FOREST NOTES 



601 



The Pennsylvania Lumbermen's Association 

 has appointed as members of the Committee on 

 Forestry, S. C. Creasy of Bloomsburg, Pa.; 

 M. P. Cooper, Christiana, Pa.; and Watson 

 Craft of Ambler, Pa. 



A bill now pending in the Maine Legislature 

 for the preservation, perpetuation and increase 

 of the forests in Maine embodies three 

 important provisions: 



First, that the public lands of the State 

 shall be under the superintendence of the State 

 land agent, and that he shall have authority 

 to sell seedlings from these lands at cost; 

 second, when deemed necessary for the preser- 

 vation and conservation of the forest interests 

 of Maine, the State may take private lands in 

 the same way that lands are taken for railroad 

 beds, making just compensation therefor; 

 third, owners of growing timber of certain 

 kinds may cause the timber on certain tracts 

 to be exempted from taxation by filing a plan 

 of the tract, with description, in the files of the 

 State kept for that purpose, no timber under 

 12 inches in diameter to be cut from these 

 exempted tracts at any time and taxation to 

 begin only when logging operations are under- 

 taken. 



A bill to legalize the acceptance by the 

 Board of Trustees of the New York State 

 School of Agriculture at Morrisville of a large 

 tract of forest land in the town of Georgetown, 

 which the present owner, Charles O. Newton 

 of Homer, wishes to give to the school for the 

 purpose of teaching the students in the school 

 better methods of management of farm wood- 

 lots, has been introduced into the New York 

 State Assembly by Hon. M. E. Tallett of 

 Madison County. The school plans to operate 

 this tract with the cooperation and help of the 

 Forestry Schools at Syracuse and Cornell and 

 through estabHshing fall and spring camps give 

 the boys practical training in farm forestry 

 so that they may know how to appreciate and 

 care for the possibilities of the timber on the 

 farm. 



Colonel Joseph Battell, of Middlebury, 

 Vermont, who was widely known among 

 tourists because he debarred automobiles from 

 his big forest preserves, founds a National 

 Forest in Vermont in his will, probated in 

 March. He presents Ellen Mountain, in the 

 towns of Lincoln and Warren, to the Govern- 

 ment, the only restrictions being that its 

 thousands of acres of primeval forest be kept 

 intact. 



Middlebury^ College is bequeathed, in addi- 

 tion to $K),000 in cash, 20,000 acres of uncut 

 woodlands and seven well-equipped farms. 

 These woods, too, must be kept in their primi- 

 tive beauty. 



The various towns in which these possessions 

 are situated are given funds to cover taxes 



for many years. Middlebury Village gets a 

 fine park preserve, too. A thousand dollars 

 a year is set aside to educate a poor Middlebury 

 student. A fund of $5,000 is founded for 

 road maintenance on the estates. 



The Department of Forest Utilization of 

 The New York State College of Forestry has 

 established a successful bureau of cooperation 

 in which the producer and consumer of forest 

 products in the State are being brought 

 together to mutual advantage. 



A new annual publication devoted entireh' 

 to the activities of forestry students has made 

 its appearance under the title of The Empire 

 Forester. It is the official organ of the 

 student body of The New York State College 

 of Forestry at Syracuse and treats of the 

 various activities and experiences of the 

 students in camp and college. Much space is 

 given to short articles by various members of 

 the upper class, which relate their personal 

 experiences in the field. Contributions of a 

 lighter vein in the form of jokes and pithy 

 sayings of the camp wag add the final touch. 



Mr. W. A. McDonald is in charge of The 

 New York State College of Forestry Exhibit 

 in the State Building at the Panama Exhibi- 

 tion. A unique feature has been added in 

 that Mr. McDonald is giving lectures daily, 

 explaining the work and activities of the college 

 with the help of moving pictures. 



Some of the forest lands in the southern 

 Appalachians recently acquired by the Govern- 

 ment have just been examined to determine 

 the extent to which they may be used for 

 livestock without impairing the value of the 

 watershed protection. The National Forests 

 of the western States produce enormous 

 quantities of forage and are strongly in demand 

 for pasture. 



Heavy rainfall and mild climate combine to 

 promote a heavy growth of vegetation in the 

 southern Appalachians, and the capacity of 

 the land is said to be considerably in excess of 

 that of lands in the West. Within the areas so 

 far examined the department of agriculture 

 says there is practically no indication of injury 

 from grazing, though some of the mountain 

 lands have suflfered from various forms of 

 injur>' and lack of proper methods of use and 

 protection. 



Approximately 97 per cent of the lands 

 acquired by the Government are now covered 

 by timber or undergrowth. The remainder 

 consists of land potentially valuable for forest 

 purposes but at present cleared of timber. 

 Of the non-timbered lands a part are "balds" 

 supporting heavy growths of excellent grasses, 

 while the remainder are lands on which cultiva- 

 tion has been attempted, but which will grow 

 up again to trees. 



