THE PI.ANT WORLD 247 



Editorial. 



" In these bright October days," says the Springfield (Mass.) Re- 

 pubHca?i, "when the perfection of June is rivalled, and even surpassed, 

 the foot naturally goes afield, led by myriad drawings of the heart and 

 longings of the brain for the clear sun and swift color and sweet, clean 

 wind and far sight from the mountain crest and rich fragrance of ferns 

 and fallen maple leaves, with hazel, sweet fern and dewberries, and the 

 royal golden-rods everywhere." 



We wonder how many people there may be, even of those who are 

 * ' led by myriad drawings of the heart, ' ' that go afield for the pleasure 

 of being in closer touch with nature, and that train themselves to observe 

 the plant life. Every one recognizes the value of walking as an exercise, 

 but the majority of persons prefer some ulterior object for their rambles. 

 Plenty of people will tell you that they enjoy walking, and yet, as our 

 above-named contemporary observes, ' ' to get the greatest values from 

 walking one needs to lose the sense of walking altogether, and this can 

 not be well done unless one puts behind him the desire to cover space 

 and delete time, and surrenders his muscular pride and his record of 

 miles to the finer forgetfulness of both time and space in absolute absorp- 

 tion in the charm of the countryside." 



In our northeastern States, plant life wears one of its most attractive 

 phases in the fall. The gorgeous tints of the sumacs and maples, relieved 

 by the deep crimson of the oaks and the green that many trees adhere to, 

 form a picture whose charm must be impressed on even the unconscious 

 rambler. And how much more pleasurable would be the walk if one 

 were able to recognize the familiar wayside plants, at least as to their 

 family relationships. It is as if one were greeting old or new acquaint- 

 ances at a social function. And when to the knowledge of plant life one 

 brings an acquaintance with the birds and mammals and at least a mild 

 interest in insect life, one's cup of enjoyment in his autumn walk is full 

 to the brim. 



The rapid disappearance of the best American timbers has developed 

 a new method of economy, which is, in brief, that inferior timbers shall 

 be pressed into service and by proper seasoning and preserving be made 

 to take the place of those more valuable. In the first of a series of bul- 

 letins on problems in timber preservation just issued by the Bureau of 

 Forestry as Bulletin 41, "Seasoning of Timber," by Hermann von 

 Schrenk, the seasoning which precedes the preservation treatment is dealt 

 with. Dr. von Schrenk's bulletin contains detailed accounts of different 

 methods of seasoning, both open-air seasoning and by kiln drying ; the 

 results of seasoning tests in different parts of the country and with dif- 

 ferent timbers; tests with telephone poles, etc. 



