436 



AMERICAN FORi:STRY 



could not spot him, and his chest will bulge out con- 

 siderably. In either case the Ranger has pleased him. 

 and the chances are one hundred to one he will have 

 no trouble with that man starting a fire. On the other 

 hand, suppose the fisherman does not give him an open- 

 ing: in that case, the Ranger stops and says, "By the 

 waj', did you see anj- camp fires coming down the 

 river?" The fisherman says "No." Then the Ranger. 

 " I certainly would appreciate it if you would put out 

 any 3'ou see burning. We have some people who come 

 up here who are not used to the woods, and naturally 

 do not realize the importance of putting out their fires 

 or that a little spark from a cigarette or match is very 

 dangerous." The Ranger has now warned the fisher- 

 man by pretending to be worried about others, and 

 at the same time pleased him by pretending to think 

 the chances of his being so careless are so remote that 

 it is unnecessary to warn him. The same mode of 

 procedure applies to hunters and campers. The 

 Ranger can always bring the conversation around to his 

 work, and, by a little tact and politeness, go away rest- 

 ing assured of the fisherman's, hunter's, or camper's 

 cooperation. 



Suppose he has come onto some campers : he walks 

 in, not forgetting to be looking for .smoke, and after the 

 usual day's salutation sits down. After talking about 

 things in general, he gradually brings the conversation 

 around to cooking in the open. Most of them will have 

 some opinion as to the best way. Of course, he will be 

 supposed to give his ideas on the subject. He might say 

 something like this: "Personally, I think a stone fire- 

 place is the best. It makes a cracking place to cook on 

 (all the time he is showing them how to make one), 

 and if you bring along a piece of sheet iron to lay on the 

 stones you will have a regular stove, or should you forget 

 the sheet iron ( the chances are they have none with 

 them this time), you can easily make the fireplace narrow 

 enough to rest your frying pans on the stones, and then. 

 too, a fire of this kind is not so apt to start a forest fire." 

 Then he has the conversation started on forest fires, 

 having told them of the fireplaces, which is important. 

 He now has them in a good state of mind, and their 

 attention his, and he can tell them lots which ordi- 

 narily would go in one ear and out the other. I per- 

 sonally have tried these ways of inciting the interest 

 of the users of the National P'orcsts. and fotmd tlu-y never 

 failed to bring good results. 



JACK LONDON'S OAK 



JACK LONDON'S memory is kept fresh in the minds of 

 the people of his native city, Oakland, California, in 

 a fitting manner. A sturdy oak tree, personifying the 

 character of the famous author, has been planted on the 

 plaza before the city hall. Here, surrounded by a fine 

 lawn and with a beautiful building for a background, it 

 occupies alone the most conspicuous i:)lace in the city. 

 The dedicatory resolution of the City Council of Oakland 

 expresses in words the esteem for the author, which the 

 planting of the oak cxcmphfies. 



".4 resolution of the Oakland city council, calling 



memory of Oakland's author and dedicating the city's 

 standard-bearing oak to his name — Jack London. 



Proud his city that there came a lad who lived and 

 grew to world's renowTi by striking chords that until 

 his time had been unsvmg. 



Sad our city that Hfe for him, a narrow vale wherein 

 he spoke and gave a radiance for all mankind; and 

 that his life was short, a sacrifice for experiences that 

 remain aglow for vou and mc. 



HOW OAKL.WD'S O.^K W.\S TR.WSPORTED 



Having been excavated with the lar^e ball of earth about its roots, this seventeen- 

 year-old tree was carted from one section of Oakland to another and was success- 

 fully replanted. 



Glad that we can confer this mite of honor by dedicat- 

 ing Oakland's standard-bearing oak to him who grew with 

 this city, that this sturdy sentinel may stand in memory 

 and to honor Jack London." 

 The moving of this seventeen-year-old tree from its 

 birthplace in Mo.sswood Park to its new location was one 

 of those feats of engineering which were considered impos- 

 sible a few years ago. The transplanting of a tree is always 

 difficult because the root system must be protected from 

 drying-out and excessive cutting-back, if the tree is to live. 

 One drying gust of wind on the small living root hairs may 

 kill the tree. When a tree reaches a height of twenty-four 

 feet and is thirteen inches through at the base, the magni- 

 tude of the task is easily imagined. A circular trench six 

 feet deep and fifteen feet in diameter was dug around the 

 base of the tree and the ball of earth about the roots was 

 carefully boxed to prevent breaking and exposure of the 

 roots. A big truck transported the tree to its new home, 

 where it was successfully transplanted. The fact that the 

 young tree withstood one of the hea\'iest windstorms the 

 city has experienced in years, after being in its new home 

 only two months, shows how well-chosen it is to typify 

 the sturdy, rugged man, Jack London. 



