NORTH CAROLINA'S FOREST FIRES 



625 



or red maples and the infestation looks like pop-corn on the slender 

 twigs, it is the cottony maple scale and in this case clip off the 

 affected twigs. 



Q. I noticed quite a number of holes around the trunk of 

 my walnut tree, but I am not sure as to whether these holes 

 were made by borers or woodpeckers. It has been suggested that 

 we bore one-inch holes about three inches deep every eight or ten 

 inches circling the trunk of this walnut tree and filling these 

 holes up with sulphur , the idea being that the sap as it goes up 

 would become somewhat contaminated with the sulphur, which is 

 slightly soluble, and this in turn drives off the borers — they evi- 

 dently not liking the sulphur flavor. We understand this works 

 very well indeed with oak trees, and I was just wondering if it 

 would not be wise to try this on the walnut tree. 



J. L. H., Atlanta, Georgia. 



A. With further reference to your walnut trees and the 

 suggested method of treatment, I must tell you that I have no 

 faith in the sulphur method, as suggested. It has been tried by 

 our specialist years ago in several species of trees and it never 

 worked. Moreover, considering the growth and requirements of 

 trees, it does not seem reasonable that it should work. Wood- 

 peckers generally do not bore as deeply as insects, and very fre- 

 quently they form a ring of holes around the tree, while the 

 burrows of insects are usually scattered all over the bark. 



Q. I have several nice pear trees on my place in Thompson, 

 Windham County, Connecticut. Up to about six weeks ago, they 



looked to be thriving nicely, were full of good fruit and the leaves 

 were green and healthy, then they commenced to turn black and 

 fall off. Now in some places the trees are bare of leaves and the 

 fruit has stopped growing, and will be of little use. What is the 

 cause and is there a remedy? E. W. S., New York City. 



A. I am sorry to learn of the condition of your pear trees. 

 Your description answers a disease known as " fire blight, " which 

 has lately done considerable damage to pear trees all over New 

 York State and also Connecticut. It has been known for many 

 years, and cutting oft' and burning the infested parts is the only 

 practical remedy I know of, and I sincerely hope that this will 

 prove effective in your case. 



Q. What shall I do to improve a linden tree that does not 

 seem to grow? A. E., New York City. 



A. Fertilize it with well-rotted manure. Dig the manure in 

 and around the roots near their ends and not near the trunk of 

 the tree. Mi.x the manure with the soil. 



Q. When shall I prune my privet hedge? 



J. B., Brooklyn, New York. 



A. Almost any time. This is as good a month as any. 



Q. Which of the oaks do you prefer for city street planting? 



F. McK., Philadelphia. 



A. The red oak for the heart of the city and the pin oak for 

 suburban districts. 



NORTH CAROLINA'S FOREST FIRES 



LAST spring was the most disastrous to the forests 

 of North Carohna from fire of any so far re- 

 ' corded. From an incomplete canvass made by the 

 State Forester, reports were received of the burning over 

 of more than three-quarters of a milhon acres of forest 

 land and a loss of over $4,000,000 in property from forest 

 fires. Eight counties in eastern, and one in western North 

 Carolina, reported damages exceeding $100,000 each, 

 while sixteen others lost more than $20,000 each ; two 

 counties reported damages of a million dollars or more. 

 It is noteworthy that less than half a million dollars' dam- 

 age was reported from the western half of the State, 

 while more than three and a half million dollars was re- 

 ported from the eastern counties. This is especially inter- 

 esting in view of the fact that the fire protective ineasures 

 that were taken were confined to the western counties, 

 as the money came from the Federal Government under 

 a provision of the Weeks Law which allows the spending 

 of a limited amount for the protection of the headwaters 

 of streams, provided cooperation can be secured from the 

 State and the landowners. 



The new State law in regard to forest fires is one of 

 the best now operative in any of the Southern States. 

 Unfortunately, the appropriation for enforcing it was not 

 granted, so that the Federal Government has to be de- 

 pended upon for what little protection it is possible to 

 undertake. It is confidently expected that the next 

 Legislature will make an adequate appropriation for this 

 important work. This will not take the place of what 

 the Federal Government is now doing, but, on the other 

 hand, will enable the State to ask and obtain a very much 

 larger Federal apportionment than it is now possible for 

 it to receive. 



NEW WAYS OF MAKING PAPER 



THAT satisfactory wood pulp can be made from a 

 number of heretofore little known woods is evi- 

 denced by a recent Government publication, which 

 contains seventy samples of paper manufactured by dif- 

 ferent processes, chiefly from woods heretofore practically 

 unused for this purpose. 



It is pointed out that the spruce forests of the country 

 are threatened with exhaustion and that the cost of 

 spruce pulpwood has steadily increased. If the price of 

 newsprint paper is to be kept at a reasonable figure, say 

 the experts, more efficient methods of converting spruce 

 into pulp must be developed or cheaper woods sub- 

 stituted for it. 



The bulletin goes on to say that the method of manu- 

 facturing groundwood pulp has changed very little since 

 its introduction into this country in 1867. It was with the 

 idea of developing new methods and improving the old that 

 tests were undertaken at the Forest Service laboratories 

 at Wausau and Madison, Wisconsin. As a result, the 

 relation of the different steps in the manufacturing process 

 to each other has been definitely established and the merits 

 of each treatment determined. The paper made from new 

 woods was given a practical tryout by two large news- 

 papers with satisfactory results. 



The tests showed that eleven new woods give promise 

 of being suitable for the production of newsprint paper, 

 while a number of others will produce manila paper and 

 boxboards. Most of these woods are confined to the West, 

 while the groundwood industry now obtains the bulk of 

 its raw material from the East. It is thought that pulp- 

 making plants must eventually move to points where they 

 can obtain a plentiful supply of wood and an abundance of 

 cheap water-power, two prime requisites in the business. 



