinced not only that such pruning can be successfully done but that it should form the basis for the treatment of our woodlands in many places. Each system of silviculture has its distinct use and must make certain sacrifices to attain its ends. Our aim is to secure a fair quantity of large, clear, high-grade timber with a short rotation. To accomplish this we pay special attention to a small number of selected trees from the beginning. In the first stage of growth obtain by pruning and thinning a tall slender tree with clean bole of moderate length; then get a rapid diameter growth by keeping the remaining branches alive and enlarging the head to its full capacity. Mr. Morton read a paper before the Massachusetts Forestry Associa- tion in 1899 telling what he had accomplished and describing his methods in detail. He found that the best time to prune the living branches of the white pine was in the hottest summer weather. The branch is cut off close to the bole of the tree; sap flows copiously at first but is quickly seared over by the heat, thereby sealing the wound against disease and preventing the streak of pitch so often found after winter trimming. The wound heals quickly by occlusion with no space or pitch pocket at the end of the small tight knot, and almost immediately outside of it the wood becomes clear and straight grained. As a fair sample of what we have found, the first piece of the Morton trees analyzed by us showed fifteen knots without a single one which failed to come up to this standard. Where a dead branch has to be taken off the cut is made deep enough to wound the living cambium entirely around the knot in order to produce the same quick recovery. For when a dead branch is broken or cut off without such wounding the growth is apt to continue for some years, much as though the branch were still there, forming a little tunnel to collect pitch and dirt. During the first two years the proper amount of protection, light, air, and soil are maintained and a single leader secured for each selected tree ap4 the neighbors are made subservient to it. When from four to eight feet bigh the pruning of live branches is begun, leaving the head about one-third of the height of the tree. This pruning of live branches and the protection from competitors is continued through the first period of growth. Not over two whorls are taken off in any year. At the end of this time we have a tree with a slender bole, no dead or sickly branches and a small but well developed head, closely surrounded though not crowded by more stocky trees. A typical tree with an eighteen-foot bole would be twenty-seven feet high with nine feet spread of crown, a diameter of four inches breast high and between two and three inches just below the first branch. 204 “Ghee is a widespread theory among both American and German for- THE PRUNING OF WHITE PINE 205 Now begins the second and final stage of growth. The trees have been chosen far enough apart so that they will not interfere with each other, no more pruning is done, the last small wounds heal quickly, and from that time on all the wood formed in the bole is clear. Through the ever increasing space occupied by the tree and the comparatively short stem, a good diameter growth is maintained to the end of the rotation and a large valuable log is obtained- The Eric system of silviculture may be used in combination with several of the older forms, but the most promising treatment seems to be the three- story one. It may be applied in plantations, on areas where pine is mixed with coppice, and to especially good advantage on the many abandoned fields that are coming up by natural reproduction with a scattering growth of pine. The intermediate stages must vary with the condition of the tract when work is begun but a fully stocked woods ready for the final cutting of the upper story under a sixty-year rotation will consist of three ages—forty trees, sixty years old, ready to cut and occupying about eighty per cent of the space; forty moderate sized trees; and a greater number of small ones, the selected forty of which are just completing their first period of growth and require an in- significant amount of space. The nurse trees which have been retained increase the crown cover and prevent the stand from becoming too open underneath. The spring after cutting the upper story a dozen or more transplants are set out in each opening, and in twenty years another crop is ready to harvest. Artificial pruning is a distinctive feature of the system and may be ap- plied to many species. All foresters agree that most of our hard woods can be trimmed, when branches are small, without injury and to the great improve- ment of the quality of the lumber, and experiments by Professor Mer of Nancy, France, indicate that spruce can be added to the list. I hope that investigators who see this article will send to AMERICAN Forestry or write to me, no matter whether in approval or condemnation, showing the results of their experiments; and I am particularly anxious that they should try Mr. Morton’s method of pruning. Some of my German friends are going to experiment along these lines when the proper season comes around. We have not done enough work as yet to be able to give accurate figures of cost and growth or to state closely where the line is drawn between the conditions of the tract and location in which such work would bring good financial returns and those where the growth is so slow that compound interest and risk would make the investment unwise at our present prices. It is very important that different silvical systems suited to our varied conditions should be applied on a large scale, and as rapidly as practicable to transform our forest and waste lands in such a way as to give a sustained crop and additional wealth to the community. One of these should be either the plan outlined in this paper, as modified by further experience, or some other, producing the much needed clear lumber in a reasonable time. MICROSCOPIC WORK ON THE STRUCTURE OF WOOD By H. D. TIEMANN, In Charge Section of Timber Physics, Forest Products Laboratory T IS remarkable that, in the present age of development of practical uses from scientific knowledge, there should still remain a field of very common and wide interest undeveloped in a practical manner. In the knowledge of the relationship of wood-structure to its physical properties and uses nothing appears to have been worked out in a complete and concise form such as to be of use to the busy man. This field of investigation might be better spoken of as an adjoining frontier, since it is the common ground upon which the technological knowledge of the properties and uses of woods, and the scientific study of the growth and anatomy of the wood substance from the botanical standpoint join together. In both of these separate fields an enormous amount of study has been carried on, and a great deal of knowledge exists, and there has been a number of very extensive works pub- lished in an attempt to cover the entire subject. Almost without exception, however, where the treatise is so broad in its scope, this frontier of knowledge has been narrowed down to a line or largely obscured. Such works, however, are beyond the use of the busy man because of their very comprehensiveness. As a rule it is the botanist who is most familiar with the anatomy or histology of wood structure, while he knows but little of the processes of manufacture of wood or of its use in framed structures. On the other hand, the manu- facturer, carpenter and engineer know little or nothing about the microscopic make-up of the very material with which they are working and which they have been handling most of their lives. Why is white oak more lasting and better wearing than red oak, and why is the former suitable for light cooperage while the latter is not? Why are firs so difficult to treat with preservatives and pines so easy? Why is eucalyptus so difficult to dry? Ask questions like these of the artisan or engineer and what, as a rule, can he reply? Yet the answers are simple and can be clearly shown in a way to be at once com- prehensible to the business man without scientific training. As a rule, in works discussing the properties of woods where the microscopic structure is shown, it is done from the standpoint of the identifica- tion of species, and little or nothing is said in regard to the correlation of structure with properties and uses. While it is fully realized that many of the properties of wood cannot be predicted nor explained from a microscopic examination of structure alone, yet it is believed that much information of value would result from a sys- tematic study of this kind. Already the importance and effect of thoroughly drying wood for preservative treatment and the effect of steaming have been demonstrated by a study of this kind, made at the Yale laboratory of the Forest Service,* and the reason why white oak is suitable where red oak is *In Bulletin 107 and 120 of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association 1909 and 1910, on the “Physical Structure of Wood in Relation to its Penetrability,” by H. D. Tiemann. 206 Siond IGIVON VW GNV SONTY TVONNV HUNLONULS GOOM HAO SHIGONLS OIdOOSOUOIN i c HAO 4 LISA io) fe “il IVUYGAGS DNIMOHS NOLLOUS Ssouo GAHOVUL AML AO NO Wal SL1d vu Sd STIVAL r ru OTLL dd w a “SIA Wav “SUSOTAL OTL. HLIM LONG NISdu V -u0d Pitesti putes ey _ ae om >ab HO mw S Zoaw ZRF Bini te eS ria. 6. TANGENTIAL SECTION MAGNIFIED 300 TIMES. A MEDULLARY RAY CONTAINING LARGE RESIN DUCT IS SHOWN IN THE CENTER OF THE FIELD. BORDERED PITS APPEAR IN SECTION, LIKE LINKS OF CHAIN ON THE WALLS. THE TORUS IS VISIBLE IN MANY OF THE PITS DNINGGO AHL ONITVAS GNV da daHsoad Ssasvo ANVN NI NMOS SI SOUOL AHL ‘NOL -04S NI Sila aauad -10d DNIMOHS ‘SUI 008 GaIINDVIN NOLL -0US IVIINGDNVG °9 “Old HYOLONULS TOOM HO SHIGNLS JIdOOSOUDIN Id JO YALNAO NI MSIG IVAO Movida V SV DONINVAddvY ‘ASaHG JO XNVIN NI GIMISTA SI SNUOL AHL “SiLid dauaadyod DNIMOHS SAWIL QQ GAMINDVIN NOILOWS IVIdGVa *) “Olt MICROSCOPIC WORK ON THE STRUCTURE OF WOOD 211 not has been clearly shown. A careful study of the structure of several woods and the changes which are produced in drying and under mechanical stresses was made at Yale laboratory by Mr. W. D. Brush under the writer’s direction. A statement of his results, fully illustrated by excellent photo- micrographs and drawings, appears in an unpublished Forest Service report. The Service has planned a comprehensive line of work of this kind which is now under way at the new Madison Laboratory. (Other microscopic work on the histology of wood, but from the botanical standpoint, with a view to the identification of species, is also being carried on in Washington in the section of Dendrology.) The principal purpose of this work is to bring the two fields of knowledge mentioned before into relationship by making clear to the artisan, engineer or user of wood, the (microscopic) anatomical structure and differences in structure of various woods which underlie the physical and mechanical properties, and differences, in the material he is using and with which he is already familiar. New uses and reasons for not using various woods will also naturally be suggested. To exhibit these facts, chief reliance will be placed upon photomicro- graphs of the wood sections and elements themselves. These will be arranged in a systematic and logical manner and will be shown at uniform magnifica- tions so that the micrographs of all the different species will be directly com- parable. The views will be supplemented by such descriptions and discussions as will lend clearness to the subject. This discussion will be in non-technical language so as to be intelligible to the persons for whom it should be chiefly valuable. It is believed that this proposed publication will be unique in this respect. Among all the works covering these fields, nothing has been found with this specific purpose in view, and giving illustrations in a comprehensive manner and of uniform style. It is our purpose, as far as possible, to make the illus- trations speak for themselves, which will be in a universal language not re- quiring translation. The equipment of the laboratory for this research is very complete. As a foundation, a collection of important commercial woods is being made. The specimens consist of short logs from normal commercial trees, the sylvical conditions of the place of growth of each specimen being recorded. From these specimens small pencils are cut while green and preserved in paraffin or for- malin without being allowed to dry out. The pencils are taken at a point about four feet above the root swelling and run from bark to center. Thus a representative piece is obtained for the microscopic sections. In many cases another piece is taken from the top of the same tree. Thus far about one bundred species have been obtained. The first part of the work consists in the preparation of a complete col- lection of permanent microscopic slides. The small pencils cut from the wood specimens are treated in the usual manner for preparing microscopic slides, sectioned on a special microtome, stained and mounted in balsam. As a rule three samples are taken from each pencil, one from the sap wood, one from the main portion of the heartwood, and another from near the center of the tree. From these samples sections are made in three planes; transverse, radial and tangential. The microscopic slides thus completed would be of little use to the public for the purpose intended without the next step, namely, the photomicrographs. A complete equipment for this work is installed at the laboratory, including a dark room and all accessories. The apparatus for making the photographs consists essentially of an are light, a system of condensing lenses, ray filters for obtaining monochromatic light, microscope and lenses, shutter, camera 212 AMERICAN FORESTRY bellows and plate holders. In the apparatus here used, which is a Bausch & Lomb “Balopticon” and Zeiss microscope, the parts are mounted horizontally in the order mentioned. The heavy iron bases supporting the several parts are placed on rubber cushions under the feet as a precaution against vibra- tions, as a very minute vibration of the microscope is greatly magnified upon the screen. Non-halation orthochromatic plates have been found to give the best results, although ordinary plates may be used with fair success. The process of taking the photographs through the microscope does not differ materially from that of taking an ordinary picture with a camera by use of a color screen or ray filter. The art of making these micrographs consists largely in obtaining a uniform illumination of the field and the proper focus. To focus properly requires experience, as it is not possible to show on the screen exactly what one sees through the microscope with the eye, since in the latter case a slight adjustment is made by the eye, whereas in the camera the focus is dead and in one plane only. The effect of perspective is lost in the camera. Of course the result in every case is absolutely dependent upon the slide, which, for the best results, must be of the proper thinness, correctly and uniformly stained, absolutely flat, clean and free from air bubbles. It must also be of sufficient size to cover the field desired. To illustrate the wood structure, two or more magnifications will be used, a low power of perhaps 30 or 50 diameters to show the general appearance, and a higher power of perhaps 300 diameters to show the minute structure in detail. Higher magnifications also will be used when it is desired to show re- markable features such as bordered pits, for instance. The largest views taken will be eight by ten inches, which can be subse- quently reduced to any size for publication. The accompanying photographs are given as illustrations of the views to be shown, and are made from sec- tions of Bull Pine (Pinus ponderosa). Figures 1 to 3 are magnified thirty times; 4 to 6, three hundred times; and 7 and 8, eight hundred times. Similar views to these are to be made of the various important species so far as any visible distinctions can be shown, and an attempt made to show, as far as possible, the interpretation of these features or distinctions in the outward properties, and distinctions in properties, of the various woods In some in- stances it is contemplated to show in addition to the sections the individual separated elements. The work is being done by the section of timber physics, and is in the hands of experts in this line. Miss Eloise Gerry, who is making the sections and slides, comes to us from Dr. Jeffrey of Harvard, and Mr. Simon Kirsch, who is making the photomicrographs and has general oversight of the work, is from the late Dr. Penhallow of McGill University. It is not our belief that a study of this kind will ever fully explain the differences in the mechanical and physical properties of different woods, nor can it be hoped to offer a means of predicting with completeness how a new or unknown wood will behave. Such points must be determined chiefly, as heretofore, by direct actual tests of the properties in question. Even were this prediction possible, it is very doubtful whether it would serve any prac- tical use, since ordinarily it would be easier and simpler to make the direct test than to cut, prepare and examine the sections under the microscope. How- ever, while it may never be possible to completely predict the properties, cer- tain uses and behavior of the species under given conditions will most likely be indicated and suggested and much clarity and light will be thrown on the causes of the behavior of the various woods under certain conditions and treatments. It has been the experience of the past that wherever knowledge of fundamental truths has been brought to light, important results have fol- MICROSCOPIC WORK ON THE STRUCTURE OF WOOD 213 lowed. It is impossible to foretell explicitly the benefits which may arise from a clearing away of the clouds hanging over this adjoining border land of knowledge, but it is reasonably certain that benefits will result fully com- mensurate with the expense of the task. BIBLIOGRAPHY The following are some of the most important works referred to, in which the entire subject in the two fields of knowledge is more or less covered. One of the earliest comprehensive works of this kind, and still a standard in many ways, is that of Dr. H. Nérdlinger, published in 1860, “Die Tech- nischen Eigenschaften der Holzer, fiir Forst und Baubeamte, Technologen und Gewerbtreibende.” (The Technical Properties of Timber for Forest and Civil Engineers, Technologists and Manufacturers.) For the mechanical proper- ties Nordlinger relied largely upon the previous work of Chevandier and Wertheim. He added a description of the anatomical structure of the various species of wood with a view to explaining many of their properties from the anatomy. He treated also upon their chemical and physical properties, in- cluding durability and defects. A more recent publication by the same author appeared in 1890: “Die Gewerblichen Eigenschaften der Holzer.” (The In- dustrial Properties of Timber.) Another work, in French, “Le Bois,’ was published by J. Beauverie in 1905. In this work, which covers 1,400 pages, the attempt at extreme comprehen- siveness is made. Every phase of the subject of wood is gone into, from a bo- tanical description of the trees to the manufactured products. Much space is also given to insect and fungus enemies of the trees, and a description of the forests of the world is given. A table is added grouping the woods by their anatomical structure and giving the uses. The work is really an encyclopedia and is almost too comprehensive to be authoritative in any one line. “Die Forstbenutzung” (Forest Utilization), by Karl Gayer and Heinrich Mayr was published in 1909 as a tenth edition. It contains 630 pages and also covers a very wide range from the growth of the timber in the forest to its ultimate use, including all by-products, even the soil. The works of Theodore and of Robert Hartig should be mentioned in this connection, and also Lorey’s “Handbuch der Forstwissenschaft,” published in 1887 in three volumes, and recently a second edition in four volumes. In the way of descriptive material, the collection of actual wood sections made by Dr. Nordlinger and published 1852-1860, “Querschnitte von 100 Hol- zarten” is worthy of record, and more recently, the similar and larger work on “American Woods” by R. B. Hough. In English not very much of an extensive nature has appeared in this line. One of the best works is by Boulger, entitled “Wood,” of which the 2nd edition was published in 1908. In this book a number of photomicrographs are given of wood sections. “Timber and Timber Trees,” by Laslett, 1894, touches upon the structure as an introduction to a description of the mechan- ical properties of commercial woods. Herbert Stone, in his “Timbers of Com- merce and their Identification” (1905), goes so far as to show a slightly mag- nified photograph of each species described. A publication by J. R. Baterden, in 1908, entitled “Timber,” gives a brief description of many commercial woods but very little on the anatomy. One of the best publications in English, discussing the structure of wood and its relation to its properties, is Forest Service Bulletin No. 10 by Filibert Roth on “Timber,” published in 1895. Bulletin 13, “The Southern Pines,” by Mohr and Roth, and Bulletin 22, “The White Pine,” by Spaulding and Fer- now, are also of value from this point of view. 914 AMERICAN FORESTRY There are also other publications touching more or less upon this subject, but the above is intended only as a brief review of some of the best works. As stated in the beginning, there is a vast amount of literature covering the anatomy of woods, and also their mechanical and technical properties and uses, but only such works as touch upon the relation of the two fields of knowl- edge have been cited in this review. THE FOREST AND THE FARM Agriculture, delivered an address at the University Club in Buffalo, on the country life movement in America, which, if we may judge from the newspaper reports, was full of the wisdom we always expect from him. Mr. Bailey admitted that present conditions in the country were bad, but he declared that these conditions would soon be of the past. Before many years co-operative farming, new methods, new social customs, new relations with the city, would have worked out a complete change in the business of farming and the lot of the individual dwellers on the land. But the point of especial interest to us was his plan for utilization of abandoned farm lands, those that have passed out of profitable use forever on account of changed conditions. “Yet,” he declared, “they are not useless. It simply does not pay to handle them and they should be put to their destined use.” He noted the development of wheat and corn growing on a large scale in the west, leaving truck farming to the east, and that is profitable only near large cities or good transportation. Then he said, as reported, “I am strongly in favor of a system of some sort of county ownership or state ownership. Let the community buy these abandoned lands as it could very cheaply. Let it reforest them. Most of the hill-tops in the Adirondack region and the center of the state could most profitably be converted to that use. Others could be used for raising live stock, others again to raising apples for export. Individual ownership should not be allowed to drop in applying these methods. It could go on and afford good livings to many farmers. But the state should no longer allow those lands to go to waste for want of a little enterprise and co-operation.” There was much more, but in this suggestion of community ownership and reforestation we believe lies the solution of much of the abandoned and waste land problem of our densely populated eastern states. Even in such a populous state as Massachusetts more than half the land can only be profitably used to grow trees. In part they may be orchard trees, for wonderful fruit tC H. BAILEY, the dean of the New York State College of can be raised on some of these discouraging looking New England hillsides. But on the larger part of this acreage forest trees must be the solution. The future welfare of these states demands that this plan be adopted and soon. Already many of our eastern farmers are learning that their woodlots are not by any means the least of their possessions. Perhaps by and by our towns, counties and states will learn to follow the example of the thrifty communities of Europe and turn their waste lands into bank accounts for the people. FRANCONIA NOTCH FROM NORTH WOOD- STOCK, NEW HAMPSHIRE TYPICAL WHITE MOUNTAIN FOR- EST CONDITIONS SKIDWAY WITH FOUR-HORSE TEAMS UNLOADING, SCALER SCALING LOGS, AND THREE LOADED CARS ON TRACK; NEW CAMP ON RIGHT. LINCOLN, N. H. GRADED LOGGING ROAD; GRADING cost $16 PER MILE, FOUNDATION FOR TRESTLE IN FOREGROUND. TYPICAL WHITE MOUNTAIN FOR- NEW EXTENSION OF LOGGING RAIL- 2ST CONDITIONS ROAD THROUGH FRANCONIA, N. H. TYPICAL WHITE MOUNTAIN FOR- EST CONDITIONS NEAR SUMMIT OF MT. ECHO, WHITE MOUNTAINS. FIRE CON- SUMED THE SOIL TWENTY- THREE YEARS AGO AND LEFT IT PERMANENTLY BARREN MT. WEBSTER, WHITE MOUNTAINS, MADE PERMANENTLY BARREN BY FIRE AND EROSION FOLLOW- ING THE AXE. THIS IS WHY WE WANT PROTECTIVE FORESTS ON STEEP UPPER SLOPES MT. ADAMS, WHITE MOUNTAINS, SHOWING HOW FIRE RAN OVER DURAND RIDGE AND BURNED THE SCRUB TYPICAL WHITE MOUNTAIN FOR- EST CONDITIONS FOREST PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION PROPOSED BY WISCONSIN By E. M. GRIFFITH STATE FORESTER OF WISCONSIN. (An address delivered at the Lake States Fire Conference, December 4.) country cannot be conserved through wise use until the government, the states and the private owners are willing to spend the large sums which will be necessary to stop the annual and appalling loss from forest fires. This country is growing out of its irresponsible boyhood days, with its reckless waste and utter disregard for the future, and as it has grown older, and as elbow begins to rub elbow with the enormous increase in population, we are beginning to learn a truth long known in older countries, that the state in order to do its duty to all its citizens must use its general police powers much more freely than in the past, and that the selfish interest of the indi- vidual must give way to the infinitely greater good of the whole people. This academic introduction is merely to prepare your minds for the extensive fire protection system which we hope will be adopted by the state of Wisconsin; which will cost a very large sum and will oblige the state to exercise its police powers, so as to protect not only its own timberlands, but those of all its citizens as well. The United States census for 1900 gave Wisconsin the proud position of ranking first among all the states in the production of lumber. The census of 1910 will show that Wisconsin has fallen back in these te years to eighth place, and that her production of lumber in the same period of time has decreased forty per cent, which is more than that of any other state. The wood using industries of the state, not counting the saw mills, use annually over 930 million board feet of lumber, valued at $20,000,000, but the state will lose these industries, and many others even more important, as saw mills, paper and pulp mills, ete., unless all forms of needless waste are stopped, and certainly forest fires are the most useless and needless forms of forest waste. The Lake States Forest Fire Conference proves that the severe fire losses of 1910, following the even greater losses of 1908, have aroused us all as never before, and if our legislators can truly appreciate the situation, I am sure they will not fail to act. Let us see what the fire losses have been in Wisconsin. In 1908, according to the reports of our fire wardens, 1,200,000 acres were burned over, and the loss in timber and young growth amounted to $9,000,000. For 1910 our reports are still incomplete, but those received indicate that at least 1,000,000 acres have been burned over, and that the financial loss will amount to several million dollars. The direct loss of merchantable timber, however, is not by any means the most serious in its lasting results, but rather the loss of the industries which depend upon the forests for their raw material, and the still greater ultimate loss through the destruction of young, growing timber, upon thousands of acres which are burned over every year. me thinking people realize that the wonderful forest wealth of this 219 220) AMERICAN FORESTRY Wisconsin has a wealth of fertile land awaiting cultivation, but she also has large areas more valuable for forest growth, and the people of our state do not as yet begin to appreciate the great future value of the young timber upon such lands, and the careful protection which such small timber needs. Mature merchantable timber which is burned can often be cut and so saved, but young timber when burned is almost always a total loss. At present Wisconsin has the following system of town fire wardens: The state forester is authorized to appoint as many fire wardens in each organized town in the state as he deems necessary, and we now have over 500 fire wardens in the northern or forest portion of the state. These fire wardens post notices, have authority to call upon any person to assist them in fighting fire, are given the same authority as sheriffs to arrest without a warrant, and when in their judgment a dangerously dry time exists, and it is unsafe to set fire for clearing land, or for any other purpose, they have the authority to post special warning notices, forbidding the setting of any fires. The fire wardens and the men called out by them, are paid by the town boards for the time which they actually serve at a rate not exceeding 25 cents per hour, but the total amount which can be expended annually is limited to $100 per township, or 36 sections. It will be noted that the fire wardens have a considerable amount of authority, and as the best available men, irrespective of politics, have been appointed, they have put out thousands of small fires and thus averted much heavier losses, but the whole system is faulty from the fact that it is based upon the plan of putting out fires after they occur, while it is now becoming a well known truth that the greatest efforts in forest protection should be centered upon fire prevention. It must have been an old forest fire fighter who coined the expression “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and probably he had seen as we nearly all have, a small neglected blaze fanned and spread by the winds until it became a fire of such proportions that men were powerless before it. The present limit of expense in fighting fire of $100 per township is absolutely inadequate in very dry years, such as 1908 and 1910, and in such times when the wardens are needed the most is no time to have the financial cog of the system break down. Theoretical’y, the plan of allowing fires to be set at any time, except when the local fire warden posts notices forbidding any fires, is correct, for it imposes the least possible interference with individual rights and especially the clearing of forest lands by settlers in order to make farms, which is of course so necessary, provided it is done at the proper time, and in the proper manner, so as to avoid the wide destruction of the past. Such enormous damage has been done in Wisconsin for the last six years, through fires set by settlers in clearing land, and it is so difficult to secure convictions as the settler can merely claim that he did not see the special warning notices for- bidding the setting of fires, that we feel that we have the cart before the horse and that a radical change in the law is demanded. We must prevent as far as possible the starting of forest fires, and there- fore the state board of forestry of Wisconsin has decided to urge upon our legislature the great importance and necessity of providing a forest fire patrol in northern Wisconsin, upon the following lines: A chief forest fire patrol, appointed by and under the supervision of the state board of forestry,, with headquarters at some central point. He should be a practical woodsman, with a wide knowledge of the northern part of the state, and the ability to handle men. He should be supplied with an office and such clerical help as may be necessary. In each of twenty-five or more of the northern counties there should be located at some central point a head county fire patrol, in charge of the work PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION PROPOSED BY WISCONSIN = 221 in his county. He should be under the direct orders of his chief, report to him weekly, be obliged to keep one or more saddle horses, and cover every part of his county at stated intervals. Under the direct supervision and orders of the head patrols in each county would be county forest fire patrols, varying in number according to the size of the county, and the amount of forest land to be protected, but sufficient in number so that each man would not have over 40,000 acres of land to patrol. For the twenty-two northern counties which it is proposed that the patrols shall cover, it is expected that at least 322 men will be required. The plan is that all these men shall be secured from lumber companies who only operate in winter, as thus their best men would be given work every summer, the state would secure the services of trained woodsmen, and both the state and the lumber companies would gain the great advantage of having permanent men upon whose ability they could count. Each county patrol would have a given territory to look after and for which he would be responsible, they would live in cabins or shacks, and whenever possible they would be mounted so as to patrol quickly and to get to a fire with the least possible delay. They should be instructed to at once call upon.every settler in their territory, ex- plain the fire laws thoroughly, and in every way try to make the settlers appreciate that they are working for their interest and want their hearty co- operation. As soon as funds are available, telephone lines should be built to connect all the patrol camps or cabins, so that the head patrol could call all his men together at any point in the county to fight fire, and wherever possible watch towers should be built, where men would be stationed in dangerously dry times to immediately report signs of fire in any direction. Such watch towers have been built by the lumbermen in Maine and have proved very useful. During wet seasons when there is practically no danger from forest fire, the head patrol in each county should call his men together and clear up old logging roads, logging railroad rights of way, trails, etc., so that they could be used as fire lines. This is very important as our experience in fighting fires for the last few years has proved over and over again that the men are seriously handicapped in checking fires promptly, from the fact that there are so few roads which are kept clear of brush, and therefore they have no fire line to fall back upon in case of necessity. Much good can also be done by felling old snags, which are the means of spreading fire to a great distance in a heavy wind and also by burning at favorable times heavy and dangerous slash where it is a constant menace to adjoining timber or other property. In this connection it should be noted that it is proposed to include in the law an important provision giving the state board of forestry power to order the burning of dangerous slash, so as to provide a reasonably wide strip next to adjoining property which is menaced by such slash, and that if the owner of the land or the timber fails to comply with the order of the board within a specified and reasonable period, the state board of forestry shall burn such slash, the cost thereof to be a first lien upon the land or timber. If the state of Wisconsin is not to have a general slash burning law, it is absolutely necessary that the state, through some board or commission, should have the right to determine when and where slash is such a public nuisance that it must be destroyed. In this way each case can be carefully considered and the law, if enforced fairly and efficiently, should be a very effective means of forest protection. One of the most important provisions of the proposed law is to provide that no fires shall be set by any one from April 1st to December Ist (except for warming the person or cooking food) without a written permit from a patrol or fire warden. This would mean that any fires set for the purpose of 222 AMERICAN FORESTRY clearing land, burning brush or slash, without a written permit, would be absolute evidence of violation of the law, sufficient to secure conviction. The objection may be raised that the settler is obliged to use fire very freely in order to make a farm on land covered with young timber, brush and slash. This is of course true, but our records of forest fires in Wisconsin for the last six years show that from forty per cent to seventy per cent of all the fires have been caused by settlers burning brush. A large proportion of the settlers in the forest regions of the state are grossly negligent in the use of fire, and often apparently indifferent to the damage which they may cause to the property of others. They frequently select the dryest and most dangerous times to start their fires, and fail to take reasonable precautions to prevent the fire spreading. Under the proposed plan, the local patrols and fire wardens would be authorized, as agents of the state board of forestry, to issue permits to set fire when it was safe to do so, and the patrols would be instructed to assist new settlers by showing them how to burn safely and to use their authority rea- sonably, so as to secure the co-operation of the settlers. Campers, hunters and fishermen must be allowed to build fire at any time, as this is necessary both for cooking and warmth, but the patrols should keep in close touch with all such parties and arrest them promptly for leaving a camp fire unextinguished. It will be noted in this proposed plan that the patrols are intended in every possible way to prevent the starting of fires. They will of course be a well organized body to fight fires when they occur, but their first and main duty will be to prevent fires starting. However, under the best possible system some fires will always occur, and in order to have an auxiliary force, under the direction of the patrols and which they can call in time of necessity, it is proposed to appoint county fire wardens and do away entirely with the present system of town fire wardens. Many of the town boards have seriously handi- capped the work of the wardens by failing to promptly pay the wardens, and rhe men called out by them. Men will refuse to fight fire if they are obliged o often wait a year for their pay. Most town boards are also strongly averse to allowing any pay if their wardens help to fight fire in adjoining towns, though such fires may at any time destroy much valuable property in their own town. Therefore, it is necessary in order to secure good results to appoint the wardens for the county, instead of the town, and give them full authority to fight fire anywhere in their own or adjoining counties. The present limit of $100 per township, or 36 sections, for fighting fire is entirely inadequate, and therefore it is proposed to increase the limit which any county may ex- pend in any one year to $300 per township. Thus, if a county contains 20 townships it could expend a total of $6,000 in fighting fire, but it should also be provided that the county board of supervisors could exceed this amount in cases of great necessity. In order that the fire wardens and the men called out by them should be paid promptly, it is proposed that the state shall pay the men and collect the expense from the counties. The patrols should keep in close touch with the wardens and arrange with them as to the men who should be called out in case of fire, and thus build up a well trained organization for the control of forest fires. Wisconsin now has a forest reserve of some 340,000 acres, largely upon the headwaters of the Wisconsin and Chippewa rivers, but in order to protect this important watershed, preserve this beautiful lake region as a summer resort for the citizens of Wisconsin and other states,, and also to have a forest reserve large enough to be a factor in supplying the wood using industries of the state with timber, the state board of forestry will urge the necessity of acquiring a forest reserve of approximately 2,000,000 acres. The land must be purchased and in order to raise the necessary funds for the creation of an PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION PROPOSED BY WISCONSIN = 2238 adequate forest reserve, including its protection and improvement, and also to pay for the fire patrol system in northern Wisconsin, the legislature will be asked to grant the state board of forestry the proceeds of a two-tenths of a mill state tax for a period of twenty years. This general state tax will yield a yearly revenue of approximately $600,000, and it is estimated that the cost of the patrol system will amount to $250,000 per year. However, the amount which may be expended in the patrol system should be extremely elastic in order to meet varying conditions, and the forestry board should be authorized to expend the entire income of the department if it was found necessary to do so, in an unusually dry and dangerous year. At first glance, $250,000 may seem a very large amount to expend annually for forest fire patrols, but in the 22 counties which it is proposed to patrol, there are about 12,000,000 acres of wild or unimproved lands, most of which are covered with some kind of forest growth, so that the cost would be from two to three cents per acre, and if the patrol system is at all successful, in protecting property, the cost will really represent a very low rate of insurance. Nothing has been said in regard to fires set by the railroads, and this is not from lack of full appreciation of how serious the loss has been from forest fires set in this way, but from the fact that the best remedy has not been found, though both the state of Wisconsin and the railroad officials are working to solve this difficult problem. Our records show that in ordinary years the railroads are only responsible for about fifteen per cent of the forest fires, but the past summer was so dry that the least spark would start a blaze and therefore in 1910 the railroads started about twenty-two per cent of the fires. There are many kinds of spark arresters that will prevent the escape of all sparks, but none has yet been found that will both prevent the escape of sparks and still allow the engine to steam freely, and pull its load. But many men are working to solve this problem and the correct solution should come in time. In the meantime, however, the spreading of forest fires must be stopped, and it is simply a question of the best and most effective methods. Some advocate that all railroad rights of way be kept absolutely clear on both sides of the track. Others place more faith in a close fire patrol on railroad lines, especially of patrols on speeders who will follow up each train and extinguish all small fires that are set. Personally, I believe that a combina- tion of fire lines and patrols, will prove most effective, but that every effort should be made to find a spark arrester that will still allow the engine to steam freely. The American people as a whole are uncivilized in their apparently stoical indifference to the appalling annual losses from forest fires. The problems involved are tremendous ones, but they can be solved if only the nation, state and individual care enough to devote the hard work and large sums that will be required. This Lake States Forest Fire Conference leads me to hope that the time of mere talking is drawing to an end, and that very soon real action to save our forest resources will commence. SOME THINGS A FOREST RANGER SHOULD KNOW By C,H. SHATTUME, PROFESSOR OF FORESTRY, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO. F BRIEF summary of the information which a young man about to enter the forest service as a ranger should have may be of interest. In my judgment the first essential is a knowledge of the general geography of the district which he is to supervise. It is very necessary that he be able to direct those under him as to the location of meadows for the pasture of horses, the name and course of various streams, the trend of mountain chains, and the names and locations of prominent peaks. He should have a very thorough knowledge of roads, trails, and the location of cabins, and the manner of con- structing each. He must also know how to handle horses. The ordinary mountain cayuse instinctively knows the tenderfoot, and will proceed on the slightest provocation to reveal bits of equine ingenuity which are sometimes surprising and often aggravating in the extreme. It is imperative that he be familiar with the business of packing; this can only be acquired by actual practice, either in his college course or in the field. Many a young man has come to grief in the practical rangers’ examination because he could not put up in a permanent manner a conglomeration of cook- ing utensils, axes, shovels, cross-cut saws, provisions, and sleeping and wear- ing apparel. He must know how to throw the diamond-hitch and the yarious swings and loops for holding each of the above necessaries on the back of a sliding, climbing, jumping horse. Roads and trails are often steep and some- times barred by various sized logs, the jumping of which by the horses tests thoroughly the packer’s skill in the use of rope. The ranger must be able to select suitable provisions and must know how to do ordinary cooking. He must have things which cannot be brought from the far-a-way bakery. Bread must be made, meats prepared and cooked, and various vegetables and cereals come in for their share of attention. Making camp is another important feature. In selecting a site the essentials are: Good grass for his horses, good water for camp purposes, if possible good fish- ing, and in dry seasons, such a location that the fires may not burn his entire outfit. In addition he should make it his business to be familiar with the forest laws, and the rules and regulations affecting his reserve. He should know as intimately as possible the people who reside within the boundaries of his district, as much of his success will depend upon the wise and tactful manner in which he conducts himself in all his relations with them. He should know, if he should be in a grazing region, the brand and ear-marks of the stock in his district, and the approximate number owned by each individual. He must know the timber of his district both as to stands and kinds of trees. If lumbering operations are conducted he should see to it that the cutting and 224 SOME THINGS A FOREST RANGER SHOULD KNOW 225 burning is carried out according to contract. In much of this western country it devolves upon him to act as a protector of game. The actual settlers are generally glad to stay within the limits of killing fixed by the game laws, and they do not approve of the intrusions of the poacher, whose main object is to kill as much as possible without regard to law. As an officer of the law, the ranger is a great influence in ridding the reserve of ruthless hunters who kill often for horns and teeth only. Such in brief, is the essential information which a ranger should have. Over and above this he should be a man who is able to impress those with whom he comes in contact with the idea that he stands for law, for justice to all and malice toward none. He must be fearless in the exercise of the duties devolving upon him, some of which require courage, and others great powers of physical endurance. It is desirable that he be not too far removed from the land of his birth, as the native will be much more apt to deal in a manner to be commended with the many perplexing problems constantly coming up than one brought from a distance. EDITORIAL WORK UNDER THE NEW FOREST LAW HE Forest Service had been preparing for action in view of the probable ( passage of the Weeks bill for some time before it became a law and no time was lost in preliminaries. All arrangements have been made for making public the necessary information and for putting men in the field, so that purchases may be made before the close of the fiscal year. It is, therefore, timely to consider what is needed to obtain most promptly the results expected from the law. As already stated, conditions are so acute in the White Mountains and the territory to be considered is so much more circumscribed than in the south that immediate action is called for there. It will also be easier to make purchases in that section during what remains of the fiscal year because titles are so much clearer than in the southern mountains, and the owners are so much less numerous. It may fairly be expected then that the first action to be taken by the government authorities will be in the White Mountains. In these mountains, owing to the local conditions, the primary need is to secure for protective purposes the timbered upper slopes on the several drainage areas, all of which are in danger of early destruction and are needed to be preserved to protect the ultimate water sources and the soil without which these mountain-sides will be of little use. Next in order would seem to come the cut-over upper slopes in the same regions, in order that the work of restoration may begin before the soil denudation is completed. Third, the administrative units may be completed by acquisitions on the lower levels. Thus the work of protection, which is the main purpose of the law, will be logically developed. Finally, there are two areas outside of the White Mountains proper the protection of which is necessary to comply with the purposes of the law. One of these is the great forested north country of Coos County, about the headwaters of the Connecticut, the most important navigable stream of New Hngland. The other is the Magalloway country in Maine and New Hamp- shire, an important part of the Androscoggin watershed. We believe that the full carrying out of these plans involves the purchase of about a million acres in the north, and that something over four million acres are needed for the national holdings in the south, where the exact areas are not yet so definitely indicated. In the northern mountains the plan has been carefully studied by many experts and the requirements are well understood. There need be little delay, therefore, in mapping out the exact plan of procedure. In the announcement made elsewhere of the plans of the department we call especial attention to Secretary Wilson’s statement that he expects a great deal of public spirit to be shown in offering lands to carry out this great policy. We hope he may not be disappointed. 