478 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Several counties in Eastern Ontario are 

 now undertaking the reforestation schemes. 

 These waste lands were being rapidly ac- 

 quired by private parties for personal profit, 

 but of late councils have awakened to the 

 fact that these lands might just as well be 

 reforested under municipal supervision and 

 the profits to accrue be retained for the bene- 

 fit of the whole people. 



It is evident that at some far distant period 

 the land at this place was covered with a 

 dense forest, and that there was either a 

 subsidence or that the water undermined the 

 cliffs, and that there was a huge landslide, 

 which led to a large crack being engulfed in 

 the sea. This was again covered with a layer 

 of sand only to be laid bare once more. 



Turning Wornout Land Into a Forest 



How an Ohio farmer is solving the prob- 

 lem of what to do with wornout land is told 

 about in the June Outing by B. Sando. The 

 farmer, he explains, owns an old homestead 

 of sixty acres which he is desirous of keep- 

 ing in the family. He does not live on the 

 place, however, for the reason that farming 

 on it has of late years been a decidedly losmg 

 proposition. He has, therefore, decided to 

 plant the entire tract in trees. Already 35,- 

 000 Norway spruce have been set out, three 

 and one-half feet apart each way on an area 

 of about eleven acres. 



These trees will be cut, as they become 

 large enough, for Christmas trees. Chest- 

 nut seedlings will be planted in the spaces 

 left by the removal of the spruce, and it is 

 expected that these will come into bearing by 

 the time the last spruce is cut. 



In addition to the spruce, hardy catalpa, 

 black locust, elm, box elder and sycamore 

 have been planted. It is planned to put the 

 entire sixty acres in forest within five or six 

 years. 



The owner is wise in planting several 

 kinds of trees instead of confining himself 

 to one species. His forest will be producing 

 six or seven kinds of lumber, chestnuts and 

 Christmas trees, all at the same time. 



Tool Caches In The Forests 



Acqording to Forest Supervisor E. N. 

 Kavanagh, fire protection plans for the Big 

 Horn forest this year include the location of 

 a large number of tool caches in diflferent 

 parts of the forest for use in suppressing 

 fires. Provision for camp equipment and 

 food supplies for the fire fighters has also 

 been made and from all indications the fire 

 fighting organization will this season be in 

 better shape than ever before to handle pos- 

 sible fires. 



"We are making a strenuous effort to get 

 our fire fighting organization in better 

 shape," said Supervisor Kavanagh, "and plan 

 to handle the fire situation on the forest in a 

 manner similar to that followed by city fire 

 departments, with the exception that we must 

 naturally depend to a large extent upon the 

 settlers of the surrounding country for as- 

 sistance in case of serious fires. Lines of 

 communication for obtaining information re- 

 garding fires and diffusing the information 

 thus acquired to all interested in their sup- 

 pression have already been established, so 

 that it will be virtually im-ossible for any 

 fire to gain more than a few hours' start 

 on us. 



"The first necessity in fightin? a fire is 

 getting assistance to combat it, and the sec- 

 ond, to furnish the fire fighters with neces- 

 sary tools. In case of a bad fire, provision 

 for food supplies and camp equipment must 

 also be made. 



Sunken Forest Uncovered 



A prehistoric forest has been brought to 

 light by the recent storm weather and heavy 

 seas at Freshwater West, on the south Pem- 

 brokeshire coast, England. The action of 

 the waves has resulted in the washing away 

 of great quantities of sand, and there is now 

 exposed to view a sunken forest of about a 

 quarter of an acre in extent. 



Where there was a stretch of unbroken 

 yellow sand there is now a mass of black 

 rocks and huge black gnarled trees, with 

 their roots embedded in the rocks and earth. 

 The trunks of these trees in many cases are 

 in splendid preservation. In some cases the 

 wood has simply changed color, while in 

 others it is of the nature of coal. Most of 

 the trunks are encrusted with standstone, 

 and it is probably due to this that thev are so 

 well preserved. 



The Largest Live Oak 



A woman in South Carolina boasts that 

 her State has the largest liv oak in the 

 world. She says : "On the lawn of Middle- 

 ton Place, near Charleston, there stands the 

 sovereign of South Carolina live oaks. The 

 age of this tree, as of many others near it, 

 is beyond the knowledge of man. The waist 

 of the trunk measure^ o6 feet 6 inches. Its 

 spread from tip to tip is i26 feet. This is, as 

 far as I can learn — and I have investigated 

 quite a bit — the largest oak tree in the world. 



"Another Middleton Place specimen is 

 probably the most beautiful in existence and 

 second in point of size, having a trunk 27 

 feet in circumference. Another notable live 

 oak is to be found on one of the terraces, 

 near the parterre. Its waist measurement is 

 only 23 feet 4 inches, but it has a spread 

 from ti- to tip of 170 feet. 



