NEWS AND NOTES 



317 



decade, six-tenths of a square foot ; in the 

 fourth decade, eight-tenths ; fifth, nine- 

 tenths : sixth, ninety-five-one-hundredths; 

 seventh, eighty-five-one-hundredths, and in 

 the last seven years, sixty-five-one-hun- 

 dredths. The rate of the growth of the tree 

 culminated, therefore, between the ages of 

 fifty and sixty years, while a superficial ex- 

 amination of the rings would lead one to 

 think that it reached its maximum growth by 

 the age of twenty. 



It must also be remembered that in addi- 

 tion to the growth there is a constantly in- 

 creasing quality increment. Not only do the 

 lower limbs drop off in the early life of a tree 

 grown in the forest, thus making the older 

 lumber clearer ; but boards two feet wide 

 are no longer common and are worth more 

 per thousand feet than boards a foot wide. 

 The growth of this particular tree is no 

 doubt largely due to the fact that it hap- 

 pened to have the best amount of light and 

 moisture during the first half-century of its 

 growth. It is probable that had the forest 

 been properly thinned at that time the same 

 growth might have been maintained during 

 the next quarter-century. 



J^ ^ 5^ 



Western Forest and Conservation Association 



Government and state forest officials, tim- 

 ber owners, and conservationists in Mon- 

 tana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Cali- 

 fornia perfected plans for uniting these 

 agencies in a cooperative scheme for sys- 

 tematic forest protection in the western states 

 at the semi-annual meeting of the Western 

 Forest and Conservation Association, which 

 closed its two days' session at headquarters 

 in Spokane the afternoon of April 5. 



Albert L. Flewelling, of Spokane, was re- 

 elected president, the other officers being as 

 follows: Vice-presidents, G. W. Millett, 

 Kalispell. Mont. ; F. J. Davis, Coeur d'Alene. 

 Idaho: E. J. Ames, Seattle, Wash.; A. C 

 Dixon, Eugene, Oreg. ; E. H. Cox, Madera, 

 Cal. : trustees, J. R. Toole, Missoula, Mont. ; 

 T. J. Humbird, Saudpoint, Idaho; G. S. 

 Long, Tacoma, Wash. ; F. C. Knapp, Port- 

 land, Oreg., and J. H. Queal, McCloud, Cal. ; 

 secretary, George M. Cornwall, Portland ; 

 treasurer, A. W. Laird, Potlatch, Idaho. 



Incorporated in the association are the 

 Oregon Conservation, North Idaho Forestry, 

 Washington Forest Fire, Washington Con- 

 servation, Potlatch Timber Protective, Clear- 

 water Timber Protective, Pend Oreille Tim- 

 ber Protective, Coeur d'Alene Timber Pro- 

 tective, Northern Montana Forestry, and Ore- 

 gon Forest Fire associations. 



President Flewelling, in his opening ad- 

 dress, emphasized the impracticability of so- 

 called uniform legislation between states, on 

 the subject of fire protection, saying in part: 



"I think you should not lay too much 

 stress on uniform legislation between states, 

 as vou all know that conditions differ so 



greatly in different localities that a law for 

 the disposal of brush and rubbish on cutover 

 lands which would be practical and desirable 

 in Montana would be impractical and unde- 

 sirable in Oregon, and vice versa. The same 

 is true of the planting and caring for the 

 new growth on cutover lands. Conditions 

 in Idaho are so dift'erent from those in 

 western Washington that what is desirable in 

 one place is undesirable in another." 



E. T. Allen, forester for the association, 

 outlined the work of permanent organization 

 which had been under way the last four 

 months. In dealing with the campaign of 

 education being conducted by the associa- 

 tion, he said, among other things : 



"With the approval of the trustees, I have 

 been working for some time on a handbook 

 on forest management which will deal with 

 the question from two sides. It is primarily 

 an attempt to answer most of the questions 

 occurring to the owner of timber land who 

 is interested in reforestation. The elementarj' 

 principles of forestry which are applicable 

 to our conditions from Montana to Cali- 

 fornia will , be discussed from a scientific 

 and practical standpoint. The rate of growth 

 and possibilities of a second crop of the sev- 

 eral species will be given from the best data 

 available from the government and elsewhere, 

 together with the methods necessary to se- 

 cure reproduction. We believe that this pub- 

 lication will not only fill a real want, but 

 receive considerable attention by govern- 

 ment officials, forestry schools, and such au- 

 thorities, as well as by the press, and thus 

 show what we are doing to promote true 

 forestry'." 



One of the principal inatters discussed was 

 the extension of cooperative patrol. It was 

 brought out in the discussions that nowhere 

 else in the United States are private timber 

 land owners as progressive in forest fire pre- 

 vention as on the Pacific coast. The forest fire 

 associations of Washington and Idaho spent 

 nearly $100,000 for patrol in 1909. Owners 

 in Oregon spent about $40,000 without for- 

 mally organizing, but this season it will do 

 much more through the Oregon Forest-fire 

 Association. Montana has also organized and 

 California is following. These systems are 

 being extended into districts left unprotected, 

 and arrangements will be made for close co- 

 operation between the association patrols and 

 those maintained by the states and govern- 

 ment. The movement that is being carried 

 on by the Western Forestry and Conserva- 

 tion Association for systematic protecticin on 

 all forest lands, regardless of ownership, is 

 unique in the history of the United States 

 and is being watched with much interest in 

 all parts of the country-. Plans were also 

 considered for uniting the government, states, 

 timber owners, and public conservation or- 

 ganizations in their educational propaganda 

 along forestry lines, so that conflicting or 

 impractical measures will not be advocated 

 and that any proposed legislation can re- 

 ceive public confidence. To this end it was 