226 EDITORIAL 227 AN UNFRIENDLY APPOINTMENT HAT the Speaker of the late House of Representatives was a bitter enemy of Appalachian-White Mountain forest legislation and that he is a determined and persistent fighter were perfectly well-known facts. We hardly supposed, however, that he would carry his hostility after the Weeks bill was passed to the point of naming, as one of the National Forest Reservation Commission provided for under the new law, a man who had been always an opponent of the measure, unwilling to see any good in it, and whose residence on the Pacific Coast precludes knowledge of the conditions in our eastern mountains. So incongruous did this appointment seem that a long statement was made to some of the newspaper correspondents to explain why Mr. Hawley of Oregon would be a peculiarly useful member of the Commission. Of Mr. Hawley’s integrity and sincerity we make no question and we believe he will act conscientiously as a member of the Commission. We believe, however, that it is quite unprecedented to appoint to administer a law a man who is so entirely out of sympathy with its purpose and unacquainted with the conditions it was framed to meet. In making such an appointment Mr. Cannon simply showed his continued determination to oppose the new law and to do what he could to make it a failure. Fortunately, this is very little since Mr. Hawley is but one of seven. It may be a question under the terms of the act whether any of these appointments are valid beyond the term of the 61st Congress. For the act says: “Provided, that the members of the commission herein created shall serve as such only during their incumbency in their respective official positions, and any vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the manner as the original appointment.” These members were appointed as members of the 61st Congress by the presiding officers of that Congress. Does this appointment run beyond the life of this Congress? THE REPORT ON THE LUMBER INDUSTRY HE report on the lumber industry by the Commissioner of Corporations, Herbert Knox Smith, of which we have already published a summary, is a document that yields new light on close study; but its importance should not be exaggerated. There is an old story, familiar to everyone, of the shield one side of which was silver and the other of gold, and of the controversy that arose between two men each of whom looked at only one side. It may be suggested in passing that Commissioner Smith’s report was made by an able lawyer whose especial business has been hunting for trusts and monopolies and the consequences thereof. His report on the lumber industry reflects this acquired attitude. It looks at one side of the shield only, and its value must be rated with that in mind. The first fact suggested by it we briefly called attention to last month. The concentration of timberland ownership which forms the burden of the report is the result of a public policy which we now see was lacking in wisdom and forethought, although it seemed to fit the conditions of development of a new country. The result has been, instead of the general distribution of the national wealth which was intended, concentration of this wealth in comparatively few hands. For this there is no remedy and we must simply accept the fact. As we have said, the fact is an argument plain and unanswerable for national or state ownership of as large a part of the forests 228 AMERICAN FORESTRY that remain as possible, and for the thorough development and management of these public holdings so that they will constitute the chief single factor in lumber production and so equalize conditions and balance the market. This is not an easy goal to arrive at, but it is practicable. Our national and state forest services must be developed to the highest point of efficiency and they must have the people back of them for they represent the people’s end of this enormous business. Another thing that does not appear in this report but may in the sections that are to follow is the difference between these large timberland owners and the lumber manufacturers and the small owners. We surmise that in any controversy that may arise the side of these latter factors would be the people’s side. Their interest is against concentration of ownership in private hands of the timberlands from which their industry derives its life. Right here it may be appropriate to make an observation about the so-called lumber trust, the bogey which is so often brought out to frighten the people and irritate the lumbermen. Commissioner Smith has shown the possibility of a timberland trust but that there is any likelihood of a dominant trust in lumber trade or manufacturing, no one can believe who has the slightest knowledge of the condition and of the keenness of the competition to the extent almost of chaos. A sharp distinction must be drawn between the ownership of timber and the lumber industry. Sometimes they go together. Often they do not. Another point should be noted. Mr. Smith discusses the rise in the value of standing timber, solely from the point of view of the concentration of ownership and consequent control of production. This should be considered in connection with other conditions that normally affect prices. The rapid decline of the available supply in the face of an increasing distance and difficulty of access of the available supply are two important elements which would inevitably cause a large increase in cost if there were no holdings of over a hundred acres in the country. These notes on the report are intended rather as suggestions than as discussion. We wish that a forestry expert might have been joined with the Commissioner of Corporations in this investigation because it seems to us that in that case we should have had a broader report and more conclusive results. THE SECRETARYSHIP OF THE INTERIOR EK WELCOME the appointment of Mr. Walter L. Fisher to the secretary- ship of the Interior as that of a man who has shown a high sense of honor and of public duty, sound views, and an exceptional capacity for inde- pendent judgment. His record and affiliations justify confidence that he will administer his great department with an eye single for the general welfare. The retirement of Mr. Ballinger is not to be regretted. The controversy of which he was the center assumed unfortunately so personal a character and was so obscured by political considerations that it failed to be disposed of to anybody’s satisfaction. The fact remained that Mr. Ballinger had become, justly on unjustly, persona non grata to the American people as a cabinet officer. His usefulness ceased some time ago. The continuance of the personal feud embarrassed many departments and bureaus of the govern- ment, and the change will be a relief that will work to the public advantage. The whole episode was most unfortunate and our relief that it is over is so great that we do not care to revive any of the old questions. EDITORIAL 229 A BOURBON OF BOURBONS pt bee IS much to be regretted that the country as a whole does not know Senator Heyburn of Idaho, and his unreason and absurdities are not always analyzed and valued at their real worthlessness. We have actually seen editorials from papers in the east accepting as valid his violent attacks on the Forest Service and making them the text of approving dis- cussion. To those who are acquainted with the methods and habits of mind of the senator from Idaho this seems impossible. It should be understood that he is against the Forest Service, all its works, and anything connected with it. With this knowledge as a key, much can be understood and allowed for. His is a Bourbon mind—never learning and never forgetting anything. His attack on the new national forest bill when it was before the Senate on the fifteenth of February was so absurd as to be a serious reflection upon the dignity of the Senate. With some opponents argument is possible. Senator Heyburn’s method is to press his point by brute force and yield only when overcome by greater force. With him argument is impossible. THE CRAWFORD NOTCH IN DANGER by the state of New Hampshire halts in the Legislature. Meanwhile a hundred ax-men have already begun the work of denudation. We have commented recently more than once on the notable progress made by New Hampshire in forestry, and it is incredible that the state can be so blind to its own best interests as to allow this opportunity for self-help to slip by. In times past narrow and selfish interests have too often domi- nated the state to its own detriment, but the recent awakening, the progressive legislation, and the election of Governor Bass all gave promise of better things. Here, however, is an opportunity that is likely to be a test. The cost is not excessive. One hundred thousand dollars is a reasonable price for this property when its many-sided value to the state is considered. On the other hand, New Hampshire cannot afford at any price to have the Notch denuded and thereby changed from a green and picturesque valley, one of the scenic wonders of the state, to a gray, scarred waste. At every season of the year the Notch has its peculiar beauty. As a travelled pass into the mountain country it is worth much to the state of New Hampshire. As the source of the Saco it weans much to industry; but it is one of the striking examples of mountain sides that can never have their forest growth restored if they are once laid bare. There is another side to the question. Neighbor states have been fighting New Hampshire’s battle for national preservation of the chief watersheds of the White Mountains. The battle has been won, but it was hardly won, and the fruits of it are by no means certain. It has been conceded that New Hampshire is not a wealthy state and could not handle this whole project alone; but it has not been conceded that New Hampshire with its nominal debt is poverty stricken or helpless. The new national forest bill as passed is a general bill and New Hampshire can only have its share by deserving it. if the state will not help itself when its interests are so plainly at stake there will be slight inclination on the part of the national authorities to come to its assistance. And there will be no lack of applicants for the few million FF THIS is written, the project for the purchase of the Crawford Notch AMERICAN FORESTRY dollars provided for in the new forest law just passed. There is a plain duty before the state of New Hampshire. This duty is to save the Crawford Notch to be the permanent possession of the people of the state and thereafter to secure such other of its mountain forest tracts as would not naturally be included in the national holdings and are especially indicated as the property of the state. In this way only can the full value of the new national forest law be secured. It is not contemplated by any one that all the lands that must be public forest reservations should be owned by the national govern- ment. It is proposed that the national government should hold the great interstate watersheds of navigable rivers and that this should be a nucleus for state and private holdings which may be under the same or similar forest administration and protection. The friends of New Hampshire who have worked early and late for many years past to secure through the nation the pro- tection that was desired, look to the state to prove by its own actions that it deserves the interest that has been lavishly given to it. CURRENT LITERATURE REVIEWS The Cost of Growing Timber. By R. S. The Mississippi River and its Wonderful Valley. By Julius Chambers, Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, Member of the National Geographic Society. With 80 illustrations and maps. pp. xvi, 308. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York and London, 1910. Mr. Chambers has made in this volume on the “Father of Waters’ an interesting addition to the handsome Putnam series on American waterways. The human and historic sides of the great river’s life interest the author especially, and there is slight discussion of physical conditions, or engineering, waterpower, and _ trans- portation problems. Reviewing briefly the the early conjectural period of Mississippi River discovery, the work of De Soto, and the much more extensive and fruitful French explorations, the author comes down to the days of the English and Amer- icans, the Louisiana purchase, and the early explorations to discover the some- what elusive source of the river. The most interesting part of the volume is the chapters given to an account of the au- thor’s own explorations, undertaken in 1872, to complete the reconnaissance carried on by Schoolcraft in 1832, and Nicollet in 1836, resulting in the discovery of Elk Lake. After this exploration the author went by canoe to Saint Louis, and then by steam- boat to New Orleans. There is a chapter on the delta and a brief one on “The Age of Water,’ after which the author turns to the modern history of the river. Were any criticism to be made of this enter- taining volume it would be that there is a lack of continuity in the narrative, and too frequent interjection of irrelevant matters. Kellogg, Secretary Northern Hemlock and Hardwood Manufacturers’ Associa- tion, and BH. A. Ziegler, Director Penn- sylvania State Forest Academy. Ameri- can Lumberman, Chicago, 1911. This interesting and practical pamphlet is a development of a paper prepared by the authors and presented at the seventh annual meeting of the National Lumber Manufacturers’ Association, in Seattle in July of 1909. The discussion occasioned by the paper and subsequent study of the subject led them to revise the original manuscript, and publish it in its present form in the belief that its principles are sound and will help toward a clearer con- ception of the conditions which must be established in the United States if forest conservation is to be a reality. The key to the discussion may be found in a sen- tence in the introduction: “The permanent timber supply will not be maintained by private effort at less than the cost of pro- duction.” The object of the pamphlet is to present a method of analysis of the ele- ments of cost of growing timber. These, the authors say, are five: (1) the value of the land; (2) the stocking of it with young trees; (3) the administration of the operation, and the protection of the grow- ing timber; (4) the taxes; (5) the rate of interest. These elements are then dis- cussed in general, following which de- tailed studies are made of the yield of cer- tain trees. The trees chosen are the white pine, the loblolly pine, the long-leaf pine, red oak, and Douglas fir. The authors then draw certain general conclusions as to the profitableness of the production of the species examined. An appendix contains some cost tables which will be serviceable in making computations. CURRENT LITERATURE As a beginning of a study of a most im- portant subject, this pamphlet is practi- cal, suggestive, and will well repay careful examination by everyone interested in the production of timber. Handbook of Conservation. By Mrs. Fred H. Tucker, Chairman of the Conserva- tion Department, Massachusetts State Federation of Women’s Clubs, pp. viii, 911. Boston, 1911. This little handbook, a kind of syllabus and note-book, is the result of painstaking work by the able chairman of the conserva- tion department of the Massachusetts State Federation of Women’s Clubs. Very few women have given more years of care- ful and really scientific study to the sub- ject of forestry and conservation than Mrs. Tucker. This handbook, she says, has two objects. First, to present an orderly series of suggestive topics upon the conservation of our natural resources, and second to furnish explanatory comments upon the various phases of the subject. The topics are intended as a guide to study and may be used as headings for papers, assign- ments for class work, or merely as a con- vient analysis for the general reader to keep in mind the salient points and the logi- cal development of the subject. The com- ment is largely in the form of quotations from well-known experts or practical men of affairs. The book was prepared especi- ally for the use of women’s clubs, but all students of conservation subjects will find it serviceable. The author explains that no attempt has been made to preserve due proportion among the parts. It has been the aim to elaborate some phases at the expense of others. There is a general outline of the conservation of our natural resources, and then chapters are devoted to ores and minerals, to lands and soils, to waters, to forests, to the ownership and control of natural resources, to birds, and to shade trees. There are two final chapters, one containing practical sugges- tions, and one a bibliography. The work in this handbook is well done. It is what it claims to be,—highly suggestive and use- ful as an elementary guide. We heartily recommend it to lay students of forestry and conservation subjects. — MONTHLY LIST FOR MARCH, 1911 (Books and periodicals indexed in the Library of the United States Forest Service) Forestry as a Whole Abert, Federico. Apuntes forestales. 22 p. Santiago de Chile, Imprenta Cervantes, 1910. West Virginia—State board of agriculture. Report for the quarter ending Dec. 30, 231 1910; forestry. Var. 1014 Bibliographies United States—Department of agriculture— Division of publications. Publications of the Forest service. 6 p. Wash., 1911. (Circular 11.) 44 p. Charleston, W. Forest Aesthetics Street and park trees Allendale, N. J.—Shade tree commission. Statutes and ordinance. 19 p. Allen- dale, 1910. Chicago—Special park commission. Trees; when and how to plant. 15 p. il. Chi- cago, 1910. (Pamphlet no. 4.) Levison, J. J. What trees to plant and how. 4p. Brooklyn, N. Y. (American association for the planting and preser- vation of city trees. Publication.) St. Louis, Mo.—City forester. Second and third annual reports. St. Louis, Mo., 1908-9. Washington, D. C.—Superintendent of trees and parkings. Twenty-fifth annual re- port, 1910-10. 7 p. Wash., D. C., 1910. Forest Education Biltmore forest school. A forest fair in the Biltmore forest, Nov. 26, 1908. 55 p. il. Biltmore, N. C., 1908. Forest Legislation Maine—Forest commission. Maine forestry district; law creating fire district; in- structions to wardens; list of wardens appointed. 31 p. Augusta, Me., 1910. United States—Congress. An act to enable any state to cooperate with any other state or states, or with the United States, for the protection of the water- sheds of navigable streams, and to ap- point a commission for the acquisition of lands for the purpose of conserving the navigability of navigable rivers. & p. Wash., D. C., 1910. (U. S—61st con- gress—3d sessions. House of Repre- . sentatives 11798.) Wisconsin—Legislature—Committee on wa- ter powers, forestry and drainage. Re- port, 1910. pt. 1-2. diagrs., tables. Madison, Wis., 1911. Forest Description Brooks, A. B. Forestry and wood indus- tries. 481 p. pl. Morgantown, W. Va.. 1911. (West Virginia—Geological sur- vey. Report, v. 5.) Hall, R. Clifford and Ingall, O. D. Forest conditions in Illinois. 79 p. pl. Ur- bana, I1l]., 1911. ( Illinois state labora- tory of natural history. Bulletin, vol. 9, art. 4.) Forest Botany Plant pyhsiology Bailey, Irving W. Oxidizing enzymes and their relation to “sap stain” in lumber. 7 p. Chicago, University Press, 1910. Silviculture Graves, Henry Solon. The principles of handling woodlands. 325 p. front., il. N. Y., J. Wiley & sons, 1911. Planting Little tree ay Gate: American forestry company. farms, nurseries department. South Framingham, Mass., 1911. Forest Protection Insects Rohwer, S. A. The genotypes of the saw- files and wood wasps, or the snper- family Tenthredinoidea. 31 p. Wash., 1911. (U. S—Department of agricul- ture—Bureau of enteomology. Techni- cal series no. 20, pt. 2.) Snyder, T. E. Damage to telephone and telegraph poles by wood-boring insects. 6 p. il. Wash., 1911. (U. S.—Depart- ment of agriculture—Bureau of ento- mology. Circular 134.) Stebbing, E. P. A note on the lac insect, Tachardia lacca, its life history, propa- gation and collection. 2d ed. 82 p. pl. Calcutta, 1910. (Indian forest me- moirs, Forest zoology series, v. 1, pt. 3.) Forest Economics Taxation and tariff Mowry, Jess B. Forest taxation. 3 p. Provi- dence, R. I., 1911. (R. I—Commission- er of forestry. Leaflet no. 3.) United States—Congress—House. Extracts from congressional debates on the re- ciprocity treaty of 1854 with Canada. 185 p. Wash., D. C., 1911. (U. S.—6l1st congress—3d session. House document 1350.) United states—President. Canadian reci- procity; special message. 75 p. Wash.,, D. C., 1911. (U. S—61st congress—3d session. Senate document 787.) United States—Tariff board. Reciprocity with Canada; a report from the Tariff board relative to various commodities named in the proposed Canadian reci- procity measure. 132 p. Wash., D. C., 1911. (U. S—6l1st congress—3d ses- sion. Senate document 849.) Statistics Macmillan, H. R., comp. Forest products of Canada, 1909; pulp wood. 9 p. Ot- tawa, 1910. (Canada—Department of Interior — Branch forestry. Bulletin 12.) AMERICAN FORESTRY Prussia—Ministerium ftir landwirtsehaft, domaénen und forsten-Abteilung ftir forsten. Amtliche mitteilungen, 1909. 47 p. Berlin, J. Springer, 1911. United States—Bureau of census. Wood distillation, 1909. 11 p. Wash., D. C., 1911. (Forest products no. 7.) Forest Administration {ndia—Andaman Islands—Forest depart- ment. Progress report of forest ad- ministration in the Adamans for 1909- 10: 30.p. Caleutta; 1910: Pennsylvania—Department of forestry. Re- port for the years 1908—1909. pl. Har- risburg, Pa., 1910. Quebec—Department of lands and forests. Report for the 12 months ending 30th June, 1910. 257 p. pl. tables. Quebec, 1911. Rhode Island—Commissioner of forestry. Fifth annual report, for 1910. 35 p. pl. Providence, 1911. United States—Department of agriculture— Forest service. Report of the forester for 1910. 67 p. Wash., D. C., 1910. Forest Utilization Lumber industry United States—Department of agriculture— Forest service. Record of wholesale prices of lumber based on actual sales made f. o. b. each market for each quarter of 1910; list A. 22 p. Wash., DP Ce 1910: United States—Department of agriculture— Forest service. Record of wholesale prices of lumber, based on actual sales made F. O. B. mill for each quarter of the calendar year 1910. 24 p. Wash., D:. C;, 1910: United States—Department of eommerce and labor—Bureau of corporation. Summary of report on the lumber in- dustry. pt. 1. 38 p. map. Wash., D. C.. 1911. Wood using industries Maple flooring manufacturers’ association. Official maple flooring book, containing concise and authentic information for architects and builders concerning the characteristics and uses of maple, beech and birch flooring. 39 p._ il. Chicago, 1911. Oakleaf, Howard B. Wood using industries of Oregon, with special reference to the properties and uses of Oregon woods. Portland, Ore., Oregon conser- vation association, 1911. Forest by-products Ricard, J. H. Exploitation des foréts rési- neuses au pays landais. 27 p. il. Paris, P. Renouard, 1910. CURRENT LITERATURE Periodical Articles General Annals of botany, Jan., 1911—The mor- phology of leaf-fall, by E. Lee, p. 51- 106; The relation of the leaf trace to the formation of compound rays in the lower Dicotyledons, by I. W. Bailey, p. 225-41. Cassier’s magazine, Feb. 199.—Lumbering in the world’s greatest forests, by A. W. Day, p. 291-306. Country life in America, March, 1911.— The Arnold arboretum, by W. Miller, p. 347-50. ,Gardener’s chronicle, Dec. 24, 1910.—Christ- mas trees, p. 470. Gardener’s chronicle, Dec. 31, 1910.—The European black poplar, by J. Fraser, p. 483. Outlook, Jan. 28, 1911.—Forest fire prob- lem, by W. D. Hulbert, p. 207-13. Plant world, Feb., 1911.—The ancestry of the bald cypress, by E. W. Berry, p. 39- 45. Popular electricity, Dec., 1910.—Where lightning strikes, p. 701-2; Learning to use our forest products, by D. L. Geyer, p. 714-17. Quarterly review, Jan., 1911.—Woods and forests, by J. C. Medd., p. 91-15. Scientific American, Feb. 18, 1911.—Dyna- mite on the farm, by W. Young, p. 163. World’s work, Mar., 1911—A museum of living trees; the Arnold arboretum, of Harvard University, which is gathering every tree and shrub in the world that will grow in the latitude of Boston, by F. L. Bullard, p. 14147-58. Trade journals and consular reports American lumberman, Feb. 18, 1911.—Stat- ure, durability, strength, of douglas fir, Pi, Sa. Het ried lumberman, March 4, 1911.—Cost of producing yellow pine lumber, p. 42-3. American lumberman, March 11, 1911.— Railroads and lumbermen, by W. W. Finley, p. 47-8; Forest conservation, by H. S. Graves, p. 40-1; Forestry in New York, by C. R. Pettis, p. 52; National forest system, by G. Pinchot, p. 52. Barrel and box, Feb., 1911—Report on white oak staves and timber in foreign countries, by J. I. Brittain and others, p. 33-4. Canada lumberman, Feb. 1, 1911.—Timber trade of Ontario during 1910, p. 26-8; Lumber trade of Quebec during 1910, p. 30-2; Growth of Canada’s pulpwood industry, p. 32-4; Increasing volume B. C. lumber trade, p. 35-7; Forest fires in B. C. during 1910, p. 37; Sur- veying and mapping timber limits; how a large manufacturing company takes stock of its forest resources, by F. 233 Cook, p. 38-9; Lumber trade of Mari- time Provinces, p. 40-1; Great Britain’s lumber trade improved, p. 42-4. Canada lumberman, Feb. 15, 1911.—Busi- ness methods in lumbering, by Thomas, p. 37; Consumption of poles during 1909 in Canada, by H. R. MacMillan, p. 46. Engineering news, Feb. 2, 1911.—Asphaltic oils for the preservation of railway ties, by F. W. Cherrington, p. 122-3; Keeping record of treated ties, by F. J. Angier, p. 143. Engineering news, Feb. 16, 1911.—A bam- boo arch bridge in Java, Dutch East Indies, by W. G. Bligh, p. 195. Hardwood record, March 10, 1911.—Paper birch of the northeast and its utiliza- tion, p. 30. Lumber world, Feb. 15, 1911.—Hunting African mahogany, p. 23-4. Mississippi Valley lumberman, March 3, 1911.—Quality and economy; the con- servation of energy as applied to log- eing,)\py 46: Pacific lumber trade journal, Feb., 1911.— Fallacies of “light burning’ forest pro- tection, p. 45. Paper trade journal, Feb. 16, 1911.—The Forest service ground wood laboratory, Dy: ES): Bristol sp. 45, 49) (63890231 New paper making fibre, by C. R. Dodge, p. 147; The pulp woods of Can- ada; a classification of the kinds and species, by J. A. De Cew, p. 173-5; Me- chanical treatment, its growing im- portance in connection with chemical reactions, by C. Beadle, p. 179-83; Wood supply problem; use of additional kinds, and mill and lumber waste will solve it, by W. L. Hall, p. 205-11; No more wasting of wood; by a new meth- od practically all parts of the tree can be converted into pulp, by A. A. Tan- yane, p. 293-5. Railway and engineering review, March 4, 1911.—What percentage of creosote oil can be withdrawn from wood by sub- sequent vacuum, py C. D. Chanute, p. 179. St. Louis lumberman, Feb. 15, 1911.—Band resaws, by E. C. Merschon, p. 21-2; Forestry, by W. B. Townsend, p. 25-6; Paper making in China, by H. A. Night- ingale, p. 121. St. Louis lumberman, March 1, 1911.—C-A- Wood preserver company, p. 27; Wood waste and its utilization, by G. B. Frankforter, p. 50-7; Tupelo for boxes, p. 77; The “Diamond” brand of saw mill machinery, p. 78-9; A useful ma- chine for retail lumbermen; the Osh- kosh portable saw rig, p. 80-1; Latest news from the wood block paving field, Dp. 82. Southern lumberman, March 4, 1911.—Pro- gress of forest conservation in Mas- 234 AMERICAN sachusetts, p. 30; Lumber production in Canada, by F. S. S. Johnson, p. 32. Timber trade journal, Feb. 25, 1911.—Bra- zilian timbers, p. 265. Timberman, Feb. 1911.—Charpitting stumps successfully, by W. H. Sparks, p. 28-9; Japanese forestry, by F. Goto, p. ale Suggestions for practical methods of making topographical surveys, by W. W. Amburn, p. 48 J. United States daily consular report, Feb. 24, 1911.—Alcohol from sawdust, by F. H. Mason, p.: 732; Shipments of Norwegian wood flour, by H. Borde- wich, p. 734. United States daily consular report, Feb. 27, 1911.—Canadian timber licences and reserves, by E. C. Wakefield, p. 764-5. United States daily consular report, March 10, 1911—Wood paving blocks for Italy, by J. B. Young, p. 922-3. West coast lumberman, Feb. 1911.—Tree felling machine, p. 317. Forest journals Allegemeine forst-und jagd-zeitung, Jan. 1911.—Mitteilungen iiber bau und leben der fichtenwurzeln und untersuchung iiber die beeinflussung des wurzelwach- stums durch wirtschaftliche einwirk- ung by Matthes, p. 16; Zur mathema- tischen interpretation der zuwachskur- ven, by T. Glaser, p. 6-10; Die Doug- lasie im winter 1908-09, by Walter, p. 10-13. American forestry, March, 1911——The peo- ple’s possessions in the Appalachian forests, by Thomas Nelson Page, p. 133- 44: Harvesting the annual seed crop, by S. Moore, p. 145-54; Growing trees from seed, by C. R. Pettis, p. 155-9; Re- forestation in Massachusetts, by F. W. Rane, p. 160-63; The passage of the Appalachian bill, p. 164-70; The year’s forest legislation in Vermont, by A. F. Hawes, p. 179-80. Bulletin de la Société centrale forestiére de Belgique, Jan. 1911.—La question des semences en sylviculture, by N. I. Cra- FORESTRY hay, p. 19-29; Des mélanges d’essences feuillues & réaliser dans les futaies de hétre, by C. J. Quairiére, p. 30-40. Centralblatt fiir das gesamte forstwesen, Jan., 1911.—Die forstliche erschliessung der Insel Formosa, by A. Hofmann, p. 1-18; Studien tiber den flug des nonnen- falters, by W. Sedlaczek, p. 18-27. Revue des eaux et foréts, Jan. 15, 1911.— Taux d’accroissement et tariére de Pressler, by E. Martin, p. 33-40. Revue des aux et foréts, Feb. 1, 1911.—Une forét en Morvan, by Gouget, p. 65-73; Excursion forestiére au Portugal, by L. Pardé, p. 73-88; Le pin maritime au sud des Landes, by M. L. de Vilmorin, p. 92-6. Schweizerische zeitschrift fiir forstwesen, Jan. 1911.—Hine anregung fiir den plenterwald, by G. Z., p. 5-8; Wirt- schaftsplan und waldreglement, p. 8- 13; Die Atlaszeder, by J. Businger, p. 15-18. Schweizerische zeitschrift fiir forstwesen, Feb. 1911.—Die Walungen des Oberen- gadins, by Z. Ganzoni, p. 40-4. Tharander forstliches jahrbuch, 1910.— Haupt-und zwischennutzungsertrage der rotbuche in Sachsen, by M. Kunze, p. 97-110; Die Tharandter forstdiing- ungsversuche, by H. Vater, p. 111-35; Uber bemerkenswerte, in sdAchsische forsten auftretende baumrankheiten, by F. W. Neger, p. 141-67; Termitenschad- en; ein beitrag zur kolonialen forsten- tomolgie, by K. Escherich, p. 168-85: Uberlick tiber die forstpolitischen zus- tande Sachsens, by Gross, p. 186-204; Gesetze, verordnungen und dienstan- weisungen, welche auf das forstwesen besug haben, by Flemming, comp., p. 205-68. Zeitschrift fur forst-und jagdwesen, Jan. 1911.—Formen und abarten der ge- meinen kiefer, by M. Kienitz, p. 4-35; Beitrage zur physikalischen bodenun- tersuchung, by P. Ehrenberg, and H. Pick, p. 35-47; Forstliches aus Kanada, by von Berlepsch, p. 47-58. NATIONAL FOREST WORK Plans for Buying Eastern Forest Land The National Forest Reservation Com- mission, provided for under the new forest law, is made up as follows: J. M. Dickin- son, secretary of war; Walter L. Fisher. secretary of the interior; James Wilson, secretary of agriculture; J. H. Gallinger, senator from New Hampshire; J. W. Smith, senator from Maryland; W. C. Hawley, rep- resentative from Oregon; and Gordon Lee, representative from Georgia. The Department of Agriculture an- nounces, through a circular which is just vublished its plans for the purchase of land by the National Forest Reservation Commission created under the new Weeks forest law. This law, as our readers know, was passed with special reference to the crea- tion of national forests in the Appalachian and White Mountains. Under it the Sec- retary of Agriculture is to examine, lo- cate, and recommend to the Commission for purchase such lands as in his judg- ment may be necessary for regulating the flow of navigable streams. The circular, which is now being printed, is intended to give information to the public as to where and what kinds of land are wanted. Owners of land, the purchase of which will be considered by the government, are expected on the basis of this information to make known to the Forest Service, which will conduct the work for the Department of Agriculture, their desire to sell. Copies of the circulars may be obtained by ap- plying to the Forest Service. The law is not restricted to particular regions, except that lands may be bought only in the states whose legislatures have consented to the acquisition of land by the United States for the purpose of preserving the navigability of streams. The states which have already taken the necessary action are Maine, New Hampshire, Mary- land, Virginia, West Virginia, North Caro- lina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia. The first lands to be examined for pur- chase will be in the southern Appalachian and White Mountains, which, because of their altitude, steepness, and lack of pro- tection, are in a class by themselves. The area which is believed to need protection is much larger than the government can purchase. Much difference exists, however, between different parts of the region. Care- ful examinations, which have been going on for the last ten years, have proved that the conditions which affect stream- flow to an extreme extent are to be found in relatively limited areas, which are scattered more or less widely. By careful selection it is believed that much can be done for the permanent improvement of the watersheds with the purchase of a rela- tively small part of the land. A blank form for the offer of land accompanies the circular. Additional copies of this blank form may be had by writing the Forest Service at Washington. The kinds of land which will be consid- ered for purchase, if they lie within the designated areas, are set forth by the cir- cular as follows: Timbered lands may be bought either with the timber standing on them or with reservation by the owner of the right to cut the timber under certain rules to pro- vide for perpetuation of the forest. These rules will form a part of the agreement for purchase of the land. Since, however, the government cannot pay high prices, it is not regarded as probable that much land bearing a heavy stand of merchant- able timber can be bought. Culled and cut- over lands may be bought, as well as land covered with brush which is useful for watershed protection, burned land, and abandoned farm land, whether cleared or partially, or wholly covered by young tim- ber growth. Good agricultural lands will not be considered. Owners may reserve the right to remove valuable mineral de- posits which are known to exist. Proposals will be received for small as well as for large tracts, although small tracts can be examined only where the pur- chase of a considerable total of land in the same neighborhood is under consid- eration. With regard to the price which can be paid, Secretary Wilson indicates that the policy of the Commission will be to make the money available go as far as possible. “For the most part,” he says, “we shall have to buy cut-over lands or lands without much merchantable timber. I want to make it plain at the start that I shall recommend this class of land only when it is offered very cheap. Proffers of land at exorbitant prices will not be consid- ered. I am frank to say that I hope to see a great deal of public spirit manifested by land owners. I expect some lands to be offered at merely nominal prices, in order to aid the government in getting 235 well started upon this wise and _ neces- Sary policy. “The lands acquired by the government will be held as national forests. They will be protected from fire and the growth of the timber will be improved as much as possible. The lands will not be game preserves, but will continue to be open to the public for hunting and fishing in ac- cordance with the laws of the state in which they are situated. All their resources will be availabie for the public under rea- sonable conditions. Another point which | wish to emphasize is that we are not going to take from people their homes in order to put the lands into national for- ests.” The areas within which offers of land are desired are set forth in detail in the circular of the Forest Service. The approxi- mate location of these areas is as follows, although Secretary Wilson warns those wishing to offer land that they should first secure the circular in order to see whether their holdings fall within the more detailed areas therein indicated: In New Hampshire, lands in the White Mountains region. In Maine, lands in a portion of Batchel- der’s Grant in Oxford County. In Maryland, a portion of the western part of Garrett County. In Virginia, parts of Shenandoah, Rock- ingham, southwestern Warren, western Page, northern Bedford, eastern Botetourt, south- ern Rockbridge, southern Washington, Smyth, and Wythe counties, and western Grayson County. In West Virginia, parts of Pendleton, Hardy, Randolph, and Pocahontas counties. In Tennessee, parts of northeastern John- son County, Cocke, Sevier, Blount, and Monroe counties. In North Carolina, parts of Wilkes, Cald- well, Wautauga, Buncombe, Yancey, Me- Dowell, southwestern Mitchell, Haywood, Swain, Jackson, Henderson, Transylvania, Macon, Clay, Cherokee, and Graham coun- ties. In South Carolina, a part of Oconee County. In Georgia, parts of Rabun, Habersham, and White counties. New Grazing Regulations The Secretary of Agriculture has ap- proved a revised form of the grazing regu- lations, which govern the use of national forest ranges. The most important de- partures from the old regulations are found, first, in the fact that provision is made for recognition of a permanent national ad- visory board representing the sheep and cattle interests, which will confer an- AMERICAN FORESTRY nually with the Secretary of Agriculture concerning grazing matters;and secondly, in the laying down of a rule that on for- ests where the quality of range and ad- vantages for raising cattle and sheep are equal, the yearlong rate for sheep after the season of 1911 will be thirty per cent of the yearlong rate for cattle. The new regulations have been made the subject of extended and most careful con- sideration, and are promulgated at the present time as the result of a general revision made of all the regulations gov- erning the use of the national forests. Before deciding on the grazing regula- tions, Secretary Wilson invited representa- tives of the two national organizations of stockmen, the National Wool Growers’ Asso- ciation and the American National Live Stock Association, to present their views to him on grazing matters, and to make any suggestions which they might wish to offer concerning the proposed regulations. The proposed regulations, as they had been drafted by the.Forest Service, were sub- mitted to delegates of the two associa- tions, who came to Washington in response to the Secretary’s invitation. Secretary Wilson recognizes that the one and one- half million cattle and seven and one-half million sheep, which are annually grazed on the forests, bear an important re- lation to the price of beef and mutton in this country, and that the public need of increased food supplies no less than the best interests of the stock industry call for careful methods of regulation to pro- mote the full use of the grazing resource. Regulated grazing on the national for- ests seeks not only to make available, to the fullest degree consistent with proper protection of the range itself and of forest growth and streamflow conditions, the an- nual forage crop, but also to allot the graz- ing privilege equitably. By giving the stockmen themselves a chance to be heard with regard to the rules established, and by securing tneir help in the adjustment of disputes between claimants for use of the range, the department officials con- sider that the task of administering the range satisfactorily has been made much easier. No radical changes in the regulations have been made. As a result of the con- ferences with the representatives of the stockmen’s associations, a number of changes were made in the details concern- ing the conditions under which owners may surrender, transfer, or renew appli- cation for grazing privileges. Both the de- partment and the stockmen are anxious to prevent speculation in grazing privileges, and suggestions for minor modifications of the rules, offered by the stockmen to this end, were readily accepted. STATE WORK Report of the Forest Commission of Maine In his annual report Edgar E. Ring, forest commissioner of Maine, refers to the fire peril and to the lessons of the past season. Of the new Maine forest fire law, he says: “The forest fire law enacted by the last Legislature was a long step toward the con- servation of our forests by protecting them from fire. We know the principles of the law are correct because we have tried them out. The necessity of patrol is so generally admitted that it hardly needs mentioning. Putting out fires already started is better than letting them burn, but, as the real foundation of a protective system, it is about like lowering the lifeboat after the ship has struck. Patrol is better than fighting, because the incipient spark or camp fire can be extinguished before it be- comes a forest fire that has to be fought. One patrolman can stop a hundred incipient fires cheaper than one hundred men can stop one large fire. “Results in forest protection are most truly measured, not by the number of fires extinguished, but by the absence of fires at all. “Another feature of the new law is that the small assessment upon the land owners makes it co-operative. Just as the individ- ual cannot maintain a properly organized and equipped fire department to look after his city property as well alone as through joining with the community, neither can he do so in protecting forest property. If one patrolman can cover the land of several owners, it is unwise for each to hire a man. If a fire starts and threatens several tracts, it is better to share the expense of putting it out. The sale value of timberland in any region is increased by public knowledge that those interested there unite in sup- porting progressive protective methods. “Again this law has been the means of compelling the non-resident owner, the small owner who is unable to employ any one alone, and the non-progressive owners who would otherwise do nothing, to con- tribute their share toward the general cost, and the public take far more kindly to the enforcement of fire laws by the state than to similar activity on the part of the in- dividual owner, against whom a prejudice might exist. “Our forest wealth is mainly community wealth. All the owner can get out of them is the stumpage value. The people get everything else. On every acre of land de stroyed by fire the citizens of this state who are not land owners bear at least 75 per cent of the direct loss and sustain seri- ous injury to their future safety and profits. The forest district plan, recently pro- vided for, by which the land owners of Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington counties are annually assessed one and one-half mills (in 1909 and 1910, $63,945.44) for fire patrols, has the com- missioner’s hearty approval. Concerning the fire patrol and lookout system, Mr. Ring says: “One of the first things attempted and carried out under the conditions made possible by creating the Maine Forestry District, was the enlarge- ment of the patrol and lookout systems. “Hight years ago when the first law was passed looking to the protection of Maine’s forests a goodly number of fire wardens were appointed. and so far as possible dur- ing the dry and dangerous periods the most exposed places were patrolled, but neces- sarily only a limited amount of such work could be done with an appropriation of only $10,000, which had to be devoted to extin- guishment as well as prevention. “Experience has taught all who have made a study of the protection of forests against fire that first in importance is the protection that can be gained by proper pa- trol. It has been the custom of the forest commissioner each spring to meet the land owners of the different sections of the state at some convenient and central point to talk over and plan the season’s work. At the meeting held in 1909 after the passage of the Maine Forestry District act we made known our plans for extending the patrol system and such plans met with hearty approval of the land owners. “An efficient corps of chief wardens were appointed, men being selected who were recommended by the land owners as being thoroughly familiar with the territory as- signed to their care. Under the chiefs were placed enough men to cover the most ex- posed sections and there was not a town- ship of wild land that was not included in the routes of the patrolmen. The water- ways and roads most frequently traveled by rivermen and sportsmen were particu- larly well looked after as were the town- ships lying along the railroads. “Of the amount appropriated in 1909 there was used in the patrol system alone, including amounts paid the chief and 237 238 AMERICAN deputy wardens the sum of $31,131.79, making more than one-half of the entire amount expended in 1909 going directly for patrol work and supervision of the same. In 1910 for the same class of service there has been expended up to November 1, $38,708.97. Included in the work of patrol and constant watch for fires there has been posted by these men over 20,000 danger-fire notices, printed largely in Hnglish, al- though when it seemed wise notices printed in French and Italian have been put up. “Close touch with the men employed has been made possible by weekly reports re- turned to the department by the regular patrolmen. “In case of fire of any proportion and causing the hiring of extra men the chief or deputy wardens in charge file reports containing the following facts: County and township in which fire occurred; time dis- covered and number of hours before it was entirely extinguished; direction of wind at the time; method employed in extinguish- ing same; cause of fire; area burned; esti- mated damage; names of men and hours employed and the total expense of extin- guishing the fire; the report to be signed and sworn by the warden in charge and approved by the chief warden of the section in which the fire occurred.” According to the report fire losses in in- corporated towns in 1909 amounted to $32,- 965, in unincorporated townships, $63,734. The loss from forest fires in incorporated towns in 1910 was $1,906 and in unincor- porated townships $935. The year 1909, the first season under the Forestry District, the appropriation for prevention and extin- zuishment was about $64,000 and the select- men of towns also worked under the new law making their municipalities liable for their negligence. The forestry department has equipped its wardens with tools for fighting fires, which are distributed in convenient localities and are branded with the stamp of the district. The amount invested in this manner is $5,000. There are twenty-four lookout sta- tions on the high elevations. The con- struction and equipment of these stations has cost $14,664.49 the past two years. In connection with these stations many lines of telephone have been constructed, bring- ing the most remote sections into quick communication with the chief warden and localities from which help can be easily secured. By arrangement with E. C. Hirst, state forester of New Hampshire, a system of co-operation was entered into in 1910 whereby Maine gets the benefit of the Kear- sarge Mountain station in Chatham, N. H. Other stations overlooking Maine forests are contemplated by New Hampshire. In return Maine wardens watch for fires in FORESTRY New Hampshire from the Aziscoos Moun- tain station in Lincoln plantation, Oxford county. A system of reversing telephone tolls distributes the expense equitably. A Gift to Vermont Vermont has just received a gift of 106 acres including the summit of Bromley Mountain in the township of Peru, eleva- tion 3,260 feet, from Hon. M. J. Hapgood. Mr. Hapgood has long been interested in forestry, and in addition to this gift has placed his own holdings under the direc- tion of the state forester. Commissioner Conklin’s Report in Pennsyl- vania In his annual report Commissioner of Forestry Conklin of Pennsylvania says: “Tt is the duty of a government to per- petuate itself, and in perpetuating itself there is a further duty to provide for the common welfare of its citizens. With these objects in view, it is wise for a state to see ‘to it that every square foot of soil, the source of wealth, be made to produce its highest revenue. Whenever elements of production are allowed to be wasted, the whole moral fiber of those in connec- tion with the waste is lowered and gen- eral dissatisfaction follows. The state in turn suffers from undesirable citizens, loss of industry, income, and at the same time, outlay for remedial measures and a host of economic conditions which can hardly be followed. “There must be more co-operation on the part of the departments concerned, prin- cipally those of education, agriculture and forestry. School gardens, elementary agri- culture, agricultural clubs, Arbor day and so on must be gotten into the schools. The school building should be the social centers of the communities and, if necessary, the government must send out social settle- ment workers. Agriculture and forestry must no longer be left out of county and local teachers’ institutes, nor should a consideration of the schools and forestry be left out of farmers’ institutes. There are no forestry institutes, but lectures, bulletins, sample plantings and all man- ner of assistance must be provided for. It behooves every member of our departments to make each appropriation