220 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



will accompany each set giving additional 

 information on the structure and properties 

 of the wood. 



Syracuse and vicinity is the center of the 

 Basket Willow industry of the United States. 

 Not only is a greater acreage devoted to the 

 production of oziers for this purpose here than 

 in any other section, but practically the entire 

 output is converted into the different lines of 

 wicker ware manufactured by local concerns. 



The New York State College of Forestry at 

 Syracuse University has its own experimental 

 holt where it is testing the different varieties 

 under different conditions of growth to deter- 

 mine best methods of culture. It also follows 

 the different species through the process of 

 manufacture to determine which is best adapted 

 for particular purposes. 



The New York State Conservation Commis- 

 sion has recently added to its list of State 

 Foresters Benson Howard Paul of Berry- 

 brook, N. Y., a graduate of Cornell University. 

 Mr. Paul has been enrolled as a professional 

 student in the Department of Forestry in the 

 New York State College of Agriculture at 

 Cornell. He received his degree of Bachelor 

 of Science in 1913 and for the past year has 



been doing graduate work in that department. 

 The notice that he had successfully passed his 

 Civil Service examination came to him the 

 day following his final examination in the 

 Department of Forestry that will give him his 

 degree of Master in Forestry. During the 

 past summer Mr. Paul has been making a 

 careful survey of typical forest plantations in 

 different parts of the State. His report on 

 this work, which constitutes his thesis for the 

 Master's Degree, is entitled "An Ecological 

 Study of Typical Forest Plantations in New 

 York State." 



The Madison, Wisconsin, State Journal of 

 February 21st publishes the following: — 

 Edward N. Griffith, State Forester, promised 

 his resignation from that office at the end of the 

 present session of the Legislature, before the 

 Legislative Committee investigating Commis- 

 sions and Boards yesterday afternoon. During 

 the session of the Committee the reforestation 

 program was attacked by several legislators, 

 among them B. N. Moran. The recent decision 

 of the Supreme Court, adverse to the work of 

 the Forestry Board together with difficulties 

 encountered in carrying out the work in the 

 Northern part of the State, is thought to have 

 determined Mr. Griffith to announce his 

 resignation. He has been with the State for 

 ten vears. 



FOREST NOTES 



The possibility of a dangerous spring and 

 summer fire season in the National Forests in 

 the West is presaged by reports that two 

 forest fires occurred in January and that the 

 snowfall in much of the Rocky Mountain 

 region and in the foothills has been much 

 below normal. January fires are almost 

 unheard of in the National Forests and the 

 snow reports are regarded as especially signifi- 

 cant as they indicate that unless the deficiency 

 is made up the forests will be dry earlier in the 

 Spring than usual, with a consequent increase 

 of the fire menace. The fires occurred in the 

 Pike Forest, in Colorado, and the Black Hills 

 Forest, in South Dakota, the latter believed 

 to have been of incendiary origin, according to 

 the District Forester at Denver. About 75 

 acres was burned over all told. They were the 

 only National Forest fires reported for January. 

 The District Forester at Ogden, Utah, in 

 charge of the National Forests in Nevada, 

 Utah, and Southern Idaho, reported that the 

 snow in this region also is far below normal. 



A study of the effects upon seeds and roots 

 of disinfectants used to prevent the damping 

 off disease has just been published by the U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture as a professional 

 paper under the title of "Injury by Disin- 

 fectants to Seeds and Roots in Sandy Soils." 

 Experiments show that the use of sulphuric, 

 hydrochloric, and nitric acids, or of copper 



sulphate, will not injure dormant pine seed, 

 but in some soils will kill the root tips of ger- 

 minating seedlings immediately after germina- 

 tion. In consequence these disinfectants can 

 only be employed by persons able to recognize 

 and prevent such injury. Injury to pine seed- 

 lings can be prevented by very frequent 

 watering during the germinating period. This 

 watering does not prevent the killing of annual 

 weeds in seed beds treated with these disinfect- 

 ants. The addition of lime to the soil shortly 

 after it has been treated with the acid prevents 

 injury to both pine and weed seedlings. The 

 use of lime is not desirable in the case of pine, 

 but may result in making possible the use of 

 acid as a disinfectant for truck crop seed beds. 

 Formaldehyde and mercuric chloride must 

 he used several days before seed sowing if at all. 



Those familiar with the eastern mistletoe 

 only have no idea of the great losses due to 

 this parasite in the forests of the west, where 

 it counts next to fire and insects in the amount 

 of damage done. 



In parts of the west where trees are scarce, 

 sage brush is used for fuel. In Nevada the 

 large main stems are trimmed by Indians at 

 $3 a cord and delivered to the user at about 

 $6.50. Sage brush bums rapidly and is rather 

 dirty, but produces good heat. 



