38o 



CONSERVATION 



Vi'hilc these figures show an increase of 

 2,408,200 gallons of turpentine and 288,962 

 barrels of rosin for 1908 over 1907, there 

 was a marked decrease in the value of the 

 product for 1908 as compared with the pre- 

 ceding year. This was due to the great de- 

 crease in the prevailing prices for turpentine 

 for igo8 and the slight decrease in the pre- 

 vailing prices for rosin during the same year. 

 The value of the product for the two years 

 follows : 



Turpentine, 1908, $14,112,377.32; 1907, 

 $18,283,309.93; rosin, 1908. $17,783,509.61; 

 1907, $17,317,059.93; a difference in the value 

 of the combined output of $3,704,482.93 in 

 favor of 1907. 



The increase in production for 1908 over 

 1907 was due r.icre to favorable weather and 

 labor conditions than to increased operations. 

 But few operators increased their operations, 

 owing to the disorganized condition of the 

 market at the time operations commenced. 

 Figures upon which the report of produc- 

 tion for the two years is based were secured 

 by a system of correspondence and personal 

 visits to the points of production by agents 

 of the Forest Service. 



5^ it' i^ 



To Create Municipal Forests 



A forward step of vast significance in the 

 utilization of forest lands adjacent to cities 

 in Pennsylvania has been taken by the passage 

 of a bill entitled ''An act to permit the acqui- 

 sition of forest or other suitable lands by 

 municipalities for the purpose of establishing 

 municipal forests and providing for the ad- 

 ministration, maintenance, protection and de- 

 velopment of such forests." 



The bill, as presented, is at the suggestion 

 of the American Civic Association, which has 

 made the subject of the preservation of for- 

 ests one of its great activities. Legislation of 

 the character contemplated by the Pennsyl- 

 vania bill is new to the United States, but not 

 new to European countries, Germany in par- 

 ticular. Municipal forests in that countrv 

 have been acquired and developed during a 

 period of many years. They have been more 

 than an addition to park systems — they have 

 been a source of revenue to the municipali- 

 ties maintaining them. The same results 

 would be accomplished by the application of 

 the municipal forest idea in America. The 

 extent to which Germany has recognized the 

 value of its forests is illustrated by the fact 

 that in the single province of Baden, of its 

 1,564 communities. 1.350 own their own for- 

 ests and in addition 287 corporations, such as 

 schools, churches, and hospitals, possess forest 

 land. From an aggregate of 1,342,944 acres 

 in the state these local corporations are al- 

 lowed to cut yearly 261,724,300 board-feet of 

 timber and wood., with a net value of about 

 $3,600,000. The city of Baden alone owns 

 10,576 acres, from which it has derived a net 



income of $66,079.68, or $6.25 per acre, all 

 of which goes to the general fund for the 

 maintenance of the municipality. 



The Pennsylvania law makes possible simi- 

 lar returns for its townships, boroughs, and 

 cities, the control of the forests thus ac- 

 quired to be directed by the commissioner 

 of forestry of the commonwealth. What 

 Germany can do the United States ought to 

 equal and exceed, notwithstanding the fact 

 that Berlin is proposing at the present time 

 to expend $10,000,000 in the acquirement of 

 forests. 



Of this law Dr. J. T. Rothrock, Consult- 

 ing Forester for Pennsylvania, says : "I re- 

 gard it as one of the most important forestry 

 measures that we have secured in this state. 

 It cannot fail of good results. We are in- 

 debted to the President of the American 

 Civic Association, more than to any other 

 one man, for its introduction and passage. 

 It involves no expenditure of state funds and 

 there is no reason why it should not lead to 

 like enactments in every other state, and 

 every reason why it should.'' 



)^ «? )^ 

 Saving Storm-'felied Trees from Borers 



Experts of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture have been studying the work of insects 

 in storm-felled pine in the South, especially 

 the work of the borer known to lumbermen 

 as the "sawyer." The results should be of 

 immediate interest to owners of timber felled 

 or damaged by recent storms in the Southern 

 States. 



It has been found that the sawyer begins 

 work in the bark of felled trees very 

 promptly, and that it reduces the value of 

 the timber about one-third within two 

 months, a reduction which represents many 

 millions of dollars annually. 



This loss may be largely prevented by 

 prompt action on the part of the timber 

 owners. As soon as possible after a de- 

 structive storm an estimate should be made 

 of the amount of felled timber that can be 

 converted into lumber before the sawyers 

 begin to enter the wood. Trees that cannot 

 be worked up with little delay can be pro- 

 tected in either of two ways: (i) The bark 

 may be removed from the trunks, or (2) the 

 logs may be cut without removing the bark 

 and placed in streams or ponds. The saw- 

 yers will do practically no damage to timber 

 from which the bark is removed within a 

 month after their attack begins. In case of 

 logs placed in water, they will continue their 

 work only in the parts which are not com- 

 pletely submerged. 



To timber felled in winter or early spring 

 the methods recommended should be applied 

 by May t for best results. Timber felled 

 during the summer should be worked up, or 

 have the bark removed, or be placed in water 

 within one month after the sawyers begin to 

 work in the bark. 