reach as far as possible, but it is more important that results are obtained from what is done, and then the results themselves must and will speak for increased assistance from the legislature. a There have been added to the reserve area 17,000 acres, during the past year, making the total area of reserves now owned by the state 933,582 acres: There are thirty-nine trained foresters and eighty- STATE WORK five rangers in charge of this large area, using every means available to develop it as rapidly as possible and to bring it up to the best economic production. The Oregon Conservation Commission on Forests Oregon has had a particularly able and clear-headed conservation commission. This body issued for 1910 a comprehensive and valuable report. The commission has re- cently resigned to relieve Governor West of any embarrassment, and because of the failure of an appropriation to carry on the commission’s work. The Governor declares that the state is to have a conservation commission, and he may reappoint some or all of the old board—J. N. Teal, chair- man; F. G. Young, secretary; J. B. Wilson, Cc. B. Watson, Frank J. Miller, J. N. Hart, J. C. Stevens. The section of the report of the commission devoted to forests de- serves wide reading for its fair and tem- perate discussion of current forest prob- lems of the Northwest. We print this section entire: FORESTS. Whether considered as a source of great- est direct revenue shared by all the people, or for their part in maintaining condi- tions favorable to the highest general de- velopment along all industrial and so- cial line, Oregon’s forests, next to land itself, are far her most important natural resources. No other represents equal po- tential wealth; any other could be spared with less injury to present and future prosperity. We are supposed to have a fifth of the merchantable timber in the United States. Even at current prices it should bring us $5,000,000,000.00. This prodigious wealth is better than gold, for its produc- tion will employ an industrial army, afford market for our other commodities, and in every way tend to the development of a great prosperous commonwealth. Forest wealth is community wealth. Protection of forest industry is the best form of pros- perity insurance a timbered state can buy. Notwithstanding these facts, Oregon is far behind other timber states in forest protection and management. While other states with far less at stake, from Maine in the extreme east to Washington and California on either side of us, are con- tinually improving their forest laws and appropriating more and more liberally to safeguard the community welfare. Oregon does practically nothing. With an excellent code of forest laws, as far as punitive and regulative provisions go, it provides no machinery for their enforcement. The result is what might be expected. The Federal Government and private forest owners, where they are interested, do much to prevent and fight fires. But without 239 state aid neither can enforce the laws that would prevent fires, and large areas do not: even profit by even their handi- capped effort. During the season just closed we have lost, by fire alone, timber which if saved for manufacture would have brought $23,000,000.00 into Oregon. Other property worth many thousands of dollars has been lost by settlers who could ill afford it, many human lives have been sacrificed, and untold though usually un- realized injury has been done to the thous- ands of acres of second growth which other- wise would have made the forest of the future. Little or no progress in reforesta- tion to retrieve this injury is possible under existing conditions. All of it is unnecessary, for forest des- truction is preventable. The state is di- rectly responsible. Its responsibility and the remedy which lies in its hands are set forth in the following pages. OUR FOREST RESOURCES. While an accurate census is still lack- ing, authorities generally agree that Ore- gon has approximately four hundred bil- lion feet, B.M. of merchantable timber. This estimate is probably conservative, for standards of merchantability become less exacting and vast quantities of wood ma- terial now unconsidered will have future value. The government estimates that about one hundred and thirty-five billion, or approximately a third of the total, is in national forests. The other two-thirds, the most valuable and accessible, are mostly in private hands. The state itself owns comparatively little timber, having dis- posed of most of its educational grant lands. Board foot figures, however, fail to con- vey any adequate idea of the tremendous economic importance of this resource. We are further prevented from realizing it because its exploitation has scarcely com- menced. We regard our forests largely as a wilderness, or at most as a speculative asset for their owners, instead of com- puting their function in the early future as producers of community wealth. But the world’s demand for timber must inevit- ably lead to the manufacture and ship- ment of most of this material within the next fifty years, thus bringing billions of dollars into Oregon. For this reason prob- ably no other resources can approach our forests in distributing new wealth per capita among our population and conse- quently in upbuilding every industry we have, or may hope to have in any portion of the state. Without counting increasing export to other countries, the United States already uses (1908) 40,000,000,000 feet of lumber a year, besides 118,000,000 hewn ties, 1,500,- 000,000 staves, over 133,000,000 sets of head- ing, nearly 500,000,000 barrel hoops, 3,000,- 000 cords of native pulp wood, 165,000,000 240 cubic feet of mine timbers, 1,250,000 cords of wood for distillation, and 90,000,000 cords of fire wood. One by one the timber states, which have met this enormous drain, are becoming exhausted. Washing- ton nows bears the heaviest burden, but Oregon will soon be called upon. But, while Oregon’s stock of four hun- dred billion is almost incalculably valu- able in the light of these figures, it is scarcely more so than our immense area of cut and burned over land. Upon our management of this depends whether we shall continue the period of prosperity permanently. Here again accurate figures are lacking, but it is probable that an area quarter as great as that now bear- ing merchantable forest is capable of equal production in the comparatively early fu- ture. This fact, practically ignored, is of the utmost importance. Nowhere else is forest reproduction as rapid and certain as in the Pacific North- west. The same natural influences which made our existing forests the most mag- nificent in the world will perpetuate them with equal success if given slight co-opera- tion by man; indeed they ask little help but prevention of fire. Saw timber can be grown in 40 to 60 years; ties, timbers and piles in less. It is reasonable to sup- pose that while the quality may be in- ferior to that of the old forest being used now, timber scarcity will make a second crop equally profitable per acre in 60 years. Our deforested land of today should bring us in a billion dollars within the life- time of our boys and girls, if we do not deliberately destroy its capability to do so. RELATION OF FORESTS TO THE AVERAGE CITIZEN. The Oregon lumber industry nows brings about $25,000,000 a year into the State: as much as our apples, fish, wool, and wheat together. In a year or two our forest revenue should certainly equal or surpass that of Washington, already over $75,000,000. Eighty per cent of this immense sum goes to pay for labor and supplies. Practically all finds its way into general circulation. The lumber industry is like any branch of manufacturing in that it creates business, and more than most it consists of labor and so supports every industry of the community. The money brought into Oregon by lumbering is the greatest source of revenue to la- borer, farmer, merchant, and professional man. As the product is mostly sold else- where, this revenue is clear gain to the state. Forest products constitute eighty per cent of the freight shipped out of Oregon. The interest of the average citizen in for- est protection and use is affected very little by the passage of title to forest land. The owner gets only the stumpage, which is AMERICAN FORESTRY a small part of the value. The people get everything else. Moreover, the people of Oregon are also consumers of forest products. Waste of existing forest, or failure to produce new forests, adds in- evitably to the price they must pay, besides reducing the per capita wealth with which to pay it. And the price of almost every other commodity we use is affected by the cost of forest material used directly or in- directly in its manufacture and marketing. It is unnecessary here to point out the relation of forests to stream flow and the imperative necessity of protecting our agri- culture and water power industries from alternating flood and failure. Less com- monly considered is the intimate relation to every citizen, the farmer especially, of forests as a source of tax revenue. This form of property is one of the chief con- tributors to the support of local and State government. Every acre of timber de- stroyed, or failing to grow where it might grow, adds to the tax burden of the holders of other property. Were all Oregon’s tim- ber to be destroyed, this burden would suddenly be augmented. Partial destruc- tion has precisely the same effect in cor- responding degree and so does failure to reforest. Oregon’s forests are the assests of all its citizens. The lumberman or timber owner is, economically, only their agent in us- ing them. The lumberman can change or move his business, but the people as a whole have a stake in forest preservation that is unalienable and paramount. Their prosperity depends upon it now and always. The question involved is not one of per- sonal property, but one of a community resource. PRESENT WASTE, Blinded by the fallacy that it is the tim- ber owner who pays, we let nearly one and three-quarters billion feet of timber burn this year without having taken any steps to prevent it. If saved for manu- facture this would have brought at least $23,000,000 into Oregon, or over $30 for every man, woman and child in the state. This sum would pay the entire cost of state government for nearly ten years. It would pay every dollar of state and county tax together in Oregon with money to spare for improvements. The interest on it at only one per cent for one year, if spent for systematic protection, would have prevented the loss. In addition to the loss of merchantable timber six human lives were sacrificed and the destruction of buildings and improve- ments amounted to many thousands of dol- lars. Property losses by citizens, in no way connected with the timber industry, were many times what it would have cost to prevent these fires. Thousands of acres of cutover lands were also burned over, STATE WORK jestroying all reproduction and seed trees. Only a fortunate break in weather condi- tions prevented an even more serious catas- trophe. All available agencies were taxed to the utmost fighting fires already under way, and had rain not come when it did countless others would have passed _ be- yond control. Oregon’s escape from one of the most fearful forest fires of history was not due to its own precaution. Nor, after all, was the season of 1910 so unusual as to be reassuring as to the future. Seasons vary, and Oregon has no adequate system of reporting fire damage, but competent authorities estimate that the average annual loss in the past has been fully half a billion feet and probably more. This means an annual loss to the community of six or seven million dollars at least. Second, only to the fire loss, as a result of Oregon’s apathy toward forest preserva- tion, is its unfavorable affect upon re- forestation. To the careless waste of ex- isting resources which we and our families should share, we add the idleness of all the land cut and burned over each year, a dead loss of many millions of dollars. Fear of fire and discouraging taxation justly warrants the owner in not taking the necessary steps to make this land use- ful, hence much of it reburns and turns into desert, ultimately to be untaxable, non-productive, and offering no reward to labor. Milling and logging waste constitute an- other leak in our forest economy and will persist as long as neither state nor pub- lic show any recognition of fundamental principles. So long as our lumbermen must bear the entire burden of forest preserva- tion and still compete with those of other states where the community assists, they can do only what it pays to do. EXISTING PROTECTIVE EFFORT. The federal Forest Service is the only public agency doing anything to take care of the Oregon forests. Its expenditures for protection alone in 1910 will exceed $200,000. Of this approximately half is for patrol and half for trail and telephone building and additional fire fighting labor. The U. S. Army and the Oregon National Guard also gave valuable assistance dur- ing the August fires, but this was an un- precedented emergency action and can hardly be considered in discussing Oregon’s protective system. Ordinarily the Forest Service confines its work to the national forests, but this year the menace to homes and property outside led it to disregard official boundaries in many instances. In either case the benefit accrues to the state for national forest timber is a state asset in all but stumpage returns and twenty- five per cent of these also are paid to the counties. As adequately as congressional appropriations permit, the Forest Service 241 takes care of about a third of the timber in the state. It has also begun reforesta- tion. The only fire protection is that given by private timber owners. Through individual and co-operative patrols they spent about $50,000 in 1909 and, while reports for 1910 have not been prepared, presumably that amount was doubled or trebled this year. About 290 regular patrolmen and over 1,000 extra fire fighters were employed. The Coos County Fire Patrol Association and the Klamath Lake Counties Forest Fire Association are strongly organized co-operative patrols in which the members pro rate the cost upon their acreage. The Northwest Oregon, North Williamette, Lin- coln-Benton and Polk-Yamhill Forest Fire Associations are looser alliances of tim- ber owners maintaining individual or inform- ally co-operative patrols. For central effort in increasing the extent and efficiency of patrol, all these organizations combine in the Oregon Forest Fire Association, which in turn is affiliated with the Western Forestry and Conservation Association em- bracing all similar organizations from Mon- tana to California. These private patrols have been of immense value to the State. It is notable that where they were best organized, losses this year were insignifi- cant. They vary in efficiency, however, and do not cover sufficient area. The Oregon Conservation Association rep- resents a purely public spirited reform movement, supported by annual dues from all classes of citizens, and not particularly pledged to promote forest protection more than that of other resources. So far it has devoted itself chiefly to this end, how- ever, in the belief that no other problem is equally urgent. Its chief function has been to supply means for carrying on the work of the State Board of Forestry, which is unprovided for by the state itself. By meeting expenses for postage and clerical work, and allowing its secretary to act as secretary of the state board in prepar- ing publicity matter concerning the fire evil, appointing and aiding voluntary State fire wardens, collecting statistics, ete., it alone has prevented the forest laws from being absolutely inoperative. It is hardly likely, however, that it can continue this work indefinitely, in view of the claims of its members interested in other lines of conservation. The Western Forestry and Conservation Association, mentioned on a preceding page, is even more active in propaganda’ work seeking to interest both general public and forest owners in systematic forest protection. The State Board of Forestry, created in 1907 by a statute that also provided an excellent forest code, remains practically powerless because it is not supplied with any machinery for active work. It is thus shorn of any real function except to make recommendations to the legis- 949 lature and has not the means of collect- ing information to make these effective. Its appropriation in only $250 a year. This insignificant sum is Oregon's total contribution, as a state, to the cause of forest preservation. It is the least appro- priated by any state in the Union that has any forest system at all. The statute referred to (Chapter 131, Session Laws of 1907) has three excellent features. In the principle of a non-po- litical Board of Forestry, composed mainly of representatives of agencies, competent to deal with forest matters, it follows the example of most progressive states. By enabling the authorization of voluntary fire wardens to control the use of fire in the dry season, it provides the only safe- guard practicable without actual state aid, Its regulative and punitive sections, or “fire laws,” are well drawn as far as they do. On the other hand, it is only frame- work, lacking the life to make it really effective. It provides for no educational work to create the necessary public un- dertaking of the subject, no means of in- vestigating forest conditions, no means of enforcing the fire laws, no machinery for actual forest protection, and above all, no head to develop and execute any State forest policy. In effect it amounts to giv- ing in legal language the state’s gracious permission to its forests to take care of themselves. This authority is of consider- able use, for without it still less would be accomplished, but it is only the first step toward meeting a situation in which the state’s welfare is vitally concerned and in which the state is primarily and un- aviodably responsible. That the state’s present policy, or rather lack of policy, is hopelessly inadequate may be seen in the following counts: 1. There is no one to enforce the fire laws. Every other law to protect life and property has its provided officers. The fire laws do not lend themselves well to the ordinary established machinery, but are not for that reason any less entitled to respect. There is no moral or economic difference between firing a forest and fir- ing a city, yet to violate one excites hor- ror and leads to the pentitentiary, while conviction, or even prosecution, for the other is almost unknown. If detection is more difficult, there is all the more rea- son for providing for it. This is a police function and only the state can exercise it. The employee of an individual or cor- poration can patrol or fight fire, but he can- not successfully exert police power or prose- cute. At present violation of the fire laws is the rule. The violator cannot be ex- pected to take in earnest a law which the state itself does not recognize. With the laws enforced, few fires would start. 2. There is no means of stopping fires that do start. Forest protection is left absolutely to the enterprise, judgment and AMERICAN FORESTRY financial responsibility of anyone or no one. To the extent that he believes it pays him to do so and where he believes it pays him to do so, the forest owner will do his part. But this is exactly like not policing a city in the hope that some individual will be willing and able to do it to our satisfaction. And the result corresponds. Those who can least afford to lose receive least protection. 3. There is no means of helping the pro- gressive timber owners to secure the co- operation of their unprogressive brothers. Probably the greatest retarder of efficient private organization which would other- wise reduce the need of state financial aid to the minimum is the failure of the unrepresentative minority owners to bear their share. 4. There is no one to educate the public in the need of forest preservation. So long as this work is left to private effort it is not only uncertain in quantity and per- sistence, but accomplishes the minimum re- sult because suspected of selfish motive. By not recognizing this need, the state in effect declares it non-existent and ad- vocates forest waste. 5. There is no one to study and promul- gate improved methods of protection, man- agement and reforestation. Even the inter- est in forestry, which is growing, without propaganda is unable to get the technical information and assistance necessary to secure actual practice. 6. There is no progress toward a solu- tion of the forest taxation problem, espe- cially as regards cut-over lands, without which there will be continual dissatisfac- tion on all sides and small progress toward reforestation. 7. Above all, there is no agency with facilities and technical competence to de- velop, to say nothing of executing, a ra- tional far-seeing forest policy for the state which needs this more than any in the Union. To sum up, although Oregon is trying to bring about wise use of its fish, its game, and its agricultural resources, and spends money to this end, it absolutely neglects its most vulnerable resource—its forests. WHAT IS NEEDED AT ONCE, On the other hand, it needs no theory to outline a remedy. We have only to look at experience elsewhere. Where there is an adequate fire service the losses are reduced by a hundred times its cost and few fires are set. Where there is someone to study and report conditions, the laws are constantly improved. Where good laws are strictly but intelligently enforced, the people respect and endorse them. Where the lumberman can get competent advice and encouragement, he is quick to see that both protection and reforestation are profit- able. The essentials of such a policy for STATE WORK Oregon are cheap and simple. They are as follows and should be provided for without delay. 1. A trained state forester familiar with western conditions and experienced in or- ganization for the prevention of forest fires. He should not be a cheap man, but the best available, and chosen absolutely independently of politics. He should be allowed to appoint one or more assistants. 2. A liberal appropriation for forest fire patrol, with ample latitude for such co-op- eration with other agencies as the state forester shall find for the best interest of the public, especially through the encour- agement of further extension and efficiency of private and county effort. 3. Improvement and strict enforcement of laws against fire, the state to exert its police authority to this end. 4. Systematic study of forest conditions and needs, to afford basis of intelligent action and of any further desirable legis- lation. 5. A system of general popular educa- tion, with specific advice to individuals in proper forest management. The following are equally important as part of an early rational policy but per- haps less urgently in need of immediate action by the legislature: 1. Dependable low taxation of deforested land not more valuable for agriculture which will encourage its being held and protected for a future crop, the state to be compensated by adequate tax upon the yield. 2. Thorough study of the subject of tax- ing mature timber, with a view of secur- ing the adoption of a system which will Tesult in the greatest permanent com- munity good. 3. Study on which to base the early appli- cation of advanced forestry principles to the management of state-owned forest lands, and the purchase of cut or burned over lands better suited for state than private forestry. This to furnish educa- tive example as well as to maintain state revenue and proper forest conditions. LESSONS FROM OTHER STATES. Hardly any two states have exactly the same policy in fire prevention. But, bar- ring, of course, those which do practi- cally nothing and consequently cannot be considered to have studied the subject, the greatest divergence is in the manner of making the work a public charge after admitting that it should be one. In other words, progressive states recognize that it is a public function and seek to make the general population share the cost, but their customs of local government influ- ence decision as to whether state, county or township should collect and expend the funds which are borne by the taxpayer in elther case. This is largely a question 243 of constitutional power to lay burdens upon local units against their will. Pennsylvania, which in all forestry work makes the state chiefly responsible, bears four-fifths the entire expense by direct appropriation. The counties pay the other fifth. Michigan pays one-third, Connecti- cut one-fourth. The majority of eastern states, however, share costs equally with the town governments which exist there. Vermont solves the problem by assuming it should be a town charge but preventing bardship upon poor towns by providing that any expense in excess of five per cent of the town’s “grand list” shall be borne by the state. In 1908 this worked out to make 70 towns with small fires pay their own bills, while in 20 towns, severely rav- aged, the state bore two-thirds the expense, of fire fighting at a cost to it of $6,000. Some states, including Massachusetts and Wisconsin, make the towns bear all fire ex- pense except on state reserves. Maine plac- es a special one and one-half mill tax on all property in (not timber land alone) the forest portion of the state, and the state collects and spends it. As a rule eastern and central states do not consider private protection by the owner any more logical than private fire protection in cities. To put it another way, they assume the forest tax payer entitled to the same protection under the forest statutes that he or any other citizen receives under the statutes against murder, theft or arson. The ques- tion is only whether state or local govern- ment shall finance and provide it, by di- rect appropriation or otherwise. Oregon conditions are different in many ways. The people’s interest in forest pro- tection is in no way decreased by the ex- istence of larger individual holdings, for the use of timber brings the same wealth for distribution and its destruction equally injures all industries. Indeed the pub- lic’s stake is greater in exactly the meas- ure that forests constitute a greater pro- portion of our total resources. Neverthe- less, the system of production must be modified to fit our constitution, our dis- tribution of wealth and population and our less advanced public sentiment in the matter. Axiomatically, Oregon should spend as much more money than Pennsyl- vania, as it has more forest values to pro- tect, but spend it differently. No project, in which the public does not share, receives public support. So long as forest preservation is by the lumber industry alone, it is looked at as a meas- ure of private profit only. Carelessness and lawlessness cannot be prevented or prosecuted, for public sentiment is not with the property owner. But, when the average citizen is made to pay something to protect his own welfare, he wants re sults for his money, even if he does not approve of paying it. He sees that de 244 crease of fire hazard decreases his share of the expense. Town or county responsibility for actu- ally performing work cannot be relied on at our present stage of popular education. Politics, inexperience, apathy, are twenty times as hard to overcome in twenty units of government as they are in one. Theo- retically, the nearer the administration is to the thing administered the better, but this is true only when equal compe- tency and interest exists. This is borne out by results where the experiment has been tried, as in California. There the law authorizes counties to appropriate for fire prevention, but they do almost nothing. The only way this plan could be made effective is by compelling the counties to act. Our wealth, population, and dependent industries which should help pay for forest protection are largely outside of the for- est itself, not scattered through it as in many eastern states. Only by state dis- tribution can the cost be fairly equalized. It is unlikely that our voters would con- sent, as they do in many states, to re- lieving the timber owner entirely of the burden of protecting his property. Nor is it necessary that they should. A strictly official system, in which only office holders spend only public funds, seldom if ever has the maximum efficiency until removed from politics, and this is hard to ac- complish until its object is so thoroughly approved and understood by the public that no trifling is permitted. Self-interest must be appealed to in order to insure sin- cerity and, until the public fully realizes its own self-interest that of the timber owner must be utilized. The timber owner and lumberman him- self, by no means always wholly above education, must also abide by the opera- tion of the law. He will support it bet- ter if he has a part in it than if he regards it solely as officially restriction of his lib- erties. For these reasons, the most practical system for western applications is one which— (a) Places a fair share of the finan- cial burden on the timber owner; (b) Leaves execution with him insofar as his self-interest and technical compe- tence tends to secure economy and effi- ciency; (c) Assists him to make less willing owners do their part: (d) Makes the state bear enough of the financial burden to discharge its obliga- tion, enlist public support, and insure ade- quate protection; (e) Gives enough supervision to insure honest execution and enough backing to enforce the law. AMERICAN FORESTRY (f) Provides for education and senti- ment-molding that cannot be charged with selfish motives. There are two ways to carry out this policy. One is to enact a detailed law which attempts to govern the co-opera- tion between state and private effort so specifically that neither can secure undue advantage. This assumes that both will try to. The other way is to take every precaution to get a competent non-political state forester and leave him as free as possible to deal with the matter. The latter is by all means preferable. By its very nature, and also by reason of its infancy, forest work is insusceptible of accurate forecast of detail. It may vary from year to year, from place to place. While the state’s attitude may be fixed by legislation, that of the agencies it must co-operate with must be developed; and not by legislatures, but by the officials with whom they deal. A cumbersome or in- flexible law prevents progress of any kind. A flexible law permits experiment and pro- gress, which may be excellent. While it also permits abuse, this may always be stopped before much harm is done, be- cause only one appropriation is involved. State funds for forest work may be raised by direct appropriation or by a special tax. The latter seldom can, or should, be imposed until a thoroughly satisfactory ad- ministrative system is established. We should first get a competent forester to work out a permanent, financial policy, and present it to a later legislature for adop- tion. Until this is done, liberal direct appropriation is probably all that is safe. The amount of this appropriation should have an actual basis, governed by the acreage and value of the state’s forest re- sources and the risk to which they are subject. The state’s participation is merely paying insurance to protect its prosper- ity. Every thousand feet of timber saved for manufacture and sale means the dis- tribution of from $10 upwards among its population. Every thousand feet destroyed means an equal loss. The interest alone on the annual loss by Oregon would pay many times the entire cost preventing it. Not to insure against this loss is folly. There should, however, be some way of inducing forest owners as a class to live up to the policy adopted by the state. While it should be possible to meet emer- gencies anywhere that public welfare so demands, as a general policy state funds should go to help districts that help them- selves, thus acting as a lever to encourage private and county efforts. ‘This also fits the plan of placing the actual fire work in the timberman’s hands to ensure effi- ciency. Again, it is obvious that where the most private money is spent is where large fires must be fought, and as large STATE WORK fires mean property destruction also, the private cost is now borne by those whose losses make them least able to bear it. Here we arrive at a distinction between patrol and fire fighting, and it is in this that most eastern systems are weak. They tend to provide for fire fighting or for prevention, and consequently cost more than they need to, with less actual pro- tection. The ideal is to assist patrol, as well as fighting, in equal proportion of the cost, and this can scarcely be done without close co-operation between state and owner without a districting system determined chiefly by owners. Prevention, not fire fighting, is the end to be sought. It de- pends, in cost and efficiency, upon local hazard and ownership. Any state falls into a greater or less number of districts demanding different measure and method of patrol best deter- mined by those interested therein. The owner of the majority of the forest property in each should have chief voice in fix- ing the cost and method essential, all owners within this district should bear equal proportionate burden, and _ the state’s proportion should bear the same re- lation to the acreage cost that it does in any other district. Like division should be possible for cost of fire fighting labor additional to patrol. The most practicable darhtion of these many problems, at least at present, seems to be to modify the present Idaho dis- trict system so as to escape its regulation of state expenditure solely by state owner- ship, which is not adequate in Oregon. Wherever the owners in a suitable dis- trict will make concerted effort, the state should agree to bear a certain proportion of the cost provided there is a responsibe local organization to carry out the protec- tive policy decided upon. In localities where the owners refuse or neglect to main- tain such organization, independently em- ployed wardens should be appointed upon request, but without compensation by the state, as at present. In such localities, also, the state forester should be em- powered to take any additional steps de- manded by the public welfare in emer- gency, and perhaps to recover a fair part 245 of the cost from the owners of the land concerned. To sum up, although the state’s inter- est and financial responsibility is great, it can accomplish most not by building up an immense fire organization of its own, inviting political interference and at best requiring complicated and expensive supervision, but by encouraging and aid- ing local action by those whose own inter- est insures the maximum efficiency with the least state machinery. Where it can- not obtain this relief, and only there, it should take charge of the situation it- self. If this system is followed, the ex- penditure of the state fire funds will be to best advantage, and the state’s own forest service will be left fairly free to devote itself to other branches of forestry work, such as reforestation, public edu- cation, and making the many investiga- tions badly needed before a permanent policy can be developed. Otherwise the state forester’s entire time is occupied by fire work, which can do no better than others, and he has no opportunity to do the things which he alone can do. Pennsylvania spends $180,000 a year for forestry and fire protection, New York $118,- 000, Maine $64,000, and the other eastern and middle western forest states follow in line. Michigan expects to treble its present annual appropriation of $19,000 this year. Minnesota appropriates $21,000 and the towns bear the rest. Washington ex- pects greatly to increase its present an- nual allowance of $23,000. Idaho shares on a pro rata basis, amounting to about $15,000 last year and double that this year. It is unnecessary to prolong the re- view further than to say that down even to little New Jersey, with $13,500 a year, other states have left Oregon at the foot of the list in preservation of forest wealth and industries. None of them, having be- gun the work, abandons it. Their people endorse further progress by each legis- lature. Shall Oregon, with most at stake, remain the only laggard, inexcusably in- different to the life and property of its citizens, and hazard worse disasters than those of 1910. NEWS AND NOTES Consumption of Tanning Materials Tan bark and tanning extracts were con- sumed in the United States during the cal- endar year 1909 to the value of $21,904,927, as against $21,361,719 in 1908 and $21,205,- 547 in 1907. Of these totals the outlay for extracts formed 49.2 per cent during 1909, 49.4 per cent in 1908, and 45.5 per cent in 1907. While the total expenditure for vegetable tanning materials has been divided between the group of barks, etc., on the one hand and that of extracts on the other during the past three years, the average cost per cord of barks has advanced steadily from $9.52 in 1907 to $9.58 in 1908 and $10.31 in 1909. This increase in the average cost per cord has been accompanied or followed by a cor responding decrease in the quantity an- nually consumed during the same period, the total for 1908 being 7.2 per cent less than that for 1907, and that for 1909, 4.3 per cent less than that for 1908. The most marked decrease in annual consumption is shown for hemlock, which was the bark used in greatest quantity in all three years, the reported total of this species for 1909 being less than that for 1908 by 13.8 per cent, and less than that for 1907 by 14.4 per cent. The showing for extracts is similar to that for barks, etc., with respect to cost, though entirely different when the annual consumption is considered. The average cost per pound of extracts of all kinds consumed during 1907 was $0.0264, while in 1908 it was $0.0269 and in 1909 $0.0278. The total consumption in 1909 was greater than that in 1907 by 21,918,360 pounds, or 6 per cent, though slightly less than that reported for 1908, the total for which year was the largest of which there is record. The most marked increase among the leading extracts was in chestnut extract, the consumption of which in 1909 exceeded that of 1908 by 24.5 per cent and that of 1907 by 35.6 per cent. This movement in the tanning industry toward the supplant- ing of barks as materials with extracts has been discernible in the showings for sey- eral years past and follows logically the growing scarcity and rapidly increasing cost of the barks. Furthermore the fact that the supply of barks is not only dimin- ishing but at the same time becoming more remote from transportation facilities con- tributes to the decreasing use of tanning materials in this form. 246 The tanning industry, or that portion of it using vegetable tanning materials, is widely distributed. The consumption of extracts was reported from 33 states, and of barks from 25 in 1909, but the four states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Michigan, ranked in point of consumption in the order named, used near- ly two-thirds of the total quantity of barks reported, and, with Massachusetts, about three-fifths of that of extract. Pennsyl- vania continues, however, to be far in the lead of all other states in the quantity of both barks and extracts annually consumed, this state alone reporting 28.8 per cent of the barks and 32.2 per cent of the extracts used during 1909. The Southern Appalachian Rivers A detailed report upon the surface water supply of the south Atlantic coast and the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico is con- tained in Part II of a series of government reports entitled “Surface water supply of the United States, 1909.” This paper is pub- lished by the United States Geological Sur- vey as Water-Supply Paper 262 and may be obtained from the Director of the Survey on application. It wili be of particular in- terest in connection with the protection of streams by national forests under the new law. Determinations of rates of water flow are of importance in leading to the most complete utilization of the power of a stream. At any reasonable valuation per horse power, the undeveloped power of these streams is an important industrial asset. In Georgia and the Carolinas, more than 100,000 horsepower has been developed and is being used by the cotton mills alone, and public service corporations in these three states are to-day developing 300,000 to 400,000 additional horsepower to turn the hundreds of mills and light the many towns and cities in the region. In the operation of the power plants already con- structed and in the financing and building of those yet to be developed the problem of water flow is an important factor. Projects for providing water for domestic supply, for irrigation, and for generation of power for factories can not be designed intelligently without a knowledge of the flow and the behavior of the rivers from which the supply is to be derived. Methods of taking records and of com- puting rates of flow are described im detail NEWS AND NOTES in the paper. The instruments employed are illustrated, and the manner in which they are used is shown. Among the river basins considered are those of the James, Yadkin, Santee, Sa- vannah, Altamaha, Appalachicola, Choc- tawhatchee, Mobile, and Pearl, with their most important tributaries. A summary showing the great divergencies in sea- sonal rates of fiow exhibited by these streams is appended to the text. A Canadian View A very interesting letter has recently ap- peared from Senator W. C. Edwards, presi- dent of the Canadian Forestry Association, in favor of the reciprocity agreement. Com- ing from one of the leading lumber opera- tors, timberland owners, and paper mill men in Canada, this letter contains some statements that are well worth noting. Among other things, Mr. Edwards says: “Amongst the questions that attract more or less attention in the discussion going on at present in Parliament is that of the capturing and despoiling by the Americans of our natural resources. Our principal natural resources, so far as I am aware, are the products of the farm, the forests, the mines and fisheries, and of these, where the most fear is apprehended, are our for- est products, say lumber and perhaps more particularly pulp wood; there are, in the minds of very many of our people, some very mistaken ideas with regard to this subject. “In the minds of many Canadians the Americans have practically exhausted their forest resources, and are in immediate need of securing their requirements from Can- ada. This is not true. The United States possess to-day vastly more lumber than Canada and cutting as they are, say 40 billion feet per annum, they are said to have sufficient to supply their wants for from twenty-five to thirty years. Just where she is to look for her supply after that time I have no idea. Most people think Canada will then be her source of supply, but this is an error. For while it is true that up to date no approximately accurate estimate has been made of our timber resources, yet quite enough is as- certained to make it well known that the total timber resources of Canada suitable for lumber for immediate cutting would not supply the United States for more than eight or ten years. “As far as pulp wood is concerned the situation is different. Our resources in spruce, suitable for pulp making, are very much greater than theirs, and again the total quantity required annually for paper making is quite a small item compared with the quantity of lumber consumed. 247 “What the position of the United States is to be 20 to 30 years hence in her lumber requirements is a great and important ques- tion, and one which is in their hands to solve. “But the important question engaging the minds of some Canadians at the mo- ment is that should the duty on Canadian lumber entering the United States be abol- ished, and that should the further provis- ion take place, viz., that for the free entry of Canadian pulp and paper into the United States, the provinces relax their regulations that pulp wood cut from the crown do- main shall be manufactured in Canada, that what will follow will be greatly in- creased exhaustion of our forests conse- quent on improved prices for our lumber and the sale of our pulp wood to the United States, and I at once admit that this is a most reasonable deduction to arrive at on the part of those unfamiliar with the true situation. “The agitation against the exportation of pulp wood first arose on the part of the pulp and paper makers of Canada, with the view of circumscribing the market for their own selfish ends; but misguided and uninformed patriotism has now carried them away.” Continuing, he refers to the removal of the duty on lumber, and says it will not stimulate lumber production, but will let the Canadians penetrate a little further into the United States. Then he continues “It cannot be attrib- uted to me that I have any selfish ends to serve in what I suggest, as I am a pro- tective pulp and paper maker and have never exported pulp wood and never ex- pect to, and that my firm conviction is that the free admission of our lumber into the United States will not have the effect of increasing Canadian products, and that the removal of the manufacturing provision of the provinces, as applied to pulp wood, will do Canada incalculable good and no harm whatever. “My frank opinion is that by far the greater benefit to be realized by Canadian lumbermen will be from the general im- proved conditions Canada will most cer- tainly enjoy if the suggested lowering of tariffs on both sides of the line takes place. This, I believe, will be far and beyond the most sanguine expectations of the promot- ers and supporters of the proposition. And now as to pulp wood, I affirm that forest conservation is a matter by itself, and stands on its own bottom. The crown, represented by the various provinces, en- acts the regulations and through such reg- ulations controls the cutting. The matter of forest conservation is not involved in dictating to the limit holder the form in which he shall sell his product. 