362 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



THE CACTUS SWAMP 



Swampy expanse of cactus, Curasao, Dutch 'West Indies. The region is naturally one of extreme aridity and this apparent phenomenon is explained by the 



fact that the photograph was taken after a heavy and rare tropical shower. 



The explanation, however, for this in this locality is 

 simple, though I venture to say that the same phenomenon 

 in other desert countries is extremely unlikely. Curafao, 

 an island in the tropics, is one of drought and scanty rain- 

 fall. These dry conditions account for the presence of the 

 cactus, but \vhat about the lakes? The pictures were 

 taken during the wet season. Recently , while walking 

 along the north coast of the island from Jofje Aban to 

 Santa Maria, I was caught in a heavy tropical shower. 

 The soil there was very thin and barely covered the coral- 

 limestone rock. The thin covering of soil is just sufficient 



for the growth of the cactus, and the coral-limestone rock 

 being practically impervious to water held the precipita- 

 tion for qviite a while, forming in many places small streams 

 and in others large temporary lakes. For three hours after 

 the rain had ceased I had the unique experience of walking 

 through a forest of this giant tree-cactus which underfoot 

 had the appearance of a swamp. The next day all signs of 

 the lakes had disappeared and the desert was as before, 

 with nothing but the braying of an occasional burro or 

 the hawking and screaming of a few parrots to disturb 

 its silence. 



PINE BLISTER IN MICHIGAN 



CLOSE on the heels of the Department of Agriculture's 

 quarantine against the shipment of white pine seed- 

 lings from areas, where the white pine blister disease 

 is doing its destructive work, to other sections of the coun- 

 try, comes the discovery of the disease in a nursery near 

 Detroit, Michigan. Prior to this time the disease had been 

 widespread throughout the New England states, but has 

 rarely been foimd much further west. 



Federal agents employed by the Bureau of Plant Indus- 

 try of the Department of Agricultiu-e made the discovery, 

 learning at the same time that the nurseryman had known 

 of its presence for the past six years in a certain lot of im- 

 ported pine and that a dozen or more diseased specimens 

 had been destroyed during that period. Shipments have 

 been made regularly from this stock, but fortunately the 

 business is largely local, so that the disease has probably 

 not spread greatly through this channel. A complete 

 svirvey is being made in Michigan to discover and stamp 

 out the disease. 



SCHOOL FORESTS ESTABLISHED 



ARBOR DAY has been widely celebrated throughout 

 New York State this year by the establishment of 

 school forests. Among the villages which have taken 

 up reforestation work on reservoir sites, undeveloped park 

 lands and worn-out pastures are Fort Edward, w^here 

 15,000 red pines were planted on Apri 125th and 26th; Port 

 Jervis, where the forest started last year in the Elks' Park 

 was extended by the planting of 1,000 Norway spruces on 

 April 19th; Ballston Spa, where the school children put out 

 1,000 red pines; Randolph, where 2,000 evergreens of vari- 

 ous kinds were planted by the pupils of the high school on 

 park land; Newburgh, where, through the cooperation of 

 the public schools and the Chamber of Commerce, 2,000 

 Norway spruces were added to the forests started last 

 spring on the reservoir lands of the city , Wellsville, where 

 the new waterworks was dedicated on May II th by the 

 planting of 1,000 forest trees on the reser\'oir slope, and 

 EUenville, where 1,000 trees have been planted on land 

 owned by the village. 



