EDITORIAL 



383 



pine forests are now carpeted with these 

 little seedlings, and it is most innwr- 

 tant that they be protected from fire. 



It is highly gratifying to know that 

 the lumbermen of Texas are so wide- 

 awake and progressive that they realize 

 the advantage of forest conservation to 



such a degree that they are willing to 

 give carefully planned effort to achieve 

 it. Texas is one of the fifteen States 

 which still are behind the times as far 

 as the preservation and the protection 

 of her forests is concerned. 



NEED of protection against for- 

 est fires is impressively appar- 

 ent upon reading in the New 

 York City Globe of April 15 

 that on the day before there were three 

 forest fires in New York City. 



One fire licked up a 200 by 200 foot 

 patch of trees and underbrush on the 

 grounds of the House of Mercy at In- 

 wood-on-the-Hudson. Another swept 

 through 100 acres of woodland on the 



west side of Emerson Hill, Staten 

 Island. The third threatened the village 

 of Egl)ertville, Staten Island. 



If such fires can occur and do damage 

 in the largest city in the United States, 

 what may not be done by forest fires 

 in the depths of forests hundreds of 

 miles from any habitation? Who says 

 that there is not need of forest fire pre- 

 vention ? 



FITTING tribute was paid at 

 Harrisburg, Pa., on May 4 to 

 Dr. J. T. Rothrock, one of the 

 most enthusiastic and able pro- 

 moters of forestry in the United States, 

 the occasion being his retirement from 

 service in the Pennsylvania Forestry 

 Commission, of which he had been an 

 active member since its formation. His 

 numerous friends and admirers, wish- 

 ing to show their appreciation of his 

 many years' devotion to the cause of 

 forestry and the highly important re- 

 sults of his enthusiastic work, tendered 

 him a luncheon and presented him with 

 a testimonial cup. Dr. Rothrock in 188<) 

 became secretarv of the Pennsvlvania 



State Forestry Association, and from 

 that day to this has given energy and his 

 devotion to the cause of forestry. He 

 was the first State Forest Commissioner 

 for Pennsylvania, was for many years 

 a member of the State Forestry Res- 

 ervation Commission, and has also been 

 for many years a vice-president and a 

 most valued member of the American 

 Forestry Association. Dr. Rothrock is 

 esteemed not only in Pennsylvania but 

 throughout the United States as a teach- 

 er and a leader in the cause of forest 

 conservation, and not only those who 

 attended the dinner but thousands of 

 others sent to him expression of their 

 appreciation of his splendid work. 



FOR the next decade in this coun- 

 try lumbering and wood utiliza- 

 tion will be more important 

 phases of forestry than reforest- 

 ation or the reproduction of the forest. 

 The forester must know how to get 

 his products out of the forest and 

 to the market not only in the cheapest 

 way but in a way that will leave 

 the forest in the best condition for 

 the production of a future crop. After 



the logs are out of the w^oods the 

 forester must understand how to utilize 

 the lumber produced .so as to make 

 the largest profit. Statistics show that 

 today less than 50 per cent of the raw 

 products of our forests are actually 

 utilized, and the problem of more com- 

 plete utilization is being taken up not 

 only by the forester but by lumber- 

 men and wood users throughout the 

 country. 