248 AMERICAN “Many of the United States mills have abundant supplies of pulp wood for many years to come. This is true of many of the Eastern mills, and in the West there is an enormous supply. In Oregon and Washington the pulp mills are cutting the largest and finest spruce, capable of mak- ing the longest and largest of dimension timber, into pulp wood for their immedi- ate and prospective wants, and for a few years back have been buying some pulp wood in Canada, cut almost entirely on private lands, and the cheap price of Scan- dinavian pulp enables them to import from there. But many of these mills suffer another and most serious disability, viz., a shortage of water for grinding the wood, and this shortage is becoming more in- tense as time advances. There is the further condition that many of the Amer- ican mills, and particularly those who have but a limited supply of wood ahead of them, are but temporary, and one by one will go out of existence. “With our very large resources in pulp wood and our numerous and never failing water powers, particularly in the province of Quebec, there is but one sequence to this question. The ultimate destiny of a large share of the pulp and paper making of North America will be in Canada. But this result will come automatically and by evolution. Mills will gradually disappea; in the United States, and excepting in places where there is a future supply of wood no new mills will be built there, and as fast as market demands their con- struction they will be built in Canada; but the construction in Canada will not be hastened one day by the provincial restric- tion existing, but otherwise. It will be retarded just as long as the maintenance of the American duty remains a consequent provision, and Canada will be most seri- ously injured. Freedom of entry into the United States for pulp and paper would encourage the construction of mills in Canada, but the reverse will deter judici- ous Canadians from so investing. “That it is wiser that the transference of that large part of pulp and paper mak- ing that is to come to us should come fairly gradually, I personally feel no doubt of, and if the American market is open to us I am certain that the paper making will come to us as well as that of pulp, for apart from the transportation condi- tion so favorable and advantageous to paper over pulp, there is the water power ques- tion I have mentioned, which is very es- sential. “And in the meantime, as this auto. matic transference goes on, a rich harvest can be obtained by those who have spruce which they wish to dispose of, as the Am- FORESTRY ericans who need the pulp wood will pay during the lifetime of their mills, a high price for it, and earn even small dividends on their properties rather than no divi- dends.” A Gift to the Yale Forest School The gift of $100,000 for a building for the Yale Forest School is announced. The name of the donor is not made public. The building will be erected upon the Pierson- Sage square. Following so closely upon the gift of $100,000 by Mrs. BE. H. Harri- man, to endow the chair of forest manage- ment, in memory of her husband, this in- dicates the interest which those of large means are beginning to take in forestry, and the recognition of the profession, and the need of thorough training therefor. Conservation in Hawaii On Wednesday afternoon, November 16, 1910, there was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, a public meeting to consider the local application of the five cardinal points of conservation—the right use of lands, waters, forests and minerals, and the safe- guarding of public health. It was under the joint auspices of the Territorial Board of Agriculture and Forestry and the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association. In the audience were a majority of the sugar plantation managers and other members of that association, but tn addition there was also present a goodly company of per- sons representative of the best thought and influence in the territory in other lines. Short addresses were made by Gov- ernor Frear, Messrs. Marston Campbell, Ralph S. Hosmer, Dr. E. V. Wilcox, Hon. W. O. Smith, Dr. W. C. Hobdy, Prof. C. H. Hitcheock, and Mr. Alonzo Gartley on vari- ous phases of the conservation problem in its local aspects. In the speaking, mention was made of im- portant co-operative work by the terri- torial bureaus, the United States Forest Sery- ice, and the United States Geological Sur- vey. Ralph S. Hosmer, superintendent of forestry of the territory, spoke on the part played by the forest in conservation. He summed up the importance of forestry to Hawaii in these sentences: “In Hawaii forestry is a business necessity. Wood and water are the first needs that must be satis- fied in any community. Both are products of the forest. Wherever it can be got water is the most valuable product that the na- tive Hawaiian forest can be made to yield. In Hawaii, without the native forest we should be without water. And in our planted forests, we have, too, an asset constantly increasing in value; for the pro- duction of wood is one of the pressing needs of local conservation.” NEWS AND NOTES To Get In Under the New Law It has just been discovered that Kentucky alone of the Appalachian states has not passed a law permitting the United States to hold land within the state under the new national forest law. Unless this is promptly remedied, therefore, the Blue Grass State will have to be left out of con- sideration for the present. As the Ken- tucky delegation in the House of Repre- sentatives cast five votes against the Weeks bill and none for it, and one of her senators voted against it, this seems a little like poetic justice, but it is rather hard on Representative Stanley, who worked for the bill long and consistently in the Com- mittee on Agriculture, and would have been present to vote for it but for illness. {In this connection it is interesting to note that a bill to authorize the national government to establish forest reserves in Pennsylvania has been introduced in the legislature of that state. It is said to be part of the general plan of the flood com- mission for putting a stop to the periodical flood loss in Pittsburgh. Federal, state, county and city government are expected to co-operate in the carrying out of meas- ures which will eventually be the means of impounding flood waters at their sources and using them during dry seasons. Hardy Catalpas for Iowa That the hardy catalpa is one of the best fence post trees that can be grown in Iowa, is the conclusion reached by the Iowa Ex- periment Station. Eighteen-year-old trees that have been properly cared for will yield from 2,000 to 2,500 posts to the acre. The gross annual return per acre per year on the Iowa plantations studied varied from $10.77 to $20.34. Copies of Bulletin 120, 249 giving directions for growing catalpas, can be obtained free by writing to the Iowa ixperiment Station at Ames. Publications of the United States Geological Survey A new list of publications of the United States Geological Survey, just issued, con- tains the titles of more than a thousand books and pamphlets. These reports cover a wide range of subjects. They include not only papers on geology and topography but reports on water resources and on tech- nology. The Geological Survey was the nursery of the United States Reclamation Service and the Bureau of Mines, which now, in full growth, are carrying along successfully work begun by the Survey vears ago. The Survey, however, still con- tinues its work on water resources and in- cludes discussions of technology in its an- nual volume “Mineral Resources of the United States.” A glance at this list will show the great diversity of the subjects considered and the manifold nature of the science of geology. The reports include discussions of geologic chemistry, mineralogy, petrography, and paleontology, as well as ore deposition and other matters of very practical importance. Much of the Survey’s late work has been directed to the study of mineral deposits of economic value. The work done in land classification has not yet found detailed expression in the Survey’s reports, but some papers prepared as a result of land- classification surveys have been printed an- nually in bulletins entitled “Contributions to economic geology.” The list may be obtained by applying to the Director of the Survey at Washington Ds C- Adopted by the Cornell Forestry School Every Forestry Library Should Own at Least One Copy of Trees and Their Life Histories By PROFESSOR PERCY A. GROOM, M.A., D.S.C., F.L.S. (Cantab. et Oxon.) The Most Superbly Illustrated Tree Book Ever Issued. @ With 512 Reproductions of Photographs of Trees by Henry Irving, the Result of Years of Study ACCURATE, THOROUGH, READABLE A MARVEL OF ILLUSTRATION i gee exceptionally complete and magnificently Mr. Henry Irving has been engaged for a number of illustrated work is meeting with the highest years in making an exhaustive series of photographs of eammendation and approval from the numerous Trees, a field in which he is acknowledged by leading Tree authorities and Forestry students who are nature photographers without a peer. The finest results acquainted with it. Numbers of our Forestry of his work are embodied in Professor Groom’s School Libraries have already purchased it. It “TREES AND THEIR LIFE HISTORIES” is pre-eminently a work for Nature Lovers, practical Tree Experts and students of Tree Life. This book contains over one hundred large plates Analytical tables, diagnoses of families, and 22d four hundred smaller ones, showing each tree numerous illustrations, together with a brief in its summer and in its winter appearance, mention of distinctive features, enable the 180 of each tree the trunk and bark, the reader to identify each of the seventy-five varie- bud and twig, the leaf spray, the flower ties of trees that are here fully treated. spray, and the fruit cluster. Neither pains Particular trees have been selected for more nor expense have been spared to make aka ot panes 9 For example, branching of the illustrations, as they have never e tree is specially illustrated by the Larch, ef Yew, Horse Chestnut, and others; branching of pore ters. pases ina typical, a shrub and weeping tree, by the Elder and The work i a Laburnum; the repair of injuries, by the Scots i s a large Octavo, Pine; the shape and conduct of a light- printed with great care on the demanding tree, by the Larch and Birch; the finest quality surface paper degeneration of flowers, by the Sweet Chestnut 2nd strongly bound in green 5 and Ash. And #0 on. silk cloth and gold. S Price, $10.00 Net, Sent on Approval LET US SEND YOU THIS VOLUME WITH THE UNDERSTANDING that should it fail to substantiate New Yerk. Gentlemen: NS x Find enclosed $10.00 Ss (check, money order, or currency), for which please i bs send me, carriage paid, 1 copy all our claims, you may return it to us by Express Collect. & of“-TREBS AND THBIR LIFE We will in this case refund you the full amount of Wy HISTORIES,” by Professor remittance upon the arrival of the volume in good ” Percy Groom. I reserve the privi- ee Ke condition. lege of returning the volume to you if unsatisfactory, and if I should, you agree to refund me at once the CASSELL & COMP ANY full amount of my remittance. Established 1848 43-45 East Nineteenth Street NEW YORK ADDRESS... -ceccecccvccicccccccscccccccseses eer eerereeeserreeeree® BU to know the Notch truly, one must take the drive from the Crawford House to the top of Mt. Willard, and look down into it. A man stands there as an ant might stand on the edge of a huge tureen. The road below is a mere bird-track. The long battlements that, from the front of the Willey House, tower on each side so savagely, from this point seem to flow down in charm- ing curves to meet at the stream. And let us again advise visitors to ascend Mt. Willard, if possible, late in the afternoon. They will then see one long wall of the Notch in shadow, and can watch it move slowly up the curves on the oppo- site side, displacing the yellow splendor, while the dim green dome of Washington is filled by the sink- ing sun ‘with heavenly alchemy.’”’ STARR KING €6% GDVd AAS “HOOTA AVTIVA AHL DNOTV GvOU ADVINAVO AHL GNVY LHYSIN AHL NO SMOHS / GNIT AVMIIVE FHL ‘HLAOS DNIMOOT ‘MATA YALNIA V HOLON GHOUMVUO AHL American Forestry VOL. XVII MAY, 1911 No. 5 STATE FORESTS IN VERMONT By WALTER K. WILDES step to meet this need and to acquire areas suitable and available for state forests and the consequent development of this phase of the state forestry policy, was taken up by the legislature of 1908. At this time an act was passed creating a Board of Agriculture and Forestry consisting of four members—two ex-oflicio, the Governor and the Director of the State Experi- ment Station, and two to be appointed by the Governor. This board has the authority “to accept gifts of land to the state, to be held, protected and admin- istered as a state forest reserve” and “to purchase lands in the name of the state” for the same purpose. Such areas in a state possessing the physiographic features of Vermont. together with the natural beauty and scenery to attract many thousands of tourists and summer residents, will naturally be divided into three distinct classes, namely, demonstration forests, protection forests and areas that serve primarily as parks. Each class is represented in the four tracts now owned by the state of Vermont. From the standpoint of the development of a state forestry policy the demonstration forest is first in importance. All such areas need not neces- sarily be forested for they serve in two essential capacities, the one to illustrate proper forest management and natural reproduction primarily ; the other to illus- trate the methods and results of reforesting areas with desirable species by arti- ficial methods. In the former, thinnings of the proper intensity and species are made, either for the immediate improvement of the stand or to provide for such reproduction as the site and existing desirable species will allow. Another important advantage of such areas, where lumbering is practical, is to convince local operators that scientific cutting is profitable; that it is not necessary to cut clean in order to realize a legitimate return. Often times a contractor is skeptical when he is asked to figure on a cut where only marked trees are to be removed or where lopping and piling coniferous tops, in order to eliminate as far as possible the danger from fire, is demanded, or where closer utilization is required. Both owners and contractors learn, after an actual operation, that the extra expense imposed by the above conditions is only a very small percentage higher than the cost based upon the usual methods and that this excess is amply justified by the results. WV iitep to me need of and uses for state forests are emphatic. The initial 253 254 AMERICAN FORESTRY On the latter areas, such as have been clear cut or burned over and are either not reproducing at all or with undesirable species or old pasture land that is producing only a small annual return per acre, reforesting operations appeal strongly to the people of almost all communities. It creates a more direct response and interest in forestry than any other phase of the work. The first purchase of land as authorized by the Act of 1908 was made in the autumn of 1909, when the L. R. Jones State Forest at Plainfield was acquired. At the same time the state came into the possession of the Downer State Forest at Sharon by gift. Early in the present year two more areas were added, one given by the Hon. M. J. Hapgood at Peru, the other by Col. Joseph Battell near Huntington. The development of this policy will be continued in various parts of the state as money and the disposition of those interested in granting similar areas will allow. THE DOWNER STATE FOREST This area of 310 acres, the gift of Mr. Charles Downer, comprises the following types: Woodland: .. 2.0 6.202 ok eee ete Cie aes 90 acres Ta DLe: (id bes SS Scterag etary eee ee ot eae 50 acres Pastule | ik eis s Hee eee eee 150 acres Apple / Orchard. J. eae ee eee 5 acres SS WV ARMIN 5 aie bees rete eee ter are eee 15 acres For a considerable period this tract will serve as a demonstration and experimental area, where improvement and reproduction cuttings will be made; plantations of various species, spacing and combinations set out; and silvical studies of several species, more especially sugar maple, will be carried on from year to year. It is the wish of the donor that a part of the area be utilized as a game preserve. The area is rough but not rugged, varying in elevation from 1400 to 1800 feet. The variation in soil conditions from swamp to the dry, thin soil at the highest elevation, gives a wide range for planting experiments and choice of species. The woodland consists for the most part in sugar maple, varying in age from seedlings to over maturity. Other species are basswood, yellow birch, beech, ash, white birch, poplar, ironwood and hemlock. The minimum stand per acre is two cords, the maximum 6,000 board feet and 45 cords. The treatment of the various blocks will include reproduction and improvement thinnings; the selection system ; and the final cuttings of the stand system. All are advised with the idea of favoring either maple alone or maple, basswood and ash collectively. A forest nursery was established in the spring of 1910. It will serve as a distributing point for that part of the state and, at the same time, provide stock for state planting. Only half an acre is now in nursery but this will be increased each year. There were planted in the nursery in the spring of 1910: 3,500 two year old white pine seedlings; 20,000 two year old red pine seed- lings; 15,000 one year old white pine seedlings. Twenty-five pounds of white pine seed was sown. In 1911 fifty pounds of white pine and twenty pounds of Norway spruce seed will be sown. In addition 50,000 two year old white pine and 3,000 Austrian pines will be transplanted from the state nursery at Burlington. In 1910 plantations set out on final sites totaled 34 acres, consisting of: 12,000 four year old white pines; 7,000 four year old red pines; 10,000 three year old Scotch pines; 5,000 four year old Norway spruce. STATE FORESTS IN VERMONT 255 In 1911 and 1912 ninety-four acres will be added to the area already planted and the following species used, in addition to those already named: Black walnut, black locust, white ash, red oak, European larch, basswood, Adirondack spruce and hickory. This gives a total area of 128 acres in plan- tations. Their purpose is to provide information relative to the effect on growth of different spacing, of pure and mixed stands, and the adaptability of the species to soil and altitude. In the final allotment of areas there will be: NAGOMLESTECL (a) ows. tee Bix pane taakate a Eiko ate = 90 acres EPLSIVCS ATG "his ath oe Se eh ced eee ab eneatiend Pea aber at eas 128 acres PRG tz ei ake ee eel See cd ee ane ee 30 acres MTP AG. o's er bea eo ah oe Seam Each b 50 acres Apne; Orchards sy ee tae wane ae deine « 12 acres The area of pasture land will thus be reduced from 150 to 30 acres and the orchard increased from 5 to 12 acres. A complete system of trails will be constructed. These will lead to the different plantations and through sey- eral blocks of woodland. The danger from fire, which is inconsiderable, has been provided for by limiting the extent of area of pure coniferous plantations and maintaining a fire line 100 feet wide at the most dangerous point. THE L. R. JONES STATE FOREST The L. R. Jones State Forest is an area of a different type and will be used more to illustrate proper lumbering methods and provisions for natural reproduction, together with plantations. This area consists of 500 acres, 400 being purchased in the autumn of 1909 and 100 in the autumn of 1910. Of this total area there are 135 acres to be planted and 365 acres of woodland, thus utilizing the total area as forest land. Much of this area has been lumbered but there is still a considerable amount to come out. In the autumn of 1910 60,000 board feet of spruce and hardwoods were marked. The cutting will be completed by January, 1911. This material is cut, skidded and hauled, five miles, at $7.00, and is being sold at $10.00 per thousand, leaving a profit of $3.00 per thousand, which is fairly satisfactory considering the small size of the material and the difficulty of cutting in dense spruce thickets. There are two types of woodland. Hardwoods consisting of white and yellow birch and maple and beech from which the spruce and fir have been cut, comprise about 215 acres. The spruce and fir type, comprising about 135 acres, is an area formerly in pasture land or clean cut about twenty years ago, and since reclaimed by this growth. There is also a small area of older pure spruce that will be marked and harvested as soon as possible. The area is rugged, having a variation of elevation of 900 feet with considerable granite outcrop. In the spring of 1910 there were planted 25,000 four year old white pines and 10,000 three year old Norway spruce. This work will be continued for the next three years, by which time the total open area will be planted with white pine, Norway spruce and arborvitae. Lumbering operations will go on each fall, taking out the material marked during the summer. The maximum coniferous stand per acre is 18,000 board feet and 30 cords. The maximum hardwood stand per acre is 5,000 board feet and 15 cords. This area will consequently be upon a revenue producing basis considerably before the Downer State Forest. 256 AMERICAN FORESTRY There is already a very good road system, to which an extension has been staked out, running across the plantation made in 1910. Because of the recent acquirement of the two areas last mentioned no plan for management has been formulated. They differ, however, in the possibili- ties for their development and use for forestry purposes, as they were given with certain restrictions, which will detract from their value as such. The gift of Mr. Hapgood comprises 106 acres and includes the summit of Bromley Mountain in Peru; that of Mr. Battell contains about 800 acres, including Camel’s Hump, one of the highest points in the state. These tracts will serve primarily for protective and park purposes. TAXATION OF FOREST LANDS A Review of Recent Studies in New Hampshire and Wisconsin By Epwin A. Start HE vital importance to forestry of the question of taxation of forest lands © is generally recognized and the subject is frequently attacked by for- esters, lumbermen, economists and legislators; but so far without any tangible results. The crude remedy of exemption has been tried by some states but never with success. Attempts to remedy the recognized evils have been occasionally made but these have generally run upon the rock of unconstitu- tionality. For instance, in Massachusetts it was found that any application of sound principles to forest taxation would conflict with the provision of the state constitution, a provision which appears in many other state constitutions, which requires equal and proportionate taxation of all classes of property. The Massachusetts Forestry Association, therefore, united with the Boston Chamber of Commerce in an effort to secure a constitutional amendment pro- viding for classification of property for purposes of taxation. So far this movement has been headed off by the innate conservatism of the state. We are not in a position in this country to apply the elaborate methods of forest taxation that are in operation in Europe, because our forest conditions are so different and we have not a sufficient body of trained men of technical knowledge to administer laws based upon such knowledge; but it is admitted that we must do something and we are thus thrown at once upon the necessity of a thorough study of our own conditions and the evolution of a system appli- cable to them. Two comprehensive studies have been made by Forest Service experts cooperating with state officers, and the results have been published. The first of these was made by J. H. Foster in New Hampshire in 1908. The second, the results of which have just been published, was made by Alfred J. Chittenden and Harry Irion in Wisconsin in 1910. These states are geographically wide apart and different conditions are found in them, but it is curious to note the parallels between them and how closely the two taxation studies run with each other. In both states lumbering and pulp and paper making are industries of great importance. Both states divide naturally into two sections—a southern agricultural district, where forests chiefly exist in the form of farm wood-lots, and an extensive northern district where natural forest lands predominate. In both the northern type of forest is the prevailing one, though the hard-wood belt reaches up across south- VIEW SHOWING BUILDINGS IN THE DOWNER STATE FOREST STATE FORESTS IN VERMONT Photo by A. F. Hawes RED PINE PLANTATION MADE IN SPRING OF 1910. DOWNER STATE FOREST Photo by A. F. Hawes STATE FORESTS IN VERMONT FOREST NURSERY. TRANSPLANTS OF RED AND WHITE PINE. DOWNER STATE FOREST Photo by A. F. Hawes NATURAL REPRODUCTION OF SUGAR MAPLE, THREE TO TEN FEET HIGH. UVOWNER STATE FOREST \. ‘. | 455 : iM Photo by A. F. Hawes MAPLE ORCHARD THINNED TO HELP STATE FORESTS IN VERMONT YOUNG OF BEST TREES. DOWNER STATE GROWTH FOREST Se, Photo by A. F. Hawes GENERAL VIEW IN L. R. JONES STATE FOREST. NOTE EVERGREENS RECLAIMING OLD PASTURE STATE FORESTS IN VERMONT TAXATION OF FOREST LANDS 261 ern and central Wisconsin. In general it may be said that the conclusions of the investigators in regard to existing conditions and desirable changes were very similar. Both of them start off with the statement that owing to the difference between the agricultural and wild land portions of the states, the study of taxa- tion and of the fire problem falls naturally into two divisions. Mr. Foster, in his earlier report, reached the general conclusions that “(a) the actual tax burdens imposed on forest lands of the same value are not equal or propor- tionate as the state constitution requires, either as between the different towns, or different tax payers in the same town. (b) In general the law has not been strictly inforced in the past as is shown by the fact that little land reverts to the town because of unpaid taxes. Sometimes an owner believes that the tax is more than the land can stand but in such cases a purchaser has always been found. This is due to the fact that growing timber has usually been assessed much below its actual market value and the burden of taxation thus has been lighter so that the lands can carry it. (c) In the search for revenue to meet the natural necessities of the town a strong tendency has recently developed to enforce the law more rigidly and valuations have in many cases been increased with startling rapidity. This rapid increase in valuation can- not be long continued and applied to these cut-over lands after the owner has been forced to cut without causing abandonment. Such has been the result of the policy. in California and in Michigan where the state has acquired and owned a million and a quarter acres of abandoned tax lands, and to a less extent, in other Lake states. (d) As between the farmer and the mill-man, to whom he sells his wood-lot, taxes have in the past been very low to the farmer while the timber was in his hands and some attempt has been made to appraise it at more nearly its actual value, or rather to approximate the selling price, which is often unduly low, when it is bought for lumbering. Usually, however, if is cut at once and the town collects taxes at the new appraisal but one year if at all. The consequence is that the timber escapes its fair share of the public burden. (e) The present law, granting a percentage exemption to own- ers who have planted their land to timber, is not taken advantage of to any extent and is wholly inaedquate. Most of the land upon which there is growing timber is seeded naturally and therefore does not come within the law. The exemption ceases wholly in thirty years, at the time when it is to the advantage of the town as well as of the owner to let it mature further. Moreover, tax exemptions are of questionable advantage and excite hostility to those taking advantage of them.” This statement of general conclusions resulting from an examination of New Hampshire conditions will be recognized by residents of other states who have had occasion to look into this matter of the taxation of forest lands. So closely do the conclusions of the Wisconsin report follow those that have just been quoted from New Hampshire that it is unnecessary to repeat the latter. The differences are only in minor points. In discussing the question of how forest property in New Hampshire should be taxed, Mr. Foster calls attention to the fact that if the land tax is to be equal as between different land owners, it must take one of three forms: (1) a uniform percentage of the actual sale value of the property as it stands; (2) a uniform percentage of the actual income from the property; (3) a uniform percentage of estimated power of the soil for potential income. He then notes that in this country the first form is the one in use, although the assessment of agricultural lands in actual sale value is generally placed unconsciously upon the fertility of the soil for its potential yield. The assess- ment of forest lands is based upon their supposed actual sale value, but the 262 AMERICAN FORESTRY land itself is not considered. It is the value of the growth upon the land which indicates its sale value. Agricultural crops, being harvested annually, escape taxation entirely. Forest lands, therefore, are not taxed upon the same basis as agricultural lands, although there is no provision in the law for such dis- tinction. Herein, of course, is one of the essential elements of injustice in the taxation of forest lands, as it is applied generally in our agricultural com- munities. The second and third forms of taxation, as analyzed in the state- ment above, are applied in Europe to a large extent and forest taxation is much more equitable there and this tends to promote good forestry. “In this country,” says Mr. Foster, “the system of assessing property at its actual sale value and taxing it at a uniform percentage of that value works well enough when applied to agricultural land; but when applied to growing forests it is both unjust and unwise. It is unjust because it ignores the fact that growing timber, before it is large enough for market, has only a prospective value and the income or return can only be obtained at long intervals. It is unwise, because the system often forces the owner to cut the timber before it is mature.” Later on the author calls attention to the danger of the present law if it is enforced to the letter. Should it be applied to growing timber lands generally, there would be, he says, a tremendous slaughter of half-grown timber. In this connection, there may be cited by way of illustration, a case which arose a few years ago in a northern state in which a non-resident owner of a thousand acres of timberland in a rural town had his valuation raised from $7,500 to $22,500, that is, the valuation was tripled in one year without warn- ing and the owner had no redress against this arbitrary action of the local board of assessors. The laws of this state are those in common application in most of our eastern states and this thing can be done almost anywhere. It raised a serious question with this owner as to whether he should cut off the timber and dispose of the land or not. He was a public spirited gentleman, interested deeply in forestry, and had held the land rather for the public benefit than for his own. The New Hampshire report states the requirement of the situation there as follows: “What is needed in this state is a method of taxing forest lands which can be administered by the towns in conformity with the established function and procedure of our local government; which insures an annual revenue while the timber is immature commensurate with that formerly derived with the low appraisal of immature timber held by farmers and others; which imposes a fair burden upon the timber crop when it is cut and collects it from the person who cuts and sells the timber. This burden will be a tax on the yield or income and not on the land or capital. It should, therefore, be rela- tively high. To prevent speculative holdings without taxing of land chiefly valuable for residence, manufacturing or farming purposes, the law should be restricted to lands found by the selectmen and assessors to be chiefly valuable for the production of wood and timber. Timber cut from land so classified should be taxed when it is severed from the land and should not be removed un- til a tax of 15 per cent of the value of such timber has been assessed and collect- ed by the selectmen, or proper security shall have been given to them. Finally, since timber now half-grown or mature has presumably been taxed in accord- ance with the present law, and since it is desirable to introduce the new system gradually, the new method of taxation should be applied only to forest tracts upon which forest growth has recently started, and then only at the option of the land owner.” Following this, the report suggests a form of act covering its recommendations and this was made the basis of a bill in the New Hamp- shire legislature which, however, failed to pass. This draft provided for the separate classification for taxation of land chiefly valuable for the production of wood or timber, and occupied by a natural TAXATION OF FOREST LANDS 263 or planted growth of trees, approximately three-fourths of which do not exceed the age of ten years. The land so classified and recorded according to pro- visions specified in the act, is to be assessed annually at the average value per acre, exclusive of the value of any wood or timber thereon. The timber and wood removed from any such tract is to be assessed for the year following the first of April after such cutting at the uniform and equal rate of 15 per cent of the appraised value on the stump. There is an exemption of $25 in value in any one year of wood cut for home use on a farm. The act provides in great detail for the carrying out of these main provisions. The Wisconsin report, which is somewhat more extended than its prede- cessor, although following the same general plan, after a description of forest conditions in the several counties of the state and the citation of numerous actual examples of forest taxation, considers the methods of assessing timber lands. In this respect Wisconsin seems to labor under about the same condi- tions as other states. There are the same elastic interpretations of the law, the same inequalities of administration, and the same incompetence frequently on the part of local officials. The views of lumbermen are given and make an interesting feature of the report. The relation of fire protection to the taxa- tion question is discussed, for it is well understood that these two must go together. Probable returns from forest investment are considered and tables are given to show the possible returns by decades in periods from thirty to eighty years. The authors note that the fact that taxation has not materially affected lumbering in Wisconsin in the past is no indication that it will not in the future, and they say plainly that ‘the possibility of the practice of forestry by private owners depends on two things—an equitable system of for- est taxation and protection from forest fire.’ In making recommendations for legislation in Wisconsin the proved inefficacy of bounties and exemption is noted. For the encouragement of the cultivation and care of wood-lots, it is suggested that owners may have tracts not exceeding forty acres separately classified for taxation by application to the state board of forestry under whose direction all cutting and removal of trees shall take place. Such land is not to be assessed at exceeding ten dollars per acre and taxed annually on that basis. Before any timber is removed from the land the owner shall pay to the proper county officer an amount equal to ten per cent of the stumpage value of the timber, provided that any material which is actually used for domestic purposes by the owner or his tenant shall not be subject to such a tax. This plan, it is explained, is to encourage and make it profitable for the small owner, especially the farmer in the agricultural district to utilize a part of his land for the production of wood and timber. For private forests without limitation as to area it is also suggested that they may be separately classed for taxation, such classification being subject to the determination of the state board of forestry as to whether or not the land is suitable for timber growing. If it is decided to be suitable for that purpose, in making the assessment the land shall not be valued at more than one dollar per acre and the assessors shall in no case take into account the value of the growing timber. Whenever any timber or wood is cut from such land the owner shall be required to pay an amount equal to ten per cent of the gross value on the stump of the wood and timber so cut. There are various provi- sions for making proper returns and securing the state and penalties for mak- ing false returns. The report says that “conditions in Wisconsin indicate that a tax on the yield together with a nominal, annual tax on the land, is superior to any of the various tax laws that have from time to time been proposed.” The authors, however, express their opinion that it would be better if no annual tax were levied on the land and the whole tax were made upon the yield, but 264 AMERICAN FORESTRY the objection to this is the usual one that it might disturb the fiscal affairs of the community. It will be seen that the recommended legislation for these two states while showing slight differences in application is on the same general principle, and this, it may be added, is the only method that has yet been proposed that seems to be adapted to present American conditions. In conclusion, the report does not hold out any great hope that private forestry on a large scale would be extensively promoted even with such an adjustment of the tax laws. The authors believe that for a future permanent timber supply the main dependence must be upon state ownership and it is recommended that the state secure by purchase in the open market such lands as it is desirable for it to own for this purpose. These two reports will be found an interesting study by all those who are interested in this important public question of the taxation of forest lands. It will be seen even from this somewhat cursory review that the conditions and conclusions are not materially different from those which have been found by other students of the subject in various eastern states. The final result of all such studies seems to be the necessity of adequate fire protection by the state in order that property in forest lands may have in a measure the same security that other property enjoys; equitable taxation, so that owners of such property will not feel obliged to cut over their lands and dispose of a crop which is unprofitable to them, although it may be needed by the state; and finally that we must come ultimately to the same end as the most progressive European states and include as state property lands which are valuable only for the pur- pose of growing forests and which, therefore, have a greater value to the com- munity than to any individual. When the main object was to clear the land of the forests, such a condition as this did not exist, it was unnecessary for the state to intervene, although it might well have done so at an earlier date; but now that the necessity of husbanding our forests for a future timber supply and protecting our water sheds for the permanence of a water supply and the equable flow of our streams is generally recognized, our attitude toward forest lands and the question of state ownership of such lands, must be radically changed. Such lands can be handled to the best advantage by a well organized department directed by experts and doing its work on a large scale. In most cases, especially in our populous states, the state is the only agent through which this work can satisfactorily and economically be done. Reforesting in the National Forests Tree planting is not a leading activity in the national forests, but it has its place, which is one of increasing impor- tance. In March we published an article on the harvesting of the annual seed crop in the national forests. The accompany- ing series of pictures illustrating various processes in the work of artificial reforestation, from the national forests in several states, will give an idea of the nature of this interesting work. DRYING CONES IN SUNSHINE. WASATCH NA- TIONAL FOREST, UTAH IN FOREGROUND TRANSPLANT DOUGLAS FIR SEEDLINGS, ONE YEAR OLD, TWO INCHES HIGH; IN BACKGROUND, TRANSPLANT WESTERN YELLOW PINE SEEDLINGS ONE YEAR OLD, TWO AND ONE HALF INCHES HIGH. NURSERY, WASATCH NATIONAL FOREST, UTAH ie - ‘ : ; be, Pr. am" 4 ° xt iy ey Fe fit el if ¥ + ‘ Lb: ¢: J ‘ yee! ul a y Let Af tat Ke } re \ tubes he ut A PLOT IN THE FREMONT EXPERIMENT STATION, MANITOU, COLORADO, SOWN JULY 23, 1910, BROADCAST AFTER HARROW- ING, WITH YELLOW PINE SEED, 18.59 POUNDS PER ACRE THIS PLOT SHOWED 819 SEEDLINGS ALIVE AND 21 DEAD. EACH SEEDLING IS MARKED WITH A STICK iii viet I SEED BEDS AT PLANTING STATION NEAR PALMER LAKE, PIKE’S PEAK NATIONAL FOREST. DRILLS ARE SIX INCHES APART AND STAND VARIES FROM 70 TO 150 PER SQUARE FOOT OF DOUGLAS FIR, AND 40 TO 60 OF YELLOW PINE SPRAYING APPARATUS AT WORK IN TWO-YEAR-OLD SCOTCH PINE SEEDLINGS. NEBRASKA NATIONAL FOREST NURSERY, THOMAS COUNTY, NEBRASKA VINYOALIVO ‘LSaMO HViIN ‘LSa4Ot TVNOILVN HOLVSVA TIVNOILVN VUVdYVE VINVS NI AAASHON AHL NI AYASHON AHL LY LNANdIHS SOOUVIT NVS ‘SHAUL AAITO Ad CGAACVHS a0 ANId MOTIOXA ONIHONONA GNV SNIDDSIC ATIVILuvVd ‘SGQUa LINVIdSNVUL FO NOILOAS SPT Nae xy a VEPON Goae HEELING IN SEEDLINGS. LYTLE CREEK PLANT- ING STATION, NORTH FORK OF THE SAN GABRIEL, CALIFORNIA BED OF RED CEDAR TRANSPLANTS PLANTED AT GARDEN CITY PLANTING STATION. KANSAS NATIONAL FOREST, KANSAS VINYOALTVO “daas HONUdS ANOO DId YAHLVY OL AAUL V ONTAINTTO VINO -IIvO ‘LSHYOL TVNOILVN SWIQGDNVY ‘SLS2 -AOX IVNOILVN NI DNIENVWId YOX SUADNVA OL SDNITCQHS LOO DYNIMOVd JO COHAN SEEDING MEN SOWING CEDAR SEED BY THE SEED SPOT METHOD. SKAMANIA COUNTY, WASHINGTON SEED SPOT SOWING OF SCOTCH PINE, NORWAY SPRUCE, AND EUROPEAN LARCH, ON A BURN OF 1909, IN THE WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST, WASHINGTON PLANTING GANG ON PLANTING SITE IN CHAP- ARRAL. SANTA BARBARA NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA WHERE SEEDS HAVE BEEN SOWN BROADCAST CUSTER PEAK EXPERIMENTAL STATION, LAWRENCE, SOUTH DAKOTA FOREST FIRES IN NORTH AMERICA A GERMAN VIEW By Proressor Dr. E. Deckert, FRANKFORT. TRANSLATED By GEORGE WETMORE COLLES. (This article is condensed from the essays of the author in Nos. 241 and 243 of Frankfurter Zeitung. It is valuable as showing the view of a trained German observer who has traveled extensively through our American forests. Naturally there are minor errors of fact, which it does not seem necessary to correct as it is the general viewpoint that is of value.—EDIToR.) EVASTATING conflagrations of an extent elsewhere unheard of have 1) always been the order of the day in the United States. From time to time they have swept Boston, Chicago, Baltimore and San Francisco. Forest fires also have always occurred in the domain of the Union far more frequently and have been more devastating than in any of the countries of Europe, and in numerous cases have raged over many thousand acres, continu- ing for weeks and even months, until they have been brought to an end in one way or another. Human measures for confining and extinguishing them, such as ditches, earth-walls and back-fires have met with success only in rare cases; in the majority of fires it was rather the greater natural boundaries, such as broad streams and lakes, bare rock and sand-wastes, or heavy precipitation of snow and rain, which put an end to the fire. Burning limbs have been quite frequently borne over considerable obstacles, even over streams three hundred feet in width, so that the fire continued on the other side. The damage which the natural resources of the United States have suffered from forest fires has long been known to be colossal, but to state it in exact figures, in a country in which lumbering, until the present, has almost always been carried on in the most extensive and wasteful manner, is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Moreover, the causes of the fires, the manner and reasons for their propagation and the possibility of effectually fighting them, have long been a matter of doubt and dispute, so that the most contradictory and absurd views on these points have obtained currency. In American lumbering circles the conviction began to grow in the eighties that the first cause of the evil was bad American customs and want of conscientiousness, and that the “ghost of the American forests” could be laid if a change in this respect were brought about. The first effort to determine the number and extent of forest fires for the different sections of the country and hence the most necessary foundation for the proper diagnosis of the root of the evil was made by the well-known American economist, Francis A. Walker, who took advantage of the United States census figures of 1880. He found from the incomplete reports which he collected that in the year 1880 there had been 2,580 fires, and about 273 ~ 274 AMERICAN FORESTRY 7,750,000 acres more or less had been burned over in the United States. In the number of fires, the principal states in their order of importance, were as follows: Pennsylvania 3.02) 55)2) Ne ae Michigam i) 22, 24020 lg Ge North Carolina. 0) 2) 02° 09 Roe eee CIO. ee a Massachusetts... 4. 2) a TH eee Wisconsin 26.08 ee Kentuckyii i ob) ee) Shh eat een New York 3... 0544. nol ees eae eee In the total area of forest burned over, the list is as follows in the order of importance: Tennessee. ):\s. 5.) Ves Ga ee ere Missouri...) <.6 si) 0) os a ete ee ees Georgia. 8) ee eNO OE Seon ee ene Pennsylvania... 0 63) 6 SUAa ea ee ee eee ea eeres Alabamai os) < 562 WEN Ver eee ee Kentucky (3.0003. sO HOS ee a ees North Carolina... 3S sere 55) oe ees Wisconsin. 2 a Rea i ae ees Michigan. (6602. 72 Ba Ores We he eee ge eee New “York eos. 2s") a ae ie el ea ere Massachusetts Mpmrarie aa eno imei! i: 23) 0 10 oe i The figures give no conclusion with regard to the extent of the individual fires and the value of the property destroyed, but it can be deduced from the above that the average extent of the fires was: Massachusetts’). 20)" 2st een teerins 88 acres Michigan. (5001209 2 it hy I ete has Ae ces rea ie maas New Mork...) 0/8) Go ees sagan ere an eee eae Pennsylvania. Sai a oa ae te es Wisconsin. (2). so Re eae een Alabama cs) e808 2) a ee ce ene en oe a Missouri. ear ea UAT eet bim co |) Up i Georgia 05 DE ese Sere Mee anon ees Tennessee wo 305500. UE st eet ace From the above, it will be seen that there is a wide difference in the extent of the fires in the different states, and that there is a certain connection between this figure and the condition of culture of the state, showing that in the highly cultivated northern states, people have already learned better how to police the forests and keep fires under control than in the southern states, with their meager population and large negro element. The high figure for Missouri is to be accounted for by the climate, which is a notably drier one and more favorable for the spreading of fires than that of Massachusetts or New York. In general, it goes without saying that great confiaence cannot be placed in the statistics of a single year, even if the reports were complece. With respect to the causes of fires, an indisputable conclusion is drawn from Walker’s investigation that sparks from locomotives are to blame in a a great number of cases. Out of the 2,580 fires of the year 1880, no less than 505, or 19144, per cent are laid to this cause. The individual states give the following percentage: FOREST FIRES IN NORTH AMERICA 275 ew Jersey 205) USC es Ta Ra ee: per cent New! Hampshires'\)Stiys 32 ae on eae per cent New Yorks.) SNe haves heres Hae 2 ene eee CONE Delaware. (0/0 Velie Cy SR teed Per Cee Pennsylvania: Sue Wade esis Mh eorper COME Massachusetts 9 2/801 Wa ASR ee BE, CRE so that in the most highly cultivated districts, and those having the thickest network of railways, the figures rise to a fearful height, which suffices to explain the above given high totals of the individual fires in these districts. In Tennessee, only 8 per cent of the total was due to locomotive sparks; in Alabama 6 per cent, in Georgia 4 per cent, and in Mississippi but 3 per cent, because the railway systems of these states are much less developed, so that in general, fires in those states must be ascribed to other causes. For the north- ern states the results of this investigation had a practical fruit, inasmuch as it led to the passing of laws to regulate the railways and to compel them to take steps to prevent damage or at least to confine it to the narrowest limits. These laws have been enforced with unquestionable success, That the carelessness and conscienceless negligence of hunters, stockmen, lumbermen, prospectors, and tourists, who light fires for one purpose or another in the forests or around their borders, was the cause of a very much larger number of forest fires in every state of the Union without exception, has been sufficiently proved by the statistics of the year 1880. But in so broad an area of what is still largely a primeval wilderness, the root of the evil is much more difficult to get at. What is needed above all is a thorough-going organization of the forces and available means for forest protection, as well as a slow and long-continued campaign of education. In this direction the sta- tistics in question have evidently borne fruit, especially since a later census of forest fires taken in 1891 by the Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture, which gave similar conclusions to the previous ones of Walker. It is true these reports were still extremely incomplete, but then they related to a much larger area burned over in the year in which they were taken, namely, 12,000,000 acres. Besides, everyone who was familiar with the facts recognized that the figures of the years 1880 and 1891 were far below the maximum of damage to the national domain which the forest fires of a single year could reach, and that this maximum for the eighties and nineties amounted to about ten times the value of the annual useful consumption of wood. What a contrast was this situation to that in European countries, where good forestry laws were in force! In the Prussian states, for the decade ending with 1891, there were in all 156 greater fires, four of which were caused by locomotives, three by lightning, 53 were of incendiary origin and 96 caused by negligence, and the total area devastated during the year 1884 and 1887 was 3100 acres. Bavaria, in the year 1892, with its unusually hot and dry summer, has a record of but 49 fires covering only 5000 acres. These figures in comparison to those of North America are absolutely negligible, and form a brilliant vindication of the forestry system of middle Europe, while at the same time they force us to the conclusion that in North America there are other factors to be considered besides those above mentioned, although these latter doubtless represent the principal causes of forest fires. The movement for a better system of forest management and forest pro- tection became a very strong one in all the states of the Union during the nineties and everywhere was productive of good results. In New York, Penn- sylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, California, Oregon, and other states laws were passed for the protection of 276 AMERICAN FORESTRY forests and foresters appointed for their execution. In Biltmore, Ithaca, Cambridge and Ann Arbor schools of forestry were founded, state forest reserves were established (in Pennsylvania 600,000 acres), and in particular, special fire wardens, with a greater or smaller number of assistants, called rangers, were put in charge. But the most significant result of the movement was the resolution of the federal Congress, 1891, constituting a large part of the forested areas of the public lands still existing United States Forest Reserves, and subjecting them as such to the management of the central goy- ernment. At first only 18,000,000 acres were set aside, but since then more than 150,000,000 acres have passed into the reserves, but of this amount, only 120,000,000 acres are actually forested, so that at ‘present a full quarter of the total forest area of the United States belongs to either state or federal reservations. In these public forests, which embrace the largest part of the western mountainous districts, in more than 50 large tracts—almost the entire Sierra Nevada of California, the Cascade Mountains, the Mogollon Mountains of Arizona, great stretches of the principal mountain chains of Colorado, Big Horn Mountains, ete.—the natural conditions of the North American forest growth and hence also the principal causes and conditions of forest destruc- tion by fire and other factors have been thoroughly studied out by experts in their special lines, and thereby with surprising rapidity ways and means have been found to combat the inception and spread of fires very effectively in most years. In 1909 President Roosevelt, who had taken a great personal interest in the movement for forest conservation, was able to announce with well-justified satisfaction that during the preceding year only about one-tenth per cent of the entire area of the forest reserves had been visited by fire; while in 1906 the area visited was about one-sixth per cent, and in 1907 about one-seventh per cent. This was indeed a brilliant success for the new forestry system, and it must be conceded that the officials concerned, both of the Land Office and Department of Agriculture, did their full duty. In 1899 there were nine superintendents, 39 supervisors and 300 rangers, and with the growth of the forest reserve area several thousand were subsequently added. In the years 1896, 1897, 1898 and 1900 some still very destructive fires had raged in these areas and the proportion devastated annually had amounted to 8 to 15 per cent, but careful investigations in the reservations established the fact that in earlier years far greater portions of them had been frequently burned over. In the Black Hills reservation of South Dakota, the Big Horn reservation of Wyoming and the Priest River reservation of Idaho, the forest floor showed everywhere more or less fresh traces of fire. In the Cascade mountains, out of 3,000,000 acres only 25,000 (eight-tenths per cent) showed no traces of previous fires; in the northern Sierra Nevada out of 2,950,000 acres, only 77,000; in the Pike’s Peak and Bitter Root reservations, only about twenty per cent. Even in the forests of the east, which for the most part had remained in the control of private persons or local governmental bodies, the new era brought with it a decided change for the better, notwithstanding the fact that in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, during 1889 and 1894, a succession of immense fires took place. The years 1908 and 1909 brought no essential alteration in the favorable condition of things in the west, while on the other hand in New England and in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, there were during 1908 a number of the most frightful ant devastating conflagrations; and now this year 1910 has brought to the west in its turn, and especially to the states of Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California, a baptism of fire, which is absolutely without parallel in the history of these states. In such a case as this, the police system of United States fire wardens and rangers, and in FOREST FIRES IN NORTH AMERICA 27T fact the brand new system of the United States forest reserves, completely broke down just as the incomplete organization of the eastern states had done in 1908, and a large number of the brave fire-fighters met their death in their zealous efforts to extinguish the flames. How such a catastrophe could take place after the great progress of the previous decade is a question easily answered both on general geographic considerations and also with the assistance of the information provided by the numerous handsome volumes of the United States Geological Survey relating to the different reservations. In the first place, it is to be observed that in the United States, and especially in the west, it is unfortunately impossible to combat the original causes of forest fires in as effective a way as is done in Germany. The rough men who find their living in the eastern or western wildernesses, in mining, hunting, stock-raising or other interests, can not be prevented from building camp-fires, which are positively necessary for pro- tection against the cold of night as well as for cooking, nor on the other hand can they be forbidden the enjoyment of their only pleasure, tobacco; and to find a spot absolutely free from danger for camp-fires is, in such circum- stances, simply an impossibility. On this point, the author of these remarks, who knows the wild west and its inhabitants quite well from his own expe- rience, must confess that even he, when on his journeys of investigation, has frequently built his camp-fire under press of circumstances in places which he knew in advance to be dangerous, and in several cases narrowly escaped the responsibility of thousands of others for negligent fire-setting. In one case it was only with the greatest difficulty that he and his party succeeded in extinguishing a blaze which unexpectedly leaped its bounds and which would have utterly destroyed an extensive forest area of Arizona. Camp- fires in the woods which are carelessly watched or are abandoned without being extinguished must necessarily escape in large part the. notice of the forest guards on account of the enormous extent of the areas under their jurisdiction and the fact that wide stretches are unprovided with roads or trails. Even those fires which are negligently caused by locomotive sparks can not be prevented in North America in the same degree as in Europe, simply because much greater lengths of track are concerned and because the lay of the land in many cases does not permit the laying out of fire-lanes. With the experience of the last decade, however, it can no longer be doubted that with a well-organized patrol, fires of this sort can generally be extin- guished before they reach a too great extension. In a similar manner it may be possible to effectively combat a large proportion of intentional fires. It was formerly common for both Indians and white hunters to thoughtlessly set underbrush ablaze merely to scare up game, and many of such fires were propagated indefinitely. Such vandalism is at the present time limited in most places, and in so far as it yet exists, there is a good prospect that its days are numbered. But far more numerous have been those fires which have been started for clearing purposes or for burning brush and rubbish. Partic- ularly in the northwest, in Oregon and Washington, where the growth of the giant trees in many places is so great that it seems impossible to dispose of them with axe and saw alone, it is quite general to resort to fire and dynamite to accomplish the clearing. In the east, too, it has been the rule to get new land for cotton or grain plantations by burning off extensive wooded areas, and the farmers care little for the charred trunks which are left stand- ing. Not a few of the fires so produced have continued far beyond the limits set for them, and this has been one of the most frequent causes of very great forest fires in the newly settled districts. Of course the new forest guards of the United States have given special attention to this cause, and by insisting 278 AMERICAN FORESTRY upon proper preventive measures in clearing lands they have succeeded in preventing serious damage in most Cases. gy More difficult to handle have proved cases of malicious incendiarism. It is a matter of experience that evil doers in North America can much more easily escape the eye of the law than in European countries, simply because of the greater area and more numerous hiding places, and the lynch-law sys- tem as commonly practised can hardly improve the matter, as in such cases an innocent party is taken and punished for the guilty even more frequently than in the case of other crimes. Fortunately the number of malicious fires in the United States has probably never been great. But besides these human fire-setters, there is a natural one which assumes importance in the least ac- cessible districts, namely, lightning. In the North American west fires are started by lightning with uncommon frequency, and as many storms there yield hardly any rain, the flames which follow it are not as a rule extinguished as in the east. From his investigations in the San Francisco mountains of Arizona, J. B. Leiberg, the most distinguished expert of the United States Geological Survey, came to the conclusion that in this reservation by far the greatest number (about sixty per cent) of all fires are caused by lightning. And this brings us to another principal factor which must be considered responsible for the rise and spread of forest fires in North America—the cli- mate. It has long been known not only that the North American climate is much drier than the European, but that in the west the drought is long-con- tinuing, even to the point of complete rainlessness, while in the east, in spite of the large annual rainfall, there are periods of drought of greater or less length. What effects are produced by such a climate on the forest and its inflammability can be readily understood. In Germany, double precautions are taken in dry years, and in spite of this the fire damage increases in such years; in North America, the highest possible degree of care is demanded every year, and in dry years the greatest conceivable care is insufficient to prevent the spread of individual fires over immense areas. Such a year in the east was 1908 with its gigantic conflagrations, in the west 1910; so that we are not to presuppose for such years an unusual number of malicious or negligent persons, for natural conditions are without doubt principally re- sponsible in these special cases. The forest-floor of the western woods with its dry pine-needles, twigs, moss, grass and general undergrowth and its millions of dead trunks thrown down by storms forms in late summer and autumn a tinder which can be set off by any small spark; but in the present year, in which the summer drought set in in the middle northwest unusually early and was extremely severe, it was still drier than usual, and fires had passed human power to control before their existence was known. Since the woods of the west consist principally of conifers, whose large content of rosin makes them much more inflammable than other trees, it is to be presumed that the destruction was very complete. Certain species, how- ever, more particularly the yellow pine, offer a great resistance to forest fires, and where they stand unmixed and without any great undergrowth they frequently escape being killed. For this reason even in the dryest parts of the west, such as Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, where there are many pure stands of yellow pine, the destruction by fire is seldom so radical as in the less dry areas of Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon, in which the stands are usually mixed and in addition present a ground covering which is very combustible after it has been exposed to the summer drought; besides, the numerous standing dead trees, and areas of dead trees, which have been killed off by insects or other conditions, are highly favorable to the spread of fires in the forests of the northwest. FOREST FIRES IN NORTH AMERICA 279 Naturally, before the nature of these latest fires can be determined in all their details we must wait for a more exact determination of the facts. The area covered by them must have reached well over 250,000 acres, and that the forest reservations in spite of their good patrol service have suffered extremely heavily is already established. But hardly anyone would advocate the restric- tion of the forest service on this account. Rather after this new disaster, will measures be taken in the future to place twice or three times the number of rangers on guard over the dangerous districts in years in which summer drought sets in early and is particularly severe. In the eastern half of the union climatic conditions are quite different from those in the western half, both as regards the character of the trees and also that of the fires, and taking it all in all, it is much easier to maintain an effective fire guard there. Only once in many years is there a complete drying out of the forest-floor like that of Idaho or Colorado, and natural fire lanes are provided by broad rivers and numerous lakes and marshes, and moreover the land is rendered much more accessible by roads and trails than in the moun- tainous districts of the west. Nevertheless whenever a fire breaks out in the vast white and black pine woods of Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minne- sota, the danger of its spreading over a wide area is still very great, and especially in dry years the guards have a much more difficult task to extin- guish fires than in Europe. Even in those districts the forest-floor is drier on the average in late summer than it is in Europe, and the woods are clogged with fallen and standing dead trunks. Similar conditions exist in the turpentine woods of the great coast plain which extends from New Jersey to Texas. In these woods the great pitch content of the trees increases the danger, while the presence of broad stretches of marsh along all of the streams diminishes it. In the mountain forests of the southern Appalachians, in which oak, hickory and other foliage trees predominate, fires are still frequent, yet on account of the greenness of the fuel they seldom do the same damage as in other parts of the country. Ayres and Ashe have established the fact that in the Appalachian area four and one-half million acres, about 80 per cent of the total, have been damaged by earlier or later brush-fires, but only 78,000 acres totally destroyed. In the mountain woods of the northern Appalachians, where conifers predominate, fires are generally of a more devastating char- acter, and even in the Adirondack state reservation of New York as many as 467,500 acres suffered heavy damage from fire in 1904. Relatively small was the fire-destruction in the northwestern coast forests, according to the investigations of the United States forest service, that of the Olympian peninsula amounting to only 112,500 acres, consisting wholly of conifer stands in the north and northeast portions. The interior of this wilderness has not yet been penetrated by white settlers. In the Canadian west, where already Dumerous miners, hunters, and lumbermen pursue their calling, conditions were the same as in the neighboring portions of the United States, and the fires of the current year in British Columbia have reached the same degree of destructiveness, and for similar reasons. PURPLE BASKET WILLOW By C. D. M&LL INTRODUCTION N EFFORT has been made in this paper to compile information dealing ¢ i with the commercial value of the purple willow (Salix purpurea L.) and its most important varieties and hybrids commonly planted for the production of rods used in making furniture and basket ware. The success of a basket willow plantation depends upon the kinds planted as well as upon the system of management. The purple willow is more generally cultivated in this country than any other variety and yields material that is highly esteemed by the consumers of willow rods. In northern New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota it forms more than 90 per cent of the willows grown. A number of experiments with the purple willow were made by the Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, for the purpose of determining the most suitable system of management. Numerous private holts throughout the eastern Central States were also investigated with a view to determine the varieties grown and to ascertain their soil and climatic requirements. The suggestions offered in this paper are therefore based partly upon the practical results of several years’ tests in the experimental holt at Arlington, Virginia, and partly upon suggestions furnished by experienced growers in this country and abroad. A great many common names have been given to this willow, and therefore it was considered advisable to select a name which should be given preference in future references. Although French osier is most commonly used by a large number of growers of basket willows, especially in New York State, it has been decided that a translation of the botanical name is more descriptive and appropriate. In order that the reader may determine what willow is referred to under the term purple willow, the following vernacular names are added which are often used by growers to designate this species: stone willow, com- mon stone willow, Welsh willow, crab willow, osier, red osier, French osier, green-leaf osier, French willow, purple willow, common purple willow, bitter purple willow, and common basket willow. BOTANICAL CHARACTERS Purple willow has very distinct characters by which it may be readily recognized. The leaf blades are oblong to lanceolate or sometimes apatulate and broadest above the middle where they are more or less distinctly serrate ; below the middle they are always entire. On the upper surface they are very smooth, of a rich shining purple and somewhat glaucous; on the under surface they are light-bluish green and often show a yellowish midvein. They are from two to four inches long and from one-fourth to three-fourths inch wide, and are sometimes arranged opposite on the slender, smooth and somewhat reddish (when young) shoot. The leaves of nearly all varieties of this group of willows turn black in drying. The petioles are very short and without glands. The stipules vary from linear to semi-linear, toothed, and 280 PURPLE BASKET WILLOW 281 are very deciduous. The mature shoots have a smooth, yellowish gray bark and possess a number of appressed, obtuse ,and generally glossy and occa- sionally red buds. The inner bark of the young twigs, especially during fall and winter, is orange yellow but toward the top becomes red. In poor soil and particularly in sandy soil the shoots have a yellowish color. The catkins appear earlier than the leaves and are sessile, cylindrical and densely flowered. The male catkins at first appear purplish red, but during pollination become golden yellow, and after blooming brownish black. They are from half to two inches in length and about half inch in diameter. The bracts at the base of the catkins are small and leaflike. The small, round, concave scales are black in the upper half of the catkins and covered with hair; at the base they are red. The male flowers have a single stamen which is drooping and is formed by the union of the two filaments and anthers. The female catkins are purplish red; the fruit pods are densely tomentose and contain a single upright ovule. The empty cells of the brownish capsule recurve very strongly. Willows are subject to considerable variation. The size, shape and surface of the leaves, their serratures, and the general characters and qualities of the rods vary greatly, depending upon soil and climatic conditions. The purple willow may be considered as a mean around which all its varieties are grouped. The constancy of these varieties is dependent upon the conditions which originally brought about the variations; when external conditions change, either those of soil fertility or soil moisture, changes in the character of the plant again take place, and the variety either reverts toward the mean, or, in its struggle to adjust itself to new conditions, gives rise to characters still more remote from the original form. Hybrids -are raised from different species and are generally considered not susceptible of propagation by seed. The terms hybrid, blend and bastard are limited to forms produced by cross fertilization. Some of the most important basket willows have been obtained in this way. VARIETIES OF THE PURPLE WILLOW The purple willow occurs in a great number of varieties which are more or less useful. The better ones yield the bulk of the rods used in the manu- facture of wicker ware. They produce very thin, flexible, slender, cylindrical, and branchless rods. In Germany the twigs used for binding the vines are produced by varieties of this species. In selecting varieties for planting the kind of material furnished by them must be kept in view, since different varieties often differ very greatly. A number of them are good and persistent producers while others do not yield a full crop until the fourth year and diminish again after a few years. The following varieties are recognized as the most important ones in this eroup: ; Salia helic Smith (not L.). Rose willow; longleaf purple willow; green stone willow. Noethlichs, a German authority, gives a very favorable report concerning this variety and claims that there are two sub-varieties of this which are underscribed. The one has greenish-gray bark turning dark- green during the winter, while the other has pale rose-colored bark near the top of the shoots which are exceedingly slender, and its wood is heavier than of any other variety. The bark is rich in salicin and in Europe is also used for the production of tannin and coloring matter. This willow does not require a very rch soil and yet produces numerous long and slender rods. Salix lambertiana Smith. Lambert’s willow. This is a large-leaved variety with very beautiful catkins. It is the tallest among the purple willows 282 AMERICAN FORESTRY “Om but is not praised very highly by growers in Europe. According to Pursh, it was introduced into this country very early for the production of basket willow rods. Owing to the graceful character of its slender shoots and glau- cous foliage it is often planted for ornamental purposes. Salix bractea rubra Koch. Red willow. The red brick colored scales of the catkins of this variety at once distinguishes it from the common purple willow that has black scales. It produces very long, straight and cylindrical rods, and in England is esteemed very highly. It grows in almost any soil, but in rich moist soil it yields an exceedingly heavy crop. It is used in certain parts of Europe for game coverts and fences. The rods are used for making willow ware requiring strength and durability. Salix purpurea emendata Hort.* Noble willow. This variety is also easily recognized from the common purple willow by its thrifty growth and slender rods. It is planted extensively in Germany and the rods are used for all purposes in the manufacture of willow ware. Salic purpurea kerksii Hort.* English willow. The twisted leaves of this willow furnish a character that makes it easy to be distinguished from other varieties. Although this kind is equally as valuable as the noble willow, it is more often used for fences and hedges than for the production of basket rods. It produces numerous slender and branchless shoots after the second year. Salix uralensis Hort.* Ural willow. This is a native of Galicia and is considered equally as good as the English willow and produces in dry soil, or in cold situations, a large number of very tough and slender rods. The first year after planting the shoots spread out considerably, but during the second year and thereafter they grow straight up to the height of 10 feet The rods are almost perfectly cylindrical and for this reason this variety is often called cord or string willow. It has been grown in this country with very good success. Salix uralensis serotina Hort.* Black Ural willow. In Europe this variety is often referred to as the late Ural willow, since it matures later and has smaller shoots than the Ural willow. It thrives in poor soils and unfavorable situations, but in this country it has been planted with only indifferent success. Salix purpurea glauca Hort.* Blue green stone willow. In moderately fertile sandy soil this variety produces very thin and long rods which are in great demand among manufacturers of fine basket ware. It matures later in the fall than any of the other varieties and on this account is sometimes injured by frosts. Salix purpurea gracilis Wimmer. Fine purple willow. This willow pro- duces rods that are considered among the best in Europe, but the shoots frequently branch. It has been tested on a small scale in this country and found to make excellent growth with no side branches. Salix purpurea pyramidelis Hort.** Pyramidal willow. In France where the pyramid willow is most widely cultivated it is known as Belle Josephina (Salix purpurea josephina). It is an excellent willow for hedges as well as for basket willow rods. It has been cultivated in Germany for more than sixty years. Salix purpurea elata Hort.* High stone willow. This willow is known to have yielded a very good crop the first year after planting. It occasionally *Horticultural varieties. **J. A. Krahe, in his “Lehrbuch,” page 104, states that this variety must be regarded as Saliz helix Smith, but without first seeing both male and female flowers this can not be definitely determined. PURPLE BASKET WILLOW 283 produces shoots 6 feet long the first season; in height growth it approaches the Ural willow. Salix purpurea sericea Wimmer. Silken-haired willow. In Germany the silken-haired variety is considered one of the most valuable and profitable basket willows. Its leaves while young are covered with a dense silky down which disappears at maturity. Among other varieties* of the purple willow the following may be mentioned : Salix wisconsinensis Cat. “ — malensis “purpurea atropurpurea ? angustifolia ¢ s macrophylla - i lutescens % es utilissima " + mirabilis * FS graminea procumbens Hybrids of the Purple Willow Salix viminalis « purpurea Wimmer. Common hybrid. This is the most important hybrid resulting from the cross fertilization of the white willow (Salix viminalis L.) and the purple willow. It belongs indisputably to the basket willows of the highest rank. The common hybrid possesses more char- acters of the viminales group of willows than of the purpurea group. The rods are very long and more nearly uniform in length, though thinner than the white willow, but just as slender, smooth and flexible as the purple willow. Furthermore the bark is thin and peels easily. The wood is very tough and remains white for a long time after peeling. The rods split easily and can be planed without difficulty. The holt retains the vitality of the purple willow and is extensively planted in Europe. Salix rubra Hudson. Rose willow. Another hybrid of the purple and white willows is recognized by its yellow anthers which are long and narrow and somewhat tapering at both ends; also by the leaves which are remotely serrated. If the leaves are green below and either smooth or with a few scattered hairs the hybrid is Salir rubra Hudson (Salix helix L.) including Salix angustissima Wimmer. ‘ THE SUMMER MEETING OF EASTERN FORESTERS By HUGH P. BAKER. held a successful meeting in northern New York with headquarters at Saranac Lake. This is the first time that the organization has held a meeting in which others than those connected immediately with state work were included. Feeling that the society could not only broaden its sphere of action and influence, but greatly strengthen and increase the usefulness of its work, the state foresters decided to include practicing foresters in all other lines in the eastern states. This brought in for the first time this year a number of men from various forest schools and several foresters in the employ of large corporations and in private work. The day previous to the meeting the writer, with a member of the North- eastern Forestry Company, had the good fortune to jog along slowly up the western shore of Champlain, stopping at one or two small nurseries operated by this company, and at Willsboro looked over their new seed houses built last year. These houses are very complete indeed and probably the best of their kind in America. The large house shown in the accompanying illus- tration has a capacity of six thousand bushels of cones. These are spread out on racks made of lath, which are light and easily adjustable, extending in tiers from the floor to the ceiling. The small house is fifteen by thirty and is occupied by the ovens in which the cones are heated after removal from the larger dry house. The method used for the removal of wings from seed is not an entirely practical one, because of the amount of hand work involved and the problem of developing cheaper and quicker methods is a little difficult to solve because of the size of the plant. The Appel concern in Darmstadt having very much more extensive ovens has developed machinery which does the work satisfactorily, though they figure on some loss from crushing and mangling of the seed. After leaving Willsboro we stopped for a few hours at Bluff Point, where - Mr. H. 8. Bristol, forester for the Delaware & Hudson Railroad, is developing an extensive forest nursery. This nursery is excellently laid out and has an effective water system, but the extremely sandy nature of the soil rather leads one to feel that we are sacrificing in this country certain important conditions in the nursery to get a soil that is easily worked and warm. When a season is as hot and dry as the past one, nurseries Located in such situations are sure to suffer and the matter of supplying proper amounts of plant food in the soil is an extremely important question which is probably solved easier by the railroad than by others in nursery work in the east, because of cheap and easy transportation. At Plattsburg the party of three was increased by several from across the lake, and the next morning a very interesting run was made into the thick of the Adirondacks to a little station beyond Saranae Lake, where the entire party of eighteen foresters began a series of unusually attractive excursions under guidance of Mr. C. R. Pettis, superintendent of state forests, and his (> July fourteenth and fifteenth, the Association of Eastern Foresters 605 606 AMERICAN FORESTRY assistant, Mr. Howard, the hosts for the meeting. We went at once through some excellent Scotch pine plantings four years old and also some white pine and European larch, the average cost of planting of which was eight dollars per acre. From Raybrook we drove on toward Lake Placid and took another very instructive walk through more extensive plantings of Scotch pine made in 1905 in which there is almost a perfect stand. The growth of this species has been so satisfactory that one is convinced almost that the Scotch pine has a future in the United States. The accompanying illustration shows a portion of this plantation with the tent of the forest guard. After dinner at Lake Placid, we went back to Lake Clear Junction and there visited what is probably the most extensive and oldest plantation of Scotch pine in the United States. The view of the party together is taken standing against this plantation. The planting was made in 1902, spacing six by six feet, and many of the trees are now fifteen feet high. Mr. Pettis explained that the Scotch pine does not do as well where duff covers the sand; also that white pine had failed here as elsewhere in the immediate region, because of the formation of a secondary root system, causing the entire vitality of the tree to go into the formation of adventitious roots. Here a considerable number of white pine had been removed and burned, because of infection by blister rust. This plantation of Scotch pine with one or two planta- tions of red pine and white pine, seen the next day at Paul Smith’s, are among the finest examples of reforestation in the United States and compare very favorably indeed with reforestation of similar lands in either Germany or France. Following the examination of plantations, several large nurseries at Lake Clear Junction and at Saranac Inn were visited. One of the accompanying illustrations shows the party in the nursery at Lake Clear Junction examining this season’s seed beds. In a number of beds of white pine, it was estimated that there were nine thousand seedlings in a space four by twelve feet. Ants were causing some injury in spruce beds, but where they were not working the average stand in four by twelve feet space was estimated at fifteen thou- sand. The average for spruce seedlings in beds of similar size in 1910 was given as fourteen thousand. Damping-off had started in the red pine and as sulphur seemed to cause baking of the soil, dry sand was used with very satisfactory results. After seedlings were well started, six pounds of bone meal were used to the beds of pine, but no bone meal was put on the spruce. Here and there in the pine slight injury had been caused by irregular scattering of the bone meal and by too much lying upon or about the seedlings. The soil Was a sandy loam and this spring a very heavy dressing of manure was given previous to the working up of the beds. The treatment with manure and subsequent use of bone meal has produced unusually strong seedlings, stocky and of good color. In fact, the number of seedlings produced per square foot exceeds, if anything, the number produced in the average forest nursery of central and southern Germany. It is probable that a larger number of seed- lings may be produced in limited situations where the ground has been worked for a long period and is exceedingly rich, but there will be little reason for increasing the production per square foot above that now obtained in these nurseries in northern New York. It was stated that in 1910 the acre and three-fourths at Lake Clear Junction produced six million seedlings. Fol- lowing a visit to the seed beds a twelve-acre transplant nursery was looked over in which there were standing one-fourth of a million seedlings to the acre. It was estimated that the cost of the transplanted seedlings at the end of the third year was two dollars to two dollars and fifty cents a thousand. The evening was given up to a business meeting at Saranac Lake in which THE SUMMER MEETING OF EASTERN FORESTER 607 plans for the future were discussed and a number of new members were elected. It was decided that the membership of the association apart from those in state service or connected with schools of forestry should be limited to men who would be likely to be of value in the society. A day and evening meeting will be held in New York city sometime in January for a thorough discussion of topics of special interest in forest work in the eastern states. A steady rain on the morning of the fifteenth dampened the ardor of a number who left for the south and east during the forenoon. About noon a run was made to Lake Clear Junction and thence to Paul Smith’s, where an excursion was made to unusually extensive experiments in seed spot planting. After lunch at the camp of the forest watch, these spot plantings were gone over carefully and some interesting results seen. Scotch and white pine had succeeded best in the seed spots and the loss with the other species in most instances was complete. Adjoining the area upon which the spot plant- ing had been done is a tract of twenty-five hundred acres planted to white and Scotch pine. Considerable replanting was necessary here because of loss of previous years due to poor planting and dryness. One very interesting feature of the work in this vicinity was a side hill upon which white pine had been broadcasted. The seeding was done in 1906 on a slope of about thirty per cent with a southeastern and northwestern exposure. The results were good, as can be seen in the accompanying photograph, which compares size of seedlings with a hat. Upon the return to Paul Smith’s a three-acre planting of bull pine seven years from seed was seen. While a growth of brakes was exceedingly heavy, this pine seemed to be doing excellently and, no doubt, has great promise for very dry situations throughout the eastern states. Of all the plantations visited, a tract planted to red pine was the most inter- esting and attractive. Twenty-five acres near the above-mentioned planting of bull pine was put out seven years ago and there is to-day almost a complete stand. The ground is a very gravelly drift soil well adapted to the red pine and the heavy annual growth of brakes has not seemed to injure the develop- ment of the plantation in any way. The pine, as shown in accompanying cut, is now overtopping the brakes and within a short time there will be almost perfect forest conditions. If those skeptical as to the future of planting in the eastern states will visit this red pine plantation all doubt will be removed and in its place will come enthusiasm and confidence as to the future of forestry in this country. The plantation convinces one also that the red pine should be used more where soils are right and that its growth during an entire rotation will probably compare favorably with any conifer that can be used in the eastern states. The meeting was closed at Paul Smith’s after several strenuous athletic contests. The next day three of the party ran in to Raquette Lake and looked over some of the virgin forests along the west shore. The accompanying illustra- tion is quite typical of present conditions of the forest in Township 40. There is a great deal of mature timber and very light growth of saplings and seed- lings to insure a satisfactory forest after the older trees are removed by either natural or artificial means. These meetings of the eastern foresters mark the beginning of a different type of forestry meetings in this country. They are in reality conferences between the men who are trying to solve definite problems, supplemented by opportunities to observe and study what is going on in the various parts of the east. Much of the success of this meeting was due to the energetic thought- fulness of the host, Mr. Pettis. The following men were present: Samuel N. Spring, state forester of Con- 608 AMERICAN FORESTRY necticut; James W. Toumey, professor in the Yale Forest School; H. H. Chap- man, professor in the Yale Forest School; Ralph C. Hawley, professor in the Yale Forest School; F. W. Besley, state forester of Maryland; F. William Rane, state forester of Massachusetts; R. T. Fisher, professor in the Harvard Forest School; F. F. Moon, professor of forestry at Massachusetts Agricul- tural College; C. R. Pettis, superintendent of state forests, New York; Hugh P. Baker, professor of forestry in the Pennsylvania State College; Austin F. Hawes, state forester of New Hampshire; Charles P. Wilber, state fire warden of New Jersey; Alfred Gaskill, state forester of New Jersey; William G. Howard, assistant superintendent of state forests of New York. And as guests, the following: H. 8. Bristol, superintendent of woodlands, Delaware & Hudson Railroad Company, New York; J. G. Peters, United States Forest Service. FOREST, RAQUETTE {GIN IN VIE BIRCH AND SPRUCE OF TYPICAL MIXED FOREST x. I APPALACHIANS YOR NEW LAKE, N N THER OR CAMP DOCK, LOOKING EAST FROM ASSEMBLY TENT MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE STEAM LOADER, LOCATED NEAR THE CAMP. CAMP THIS AVERAGED 25 CARLOADS A DAY STREET TREES By J. J. LEVISON, B. A., M. F. FORESTER IN CHARGE OF THE TREES IN THE PARKS OF BROOKLYN neglected street trees are now gradually becoming his care and the people are even more particular about them than they are about the parks, because in the street tree the citizen takes a proprietary interest. It is his tree; he sees it daily, is directly benefited by it and expects it to be thrifty and sightly. The park superintendent must meet this problem and if he meets it well, it is that much to his credit. What then are the fundamental principles of street tree planting and care and how shall he go about the problem? First of all the street trees as well as the park trees should be controlled by the municipality and placed under the jurisdiction of a single head. Municipal control is the only way of securing uniformity in planting—very essential on streets—it is the only way of controlling insect and fungus inva- sions over large areas and of doing anything systematically and at the right time. Co-ordination of effort, that is, combining all city tree work into one bureau is also the only way of insuring the absolute eradication of insect and fungous pests, of securing uniformity and efficiency in methods, material and apparatus and of getting the work done at the least possible cost. All city tree problems both in the parks and on the streets are interdependent and divided effort would mean loss of time, money and trees. With the work co-ordinated, place the responsibility of all tree matters on a professional forester, a man trained in the science of forestry and arbori- culture and one of considerable experience in park work. His duties will be to see to all planting, spraying, pruning and cultivating. He will establish a municipal nursery, test the various insecticides and fungicides, install the best apparatus and enforce the city tree ordinances. He will organize the office work, plot the street trees on a map and advise citizens on their tree problems. He will issue permits for tree removal and private tree pruning, study the local tree problems, collect tree statistics and promote public interest through lectures and writing. The enactment of a good city tree ordinance is the next step. There are a number of cities that now have such ordinances in force and the new one may be modeled from those. Your tools to work with are then provided and if your trained expert is a good one, you can leave the details of carrying out the work to him. Oversee his work occasionally, give him the benefit of your wider experience and back him when necessary because in the beginning of all such work there frequently appear many cases of opposition from citizens who either for selfish motives or otherwise try to force their own views in the matter of handling technical tree problems. The attention of the forester will first probably be directed to the care of the existing trees rather than to the addition of new ones. Spraying for leaf-eating insects may be his first work. Street trees growing under less favorable conditions than park trees are naturally weaker and 611 Cys park superintendent of today is facing a new problem. Those old 612 AMERICAN FORESTRY more susceptible to insect attack. Street elms without care very seldom escape attack from the elm leaf beetle and such trees as the horsechestnut and linden are titbits for leaf-eating caterpillars. Let all such spraying be done early, while the insect is young and susceptible to the poison. It is also important to look into the chemical and physical value of the insecticide you are using. A few years ago I found one of the best known brands of arsenate of lead to contain as little as 4 per cent of arsenic oxide, whereas it should have had 15 per cent or more to be the least effective. Since then, we have been purchas- ing our spraying material subject to chemical and physical tests and have been paying considerably less than we had been paying before. Success in spraying will, moreover, depend not only on the value of the insecticide and upon how early in its feeding stage the insect is attacked, but also on the thoroughness with which the work is done. The kind of apparatus used will also make an appreciable difference, for a barrel pump is too slow for the amount of labor used to operate it and a very heavy wooden tank such as is commonly used for woodland spraying would prove too sluggish and cumbersome in going about the city streets. In late summer and early fall, pruning will be in season. The men should then be trained in the fundamental principles of the work and furnished with printed hints on the necessary precautions in climbing trees and removing branches. We have had little booklets published on such topics for our men and find them very helpful. Close cuts and application of coal tar to the wounds should always be insisted upon and above everything else, do not let them prune more than is necessary. The tendency on street trees has gener- ally been the other way to the great detriment of the trees. Cavities caused by some old neglected horse-bitten wound or by an improp- erly made cut, are more common in street trees than in park trees and the present tendency is to indiscriminately fill them all with cement. This work is expensive and in many cases unjustified. It is particularly true of trees on the streets because there the trees are frequently of poor species and the cavities so neglected that the absolute elimination of diseased wood is utterly impossible. There the decay would keep on developing after treatment with the same rapidity as before. Cavity filling is justifiable only where the tree is a much valued specimen, where the filling can serve the practical purpose of eliminating moisture and where every trace of diseased wood can be thoroughly removed before the filling is inserted. In many cases the proper use of the chisel or gouge alone without the filling will eliminate all disease and leave the wound in a position where moisture will not collect. The absolute eradica- tion of all infested wood from a neglected cavity is often impossible and in many cases where this is true, the axe is by far the safest and most practicable tool. Street trees especially should be cut down as soon as they become the least dangerous or when their trunks become hollow or badly infested with disease. For, as soon as the citizen notifies the authorities of the condition of his tree, all responsibility is shifted on the city and law suits are sure to follow in case of any subsequent damage. Spring is the time for planting, but the preparations for planting should be commenced in the fall. Fall is the time to purchase trees and leave them standing labeled in the nursery for spring delivery. Holes in the sidewalk about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep may be opened in the fall and the ashes, tin cans and beer bottles frequently composing a street soil may be changed for a cubie yard of rich black loam. In selecting the trees for street planting consideration should be given not only to the species but to the specimen as well. The specimen tree should be about 2% inches in diameter, should possess a straight trunk, a definite leader STREET TREES 613 and a symmetrical crown, commencing at 7 to 9 feet from the ground. It is sometimes difficult to find trees that will in every respect meet these specifi- cations and it might then be well to agree to a smaller diameter, but to insist on well-formed specimens. Individual perfection, symmetry and uniformity are fundamental principles in successful street planting. For this reason, it is important to plant trees of the same species on the same street or at least on a stretch of several blocks; to have all trees of uniform size and to set them out at equal distances apart. Thirty feet apart is a suitable distance for most street trees and a tree like the elm should be allowed 60 feet. It is in the realization of just such points wherein lie the advantage in having a munici- pality undertake such work. If left to the citizens to do this individually, the trees will be planted either too close or too far apart. Many species will be mixed on the same block and many blocks will have no trees at all. As to the selection of the species that will, of course, vary with the local conditions. In a general way, however, persons in the East will find the Oriental sycamore the hardiest of all for street planting. The sycamore has lately been slightly afflicted with a leaf blight (gloeosporeum nevisequum), but the disease has not become general enough to do serious damage. The Norway maple is another tree equally desirable. The oaks, though of slower growth at first are by far the noblest and most long-lived trees. The red, pin and scarlet oaks are the three best species for street purposes. The red oak is faster growing and least fastidious in its soil and moisture requirements. The pin oak is most beautiful when its low pendulous branches are disturbed as little as possible and when its roots can get plenty of moisture. The tree is there- fore best adapted for suburban sections. The scarlet oak is worth the trial for its persistent and brilliant foliage. The ginkgo has demonstrated its adaptability to poor soils, to unfavorable city conditions and its resistance to insects and disease. It should be tried to a greater extent for street planting than it generally is. The English elm is another tree doing well in many large cities. There are a number of trees that are planted for their admirable qualities of either form, color or beauty of their flowers, but requiring special favorable conditions and care, they should be chosen with a greater degree of hesitancy than the above and planted preferably in the suburban sections rather than in the heart of the city. The principal of these are the sugar and red maples, European linden, horsechestnut, American elm and tulip tree. The sugar maple has a symmetrical form and combines many shades of color in the fall, but requires plenty of moisture. In the vicinity of New York city, the trees of this species planted in the heart of the city are rapidly dying off and there is no other cause attributable for this condition except the exces- sive evaporation from the leaves against the meagre quantity of moisture taken in by the roots from the impoverished street soil. The red maple and the linden are both moisture-loving trees, and the latter is a favorite food for insect pests. The Huropean linden is the better tree for street planting. The American linden grows very straggly in the vicinity of New York though it seems to do better further south. The horse- chestnut prefers a rich soil and is subject to a fungus disease, which discolors its leaves causing them to drop in midsummer. It is also a common victim of “slime flux,” a disease that causes the flow of sap from crevices in the trunk. The tree is used extensively abroad for street planting, but for reasons just stated, should be used more sparingly in this country. The elm has the noblest form of all our shade trees, but should be planted on wide avenues, in suburban sections where it can find a deep, rich, moist soil and plenty of unvitiated air. The tulip tree compares favorably with other species in form and attractive- 614 AMERICAN FORESTRY ness but is so exacting in its soil and moisture requirements that only young specimens should be used and its planting restricted to suburban sections. The objectionable trees for street planting are all the poplars, the silver and sycamore maples, the catalpa and male ailanthus. The poplars are very short-lived trees. They are dangerous in windstorms and grow so fast as to require constant cutting back. Ata certain age their roots upset the sidewalk and their fine rootlets clog the neighboring water and sewer pipes. Their leaves drop very early in the fall and if the species is of the pistillate kind, the catkins falling on the sidewalk become a danger and a nuisance to pedestrians. The silver maples are constantly full of dead wood, are subject to boring insects and are short-lived. The sycamore maple is a favorite of boring insects in the vicinity of New York though in other places it has escaped these pests. The variety of ailanthus tree that bears the male or staminate flowers generates a strong, rather oppressive odor, but if the pistillate form is chosen, the tree will produce a beautiful head. and will grow in places where no other tree will TOW. ‘ Such are the principal problems of those charged with the care of street trees. I have not attempted to dilate on the details of the work because they are too numerous and because, as in every thing else, their solution will often depend more upon the judgment of the forester in charge and upon the local conditions than upon any rules that may be laid down. But whatever the problems do not let us forget that they can always best be solved by one equipped with technical knowledge and experience and that the trees are worth the effort since they are always valued by the citizen and ultimately lead to a better appreciation of the parks themselves. EDITORIAL THE FOREST FIRE SEASON For the next six months we may breathe a little easier and if we are well advised we shall profit by experience and consider wherein our defences have been found to be lacking and provide for greater safety next year. With this thought in mind, we are publishing this month several prac- tical articles dealing with systems of fire protection, especially in the national forests. We in the United States are not doing a fraction of what we ought to do to prevent and control forest fires. But we are doing much and doing it well, and we shall doubtless improve both the quality and quantity of our work each year now that we have really taken the problem into serious consideration. Fortunately, not every year do we have such terrible spectacular con- flagrations as aroused the whole country in 1910. But the loss each year, and especially during such dry seasons as we have been having for several years past, is heavy; the liability to outbreaks like that of last year is always present; and the time to provide for them is before they happen. That there have always been forest fires is shown by the testimony of the ancient forests, but it is unavoidable that the increase of population, the spread of human activities into the forests, should increase the danger far beyond natural con- ditions. And the loss becomes more serious as the forest area decreases and the size and value of our timber trees becomes less. As was pointed out by Dr. Deckert, the German observer, in an article, the translation of which was published in this magazine a few months ago, the forest fire problem in the United States presents peculiar difficulties and will probably always remain with us as a present danger. Nevertheless, we cannot admit that American skill, energy and ingenuity are not equal to the task of reducing the danger and the loss to a comfortable minimum. The problems of organization, method and equipment have been taken up on a tremendous scale by the United States Forest Service on the national forests, and by many of the states in their own territory. Large timberland owners in the northwest and northeast are co-operating with the government officials in a way most promising of results. When we have developed a sufficient leadership of capable fire chiefs, supported by a body of trained men, with an ample equipment of the best tools, machinery and vehicles for reaching and fighting forest fires; when all our forest regions are so laced with roads and trails that fires can be reached promptly and with the smallest expenditure of energy; when lookouts with range finders and telephone connections are generally installed and experienced patrols maintained, so that fires may be detected in their incipiency; when finally—though it may well stand first in importance—the people as a whole have been educated to a sense of indi- vidual responsibility for preventing the start or spread of damaging fires, we may expect the holding of forest property to be a much less anxious owner- OR: season of greatest danger from forest fires is drawing to a close. 615 616 AMERICAN FORESTRY ship than it now is, and forest conservation will receive one of the greatest encouragements that can be given it. This is not a Utopian program. All of its elements are now in hand, and steady and persistent efforts will accomplish the complete result, even in the face of national carelessness and individual irresponsibility. NEW ENGLAND'S HOPE DEFERRED [ Yiv. ENGLAND is deeply and unpleasantly stirred by the failure of the Weeks law to accomplish any immediate results in the protection of the White Mountain forests, and especially by the possibility which has assumed alarming proportions that relief may be impossible under the law as it now stands. The state of feeling will surely become visible and audible when the people of that section generally become aware of the facts which are now known to comparatively few. A common impression still is that a law has been passed and anxiety may now be laid aside. That is a customary American attitude. It is generally known that the first direct proposal to purchase forests in the northern and southern Appalachians was sidetracked by an opinion of the judiciary committee of the House of Representatives that such a pur- chase would be unconstitutional, but that forests might be purchased on the watersheds of navigable streams if it could be shown that the maintenance of these forests was necessary to protect or promote the navigability of such streams. It is needless here to discuss the merits of this opinion. Its validity as a final judgment is very doubtful. On this point constitutional lawyers differ widely. It was maintained by some strict constructionist lawyers on the committee and outside of it with entire sincerity. It also furnished a good instrument to use with less sincerity in the sharp political game which was played in the House to kill the measure. The Weeks bill was constructed to meet this view, for so close was the fight in the House that it was useless to go against the judiciary committee. In order to further meet the views of many members who did not know just where they stood, it was provided in the bill that the Geological Survey should pass upon lands, the purchase of which was proposed, reporting as to their relation to the navigability of the streams upon whose watersheds they lie. It may easily be understood that the Survey did not care to be drawn into a matter which had already involved the foresters, the engineers, and the Weather Bureau in endless warfare, but the task was reluctantly assumed in obedience to the will of Congress. The practical result is that while the experts of the Survey admit the serious menace of the destruction that is being done in the White Mountains and that this ought to be checked, they could not, according to the last information available, by the method of investigation which they have adopted, connect it with the navigability of the streams heading in those mountains, and there is at present reason to expect a report unfavorable, or only partially favorable on the White Mountain watersheds. The position taken by the Survey is understood to be that the relation of each watershed must be determined by direct examination of that watershed—that no other factors are of scientific value and that what has happened on other watersheds in other parts of the world cannot be used to forecast what will happen here. On this ground it must be admitted that the White Mountains stand small chance. The ultimate results of progressive denudation and of the cutting of hard- EDITORIAL 617 wood are only beginning to show themselves, for the lumbering of the past will cut a small figure compared with that of the next twenty-five years, and the final consequences must, we hold, be judged with this in mind and by comparison with the ultimate effect of similar causes on other watersheds the world over. Certain fundamental facts are regarded by the best expert opinion in New England as having a direct bearing upon the case, quite as significant as anything that can be determined from local examination of soil and topog- raphy. The first of these is the general agreement, both in Europe and America, that forests protect the run-off of streams and that on steep mountain slopes this protection is greater than elsewhere. Furthermore, it may be accepted as an axiom that the destructive agencies of nature, frost, moisture and wind, combined with gravitation, are at work in the White Mountains as in all other mountains of the world. It is further well known to local students of the question that the danger of denudation in the White Moun- tains is greater than in many other mountain regions because of the extra- ordinary growth of the paper and pulp industries that consume its principal species, spruce and fir. These grow in nearly pure stands on the high slopes. Added to this is the fact that owing to the exhaustion of the hardwood supply in some other parts of the country, the cutting of hardwood on an extensive scale has begun in the White Mountains. Hitherto many of the slopes have been protected by the hardwoods. Fire, following cutting, has a serious effect upon the thin soil of the White Mountain country. It has rendered large areas in the White Mounta.as permanently barren and has set back for years the productivity of others. It is common observation among woodsmen in the White Mountains that the spring run-off is earlier and more rapid from cut-over and burned over areas than from those not cut over. Many small streams once running free the year around have become permanently dry or mere courses for spring freshets, this being noticeable in areas that have been cut-over. In view of these facts it seems inconceivable that the consequences which have followed such conditions in other mountain countries should not follow them in the White Mountains. And if this is true, the protection which the White Mountain forests afford to the rivers of New England is plain, and their preservation would certainly come within the scope of the Weeks law. If the experience of other countries, France, Spain, China and Syria, for example, does not furnish an analogy by which we may profit, it seems to us that it is incumbent upon those who deny that analogy to show the reason why. Thus far no proof has been offered—only denials. It seems necessary to again emphasize the fact that whatever protection can be afforded to these New England forests must be afforded soon. Other- wise the combination of natural and human forces to which we have referred will place these hills beyond successful maintenance except as stone quarries. From the beginning of the agitation for the Southern Appalachian forests in 1899, the first support of which came from New England, New England has loyally supported the interests of the whole Appalachian region in this long struggle. To the people of this section the great human interests involved far transcend questions of bare scientific fact or abstract legal considerations. The passage of the Weeks law was hailed as the accomplishment of a great result. Its failure will be regarded with a disappointment which can hardly be described. The country has expressed its will that the mountain forests of the east should be preserved and maintained in perpetuity. That will must not be nullified. 618 AMERICAN FORESTRY FEDERAL TROOPS AND FOREST FIRES C) ix advantages accr uing from the use of federal troops in fighting forest fires in the national forests are very ably brought out by Mr. Cornwall in his article which appears in this issue of AMuRIcAN Forestry. In a time of extreme danger and national disaster, such as existed in the forests of the west last year, the troops were a great help, and the War Department would no doubt be glad to help the Forest Service again if similar emer- gencies arise. The use of troops in times of emergency has occurred on several occasions, as during the San Francisco fire, and a precedent may be said to have been established. While these extraordinary situations justify the use of national troops, there is ground for diversity of opinion regarding the regular assignment of troops to assist the Forest Service. It is pointed out that such a course would tend to hamper the development of the national forest organization and build up a system similar to that in the national parks. Such a result would obviously hinder the best use of the forest. The Forest Service already has a strong organization which combines fire protection and control with various other duties which are essential to the best management of the forest. The ranger force is inadequate in numbers, but it is trained to great efficiency. In times of fire danger, the resources of the Forest Service are augmented by men and tools from local residents, lumber camps, etec., and gradually a strong reserve is being built up with the regular forest force as a nucleus. It will soon be only in times of great fire danger such as last year that inex- perienced men not on the reserve list will need to be recruited, or the regular troops called out. A system under which the Army regularly helps the Forest Service pro- tect the forests in Secretary Stimson’s opinion would be bad. It is conceded that our army needs centralizing to permit of manoeuvers by large bodies of troops. To this end it is the aim of the department to abandon small isolated posts, but this would be impossible if the troops were distributed over the national forests. Another point is that fire prevention rather than fire fighting is the essential feature of an effective system and to assign privates in the regular army to patrol work would largely deprive them of true military training and not make for army efficiency. The German forests are protected without the help of the large German standing army and we should consider well before breaking up our small army for regular forest fire duty. When emergencies arise, the troops can be called on and their services will be most helpful, but it will be a radical and perhaps dangerous policy to put even a small proportion of our army permanently into the national forests. MAINE’S EXHAUSTED FIRE FUND AINE has for some time been held up as an example among the eastern states for its system of forest fire prevention and control. Its expendi- tures have been considerable and it easily secured the maximum allow- ance of ten thousand dollars from the national co-operative fund provided by the Weeks law. It was, therefore, something of a shock as well as a sur- prise to learn on or about the 10th of August that the $68,000 protection fund of the Maine forestry district and the national appropriation of $10,000 were EDITORIAL 619 exhausted, and that two hundred patrolmen guarding lands assessed at $45,000,000 had been laid off. In a letter calling attention to existing conditions one paper manufacturer who had eleven thousand acres of timber growing which he had been handling conservatively is quoted as saying that he did not propose to hold timber land just to have the timber burned from lack of protection. It is apparent that the exhaustion so early in the season of so large a fund, larger than has hitherto been available, calls for explanation. If the national government is to assist in this work it must know that the money is wisely and economically expended and that it is not wasted in a futile effort that will be practically suspended at a critical time. Commissioner Mace issued a statement on the 19th of August in which he said that the situation was kept well in hand until the third and fourth of July, when the extraordinary conditions produced by and following the hot wave brought disaster. The statement continues: “Realizing the danger the patrol force was increased and the already efficient patrol was, in some case, doubled. Nothing in the line of prevention was lacking and notwithstanding the department had retained the best men who had followed the work in former years, the worst fires occurred in the sections controlled and looked after by the men who had been connected with the State’s forest service since 1903 when the first law was put into effect. “The disaster was no fault, however, of the men, as the best service cannot cope against the elements which were decidedly against all that was peing done, the cause assigned to some of the worst fires being lightning. It is hard to make many believe that forest fires are caused from such a source but there is plenty of evidence in the recent fires that lightning was the cause. “The extremely hot weather, and the winds on some of the days the fires were at their height, drove the flames and sparks in all directions, causing many fires at the same time. Hundreds of men were called on and responded making an expense ot from $2,000 to $3,000 a day continuing at this rate from 10 to 15 days. “Tt was this immense expense covering the cost of fighting the fire added already to the unusually large force of patrolmen that so quickly exhausted the funds.” It is further stated that the expenses up to July 1 were unusually large, but “that with any kind of average weather and conditions the forest pro- tection work could be carried on until the end of the season.” In view of the statements quoted we are surprised to find the commissioner estimating the damage caused by the fires at only $200,000, a much lower figure than others have estimated and one hardly consistent with his description of the magni- tude of the fires. Two points are suggested by consideration of the situation in Maine. The first is that Maine has not yet placed its forest commissionership outside of politics, a thing which must be done to secure a permanently capable adminis- tration. The second is that with this vast forest interest to protect the state, if it can be shown that the present expenditure has been well administered and the fund was really inadequate, should provide an emergency fund that could be drawn upon whenever extraordinary conditions, such as are claimed by Commissioner Mace to have arisen this year, occur, to the end that vigilance need not be relaxed during the whole period of fire danger. This is a vital matter in which no state can afford to be niggardly. EDUCATION Yale’s New Professorship of Lumbering R. C. Bryant, professor of lumbering in the Yale Forest School (this is the new pro- fessorship endowed by the lumbermen of the country at the instance of the National Lumber Manufacturers’ Association) has issued a statement describing with much detail the course in his department. He says: The instruction in lumbering proper is conducted by a lecture course for senior students given in New Haven from October 1 to March 1, and by practical field work in the South from March to the middle of June. INSTRUCTION IN NEW HAVEN The lecture course in New Haven is de- signed to give the student a clear idea of the general principles underlying the con- duct of the lumber industry in the United States and a general understanding of economic subjects related to it. This lecture course is given four times a week during the fall and winter terms. The following subjects are among those covered: 1. Importance of ..se industry in the United States, brief historical review of its development, statistics of the industry, the future of the industry. 2. Planning a logging operation, methods employed, data required, and methods of obtaining it. 3. A comparative study of the methods of, and equipment required for, logging operations in the various forest regions. This covers all sorts of tools, vehicles, and machinery used in handling logs from the stump to the railroad or water. 4. Transportation of timber and other forest products by land and water. Methods, equipment required, value of each system. 5. Detailed study of logging methods in specific regions. 6. Log scales, scaling practice, and log grades used in different regions. 7. Types of manufacturing plants and equipment used. 8. Methods of manufacture. 9. Theory and methods of seasoning lum- ber. 10. Preparation of lumber for market in planing mills. 11. Methods of sale—trade customs. 12. Lumber grades and grading methods. 13. Lumber’ associations—objects and work. 620 14. Foreign and domestic markets. 15. Timber bonds. 16. Insurance for sawmill plants and tim- 17. Lumber tariff. 18. Cost-keeping methods. 19. A brief course treating of shingle, lath, clapboard, veneer, cooperage, vehicle stock, boxboard, excelsior, and charcoal manufacture, and the harvesting of tan- barks and turpentine orcharding follows. The lecture work is supplemented and illustrated whenever possible with models, drawings, lantern slides, photographs, and other material that will more clearly illus- trate the subject matter. Professor Bryant’s statement then calls attention to the close relation to training in lumbering of the instruction given by other members of the faculty, describing briefly the courses in land surveys and map making, forest law, wood technology, forest management, forest mensuration, construc- tion engineering, silviculture, entomology, and diseases of trees. The field work of the spring term of the senior year, which has since 1906 been spent on some large lumber operation is described at length. The camp and field work are in charge of Professors Chapman and Bryant. The statement continues: The instruction given consists very large- ly of field work, supplemented by the few lectures necessary to properly explain the work in hand. The instruction covers the following points: LOGGING METHODS A detailed study of all phases of the log- ging operation of the company is made. This includes: 1. The methods of planning the logging operation. 2. The organization of the woods, labor and wages paid. 3. Railroad location and construction. Practice is given in laying out logging rail- roads and spurs on lands where the com- pany will soon operate. The method and cost of railroad construction are studied first hand with the logging company’s crew. 4. Felling methods and tools—Saw filing and care of tools. Daily output per crew and cost. 5. Skidding and hauling methods—where more than one system is used a compara- tive study of the efficiency of each is made NEAR VIEW OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND SMALLER TENTS INTERIOR OF INDIV- IDUAL TENTS, EACH 10x12 AND COMFORTABLY EQUIPPED GENERAL VIEW OF CAMP FROM THE EAST. BEHIND STOOD A HEAVY FOREST OF BEECH, BIRCH, SUGAR MAPEF, AND WHITE PINE MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE CAMP STUDENTS IN ASSEMBLY TENT EXAMINING ENTOMOLOGICAL MATERIAL STUDENTS OF THE SUMMER SCHOOL. THEY HAVE COM- PLETED THEIR SOPHOMORE YEAR. TWO OCCUPY A TENT AND EACH TENT MAKES A WORKING CREW WITH OUTFIT THE EVENING HOUR OF RELAXATION BEFORE THE CAMP FIRE MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE CAMP EDUCATION and tables prepared showing the amount of work performed in a given time under given conditions. A knowledge of the abil- ity of men and animals under specified con- ditions furnishes a basis for the determina- tion of their efficiency under other condi- tions. Costs per unit. 6. Railroad operation, log loading, train operation, unloading at mill pond, etc.; methods and cost. 7. Study of waste in logging incident to careless felling, high stumps, improperly cut log lengths, ete. How to determine ac- tual waste and financial loss to the lumber- man. 8. Efficiency in management. 9. Log scales and practice in log scaling. 10. Relocation of old land lines. Each student is given several days’ work, under a skilled surveyor, in the relocation of old land lines to bring out difficulties at- tending this class of work and the necessity of great accuracy. 11. Topographic mapping. Considerable practice is given in the collection of data for and the preparation of a topographic map of a tract of 25,000 to 30,000 acres for logging purposes. The training aims at securing speed in the collection of data combined with sufficient accuracy for log- ging purposes. 12. Extensive practice is given in the various methods of estimating timber by ocular methods, and the principles under- lying them. 13. Practice in marking timber for a sec- ond cut. 14. Studies of the rate of growth and preparation of a plan of management for yellow pine and other forests. MANUFACTURE OF LUMBER The students are divided into three groups and each group spends two weeks at the sawmill plant becoming familiar with the manufacture of lumber. Among the points covered are the following: 1. Character and equipment of the manu- facturing plant. 2. Methods of manufacture. 3. Methods of seasoning lumber. 4. Planing mill equipment and dressing of lumber. 5. Practice in grading rough and finished lumber. 6. Study of defects in logs and their in- fluence on the quantity and quality of lum- ber produced. 7. Labor organization of plant. 8. Organization and management of ship- ping department. 9. Markets and prices. 10. Waste in manufacture and possible remedies. 11. General efficiency of operation, im- provements possible. The results of the study of logging and manufacturing methods are embodied in 623 a report which forms the basis of criticism for the student’s work and corrects any erroneous impressions that may have been formed during the study. The object of the spring work is to bring the student into close contact with opera- tions in the field, give him training in the performance of forest work, and to permit him to put into practice the knowledge gained during his attendance at the Forest School. He gains confidence in his ability to do things correctly and it provides an excellent foundation on which to build his future practical career. A Forest School, and any other technical school, cannot turn out graduates fitted on graduation to assume responsible positions unless they have had previous practical training. The latter is a most essential factor in any technical profession. A tech- nical training, however, does give a founda- tion on which a man may build to good advantage and which will enable him to be- come a more proficient practical man in a much shorter time than would be possible had he not had his technical training. The lumber industry in the past has de- manded a man skilled in many different lines, especially in engineering. The indus- try in the future will demand still more of the man who will be successful because he will be called upon to handle his product very closely, find new uses for his present waste products, plan for future crops of timber, and to practice forestry of a more or less intensive nature. In this work the technically trained forester will be inval- uable to the lumberman. Michigan Agricultural College Forestry Department Summer Term The third session of the summer term of forestry given by the forestry department of the Michigan Agricultural College, was held on the estate of David Ward, Deward, Crawford county, Michigan, from June 21st to August 10th, 1911. There were twenty-four students in at- tendance and four courses were given—one in civil engineering, which took up land plotting and rapid topographical mapping; one in entomology which consisted in the identification of forestry insects and a study of their life history; one in field methods which treated of the necessary equipment and maintenance supplies for n and horses in the field. In the last of se students were given practical work py being fully equipped for field expeditions and being sent out with their entire equip- ment packed on their backs, making camp and cooking for themselves. There was also a course in forest mensuration which consisted of making volume tables, height diameter tables, form factor tables for white pine, hemlock, sugar maple, and beech, laying out a plot of ten acres, cruis- 624 ing the same after handing in estimates, carefully going over the plot and measur- ing each tree on the plot and calculating the volume by different methods. As soon as this work was completed choppers felled the timber on the area and timber was measured and checks made on estimates and calculations. Practice was also given in cruising forty acre plots and 160 acre plots by the different methods, Much prac- tice was also obtained in locating witness trees and boundary lines. Students had the opportunity to appreciate the extent of an area of 640 acres of heavily timbered stand. The camp was located on the shores of Sand Lake, adjacent to the estate logging camp No. 18 which is operating in white pine with 110 men and 15 teams. The students were housed in tents about five minutes’ walk from the cook shanty of the main logging camp. There were ten tents 10x12, set at an angle of fifty degrees with the main assembly tent which was 231% by 41 feet. All of these tents were equipped with a board floor. The individ- ual tents, housing two students, were all equipped with board floors, two cots, study table, two chairs, lantern and lamp. Oil and matches were furnished. A yard man was employed to sweep the tents, fill the lanterns and lamps, fill the water pails each day, pick up about the camp and accumu- late wood for the evening’s bon-fire. The hours kept by the students were the same as those kept by the logging crew, beginning with breakfast at five o’clock. Boats, guns and ammunition were fur- nished for the use of the students. A tar- get range was laid out and records kept of the practice. Dr. R. C. Allen, State Geologist of Mich- igan, was in camp and gave a series of lec- tures on topographical maps and mapping. Mr. R. S. Kellogg gave a series of lectures on general forestry topics. The pictures reproduced on other pages give a good idea of the life of the school in camp. University of Vermont The University of Vermont is to be added to the list of those institutions giving instruction in forestry. A course in for- estry is one of the regular courses in the Department of Agriculture. The plan com- mon to many schools of agriculture of mak- ing the work of all courses identical for the first two years is followed here. In the last two years these courses are differ- entiated and the specialized subjects taken up. In the two years in which time is AMERICAN FORESTRY given to forestry studies it is intended to train students for Vermont forestry in connection with and not apart from agri- culture and to prepare for the graduate forest schools those who may intend to enter professional forestry. The special forestry training covers such subjects as dendrology, mensuration, technology, silvi- culture, and management; certain phases of botany are taught with a strong slant towards forestry; special engineering courses having forestry adaptations are offered; and two summer schools, one in forest engineering and one in forest man- agement, wherein forest students spend a month each summer are held. Iowa State College Mr. Nelson C. Brown, deputy supervisor on the Kaniksu National Forest, in Idaho, has accepted the position of assistant pro- fessor of forestry at the Iowa State Col- lege, at Ames. Mr. Brown received his col- legiate training at Yale, graduating in 1906. He immediately took up graduate work in the Yale Forest School and in 1908 received the degree of master of forestry. Since that time Mr. Brown has had wide experience in forestry work both in the east and in the west. His training and experience together with his instructional work in the Yale Summer Forest School, make him amply fitted for the work in his new field. New York State Forest School New York is again to have a State forest school. This time it is to be established in connection with Syracuse University. Resi- dents of New York state for one year prior to matriculation will receive free tuition. The earlier New York forest school at Cornell, under Dr. B. E. Fernow’s able direction achieved a high standard and graduated many good men. The regret- table discussion over the management. of state forest lands is fast passing into an- cient history, yet it is only a few years since it made a very stirring and angry note in the forestry world. It involved the school in the meshes of politics and the state withdrew its support, compelling Cornell to discontinue the school. Every honest and fair-minded man who knew the circumstances deplored the result, which ultimately lost to this country one of its ablest teachers of forestry in Dr. Fernow. It is much to be hoped that the new school will escape such pit-falls and work out a eareer of great usefulness. NATIONAL FOREST WORK An Official Account of the San Bernardino Fire In view of the many conflicting news- paper reports on the recent San Bernardino fire, District Forester Coert DuBois, who is in general charge of the national forests in California, has issued the following authen- tic account: The fire started about noon on Tuesday, July 25, from an unknown cause, on the west side of the road up Waterman Canyon. Within an hour and a half, three forest rangers and seven citizens had reached the ground and brought the original fire under control with less than two and a half acres burned over. A separate fire, starting from a brand, blown from the main fire, had also been detected and extinguished. Another spark had evidently jumped across the road from the original fire when it was burning its hardest. This spark smoldered but did not show up in flame or smoke until some fifteen minutes after the first two fires had been brought under perfect control. The ten men on the ground at- tacked this third fire promptly and except for the high wind then blowing, they would have had no difficulty in conquering it. Cases are very rare where fires escape from control after being reached by the rangers as promptly as this San Bernardino fire. When the rangers and fire fighters had this third fire almost under control, a furious gust of wind came up the canyon, scattered fire all over the hillside from the one-half acre, then burning, and forced the men to run for their lives. Except for this extraordinary wind, which eye witnesses say was a small hurricane, the fire would never have escaped and would have represented little more than a figure in annual fire re- ports and other statistics. After the fire escaped, it burned with un- trollable force during the remainder of the afternoon and covered over 500 acres by 6 o’clock Tuesday evening. Realizing that help was needed immediately, the ranger in charge when the fire escaped promptly telephoned to San Bernardino for men. Right here the protecti>’ system broke down. Naturally no forest officer was in San Bernardino and no arrangements had been made in advance for the immediate dispatch of volunteer fire fighters or or- ganized bodies of men in case of fire. The men telephoned for by the ranger were not sent. The small force of men on the ground fought without help twenty-one hours, or until 11 o’clock on Wednesday, July 26. Recognizing the hopelessness of the situa- tion, two rangers then left the fire line and went to San Bernardino for men. The opportunity to conquer the fire had, how- ever, been lost for lack of help during the first twenty-four hours. During the second and third days of the fire rangers and fire fighters labored unceasingly to control the blaze. They succeeded except in the head of a fork of Cold Water Canyon where the fire was burning fiercely on very steep ground covered with a dense growth of manzanita and thorn brush and where there was very little dirt to use in fighting the flames. Forest officers and fire fight- ers who have been over this ground report that the difficulties confronting the fire fighters at this point cannot be understood by anyone who has not actually been over the ground. Friday night, when the fire had been burning for a trifle over three days, a fire line was almost completed around the lower end and sides of the fire. Before the circle could be closed, a high north wind started to blow and scattered fire in new directions, undoing much that had been gained during the previous day’s fight. The north wind blew for only two hours, but in this time fire was so scattered that when the normal southwest wind again started up, the fire was able to spread rap- idly, despite the desperate efforts of the hundreds of men then on the line. North winds blew again at intervals during Sat- urday night, Sunday and Sunday night. Each time the north wind blew, the fire was blown backward into positions from which, when the southwest winds returned, it could make uncontrollable rushes up the steep front of the San Bernardino range. By Sunday night the fire had spread to such size that the task of working the enormous length of the fire line was not completed until Monday, August 7, almost two weeks after the fire started. When the fire started, Mr. R. H. Charlton, the supervisor of the Angeles National For- est, was on one of his regular trips of in- spection and field supervision. He prompt- ly got in touch with his subordinates who were in charge of the fight, but since they repeatedly reported that they expected no difficulty in conquering the fire, Mr. Charl- ton did not leave his regular work for 625 626 several days. Deputy Supervisor Long was in Los Angeles in charge of the supervisor’s office when the fire occurred. When the fire had been burning twenty-eight hours he realized that the situation was grave enough to demand his personal attention and immediately started for San Bernar- dino to take personal charge of the work. The organization of the fight at this fire was about the same as usually effected when large stubborn fires are being fought. On occasions of this kind, red tape is never a bar to prompt and effective action. At this fire men were employed, supplies pur- chased, and every sort of transportation arranged for both men and supplies with- out the delay of any system of requisitions or approval of higher officers of the serv- ice. The standing instructions to supervi- sors and rangers are to incur any liabilities necessary for the controlling of any fire on national forest lands. At no time in the history of the San Bernardino fire was there any hesitation in securing men or supplies because of the expense or lack of authority of men on the ground to incur it. A peculiar feature of this fire was the opportunity to use automobiles in trans- porting men and equipment. This very suc- cessful mode of transportation was used wherever necessary. The camps were kept well supplied with provisions and men went hungry only when they were unable to get to the camps. Although no preparations had been made for the employment of such large bodies of men, numerous ingenious systems of or- ganizing small crews, issuing and dispatch- ing orders and handling men at camps were devised and adopted, notwithstanding the strain of the fight. Men were employed at the standard rate of pay for this part of the country. Twenty- five cents per hour was allowed for time consumed going from San Bernardino to the fire, for all time spent on the fire line or in traveling between the fire camps and the fire line, and also for returning from the fire to San Bernardino. The statement that straight time was allowed at 25 cents per hour from the start from San Ber- nardino until the return was unauthorized and did not originate with any forest offi- cer. It is obvious that the standard forest service system of paying fire fighters by the hour would be nonsensical if payment were to be made for twenty-four hours a day. Back-firing, when possible to practice it, is one of the most effective methods for fighting forest fires. This system was used whenever conditions of wind and slope made it safe, and miles of back-fires were set under the instructions of forest officers. Back-fires are exceedingly dangerous weap- ons, however, and when indiscriminately or unintelligently used, are certain to spread the fire instead of aiding in its control. One of the most serious handicaps the forest offi- AMERICAN FORESTRY cers had to contend with was the setting of unauthorized back-fires by settlers who wanted to protect their own property but failed to take precautions against spread of the fires they had set. Instructions against back-firing were usually respected by settlers and threats to use fire arms were not necessary and were not at any time resorted to. Some disas- trous back-fires were set when no forest officers were near to prevent it. One saw- mill man back-fired around his property although he was not in the path of the main fire. He then started up his mill in disregard of possible damage his back-fire might do to others. Forest officers and fire fighters had to leave their work on the main fire to fight this back-fire but before they succeeded in bringing it under control it had, on account of the high wind prevail- ing at that time, run over two miles and joined the main fire. On August 3, while the San Bernardino fire was still at its height, a disbursing agent was sent from San Francisco with a large sum of money to his credit in the United States subtreasury. He arrived in San Bernardino on the morning of August 4. Only straggling fire fighters were then in town awaiting payment and it was not until the night of August 5 that a forest officer could be spared from the line to come into town and approve the time checks of the fighters. The disbursing agent started writing checks on the morning of August 6 and kept it up until August 13, at which time he had paid all of the labor accounts except a few odd bills that had not been presented. Settlements of fire accounts in this case, as in all otuers, take precedence over all other bills. The total cost of controlling the fire was in the neighborhood of $25,000, practically all of which was paid by the forest service. The total area burned over is a trifle under 19,000 acres. Two-thirds of this area is devoid of timber but was covered with a growth of brush of very great value to the water-using industries of the San Ber- nardino Valley. The damage to timber is less than would be expected—not over five per cent of the mature timber and only half of the young timber between ten years of age and maturity being killed. Seed- lings under ten years of age were, of course, consumed. An investigation will be made to deter- mine the best method of repairing the dam- age to the watersheds burned over, but as yet no plans have been made for planting the denuded hillsides. At several different times, officers in charge of the fight, as well as mountaineers who have had life-long experience at the fire-fighting game, believed they were near- ing the end of the figut. That their expec- tations of success were not realized was due to the freakish winds. The judgment —S NATIONAL FOREST WORK 627 of forest officers is only human and all experienced fire fighters recognize the diffi- culty of contending with high winds or forecasting the outcome of efforts to con- trol a fire when a strong wind is blowing. Every specific charge against the men in charge of the fight has been carefully inves- tigated by an officer from the San Fran- cisco headquarters, and they have been en- tirely cleared of any suspicion of inef- ficiency. Supervisor Charlton and Deputy Super- visor Long have had years of experience in fighting brush fires. They have been par- ticularly successful in keeping fires out of the forest under their charge. Last year the Angeles’ record for prevention and prompt control of fire was the best in Dis- trict 5, comprising California and Western Nevada. Causes beyond the control of these men or the rangers who assisted them were alone responsible for the failure to extin- guish this fire in its early stages. As soon as it was found that there was no possibility of ordering out troops (the authority for which was requested by the district office), emergency bodies of fire fighters, each 20 to 25 strong, were assem- bled at Bakersfield and at Bishop and held “under arms” for two days. Luckily these were not needed, but if the need had arisen at least 100 men under the leadership of six experienced fire-fighting rangers could have been rushed to the scene from nearby forests. The people and commercial organizations of San Bernardino, Redlands, and Riverside gave splendid cooperation in bringing this fire under control. They are entitled to the sincere thanks of the department and the people of Southern California who are bene- fited by the protection of the San Bernar- dino mountain range. A number of valuable lessons can be learned from this fire. A study of its his- tory indicates the need, first of all, of closer cooperation between the people of southern California and the Forest Service. If citi- zens and employers of labor will organize themselves into protective associations and agree in advance to send help immediately on receipt of notice that help is needed on a fire, assurance can be given that the his- tory of the San Bernardino conflagration will not be repeated. The construction of trails, fire lines, the purchase and storing of tools and other equipment at strategic points, the employment of additional patrol- men—all these measures will help, but the appropriations made by Congress are not large enough to do everything at once that should be done. The people of southern California must cooperate even more liber- ally than they have in the past if fire is to be kept out of the mountain ranges. August 26, 1911. A Government Timber Sale and Its Conditions The Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior have just con- cluded arrangements that will probably lead to the largest timber sale ever under- taken by the Government. The tract to be lumbered is in the eastern part of Arizona and comprises a large portion of the Sit- greaves and Apache National Forests and a part of the Fort Apache Indian Reserva- tion. The total area to be lumbered is about 200,000 acres, and contains approxi- mately 600,000,000 board feet of merchant- able timber. Application for this stumpage has been made by the Navajo Development Company, a corporation chartered under the laws of Arizona, and a careful examination of the area has been completed by representatives of the company and of the Forest Service and the Indian Office. This does not mean that the development company will secure the stumpage unless its bid is the highest, because, under government regulations, the timber will be sold to the highest bidder. But the fact that the company has made application warrants the placing of the ma- terial upon the market. Nine-tenths of the timber, or approxi- mately 575,000,000 board feet, is western yellow pine, which possesses many of the excellent qualities of the white pine of the Northwestern and Lake States. The lum- ber manufactured from it combines light- ness with strength and easy-working quali- ties; the best grades are made into finish- ing stock, flooring and ceiling, and sashes and doors. The clear material is highly prized by pattern makers, and one manu- facturer of this wood sells his entire output to a transcontinental railway line for use in making patterns in its shops. The timber next in importance on this area is Douglas fir, of which there are 15,000,000 board feet. This wood is excel- lent for mine and other timbers, and some railroads pay a higher price for Douglas fir ties than for those made from other kinds of trees, because they last much longer when in contact with the ground. The rest of the merchantable material is made up of white fir, Engelmann spruce, Mexican white pine, blue spruce, and cork- bark fir. The timber is located about 60 miles south of Holbrook, Arizona, the county seat of Navajo county, which is on the main line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail- road. From Holbrook a railroad can be built south to the timber, and will pass through a region where there are several small towns and much agricultural land which can be irrigated. The full cost of railroad construction will not have to come out of the investment for developing the 628 timber, because the road can be made a common carrier and many thousand tons of freight now handled by slow and cumber- some freight wagons could be hauled each year on the new line; also large quantities of hay, grain, and other supplies are used at Fort Apache, an important military post about twenty miles south of the tract. In addition to this, some revenue should be derived from passenger traffic, not only from civilian travel but from the movement of troops to and from Fort Apache, and there should also be a good income from mail contracts. Deposits of coal said to be of excellent coking quality are within thirty miles of the timber, and the development of these deposits only awaits railroad transporta- tion. In order to secure immediate develop- ment of this timber resource and at the same time to protect the purchasers of the stumpage in their investment and give them sufficient time to make the cutting, the government has set a limit of ten years from the completion of the logging plant in which the whole 600,000,000 feet of lum- ber must be harvested. Two years will be allowed for the preliminary work, such as building sawmills, quarters for the lumber crews, logging railroads, and spurs. While the Navajo Development Company makes the application for this timber, it will be advertised in the open market for 120 days, and the timber will be sold to the highest bidder in accordance with the regulations prescribed for the sale. No price will be considered less than $2.50 per thousand board feet for the timber cut dur- ing the first five years of the contracts and $3 for that cut during the last five years. During the first two years of the contracts, which will be separate for the national for- est timber, under jurisdiction of the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, and the Indian Reservation timber, under the Indian Office of the Department of the Interior, the successful bidder will be re- quired to cut 35,000,000 board feet under each contract. Each year after this, how- ever, he will be required to cut not less than 25,000,000 board feet under each con- tract. There are several special provisions of in- terest which provide for full utilization of all the available material: The sale in- cludes two-thirds of the live timber and the merchantable dead timber; no unnecessary damage shall be done to the young growth nor to trees left standing for seed; stumps must be cut low and trees utilized well into the tops; brush will be disposed of by the purchaser; all felling and cutting into log lengths will be done with a saw instead of an ax, to avoid the waste in ax chips. Strict AMERICAN FORESTRY precautions will be observed for protection against fire, and railroads and logging en- gines will have to use oil or electricity. The use of oil is thoroughly practicable, as it can be obtained cheaply and conveniently. The main line of the Santa Fe, only a few miles away, uses this fuel, and it is used also in lumbering operations on the neigh- boring national] forest, the Coconino. Altogether, this timber sale should prove an attractive proposition, since the tract contains what is probably the largest body of good timber now remaining in the South- west. It is not in rough country, but on an extensive plateau where the ground is either smooth and level or gently undulat- ing. The region is well watered and pre- sents almost ideal logging conditions. Not only should it be attractive from the point of view of the lumberman but from that of persons who are interested in opening up and developing a comparatively new region. The country has needed only the railroad facilities which will be offered by the road from Holbrook south to make rapid strides. Even at the present time tens of thousands of cattle, sheep, and horses graze in the region, yet all beef and mutton must be driven on the hoof to Holbrook and wool has to be freighted by wagon from distances varying from 30 to 100 miles. In addition to the timber directly involved in this sale, other large bodies aggregating about 1,500,- 000,000 board feet will be made accessible by the proposed railroad. District Forester Silcox at Missoula, Mon- tana, has just sold a total of 125,000,000 feet of fire-killed timber, presumably a part of the timber killed in the great fires of 1910. The Forest Service has been making ener- getic efforts to dispose of this fire-killed timber before it should become a total loss, and has made a number of sales but none of equal magnitude with those now an- nounced. The sales are of 50,000,000 feet to the McGoldrick Lumber Company of Spok- ane, and 75,000,000 feet to the Roselake Lumber Company of Roselake, Idaho. Ordinarily such large sales are made from Washington, with full reports on file, but in this case special authority was given to the district forester to close contracts at once. There is still a great deal of fire- killed timber in the northwest which is for sale on very reasonable terms, and as a result of field studies of its amount and the natural conditions the Forest Service is prepared to furnish full information to prospective purchasers concerning the loca- tion of bodies of timber and the logging methods which will be necessary in each ease. CURRENT LITERATURE The Use of Odd Lengths The investigation carried on last year by the United States Forest Service, cooperat- ing with lumber manufacturers in the south, to determine the saving that can be effected by using odd lengths of lumber as well as even, has begun to bear fruit. That investigation showed that a material saving was practicable, and at a recent meeting of a southern lumber manufacturers’ associa- tion the fact was brought out that a begin- ning has been made in putting the new plan into practice, and that an increase in the sale of odd lengths is anticipated for the near future. It was formerly the custom, and gener- ally is so still, to sei: lumber in even lengths only. Waste resulted from cutting off the ends of odd lengths to make them even. A considerable percentage of the boards in a sawmill’s output have knots, decayed spots, or split ends, and the defec- tive parts are cut out. To make an even 629 length of what remains, it is often neces- sary to cut off a foot of good wood with the bad, and it is wasted. The practice of marketing odd lengths as well as even is meant to lessen this waste. The sale of odd lengths of lumber will frequently lessen waste in the woods also; for example, a log may be cut fifteen feet long which, follow- ing the old custom, would be cut only four- teen and the extra foot left in the woods. The introduction of odd lengths meets with opposition from many builders who are prejudiced in favor of even lengths sim- ply because they have never used any other kind. Nevertheless, there are many places in which odd lengths are more economical than even ones—for instance, where nine- foot studding is used. Following former custom, the ends must be cut from even lengths to make the timbers fit. Some manufacturers of flooring successfully sell odd and even lengths, thus lessening waste in the woods, at the mill, and in the con- struction of buildings. CURRENT LITERATURE REVIEWS The Principles of Scientific Management. By Frederick Winslow Taylor, M. E., Se. D., past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. New York and London: Harper and Broth- ers, 1911. Pp. 144. Price $1.50 net. For thirty years Mr. Taylor has been developing the theory and practice of more perfect utilization of human effort. This book sets forth the underlying principles at which he has arrived. We do not need to go into the controversy in which some of the labor unions have enrolled themselves in opposition to something which they have apparently taken too little pains to under- stand. Nor do we need to accept the ex- travagant claim, resting upon a misuse of terms, that here is the birth of a new science. What is worth noting is whether the author has any valuable ideas for the promotion of human efficiency and for do- ing away with much of the wasted energy and lost motion that every intelligent per- son knows there is in both the physical and intellectual activities of most of us. Look- ing at it thus, Mr. Taylor’s thesis is worth careful study. It is intended presumably for the organizer and director of industry, but it may be suggestive to every worker. Scientific management will now be much in evidence before the country, in theory at least, and it behooves every one to under- stand its real significance. It certainly does not mean, as some have hastily as- sumed, making men work harder. It does mean, we take it, making men work better and hence more easily. If anything will lead to shorter hours and better pay, look- ing at it from the labor side, this should be the touchstone. In any aspect of the case, the leader of the new movement is entitled to his demonstration. The Better Country. By Dana W. Bartlett. Boston: The C. M. Clark Publishing Company, 1911. Pp. 555. Price $1.50 net. The chief value of this book is as encour- agement to optimists. It is a rapid fire summary, reading almost like a catalogue, of the many things that are being done for the physical, mental and moral benefit of the people. As such it is a good antidote to the disheartening destructive criticism with which various publications have teemed for a few years. It treats of social service, raising the standard, nations at work in social uplift, wealth for all the people, conservation of the nation’s re- sources, agriculture’s opportunity, home building, enrichment of life, life saving, education, immigration, serving others, the peace movement, and the broadening of democracy. This is a wide field, covering all the great progressive activities of the people and it is almost unavoidable that such a summary should be too much of a catalogue and contain too little of the sig- nificant and useful facts about the move- ments to which it refers. It is a book of temporary interest and will serve to give 630 the reader a conspectus of the intensely active period in which we live, but it is not of permanent value and will add very little to the information of the man or woman who reads much and follows closely the course of events. MONTHLY LIST FOR SEPTEMBER, 1911 (Books and periodicals indexed in the Library of the United States Forest Service) Forestry as a Whole Proceedings of associations Canadian forestry convention. Report of the Canadian forestry convention held at the city of Quebec, Jan. 18-20, 1911. 157 p. pl., map. Kingston, British Whig publishing co., 1911. Forest Aesthetics Street and park trees McFarland, J. Horace. New life in old trees. 16 p. il. Kent, O., The Davey tree expert co., 1910. Forest Education Arbor Day Patterson, Virginia Sharp. The lady of the green scarf; an entertainment exercise for schools embodying the need for con- serving our country’s natural resources, suitable for weekly rhetoricals, class exercises and arbor day. 34 p. il. Chicago, A. Flanagan co., 1910. Forest schools Colorado school of forestry. Announcement, 1911. 29 p. il. Colorado Springs, Colo., 1911. Guyot, Charles. L’enseignement forestier en France; l’Ecole de Nancy. 398 p. il., pl. Nancy, Crépin-Lebiond, 1898. University of Idaho—Dept. of forestry. An- nouncements, 1911-12. 15 p. il. Mos- cow, Id., 1911. Forest Botany Baker, Richard T., and Smith, Henry G. Technological museum, New South Wales; a research on the pines of Au- stralia. 458 p. il., pl., maps. Sydney, 1910. (N. S. W.—Dept. of public in- struction. Technical education series no. 16.) Wood structure Record, Samuel J. Pith flecks or medullary spots in wood. 8 p. Cambridge, Mass., Forestry quarterly, 1911. Arboretums Arnold arboretum. Bulletin of popular in- formation no. 4. 4 p. Jamaica Plain, Mass., 1911. AMERICAN FORESTRY Forest Protection Diseases Spaulding, Perley. The blister rust of white pine: 88 p; Alp) Washi) DGr 191 (U. S.—Dept. of agriculture—Bureau of plant industry. Bulletin 206.) Forest Management Graves, Henry S. The management of sec- ond growth sprout forests. 12 p. pl. Wash. D. C., 1911. (U. S—Dept. of agriculture. Yearbook separate 525.) Forest Administration New York—Forest, fish and game commis- sion. Annual reports for 1907-1908- 1909. 407 p. “pl: Albany; N. Y., 1910. United States—Dept. of agriculture—Forest service. The national forest manual; trespass. 23 p. Wash., D. C., 1911. United States—General land office. Ceded Chippewa pine lands, Minn.; sale of timber on lands both inside and out- side of the Minnesota national forest at Cass Lake, Minn., on Oct. 21, 1911. 37 p. Wash... Dy GC. Dod1t Wheeler, Francis Holt. The boy with the U. S. foresters. 317 p. pl. Boston, Loth- rop, Lee and Shepard co., 1910. Forest Utilization Hall, William L. Progress in saving forest waste. 10 yp. pl. Wash., D. C., 1911. (U. S.—Dept. of agriculture. Year-book separate 534.) Maxwell, Hu. Utilization of osage orange. 14 p. Wash., D. C., Forest service, 1911. Forests by-products Herty, Charles H. Relation of light chip- ping to the commercial yield of naval stores. 36 p. il., pL. -Wash:, D.C: 1911. (U. S—Dept. of agriculture—Forest service. Bulletin 90.) Wood technology Krais, Paul. Gewerbliche materialkunde. v. 1: Die holzer. 782 p. il. Stuttgart, F. Krais, 1910. Mann, James. Australian timber; its strength, durability, and identification. 148 p. il. Melbourne, Walker, May and co., 1900. Auxiliary Subjects Reclamation of land Cobb, Collier. The Landes and dunes of Gascony. 11 p. pl., map. Chapel Hill, Ne C1510; Grazing Hunter, Byron and Thompson, Harry. The utilization of logged-off land for pas- ture in western Oregon and western Washington. 20 p. Wash., D. C., 1911. CURRENT LITERATURE (U. S.—Dept. of agriculture. Farmers’ bulletin 462.) Periodical Articles General American conservation, August, 1911.— Conservation in Hawaii, by R. S. Hos- mer, p. 231-8. Breeder’s gazette, August 30, 1911.—Graz- ing in its relation to national forests, by J. H. Hatton, p. 328-9. Field and stream, Sept. 1911.—Forest work- ing plans, by W. K. Wildes, p. 478-84. Independent, August 8, 1911.—Beautiful streets, p. 273-5. Independent, August 10, 1911.—Our timber property, p. 328-9. ; Philippine journal of science, C., botany, July, 1911.—Philippine gymnosperms, by F. W. Foxworthy, p. 149-78; Bedaru and billian, twoimportant Borneo timber trees, by F. W. Foxworthy, p. 179-80; Sapindaceae novae Philippinarum insu- lae Polillo, by L. Radlkofer, p. 181-3; Botanical notes upon the island of Polillo, by C. B. Robinson, p. 185-228. Scientific American, July 1, 1911.—Stone forest of California, p. 11. Scientific American, August 12, 1911.—The conservation of the forests; a national duty to protect the 80 per cent of stand- ing timber now in private hands, by G. Pinchot, p. 185, 137. Sunset, Sept., 1911.—How forestry uses fire, by F. E. Olmsted, p. 276-81; A sixteen- million-dollar timber cruiser, by F. A. Groff, p. 301-4; The world’s greatest sugar pine forest, by D. H. Stovall, p. 336-7. Western empire, Sept. 1911.—Wattle cul- ture; details about acacia planting, by J. M. Grant, p. 17. Trade journals and consular reports American lumberman, August 12, 1911.— Minnesota forest school, p. 42-3; Treat- ed wood block paving; the future pave- ment for city streets, by C. P. Lindsley, p. 52-3. American lumberman, August 19, 1911.— Tulip-tree, combining beauty and util- ity, p. 1, 57; Studying forestry in for- ests; practical work in the timber by students of two great forestry schools, p. 43. American lumberman, Sept. 2, 1911.— Truths about eucalyptus culture, p. 28; Wood block preservative controversy, p. 49; A tree of versatility; the birch, To dian American lumberman, Sept. 9, 1911—A tamarack pest; destruction wrought by the sawfly, p. 40; Sale of American lumber in Europe by C. A. Tupper, p. 42-3; Steam skidding in rough country, p. 48. Barrel and box, August, 1911.—Piano boxes feature of box trade, p. 56-7. 631 Canada lumberman, Sept. 1, 1911.—Camp operations in northern Ontario, p. 66- 70; Logging by steam in Ontario for- ests, p. 76-7; The value of Canadian for- est products, by H. R. McMillan, p. 78- 80; Protection of timber against fire; by W. C. Gladwin, p. 81; Forest surveys; wherein they serve, by C. A. Lyford, p. 86; British Columbia’s supply of tim- ber, by R. D. Craig, p. 92-3; Mining timbers used in Canada, 1910, p. 99-101; Log driving upon the St. John river, p. 102. Carriage monthly, Sept. 1911.—Kiln drying vs. air drying, by C. Dorrough, p. 30-1. Engineering news, July 20, 1911.—Forest fire prevention in Oregon, by E. T. Abbott, p. 76. Hardwood record, August 25, 1911.—Silver- bell tree, p. 26-7; The hardwood door, Dives Hardwood record, Sept. 10, 1911.—Sweet birch, p. 26-7. Lumber world, Sept. 1, 1911.—Applied for- estry and practical lumbering; outline of the course of study and practical examples used by the Yale forest school, by R. C. Bryant, p. 29. Paper trade journal, August 17, 1911.— Paper trade in Russia, by J. H. Snod- grass, p. 52,56; Why spruce for news print, by E. Stewart, p. 56. Pioneer western lumberman, Sept. 1, 1911. —Biltmore forester students touring the coast, by C. T. McCaskie, p. 17-19; Relation of forestry to human progress, by C. H. Shinn, p. 25-7. St. Louis lumberman, August 15, 1911.—The utilization of wood waste, by W. B. Harper, p. 56-7. Timber trades journal, August 5, 1911.— Wood preservation, by A. L. Kuehn, p. 177. Timber trade journal, August 26, 1911.— Prolonging the life of wood blocks, p. 215. United States daily consular report, August 24, 1911.—The Canadian forest reserve, by F. S. S. Johnson, p. 863. United States daily consular report, Sept. 13, 1911.—Hardwood paving invention, by J. L. Griffiths, p. 1191; Poles and fix- tures for transmission lines, by H. L. Washington, p. 1198-9. Wood craft, Sept., 1911.—Formulas and recipes in wood-finishing, by A. A. Kelly p. 167-9; Interiors; their decora- tive treatment and construction, by J. Bovingdon, p. ./0-2; Giimpses at a traveling school of forestry, p. 188-9; Wood and worms, p. 193-4. Wooden and willow-ware trade review, Au- gust 10, 1911.—\/ooden toothpicks in America, p. 81-2, 88. Forest journals Allgemeine forst- und jagd-zeitung, July, 1911.—Forsteinrichtung auf reiner- 632 Allg AMERICAN FORESTRY tragsgrundlage, by Trebeljahr, p. 221- 30; Ueber die inhaltsermittlung ver- kaufsmissig zugerichteter stamme aus lange und einem durchmesser, by T. Glaser, p. 230-7; Pflanzen und bestandes- geschichtliche betrachtungen, by Faudi, p. 238-42. emeine forst- und jagd-zeitung, August 1911.—Ein neues verfahren, die mas- senzuwachsprozente fiir noch anstehen- de biume und bestaénde zu ermitteln, by Gerlach, p. 266-74; “Hie Welf—hie Waiblingen,” by Heck, p. 274-85. American forestry, Sept., 1911.—The place Bull of forestry in the schools, by D. C. Ellis, p. 509-15; A forest school in the Philippines, by W. F. Sherfesee, p. 516- 21: College of forestry, University of Minnesota, by E. G. Cheyney, p. 522-4; Public aspects of forestry, by H. S. Graves, p. 525-30; The Sihlwald, an ex- ample, by B. Moore, p. 531-6; Univer- sity of Nebraska forest school, by O. L. Sponsler, p. 537-41; Colorado school of forestry, by P. T. Coolidge, p. 542-5; Teaching forestry by pictures, p. 546-8; Forestry at the Iowa state college of agriculture and mechanical arts, by G. B. MacDonald, p. 549-54; Institu- tions giving instruction in forestry; list by U. S. Forest service, p. 559-62. etin de la Société centrale forestiére de Belgique, August, 1911——L’emploi des engrais chimiques en sylviculture; ré- sultat des expériences, by N. I. Crahay, p. 491-502; Quelques pages d’un ancien brigadier forestier, by A. Delacharlerie, p. 503-10; Le saule blanc, by N. I. Cra- hay. p. 536-8; Le lophyre du pin dans le Brabant, by C. Bossu, p. 538-41; Les foréts de la Roumanie, p. 542-4; Le chataignier du Japon, by Prunet, p. 545-50. Forstwissenschaftliches centralblatt, July, 1911.—Ueber die beziehungen der mass- en- und geldverzinsung in hochwald- betriebsklassen mit besonderer bertck sichtigung der badischen doméanen- waldungen, by Eberbach, p.357-77; Neue Indian forester, July, anregungen aus der forstlichen praxis zur bekampfung der nonne, by Kloeck, p. 877-94; Hochwasserschaden in den am Rheine belegenen staats-und gemein- dewaldungen der Pfalz wahrend des sommers 1910, by Esslinger, p. 394-400. Forstwissenschaftliches centralblatt, Aug.— Sept., 1911.—Die versteigerung des holzes im wege des mitindlichen abge- bots, by K. E. Ney, p. 421-9; Ueber be- standesmassenberechnung nach massen- tafeln und schlagergebnisse der praxis, by Gayer, p. 430-42; Privatwaldwirt- schaft und _ giiterzertrimmerung in Niederbayern, p. 442-56; Anbauversuche mit der eibe, by A. Burckhardt, p. 457- 68; Die walder der grossen Syrte, p. 471-6. 1911.—Influence of forests on soil moisture, p. 354-64. Mitteilungen aus dem forstlichen versuchs- wesen Osterreichs, 1911.—Hin din- gungsversuch an schwarzkiefernstan- genholz des grossen fohrenwaldes bei Wiener-Neustadt, by N. Lorenz von Li- burnau, p. 1-11; Versuche zur bekamp- fung der nonne mittelst leimringen, by W. Sedlaczek, p. 18-50; Klima und mas- senvermehrung der nonne und anderer forstschadlinge, by Zederbauer, p. 51- 69. Schweizerische zeitschrift fiir forstwesen, July-Aug., 1911—Wald und stadte, by P. Hefti, p. 193-205; Aufforstung des staates Waadt am Mont-Chaubert, by J. J. de Luze, p. 205-13. Zeitschrift fiir forst- und jagdwesen, July, 1911.—Ostdeutscher kiefernwald, seine erneuerung und erhaltung, by Wie- becke, p. 523-45; Der Grunewald, by Guse, p. 563-67; Unbeabsichtigte um- triebserh6hungen, by Trebeljahr, p. 568-75. Zeitschrift fiir forst- und jagdwesen, Au- gust, 1911.—Die weitere entwicklung der versuche mit fremdlandischen hol- zarten in Preussen, by A. Schwappach, p. 591-611; Ueber den gegensatz zwisch- en tauschwert, kostenwert und erwar- tungswert, by Frey, p. 637-43. NEWS AND NOTES. Lost River in New Hampshire The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, having aided in the preservation of the top of Sunapee Moun- tain in that state, of which it is to receive the title from the public-spirited purchas- ers, is now endeavoring to preserve an- other of the scenic treasures of New Hamp- shire, the gorge of Lost River, lying in the wildly picturesque country between Mounts Moosilauke and Kinsman. Lost River, rising on the slopes of Mount Moosilauke, runs for a mile and a half over steep cascades, then plunges underground for nearly a mile before emerging to the surface again. In its subterranean course are many large caverns and cascades. Kins- man Notch, through which the river runs, is notable for its steep wooded cliffs, the beaver meadows at the summit of the notch, and its numerous streams. The society has voted to apply to this purpose a recent legacy of $5,000 and is trying to raise by subscription the re- maining $2,000 for the purchase and $1,000 additional to be used to clear up the slash and waste timber left by lumbermen in pre- vious years. The Publishers’ Paper Company, which owns the property, has agreed to give the society title to 148 acres, including the whole underground route of the Lost River, provided the society will pay $7,000 for the standing timber. The Southern Pine Beetle Professor A. D. Hopkins, of the Bureau of Entomology, has made a report upon the dying of pine timber in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. He finds this due to the work of the southern pine beetle, which was found to be thriv- ing in the bark of all the infested trees, the indications being that the beetle exists in enormous numbers. The report con- tinues: It has been known for more than forty years that this particular beetle has ex- isted in the southern states, and our exten- Sive studies of it within recent years indi- cate that it has occupied the region since time immemorial. It appears, however, that only at long intervals does it increase to such numbers as to cause widespread depredations, such as, for example, the great invasion of 1890-1893 in the Virginias. Under the normal conditions of its life and habits, a few scattering trees are killed by it each year in nearly every county throughout the southern states where the pine is common. If, however, there are from any cause favorable conditions for the multiplication of the insect, it is thus able to kill groups of trees, and if these groups increase in number and size the following year, they constitute the danger signal of an outbreak with resulting wide- spread depredations. These are just the conditions found in the localities observed, and from the reports received from differ- ent sections of the South ranging from Texas to Virginia, it is evident that they prevail throughout the greater part of at least the short-leaf pine belt. Therefore, there is every reason to believe that unless prompt and properly directed action is taken by owners of pine timber throughout the region during the coming winter, a large percentage of the best old as well as middle aged and young pine will be killed within the next two or three years. Published information, as well as special instructions on practical methods of con- trol, have been sent to all of our corre- spondents who have requested advice on the subject during the past year. Doubt- less in some cases the advice as to proper methods of combating the pest has been followed, but in every case examined where some attempt had been made by the owner towards control, little or nothing had been accomplished from the fact that some of the essential details had been neglected. In most cases the dead trees had been cut after the beetles had left them and in other cases the bark from the dying infested trees had not been destroyed in time to pre- vent the escape of the broods of beetles. Therefore, it is evident that in order to Lring about the proper general understand- ing and application of the most economical and effective methods of control and pro- tection, it is necessary for the experts of this bureau to conduct some _ practical demonstrations in different sections of the South. With this object in view, the bu- reau will establish a forest insect field sta- tion at some central point in the South, where instructions can be given and where 633 634 agents and experts will be available for demonstration work. In the meantime, every one who is inter- ested in the protection of the pine timber land, and the prevention of the widespread destruction of the pine throughout the country should report to this bureau the location of every large patch of dying or red-topped dead timber observed be- tween now and the first of next February. The time to conduct the real work of control will be between the 1st of Novem- ber, 1911, and the 1st of March, 1912, and coneerted action in carrying out the most economical and effective methods in the affected areas in each county of the sev- eral states involved is essential to success. The methods of control will vary some- what in different localities and sections of the region, but briefly they are as follows: a. The location of dying trees actually in- AMERICAN FORESTRY fested with the broods of the destructive insects. b. The destruction of the broods in the vark of the main trunks of the trees. This is accomplished in many different ways, and whenever the wood can be utilized for cordwood, lumber, or other commercial pur- poses, the value of the product will balance the costs of treatment, and in some cases yield a profit, but to avoid serious mistakes one must know how and be sure he is right before he makes the attempt. The advice of the experts of the bureau of entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, can be had for the asking, and personal instructions will be given and demonstrations made in sections of the several states where the greatest interest is manifested and where the best facili- ties are offered for rendering the service to a large number of owners. Lducation Cooperation Organization FIRE GUARD’S HOUSE, GANLEY RIVER HEAD- QUARTERS BEST PART OF TIMBER DESTROYED BY RE- PEATED GROUND FIRES FIRE PROTECTION IN SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS American Forestry VOL. XVII NOVEMBER, 1911 No. 11 A FIRE PROTECTION PLAN IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS By W. H. WEBER. 50,000 acres of timberland in West Virginia. This tract is located in Webster, Pocahontas and Greenbriar Counties and includes the en- tire watersheds of the Cherry, Cranberry and Williams Rivers and the head- waters of the Gauley. This region is very mountainous, the only level country being narrow flats found occasionally along the river bottoms. To describe it more graphically it is, so to speak, all up and down, since ridge after ridge rises abruptly from the narrow stream valleys to. terminate in narrow rocky crests over 4,000 feet above sea level. Thus the country is naturally divided into districts bounded by water courses and high ridges which are natural fire lines. These mountains and valleys are covered with a rich virgin forest which changes in its character according to the elevation. At 1,800 and 2,000 feet in the valleys we find mixed hardwoods, such as the oaks, maples, beech, cherry, yellow poplar, ash, etc., growing luxuriai tly. Farther up on the ridges hemlock appears in mixture with them. At the 3,500 foot line red spruce is occasionally found which increases in numbers as we go upward, until at 3,800 feet it becomes the dominant or most frequent tree, topping the ridges as a rule with a heavy spruce forest. Again, the climate is excellent as the mountain ranges are strong factors in precipitating moisture from passing cloud banks so that showers are fre- quent, especially in summer, and there are rarely any long periods of drought. The exception to this occurs in the spring and fall. At these seasons the leaves are off the trees, allowing the sunlight to reach the forest floor. This condition tends to dry up the leaf litter rapidly, so that after two or three days of fair weather the fallen leaves become very inflammable and form a real fire danger. It is at these two seasons of the year that practically all of the forest fires occur, hence the opinion that these seasons are particularly dry, although in reality they may not be remarkably so. An indication of this lies in the fact that in certain instances small fires are extinguished by rain before they have been able to do any wide damage. Or Cherry River Boom and Lumber Company is the owner of some 637 AMERICAN FORESTRY 3 Co (4) This brief introduction enables us to understand better what is said in the following pages, since the character of the forest, ruggedness of the country, and climatic conditions determine the methods of fire protection. It is gratifying to mention at this point that this company is desirous, for many reasons, of conserving its forest resources. In the summer of 1909 the writer made a report upon the forest conditions of the company’s lands. He found upon the cut-over lands that most species of trees, and particularly the more valuable spruce returned very rapidly, and that spruce, even before the present operation was completed, would undoubtedly be of sufficient size and in large enough quantities to be of commercial value. The question then arose as to the best method of securing this second cutting. There were minor considerations which go beyond the scope of this article, but it was pointed out that the principal factor in securing any future return of timber would be a thorough plan of fire protection. Unless the young growth was to be protected, nothing could be produced at all. This applied to the cut-over lands, but beyond these lands there was a certain amount of damage created by surface or ground fires each year on the timber- land not yet reached by the lumbermen. In the spring and fall fires were frequent throughout the hills, running for days through the undergrowth and around the bases of the timber trees until finally extinguished by rain. It was easily seen that although no one fire of this kind would kill the larger trees outright, the frequent burning charred and hollowed out the bases of the trees, eventually resulting in a high percentage of damage to the butt logs and also formed a good place of entrance for fungous diseases and for timber damaging insects. Hunters, fishermen and others were usually responsible for these fires, and they did further damage by peeling the bark from hemlock and spruce for use in making rude roofs and siding for temporary camps. For these reasons a plan of fire protection to cover the uncut forest as well as the cut-over territory was determined upon. The work of perfecting this plan was gradual, one feature after another being put in operation until in the fall of 1910 the system was undertaken as a unit. It is a difficult thing to place before a reader even though he be interested in the subject, a readable statement of the machinery of a plan of this sort. There are numerous details of equipment, of duties, and routes of patrol, that must necessarily be changed for each district. We will in this paper, merci- fully omit these details, following the general subject along its main lines of procedure, in the hope that they may contain features of interest. Like the darky preacher who stated to his congregation that his sermon was divided into three parts, “de world, de flesh and de debbil, but de subjec am so large, bredderen, dat for de start off we will omit the world and de fiesh an’ go straight to de debbil.” Briefly stated then, the territory was divided into three divisions: (1) The cut-over areas and the timbered lands. (2) The railroads. (3) The areas where contractors are cutting timber. These three divisions were put in charge of a fire chief, who was respon- sible for all fire damage in the entire region. The woods-foreman was selected for the position since he had charge of most matters pertaining to the wood- land. When the methods to be used were explained to him, he expressed him- self as heartily in favor of them, and has proven well fitted to the position. The fire chief was provided with an assistant whose duty it is to keep the chief informed constantly as to the efficiency of the men and equipment. He delivers orders from the chief and supplements him in many ways. A FIRE PROTECTION PLAN 639 THE CUT-OVER AREAS AND THE TIMBERED LANDS. It was considered best to protect these areas by establishing a patrol. The patrol men or fire guards, as they are called, were selected for their fidel- ity, and their knowledge of the region over which they were given charge. Their duty required them to watch over a definite area of land, and to do this, each man was given a route over which he was required to travel, making a complete circuit to his starting point every four days. The patrol continued during the dry seasons of spring and fall and in hunting and fishing seasons. The routes also changed from the ridges to the stream beds at different sea- sons. The ridges being more carefully watched in the hunting season, and the streams while the fishing season was open. In conjunction with this the com- pany continued a custom originated many years ago, of requiring each fisher- man or hunter to secure a permit to hunt and fish, agreeing therein to assist in every way possible to prevent fire and to report any persons peeling or otherwise destroying timber. The patrols, upon meeting a hunter or fisher- man requested him to show his permit and impressed upon him the necessity of careful tending of his own camp fires. Often a patrol was allowed to se- cure a permit for persons found trespassing without one, and in this way es- tablished friendly relations with all campers, and secured their co-operation. Unfortunately the state legislature of West Virginia passed a law in the spring of 1911 allowing all persons the right to trespass at will upon all un- fenced lands within the state. This law vitiates the permits and likewise makes it impossible for the company to inform itself as to how many campers are on the land or where they may be located. In addition to watching the fishermen and hunters the fire guards co- operate with any settlers in their district and arrange to be present when brush is to be burned or a clearing of any sort made. They also post notices along trails and in conspicuous places to warn all against starting fire. Along the routes of the patrolmen there are shelters at different points where they may stay when storms overtake them or pass the night while making their rounds. At the three forks of the Williams River the company has built a house where one guard and his assistant are located permanently the year round. At the headquarters of the Gauley another patrol has his house, and on the Cranberry River the patrol uses three or four different hunters’ cabins and has his home beyond the company land. A telephone line is being con- structed to the house on the Williams, which in case of fire will save much time in summoning aid, since this line will reach most of the settlers in the region. Another line may be carried up the Gauley in the same manner. The patrol system has been in operation for over a year and has proven very efficient thus far, there having been no damage to timber in any district, with the exception of two small brush fires on the Williams and one on the Gauley. These were all located within a short time and extinguished before any damage had been done to standing timber. The manner in which these fires were fought illustrates fully the fire guard system. On the eleventh of May, 1911, the guard on the Williams saw smoke rising above the trees two miles or so below his house. He imme- diately sent out his boy to get a couple of settlers further up the valley and set out for the fire himself. Within a couple of hours he had been reinforced by these men, and they surrounded the edge of the fire with a narrow fire line made by hacking out the undergrowth down to the rocks and then beating out the fire with shovels and throwing dirt on it when it reached the line. They had just controlled the fire when over the ridge came the fire guard from the Gauley district with eleven men. They had seen the smoke and 640 AMERICAN FORESTRY came to help. With this large force the fire was promptly extinguished and a man left for the night to see that it did not break out afresh. A forester inspects the patrols at intervals during the season to suggest methods of gradually increasing their efficiency. It was on one of these trips of inspection that the writer remarked to the patrol, “Say, Jim, didn’t you ever got lost in these mountains? Of course, I know that you understand them mighty well, following up the fishers and hunters, but it seems to me that even the best of men would get lost once in a while in this tangle of hills and valleys.” He paused for a second, “No,” he said at last, “I ain’t never been what you might call lost, but wonst about five year ago, up thar on the headwaters of Cranberry, I was plumb confounded for as much as three days.” THE RAILROADS. Coming to the second division, that of the railroads, we should first state that the company has over 75 miles of standard gauge railway lines upon the property and operates sixteen engines to haul its log, bark and pulp trains. The division of railroads is in charge of the railroad boss. It is his duty to see that the fire protection equipment is provided and operating, to inform the fire chief of any fires reported to the central office, and to send out special crews to fight fire whenever necessary. Under the railroad boss are the en- gineers and trainmen whose duties require them to stop and extinguish any small fires along the right of way, or to cut off and go to the nearest company camp to bring men to fight fire, at the same time notifying the fire chief through the central office. Beyond the operating department is the track department, or section crews. They keep the track clear of inflammable material for twenty feet on either side of the right of way. They fight fire wherever found in their sec- tion, and in very dry weather patrol the track after every train, one man go- ing to the end of his section and relaying another man from the section crew beyond. As to equipment, every engine has a spark arrester which is regularly inspected and kept in good condition. Also fifty feet of hose with a nozzle is kept in a box on the tender. Hoes and pails are located in the section houses, and every patrol carries a pail. This fall a hand pump will be added to the equipment to make fighting fire with buckets more effective. Along the right of way, wherever it departs from streams that have a constant flow through dry weather, water barrels are placed. The intervals between these barrels vary with the grade, and they are kept constantly full for use in emergency. There are also tank cars, which can be hauled to a fire to supply the hose line on the engine. It is undoubtedly a fact that the railroad engines are the greatest fire menace. First, because they are constantly in every part of the timber oper- ation, and second, because of the difficulty of preventing the throwing of sparks when on heavy grades. The spark arresters frequently get out of or- der and an engine will often travel a whole day before a broken arrester is discovered. On a steep grade with a heavy load a fireman can easily imagine that the engine groans piteously to be released from its muzzle, and occasionally upon inspecting a bad break in the wire mesh of the arrester a clean hole will be found very similar to one which might be made by a vigorous thrust of the fireman’s poker handle. The organization has been in effect on the railroad during the last nine months, and in that time one large fire, covering almost a thousand acres, was set by an engine with a defective arrester. Fortunately the area burned had - FIRE STARTED BY FISHERMAN’S CAMP UNDER AN CUT OVER AREA BURNED IN SPRING OF 1911, OLD SPLASH DAM FIRE PROTECTION IN SOUTHERN SHOWING OLD STUBS THAT ACT AS FIRE APPALACHIANS BRANDS SNVIHOV1IVddV ALIAS AMV Ua NYUGHLOAOS NI NOILOWLOYUd WHI OL ISO MUvd GNV SUAGNVO Ad GUTAad Tonys Caan da swoanHo AG WaVIN ANIT DNIGNVLIS ONIYGING WO ‘UNVI Wald ONILLOO OLA 5) id} | ; ~%, A BRUSH FIRE ON WILLIAMS RIVER WAS CHECKED AND EXTINGUISHED IN THIS THICKET BY TRENCHING AND BACK-FIRING. MAY, 1911 A FIRE TRAP—BRUSH AND SLASH ALONG RAIL- ROAD FIRE PROTECTION IN SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS FOREST RANGERS SOWING YELLOW PINE SEED FROM HORSEBACK NEAR PUMA CITY, COLO- RADO REFORESTATION ON PIKE NATIONAL FOREST A FIRE PROTECTION PLAN 645 been recently cut over and no damage to merchantable timber resulted. As it was, aS many as ninety men were engaged some time in fighting it, and if it had not been discovered promptly by a patrolman and fought vigorously, a heavy loss of merchantable timber would have resulted. The section crews were of valuable assistance during the dry period, and many minor blazes, only a few yards in diameter, were extinguished by the prompt arrival of some track walker—usually the section foreman himself— who followed up the passing trains. The fire chief has been so vigilant that at one particular dry period of two weeks he suspended the running of log trains except in the early morning and at night—times of the day when fires are least likely to be started. THE AREAS WHERE CONTRACTORS ARE CUTTING TIMBER. The intermediate district not covered by the railroad or patrol is that area in process of being lumbered. The contractor or boss of the company camps is responsible for this area. There is a clause written into his con- tract fixing on him the responsibility for any fire damage in the district un- der his care, and a notice is tacked to his shanty so that all his men may see it. This informs him that for any logs burned he will not only lose the scale or tally of the logs, but in addition, he will be charged with the value of the logs thus destroyed. At different seasons of the year there is a real danger where contractors are burning brush along the railroad to get an open place for what they call a “landing” or place to stack up the logs. A careless man will sometimes leave a brush fire while he goes off to his dinner, or trust to luck that all will be well if he allows it to burn all night. More or less fixed habits of this sort are not easily overcome, but during the nine months that the regulations have been in force no fires have resulted. This has undoubtedly been due to increased vigilance upon their part and to suggestions from passing fire guards or the assistant fire chief who inspects their cuttings from time to time. To increase the efficiency of the three divisions described above, a forester visits the property at intervals. Written reports are turned in to the fire chief from the patrols once each month and these are kept on file for the use of the forester who goes over them carefully to note the results of each dis- trict. The forester receives verbal reports from the railroad department and traces to its cause any fire that may be reported to the office, and wherever possible extra preventive measures are taken that a similar fire may be handled to better advantage. To illustrate this, it has been found that small hand pumps are of great assistance to track walkers in fighting small fires, and these will, in future, be added to the pails which the men now carry. It can also be seen that as more timber is cut and new railway lines pro- jected into the uncut forest, slight changes must be made in the different patrol districts. The forester provides for these as the operation progresses so that each division is protected. It is also planned to make minor changes from time to time in all the divisions as quickly as the men become most effi- cient in the duties now assigned to them. This is in accord with the plan of gradually making the plan more intensive in its efficiency. To sum up the results of a year’s trial of the plan we must take into con- sideration the region as a whole. It has been everywhere a season of unusual drought, and large fire losses have been sustained by neighboring lumber companies. One company has lost much standing timber as well as logs, log cars, and a railroad bridge. Another company had fire sweep through its 646 AMERICAN FORESTRY standing timber and through a part of the lumber town, burning several houses. In fact, the month of May was so very dry that wherever there were railroads, fires were sure to occur, and would spread with remarkable speed through the dry underbrush becoming almost at once dangerous top fires. On the Cherry River property there have been three small brush fires of some thirty acres apiece, one large fire in recently cut over lands along the rail- road, and in addition a fire not previously mentioned which started from a farmer’s clearing and burned into the region of the so-called railroad fire, joining it and making the total area about one thousand acres, but none of it standing timber. In an ordinary season such fire damage would be considered large, but under the circumstances the company, so far as they have expressed them- selves, consider the results obtained a success, and their losses low. REFORESTATION ON THE PIKE NATIONAL FOREST By C. W. FITZGERALD FOREST SUPERVISOR work of reforesting the vast areas denuded by fire and wasteful cutting been so vigorously pushed as in the past two years. There are many reasons for this; the chief one being that before this the work of reforestation was largely experimental; and it might be said that much is still to be learned. However, sufficient progress has been made with the experimental work to enable the officer of the Forest Service to accomplish beneficial results in this all-important work. Although reforestation is being largely practiced on the greater number of national forests, the writer will deal only with the work on the forest with which he is best acquainted, the Pike National Forest of Colorado. The lands within this forest should be covered with a “protection forest,” valuable primarily as a conserver of water rather than for lumber. The location of the Pike National Forest makes it of considerable importance to the citizens of Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Manitou, and the numerous other settlements in the immediate vicinity, since the watersheds that supply these communities are located within the boundaries of this forest. Realizing this fact, the forest officers, whose duty it is to administer this area, are using their utmost endeavors to better the unfortunate conditions which exist on this important area by reforesting the watersheds of these growing cities. A large proportion of the watershed has been stripped of its timber by fire or cutting, or both. Generally speaking, two methods of accomplishing the desired results have been adopted, by transplanting seedlings which are raised at the nurseries maintained by the Forest Service in the vicinity and by sowing the seed of the trees common to the area which it is desired to reforest. After a number of localities within the Pike National Forest had been experimented with, to determine the most suitable location for a nursery, in which to raise seedlings for field planting, a small area was selected about two miles west of the town of Monument. Monument is a small settlement on the railroad between Denver and Colorado Springs, about 55 miles south of FL’ NO previous time since the creation of the national forests has the REFORESTATION ON THE PIKE NATIONAL FOREST 647 Denver and twenty miles north of Colorado Springs. After the seedlings which are raised at the Monument nursery have attained a suitable age and degree of hardiness, they are shipped to various localities within the forest. These localities are known as plantations. The most important of these plantations are as follows: The Bear Creek Plantation (1906); the Bear Creek Plantation (1910); the Pike’s Peak Plantation (1910); the Bear Creek Plantation (1911), and the Cascade Plantation (1911). The Bear Creek Plantation, 1906, 1910, 1911, consists of some 54 acres of land, located six and one-quarter miles south and west from the city of Colorado Springs, in Bear Creek Valley, and one-quarter of a mile above the point where the famous “High Drive” enters this valley from the south. Plantings were made by the Forest Service in 1906, 1910, and 1911. In 1906, some 4,000 Douglas fir seedlings, three years old, which had been raised at the Forest Service nursery located at Halsey, Nebraska, were planted on the western end of this area. This work demonstrated very clearly that in order to get good results on these slopes great care should be exercised in placing the plant in such a position that the slide caused by wind, rain, and snow would not bury the small seedlings, which in this case protruded only four inches above the surface of the ground. Notwithstanding the fact that some of these small plants were almost entirely covered by sand and gravel, it is interesting to note that upon being uncovered, they show a growth for each year since the date of planting in 1906. In the spring of 1910, some 27,000 yellow pine seedlings, and 3,200 Douglas fir seedlings were planted on an adjacent area. All of this latter stock of seedlings was raised at the Monument nursery, and was planted on steep, gravelly slopes, similar to the large areas on which it is intended to continue this work. The seedlings were set out about five feet apart, where possible. Nearly all of these plants were set in a hole grubbed out with a mattock. It was aimed to set the plant as near as possible to the outer edge of the small shelf caused by this excavation in order to protect it from the slide of earth and gravel. The results of this work were very gratifying, for a recent examination found at least seventy per cent of the plants in good condition. The yellow pine seedlings did remarkably well, having made a growth during the past year of at least six inches in every case noted. The thirty per cent loss was due to various causes, the principal ones being failure on the part of the laborers to spread the delicate root system of the seedlings into a natural position, and the work of deer or rodents which destroyed the young seedlings by cutting them off close to the ground. Work was again taken up on this plantation during the spring of 1911, when 35,000 yellow pine transplants were set out. These plants were raised at the Monument Nursery; they were four years old, and averaged, including the roots, twenty-six inches, of which fifteen inches were above the ground. During the fall of 1910, some 5,000 plants were set out on the Pike’s Peak plantation, which is located on the northeastern slope of Pike’s Peak, about one mile west of the Halfway House, a station on the Pike’s Peak cog road. The elevation of this plantation is 9,500 feet. Six species of coniferous trees, common to this elevation and its rigorous conditions, were included in the 5,000 plants, which were set out October 18, and an examination of the area on November 12 showed that the yellow pine had made a growth of one inch. Since the six different species in this plantation were planted at the same time, it can readily be seen that very good reasons can be had as to which of the six is best adapted to this particular locality. Work is now in progress on the Cascade Plantation (1911), the latest 648 AMERICAN FORESTRY established within this forest. When experiments were being conducted to determine a suitable locality for a nursery, a small area was selected in Jones Park, about three miles above the Bear Creek plantation, in Bear Creek Valley All of the stock raised in this nursery had been removed to the Monument Nursery and to other localities except about 20,000 three-year-old Douglas fir seedlings of which 15,000 were recently removed from this abandoned nursery to the Cascade plantation, which is on the north fork of Cascade Creek, three miles west of Cascade, a summer resort, ten miles west of Colorado Springs on the Colorado Midland Railway. This plantation is located at an elevation of 9,000 feet, with an average slope of about thirty degrees and a north and northeast exposure. The 15,000 Douglas fir seedlings should do well on this area, as the stand of timber which formerly covered these slopes was of this species. In addition to the plants which were raised in the abandoned nursery formerly located in Jones Park, 15,000 four-year-old Douglas fir seedlings from the Monument nursery are being planted on this important watershed. These plants are particularly fine-looking and sturdy, and it is believed they will make a rapid and successful growth. The old Pike’s Peak State Road from Cascade to the summit of Pike’s Peak, forms the northern boundary of this plantation. The land to the westward of this road having an easy slope with a southern exposure is well adapted to the planting of yellow pine. This slope has been selected as a suitable area to determine whether it will not be practical to plant two-year-old yellow pines from the nursery instead of three or four-year-old plants. Five hundred of these plants will be set out before May 10. If this experiment proves that this plan is feasible, it can be readily seen that a considerable expense will be saved in the production of these seedlings. Altogether 104,700 plants of different species have been planted on the Pike National Forest, covering an area of approximately 78 acres. In addition to this, areas aggregating 46 acres have been planted in the vicinity of Clyde and Palmer Lake, 108,000 plants having been set out during 1905, 1907, 1908, and 1909. The larger part of these areas is located in Limbaugh Canyon, a short distance south of Palmer Lake. This work was largely experimental and served as a means of perfecting the system of raising and transplanting seedlings. The yearly output of the Monument nursery is 500,000 plants, and as many as this should be set out each year upon the watersheds within the Pike National Forest. Great progress has been made in nursery practice during the past two years and the efficiency in handling the plants in the nursery, as well as in the field, has been increased one hundred per cent. Only last year it was considered that a field planter did a good eight-hour day’s work if he planted 250 seedlings. During the month of April, 1911, a gang of six planters, working on the Cascade plantation, averaged five hundred plants per day per man. While the men of the Pike National Forest are very well pleased with the results of their efforts toward reforestation through field planting during the past two years, they have tried another method, that of sowing the seed of the coniferous trees adapted to the locality which it is desired to reforest. A large number of experiments along this line have been made during the past few years. Most of these experiments were conducted on a small scale, until the spring of 1910, when some 275 acres of denuded lands on the Denver watersheds were sown with 507 pounds of Douglas fir seed. This area is located on Trail Creek, just west of the old settlement of Pemberton, which is some twenty-five miles south of South Platte station. Trail Creek is a FOREST RANGERS SOWING SEED ON THE SNOW NEAR PUMA CITY, COLORADO FOREST RANGERS SOWING YELLOW PINE SEED ON DENVER WATERSHED DURING A SNOW STORM REFORESTATION ON PIKE NATIONAL FOREST Be Aa Aap AN EXPERT PLANTING A _ FOUR- YEAR-OLD YELLOW PINE ON THE BEAR CREEK PLANTATION, TEN MILES SOUTHWEST OF COLORADO SPRINGS gad 6 ie ny ee the PLANTING FOUR-YEAR-OLD YELLOW PINE ON BEAR CREEK PLANTATION, 1911 REFORESTATION ON THE PIKE NATIONAL FOREST 651 tributary of the South Fork of the South Platte River, and the lands adjacent thereto are necessarily a part of the watershed of the city of Denver. The seed used in this work was gathered by the men on several national forests in the state of Colorado. While results cannot be fully reported as yet, it is believed that they will be fairly good. Of the various methods used in sowing the seed on this area, what is known as the drill or furrow method has given the best results. A furrow is made along the contour of the slope with a hoe-like instrument specially constructed for this purpose. By dragging it along the ground, a furrow is made several inches deep. A planter with a bag of seed and a rake follows the man with the furrow maker, and drops seed into the furrow at intervals of about one inch and then rakes the soil over the seed. During the fall of 1910, an area comprising some 144 acres on the north- eastern slope of Pike’s Peak, near the Halfway House, on the Pike’s Peak cog road, was sown to Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, and yellow pine seed, various methods being employed. Owing to the lateness of the season when this work was done, results cannot be accurately given as yet. During the winter of 1910-1911, the officers of this forest were informed that it was the desire of the district forester that extensive experimental work be done along the line of sowing yellow pine seed on the snow, especially on the watersheds. Some 3,600 pounds of yellow pine seed, which had been gathered by the men of the national forests in Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota, were allotted for this work, and an expert was sent out to make a reconnaissance and select suitable acres on which to do the sowing. During the month of February, 1,150 acres of land were sown to this yellow pine seed in different parts of the forest. About 900 acres of the total area are located on the watersheds of the North and South Forks of the South Platte River, from which the city of Denver obtains its water supply. The remainder of the sowing area is located on the watershed of Fountain Creek, from which a part of the domestic and municipal supply of Colorado Springs is obtained. It was considered that the most favorable time to sow this seed was during a snow storm, and consequently the forest rangers in charge of the different districts in which the sowing was to be done awaited the time when the ideal conditions existed, when they took up the work of sowing the two to three hundred acres on their districts. It was no easy task to sow on steep, rocky slopes with the thermometer registering from ten to twenty degrees below zero and with the snow falling. Some of the rangers were fortunate enough to have areas which permitted of their sowing the seed from horseback. This method is believed to be really more effective than sowing on foot, because the seed, being thrown from a considerable height, sink deeper in the snow. The method of sowing seed by broadcasting in the snow and on unprepared ground, appeals very strongly to the forest oflicers who realize the magnitude of the task before them, by coming in daily contact with the vast areas which it is their duty to clothe with a good stand of timber. These men realize that they will not see their efforts result in a merchantable stand of timber, but they do know that if they can get a six to eight-inch growth yearly, on the plants which they are now setting out, they will have the satisfaction of seeing this Same young growth holding the snow and thereby conserving the water supply. It is this knowledge that encourages the men to put forth their best efforts to successfully accomplish the important task before them. FIRE PROTECTION IN THE NATIONAL FORESTS By EARLE H. CLAPP. Concluded from the October number. EQUIPMENT. JR efficient fire protection it must be decided in advance what equip- al ment is necessary, and this must be obtained and so distributed as to cause the least possible delay in case of fire. It is of the utmost im- portance that so far as possible everything be made ready in advance. The construction of tool boxes at strategic points throughout the forests, for instance, at the crossing of important trails, ranch houses, at section houses in railroad patrol, ete., has already been discussed. During the past two years the equipment of tools on practically all the forests has been materially increased for distribution to these tool boxes. Standard sets for specified numbers of men have been worked out depending upon the peculiar needs of each case. As everywhere in fire fighting, the tools ordinarily used consist of shovels, rakes, hoes, saws, axes, mattocks, picks, potato hooks, gunny sacks, squares of canvas, small Navajo blankets, and files for sharpening tools. In addition cant hooks, lanterns, cooking outfits and tents are furnished. Canteens and water bags must always be available. Attempts have been made to improve the tools ordinarily on the market, but so far except in the case of shoulder and saddle bags, with hose attachments for direct application of water on the fire, and chemical apparatus, designed by Supervisor Adams on the Arkansas National Forest, little progress has been made. Considerable progress, however, has been made in the better selection of the tools available in the markets. In addition to purchases, ar- rangements are sometimes made in advance in emergency. Field glasses are ordinarily supplied to lookouts and patrolmen who need them. Pack trains have sometimes been secured where there is valuable timber, the danger from fires is great, and no other means of transportation is avail- able. In several instances such pack trains have more than paid for them- selves in fire protection and permanent improvement work during one season. In some cases where it is easily possible to secure pack animals, it has been necessary to purchase pack saddles, etc., and locate them at convenient places. On many forests it has been found desirable to make arrangements in ad- vance for pack animals when there is any possibility that they will be needed. The effectiveness of a fire fighting force is greatly increased by proper food supplies. Aside from the question of transportation various plans de- pending upon local conditions have been devised for getting supplies to the men quickly and cheaply. Very often arrangements are made in advance with stockmen for the purchase of either beef or mutton on the range. During the fire season rangers frequently purchase a larger amount of supplies than usual for emergency use. Wherever advisable special arrangements are made in advance at ranch houses, or at stores in order to make sure that suitable supplies in sufficient quantities can be obtained. It has been found helpful to prepare for immediate use, lists of supplies which will be needed to furnish 652 FIRE PROTECTION IN THE NATIONAL FORESTS 653 a specified number of men for definite periods. Officers are instructed to fur- nish a well balanced ration of substantial food. On many forests fire guards are being appointed at a reduced salary and are furnished with subsistence. Food supplies are then purchased under com- petition in order to get reasonable rates, and suitable quantities of the sup- plies so purchased and taken to the field headquarters are available for pa- trolmen or in ease of fire for fire fighters. ORGANIZATION. Since the organization for fire protection upon the forests is of the ut- most importance, a great deal of attention is being given to this phase of the work. The regular and permanent force on each forest consists of a super- visor, a deputy supervisor if one is needed, clerks, and rangers who may be assisted by forest guards during the season of heavy administrative work and the fire season. The supervisor with the assistance of his deputy, has charge of the work on the forest and is directly responsible for efficiency and results. Use may often be made of clerks in handling the commissary department in emergencies. Rangers with their assistants constitute the field force proper. Depending upon the need, there may be one or more in each district. The field force act as patrolmen, fire fighters if need be, and so far as possible with- out detriment to fire protection, carry on the administrative work. Experience has shown, however, that this regular force is not sufficiently flexible for the best results. It may be necessary because of unusual menace or bad fires to increase greatly the number of patrolmen, and also the number of fire fighters. Accordingly, practically all of the permits for the use or occupancy of the forest require assistance where needed in case of fire. The liability for work depends upon the size and the nature of the permit and upon the responsibility for the fire. Payment is made to permittees for as- sistance rendered beyond the requirements of the permit. The general char- acter of such requirements is indicated by the following clause from a timber sale contract. “During the time that this agreement remains in force I will, independ- ently, do all in my power to prevent and suppress forest fires on the sale area and its vicinity, and will require my employees and contractors to do likewise. I hereby agree, unless prevented by circumstances over which I have no control, to place myself and my employees at the disposal of any authorized forest officer for the purpose of fighting forest fires, with the understanding that if the fire does not threaten my property or the area embraced in this agreement, I shall be paid for services so rendered at the rate or rates to be determined by the forest officer in charge, which rate or rates shall correspond to the rate or rates of pay prevailing in the........ the services are rendered, provided, however, that if I or my employees, sub- contractors, or employees of subcontractors are directly or indirectly re- sponsible for the origin of the fire, I shall not be paid for services so ren- dered.” While having no connection with the organization, it may be well to mention that all permits where necessary include further provisions to pre- vent fire: In timber sales for brush disposal and the cutting of dead stubs; in grazing permits to prevent the leaving of burning camp or branding fires; in power permits for the clearing of a right of way for transmission lines; in railroad stipulations for the clearing of the right of way, the use of spark arresters, or the use of oil or electricity for motive power, ete. In order to extend still further the reserve force for patrol and fighting, 654 AMERICAN FORESTRY it has been found necessary under some conditions, to appoint selected men at a per diem paid only when work is actually done. Such men are usually public spirited citizens who are glad to assist in the work of fire protection. On the Deerlodge National Forest in Montana during the present year it has been found that this plan increases materially the flexibility and efficiency of the force; in fact, the employment of one guard under this plan makes it possible on the average to secure the services of twenty additional men as laborers. On many of the forests where it does not seem necessary to appoint men on a per diem basis, definite arrangements have been made in advance with experienced men to act as foremen of fire crews or as ordinary laborers. The arrangement which usually consists of a promise of assistance when called upon is as far as possible made to include foremen in mines, lumbering camps, ete. Foremen of fire crews are frequently paid higher wages than the men. In addition to the classes of assistance already indicated, it is usually possible to secure the services of large numbers of other men if needed. This, however, may cause delay, and it may be necessary to take unsatisfactory workmen, or be impossible to get sufficient numbers. On some of the national forests special conditions obtain so that it is possible to secure comparatively large bodies of good men from one place on short notice. Such, for instance, are those forests which are adjacent to Indian reservations and in some few cases forests which are adjacent to forts. In very great emergencies where property of great value is at stake and there is danger of the loss of human life, it is always possible to call for as- sistance from the United States Army. It is planned, however, to make this call a last resort because of the great expense of getting men to the scene of action, and because the centralization policy of the War Department makes it impossible under ordinary circumstances to have small forces of soldiers scattered through the forests. Provision for the regular forest force to be supplemented in case of need by various reserves as discussed, does not emphasize sufficiently the occasional and urgent need for transfers of men between forests. During the serious fires of the summer of 1910 it was found that the need for laborers was not so great as the need for experienced men to take charge of fire fighting crews or to carry on patrol work. To some extent this situation was remedied by the transfer of rangers. Such action may, however, be dangerous or impos- sible because the regular force is comparatively small. Gradually, however, as the number of men with some training increases, this problem may solve itself and it may easily be possible to secure the services on one forest for transfer to another, of good men outside of the regular force. PATROL. The arrangement of patrol for a forest while apparently very simple, is actually difficult, and this is more apparent when one realizes the many adverse conditions under which it is frequently necessary to work and the necessity in spite of these conditions for getting good results. All of the forest must be covered, it must be covered frequently enough to prevent disastrous fires, and not more frequently than necessary, thus reducing the funds available and the patrol needed in other places. Patrol on the national forests is of two general kinds: (1) that from lookout points; and (2) that by men who walk or ride or depend upon some other means of transportation. ‘The lookouts are either stationed on more or less commanding peaks and remain there constantly during dangerous periods, or visit the peaks at specified hours and in addition, after electrical storms. It has been found that the highest peaks may not under some con- FIRE PROTECTION IN THE NATIONAL FORESTS 655 ditions answer so well the purposes of intensive patrol as lower peaks from which it is impossible to get a nearer view of a smaller area. On some forests it has been found advisable to use the higher peaks when this is possible, and to abandon them for the lower peaks and the closer patrol if the atmosphere becomes smoky. The chief advantage of lookout patrol is the comparatively large area which it is possible to keep constantly in view. Lookout points are much more effective when in direct communication by telephone, heliograph, or otherwise with the headquarters of the forest. The great disadvantages of lookout patrol are that it gives little or no opportunity for administrative work, and it does not enable the patrolman to keep in close touch with forest users, residents and transients. The topography of some districts is such that lookout patrol is impossible, and it is necessary to depend entirely upon men who ride or travel through the country. In many ranger districts it has been found absolutely necessary to keep in close touch with forest users, residents, freighters, campers and hunters, and also other classes of transients. For efficient riding patrol where contact with any class of people is not the principal object, it is necessary to follow the high ridges and to get on to peaks or into open places from which the surrounding country can be seen. Riding patrol may be coordinated to a greater or less extent with the admin- istrative work which is necessary during the fire season. In ranger districts where there is only one man it is obviously necessary that he perform both duties. On forests which are traversed by railroads using coal-burning locomotives, it is frequently necessary to detail special patrolmen to follow all heavy trains, and in some cases to follow every train. Launches are useful upon the larger lakes where a good view can be obtained of the surrounding country. In districts with good roads much might be gained by the use of motorcycles. In addition to the regular patrol it has sometimes been found advisable to secure the services of ranchmen or others, who with little or no riding are able to see a considerable part of a forest. These men in many cases do no more than report the fires discovered to the nearest forest officer. Fires are frequently reported as already indicated by patrolmen employed by the state, associations, companies, or individuals cooperating with the Forest Service. On very few of the forests has it been found possible to adopt entirely any one form of patrol. The best results are obtained by a combination of lookout and riding patrol depending upon the conditions in each case. In Montana and northern Idaho the lookouts are used on the higher peaks and cover most effectively the country immediately surrounding these stations, while patrolmen ride through the lower valleys or along the ridges which overlook them. The fact that administrative work must be carried on during the fire season prevents the use of lookout patrol alone. The area which can be covered by a patrolman depends upon a number of varying conditions which include: (1) The value of material to be protected and the degree of risk; (2) the frequency with which patrol is necessary ; (3) topography; (4) whether patrol is from lookout points or by riding; (5) upon available means of travel and communication; (6) the clearness of the atmosphere; (7) the experience of the patrolman and his knowledge of the country; (8) the cooperation received from adjoining ranger or patrol districts or from adjoining forests; (9) the cooperation which may be received from other sources; (10) the necessity for administrative work; (11) means of subsistence. There are a number of other points which must also be considered in providing for patrol on any forest. The force must be exceedingly flexible. At times during the fire season after light rainfalls, it may be possible for a few 656 AMERICAN FORESTRY days to use lookouts and patrolmen on other work, and on the other hand, the situation may become exceedingly dangerous, and it may be necessary to increase materially the number of men employed. During a bad season the atmosphere may become very smoky, and it may be necessary to abandon all lookouts and to depend entirely upon other patrol. For instance, during the bad fires of 1910 in the northwest it was impossible for the patrolmen to see fires until almost on them. During different parts of the fire season variation in patrol may be necessary because of the locations at which fires may start. At the beginning of the season, for instance, all the fires may be in the lower valleys, while the snow is still melting in the higher mountains or the movement of transients may also have a very material effect upon the possible location of fires. While there is any fire danger the patrol must be regular. Patrolmen and lookouts must be on duty every day, including Sundays and holidays. Men who are incapacitated must be replaced immediately. When fires are discovered provision must ordinarily be made for a continuation of patrol while the fire is being extinguished, otherwise it may be possible for others to obtain a serious start before discovery. To insure regularity, it is necessary in many cases to make arrangements for the transportation of mail and supplies to lookouts and patrolmen. On practically all of the national forests it is necessary each year to break in a number of green men, and some provision must ordinarily be made for their instruction and training. Much depends during the fire season upon keeping open existing lines of communication. It is therefore necessary to provide for frequent testing of all telephone lines, and frequently upon the more important telephone lines a special daily or periodic patrol is advisable. Where tools are stored at various points on the forest, it may be well also to require patrolmen to make sure at frequent intervals that they have not been removed, and that they are returned promptly after use at fires. Lookouts are usually required to communicate daily or at regular intervals with the supervisor’s headquarters, and on some forests provision also is made for checking occasionally the work of the more inexperienced patrolmen who may not be well known to the supervisor. On many of the forests the supervisors require patrolmen to carry with them constantly certain tools, and in parts of the northwest the men are also required to carry certain amounts of supplies. FIGHTING FIRES Everything should be in readiness for immediate action when fires are discovered. The patrolman or ranger should know just where to go or to send for his men in order that he may secure a sufficient number of the right kind of men at short notice. In practice it has been found exceedingly difficult to judge the number of men needed, and to keep the right number until all danger is past. Care must be taken that the force is not too large in order that the expense of fire fighting may not be increased unnecessarily. It must be certain that the proper equipment is sent and that the force will be promptly and continuously supplied with suitable food. Upon arrival at the fire, camp sites must be selected; the officer in charge must at once size up the situation and organize his crews. In the attack on the fire advantage must be taken of all conditions which will be of any help, such, for instance, as variations in a stand of timber, topography, open areas, ete. No two fires are alike, and each one to be handled to the best advantage must be attacked in a different way. General directions in regard to fighting fires are helpful to the men in charge, but experience is better. Finally, fires must not be left before they are extinguished. This mistake has been made repeatedly because there seemed THE MINNESOTA FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION 657 to be no possibility that the fire would escape. In some cases such apparently trifling things as a failure to leave enough supplies for the men left to guard an old fire has been responsible for its breaking out a second time. Manuals of directions for fighting fire are being prepared, and when they are completed will be helpful in increasing the efficiency of the work. The question of fire protection is now being studied more intensively in the Forest Service than ever before, and as a result greater progress is being made. Investigations, some of which have already been indicated, are being conducted along many important lines. The completion of fire plans for all the forests with provisions for their improvement in the light of experience and the results obtained through investigation, insures continued progress in the future. . THE MINNESOTA FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION By DILLON P. TIERNEY i¢ THE development of the resources of a timber region there are many problems which come within the province of the forester to solve. The fundamental principle is that the soil should be put to the use for which it is best suited. In addition to land whose worthlessness for farming purposes is self-evident, there are lands, which it is possible to cultivate, but which are so poor that their most profitable use is forestry and not agriculture. Agriculturists are usually unwilling to admit or specify that certain classes of soils are unprofitable from their point of view. In order that the forester may not be forced to confine his activities to reforesting bare rocks and mountain peaks, he must show the agricultural propagandist what are forest lands and how they can be used. Since the northern part of Minnesota is blessed with a fair proportion of purely forest land, it behooves the state to see to it that it is kept in the most profitable timber growth, just as it is now working to get the good agricultural lands under cultivation. The importance of securing accurate data from forestry experiments conducted under favorable conditions and competent direction was realized by a number of public-spirited men of the state, and it was through their efforts that Minnesota established the first forest experiment station. By an act of the legislature, approved March 31, 1909, the state received title by gift and purchase to approximately 2,700 acres of forest land near Cloquet. This tract is to be under the direction of the university board of regents, “to be used as a practice ground, demonstration forest and experiment station for the students of the forestry department of the University of Minnesota.” Most students of forestry have undoubtedly been confronted with the problem of getting owners of large tracts of forest lands to follow certain forestry methods. Several reasons for these difficulties may exist. One of the chief reasons is a lack of knowledge as to just how any particular silvicultural method will work out under local conditions. Exact knowledge is necessary. It is not enough to assume as a basis for calculation the results that are obtained with foreign forests or with forests of some other part of the United States, although this may be very satisfying to the forester. If, for example, the forester argues that it is best to improve a heavy stand of middle-aged Norway pine by making two cuttings separated by fifteen to twenty years, the 658 AMERICAN FORESTRY most convineing proof he can call to his aid will be an actual and local illustration of such a system. If this proves practical and financially profitable, and if the first cut is enough to make a fair logging chance, and the remaining trees do not blow down but grow at an increasing rate, and if a number of other things turn out as they should then the forester can use this example as a reasonably safe argument. Numerous problems of this kind present themselves, and actual illustrations of their solutions are always the best arguments. Aside from the questions of fire protection and taxation, there are many which are peculiar to the forests typical of northern Minnesota. The owners of large areas of timber lands are willing and anxious to know how their non-agricultural lands may be handled profitably; but the seemingly unimportant details and possible results of periodic cutting, planting, ete., are too hazy to carry conviction to their minds. With the hope of gaining enlightenment on these various points, the forest experiment station was provided near Cloquet, Minn., where the lumbering industry of the state is now centered. Active work in developing this experimental tract began in April, 1910. As preliminary work it was necessary to obtain a land survey and an inventory of the timber resources. The fire danger was very great at all times, and a constant patrol was required. A system of firebreaks was planned which will include the whole area and utilize the various roads. Several miles of these “breaks” were cleared out. When completed, the firebreaks will furnish adequate protection for any experimental plots or plantings that may be made. The larger part of the Cloquet Forest is a sand plain or “pine barrens,” according to the original survey notes, on which the red pine and jack pine thrive equally well. There are also several hundred acres of light clay loam supporting a hardwood and white pine growth. This soil when cleared proves adaptable for cultivation. In the swamps are found all the plant zone gradations,—ranging from aquatic plants in the stagnant pools through sedges, cat-tails, wire-grass, Sphagnum, sheep laurel, cranberry, scrub spruce, and finally into stands of merchantable tamarack and spruce. The variation in soils on this tract makes it possible to carry on a comparatively wide range of experiments. There is also an additional advantage in having considerable growing and mature timber with which to work. Aside from the many jack pine stands, there is in one body 500,000 feet of Norway pine in a pure and practically normal stand. In another body of 350,000 feet, white and Norway pine form about equal proportions of a dense stand. Altogether there is approximately 2,000,000 feet of white and Norway pine in several compact, even-aged stands. Plans are made to select and mark out a large number of permanent sample plots. On the plots in the mature stands, several methods of thinning will be tried, and a record kept to ascertain the relative increase in rate of growth, the effects on reproduction, young growth, and ground cover. On some plots, both under standards and on cut-over areas, broadcast sowing of several species will be tried, to determine what conditions and season of the year may prove adaptable to this method of regeneration. Under contract with the federal government, all the timber on the Cloquet Forest, with the exception of the above-mentioned selected bunches of pine, was removed last summer. Seed trees were reserved on two areas of forty acres each. Consequently, the ground which has been so recently logged over is in excellent condition to receive the attention of the experimenter. Particular attention will be given to the work of planting the various sites to commercial timber species. About four acres of ground has been ‘ siren 5- teen Sy G i ee L* A HEADQUARTERS—IN A BEAUTIFUL GROVE OF LARGE NORWAY PINE MINNESOTA FOREST EXPERIMENT A VIEW IN THE CLOQUET FOREST STATION THE STATION HEADQUARTERS IN WINTER IN THE CLOQUET FOREST AFTER A HEAVY SNOW- FALL MINNESOTA FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION GaYL Yd SPOT WAIL ADV NOILV.LS LNGWIYEHdxXo LSHYOX VLOSANNIIN Qt WOU AO Hann rn fu INId NYAMLOAO SLSawOv Hsnuwds anv GNIWGAY aNo ue) quand JO GNVLS TVWYON V AVMUON ‘aNId -UHAV AINOS TH. Fr Ssapdqiuw AGNVS TV ATOYLING Chirue a 5 eke $5 meat tah Se ed a: “ aqTO SUYVGA AYIHL LAOAV ‘VaINOTd ‘ATIIASANIVD NI MVO UALVM THE WATER OAK AS A SHADE TREE 663 cleared for a nursery, and already a beginning has been made in starting the seed beds. There is ample room for growing garden truck, small fruit and an orchard, which, in addition to supplying the workmen with fresh and wholesome food, will also keep up public interest until the slower and less striking silvicultural experiments are well under way. The prospective agriculturist in this locality is anxious to know what crops may be raised, and it is quite likely that what little garden and field crops are raised will show how unprofitable it is to farm on most of the jack pine sand lands. That typical jack pine lands are unsuited to agricultural purposes has often been shown by the starving out of settlers on them, but careful experiments here are expected to give more exact information on the reasons for these failures. In a beautiful grove of large Norway pine a two-story log building has been erected for the accommodation of the foreman of the forest. An additional log dwelling will be constructed for the technical superintendent, who in the summer time will be on the ground in charge of the experimental work. The place is about three miles from the.city of Cloquet, on a good and well-traveled road. It would be hard indeed for one to find a more favorable and interesting place for free and uninterrupted research and study. THE WATER OAK AS A SHADE TREE By C. D. MELL. REES in every respect desirable as shade trees in towns and cities are 'o) rare. Unfavorable soil and atmospheric conditions, insect and fungous enemies and other injurious factors characteristic of the city street, limit the number of shade tree species to a very few; but when one does find a good tree for street purposes and a hardy oak at that, it becomes a matter of no little interest. The water or spotted oak of southeastern United States is that kind of a tree. It is undoubtedly one of i 1e best street trees of the southeast, and as such it is used in practically every town in the states of Georgia and Florida, and is now rapidly replacing a good many other less desirable species in towns as far north as North Carolina. When young the tree stands transplanting very well, grows quite rapidly, and has beautiful foliage which is never too heavy to allow free circulation of air. It loves soil moisture, but, nevertheless, stands seasons of drought better than any other oak suitable for shade. It usually attains its most magnificent proportions as a street or park tree and seldom needs trimming. The water oak is free from injurious insects. In the southeast it is the most commonly distributed of all the oaks, and is found as far north as Delaware and extends westward through the Gulf states to the valley of the Colorado River in Texas. This oak obtains its common name from the fact that it is generally found growing on the borders of swamps and streams and on rich bottomlands of rivers. Old trees of this species are often hollow at the center, forming hiding places for opossums, and for this reason the tree is also known as possum oak in Alabama and Texas. The scientific name is Quercus nigra Linn. (Q. aquatica Walt.). The technical name of oak, Quercus, is taken from the Latin, but is derived from the Celtic words quer, meaning “fine,” and cues, “tree,” in reference to the 664 AMERICAN FORESTRY highly esteemed qualities of these trees. The specific name, which is the Latin name for black, was given to this tree on account of the very dark green leaves and the small dark brown colored acorns. The genus quercus belongs to the family of trees which produce inconspicuous flowers, the sterile being in slender green catkins and the fertile or fruiting ones solitary or clustered, appearing in the spring. The species nigra is of the class known as black or red oaks, which mature their fruit regularly every two years. This is con- trary to what takes place with the members of the white oak group, which mature their fruit annually. The twigs are slender, light or dull red during the first winter, becoming light brown the following year. The leaves are us- ually oblong-obovate, gradually narrowed and wedge-shaped at the base. The apex is generally rounded or entire or less often three-lobed; the lobes are seldom sharp or bristle pointed, which is a character of the leaves of black or red oaks. Water oak usually varies from 50 to 75 feet in height, and has a trunk from 2 to 4 feet through. The branches spread gradually from the stem and form a symmetrical round-topped head, especially good for a shade tree. Any- one familiar with the water oak will concede that it is one of the handsomest and most useful oaks of southeastern United States. Large specimens which are sometimes 100 feet high, develop a head of unusual regularity and beauty. In the moist soil near the border of a lake or along a stream, the favorite sit- uation of this tree, it is forced upward in search of light and then forms a more or less spire-like top. In open situations with a sufficient light and growing space, the branches spread out horizontally and form the broad head which make some individuals of this tree as handsome and symmetrical al- most as it is possible for an oak to become. South of central Georgia the leaves of this tree are persistent throughout the year. They remain lustrous green until they are gradually shed in the spring of the year after the new leaves have come out; in its most northern habitat, however, the leaves grad- ually fall off during the winter. COOPERATION IN FOREST PROTECTION By E. T. ALLEN. Eprror’s Note.—In this article Mr. Allen further develops the cooperative protective idea of which his association is the most striking example, an idea previously set forth by him for AMERICAN Forestry readers in June of this year. and individuals of protecting life and property in this country from forest fires runs into millions of dollars. In bad years like 1910, it amounts to many millions. This is the cost of the work itself, not including damage by destruction. Toa very great extent these expenditures are wasted and the destruction is increased by lack of cooperation; by duplicated effort and duplicated neglect in the field work itself, by inharmonious policies, and by failure to unite in propaganda and law-making forces strong and numerous enough to be irresistible if united and directed. An invaded country meeting the enemy’s army with many independent forces, fighting without knowledge of each other’s strength and policies and even without attempt at conference and communication, would be regarded with astonishment by the world. It is hard to conceive of a city in which ex- pensive fire-fighting equipment would be maintained at stations established without reference to each other’s location, with the firemen scattered and un- organized, and without means of cooperation in emergencies. To the modern mind even pastimes, such as base ball and foot ball, imply team work and constant study of ideas contributed by every member of the organization. These are but a few familiar illustrations of a principle recognized in almost every line of human endeavor—that intelligent cooperation is immensely more effective than independent inharmonious action by individuals or dis- connected units. No story is more familiar than that of the bundle of fagots which could not be broken until separated; no motto than “in unity there is strength.” In nothing more than in fire prevention is concerted harmonious effort essential to bring the best results. Nevertheless, with a few notable local ex- ceptions, our several agencies most keenly interested in the subject are still facing its problems pretty much independently. Chief among these agencies are the federal forest service, the progressive element among timber owners, state forest administrations, and factions of public-spirited laymen interested only in community good. In some states only one may be active, in others all may be, but seldom do they act in thorough concert. The stage of mutual distrust and deprecation seems about past, but communion is still mostly confined to occasional conferences where papers are read and resolutions are passed. There is little systematized working provision for enabling each agency to profit fully by the interest of the others. Leaders of field work experiment with organization systems, equipment and methods, sometimes at frightful cost, because no means exists for learn- ing and applying the experiences of others. Independent patrolmen and fight- ing forces duplicate or conflict in one locality while another goes unguarded. Police authority is exerted with varying interpretation of the law. The most important work of all—teaching all classes not to start fires—is prosecuted Qian in normal years, the cost to government, states, counties, towns 665 666 AMERICAN FORESTRY spasmodically and unsystematically at greater cost than would be required to do it intelligently. The writing of laws is often done by one element with an unfamiliarity with others’ problems that brings minimum efficiency if not actual conflict. Particularly is it done without the knowledge of fundamental principles in state forest administration which can be learned only by study of results in other states. Good bills fail of passage, or bad ones pass, be- cause of failure to work together effectively in making and directing public pressure upon legislatures. Underlying these difficulties of detail is the great task upon which complete success in any of them depends—establishing in American citizenship a universal and sound grasp of forest economies, includ- ing not only the relation of forest preservation to public welfare, but also those governing conditions of production and market, loss and profit, practi- cability of method, and division of private and public responsibility, igno- rance of which now creates suspicion and prejudice between forest owner and forest user. This task calls for closer and more constant relations between all elements concerned than now generally exist. That lack of mutual understanding and its inevitable attendants, divided effort and conflict, are the most powerful deterrents of progress and yet un- necessary has been clearly taught by the experience of the Western Forestry and Conservation Association. This organization, now well known to every- one acquainted with American forestry, was originally formed for the inter- change of ideas and experiences by the several cooperative patrol associations maintained by Idaho and Washington timber owners. Quick realization that quite as important as actual fire fighting is persistent honest education, both without and within the timber industry, led to the employment of a forester and the joint financing of educational work at once more economical and more consistent than could be carried on independently. Immediately, however, the function of the alliance as a clearing house for ideas and experience appealed to all others engaged in forest work, and it was enlarged to admit state and federal forest officials, conservation associa- tions, and new fire organizations of timber owners in adjoining states. This broadening not only placed it securely on a footing of unselfish reliable au- thority recognized by the public and already extremely effective in improving laws and sentiment, but also brought about a marked change in the relation of its constituent elements. The conservation enthusiast, the federal officer, the representative of state administration, the practical lumberman—each learned that the others were good citizens and could teach him about as much as he could them. Above all, they learned each others’ problems and that none could succeed without respecting all. They began to work together, with results gratifying beyond expectation, and this was accomplished not by changing human nature, but solely by providing a means by which they could get acquainted and work together. 3ut the Western Forestry and Conservation Association is an interstate institution extending from Montana to California and, while ready to help locally where wanted, is equally scrupulous not to force interference or con- flict with the individual policy of its constituents in any particular state. This has allowed a clear view of progress by states which teaches an illuminat- ing lesson—that progress is in exactly the measure that the states themselves have applied the principle of cooperation locally. Where timber owners have carried cooperative patrol to the fullest degree and abandoned independent duplicating systems, better protection is had for less money, and public and lumberman alike are more careful in the use of fire. Where there are the fullest and most constantly employed facilities for actual cooperation in work and finances by private owner, government and state, there is the greatest TIMBERLAND PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION 667 efficiency at least expense and particularly is there the greatest advance in law-making, law-enforcing, and public sentiment generally. It is an up-hill task at best to prevent the appalling mistreatment of American forests. Friction among those who are trying to prevent it is ex- pensive folly and it comes from misunderstanding. Misunderstanding comes from lack of acquaintance. The real desire of public, lumberman, state and government is the same. The forest fire problem will be quickest solved where law and policy are for associating in organization and expenditure the gov- ernment, the state and the forest owner. TIMBERLAND PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATIONS By E. A. STERLING. ourselves by aimless guesses as to the property loss, take a few pictures of the blackened landscape, and wonder if it will be wet enough next year to prevent the destruction which our own feeble, human efforts seem pow- erless to stay. About this time of the year the autumn forest fire season will be on in the East; while in the West the summing up of the year’s achieve- ments and the stock taking of the damage done will be under way. Sweeping back the sea with a broom would be child’s play compared to controlling forest fires during a bad season with the pitifully inadequate fa- cilities which have been available. States with forest property assessed at a hundred million dollars have in their munificence appropriated as much as $10,000 a year for fire protection, and then wondered why their burning wealth cast a pall of smoke over the country for weeks. With an insurance rate of one-hundredth of a cent on the dollar, some of the worst-burned states have gotten just about their money’s worth. Some of the states are now more liberal, and with their awakening comes renewed hope; but the states are not alone responsible for the fire havoc which has been permitted to be wrought. To try to tell of the various reasons why our forest fire losses have aver- aged the value of a battleship a month for many years would make a long, sad story. Like many sad stories, however, it promises to have a happy ending, and in this we will find pleasure. This year, next year, and for many years, climatic conditions will largely determine whether the fire season has been a disastrous one. Each year, how- ever, with the progress now being made, the weather will become a less potent factor, and in the exact proportion in which the human agencies triumph over the natural can be reckoned our control of forest fires. Forest fire protection is now the chief end and aim of three active forces: the Forest Service, the states, and the fire protective associations of the tim- berland owners. Another less definite influence is that of public sentiment, which is slowly assuming an attitude of antagonism toward forest fires. Each of these agencies is becoming efficient in itself, and all are working together when co-operation furthers their mutual interests. The timberland owners were the last to organize, although their need was perhaps greatest. Now that they have found the way, remarkable prog- ress is being made, and it is this work that will be briefly outlined here. CT) ov the smoke of each forest fire season has blown away, we amuse 668 AMERICAN FORESTRY Three years ago the Western Forestry and Conservation Association was formed, and for the first time in the history of the lumber industry mutual interests were organized for the suppression of the common evil—forest fire. This association has grown until it embraces the five states of Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California, and is now prepared to do what the states have failed to provide for: the protection of private timberlands and the capital invested in the lumber industry. As an association it has no individual members, but is an alliance of local organizations in the five western states. At present eight active fire associations, with about four hundred timberland owners, are included in the parent organization. Originally, there were fifteen local associations rep- resented, but five in Oregon have turned their work over to the Oregon Forest Fire Association, and of the ten remaining, two are the Washington and Ore- gon Associations, which have a large membership but do no field work. The Western Forestry and Conservation Association is the clearing house, as it were, of the affiliated associations, and as such does not spend money for direct protection. The field work is handled by the constituent or- ganizations, and while the general plan is the same, the details vary in ac- cordance with the local conditions.