ARBORICULTURE. 



343 



juoved, too individual, too numerous, and 

 ye. to h,!m the future must look for a large 

 per cent of its timber snpph'. 



The Farmers' Institute can reach him, 

 as no one else can, and in a mannei' to 

 cecure vast results. In a word, by liim it 

 can work miracles for forestry throughout 

 the countrv, if it will. Give it a chance. 



W. G. :\r. Stom:. 



Denver, Colo. 



A MAMMOTH SIGN. 



FIGHTING FLOODS WITH TREES. 



"Chicago has reason to regard its drainage 

 canal with its subsequent developments as a 

 stupenduous undertaking for a single mu- 

 nicipality, but in Pittsburg a project is un- 

 der consideration which, it must be admitted, 

 far surpasses our own little feat in making 

 the Chicago River run up hill. The Pitts- 

 burg plan is nothing less than to reforest 

 the mountain region around the city and 

 thus, greatly reduce the .innual flood v,?hieh 

 last March caused a damage estimated at 

 Sl50,00Q,000 in what is known as the "Pitts- 

 burg district" alone. 



It has been known for years that the grsat 

 spring freshets along the Ohio and other 

 rivers were due in large measure to the de- 

 struction of the forests. When the mountains 

 from which the Alleghany and Moncngah-^la 

 draw their waters were covered with trees 

 the winter snows melted gradually and the 

 streams though swollen, of course, seldom 

 did serious damage, for they rarely over- 

 flowed their banks. Then came man who 

 stripped the hills bare^ — and after man the 

 floods. And now the people of Pittsburg rea- 

 lize at last that to stop the floods they must, 

 at tremendous labor and appalling cost, undo 

 the work of the earlier residents and reclothe 

 the mountains with trees. 



The project is almost stunning in its im- 

 mensity. It is estimated that it will be nec- 

 essary to plant 2,000,000 trees and that fif- 

 teen years must elapse before they will be 

 thoroughly effective. The first step, of coui-se, 

 will be to secure the necessary legislation 

 for a district equal in size to half the state 

 of Kentucky. Great as is this undertaking, 

 enormotis as the cost is sure to be, it would 

 appear a wise investment. With each year's 

 addition to the population of the region, with 

 each year's increase in railway traffic through 

 Pittsburg the loss caused by the annual 

 spring flood grows greater. The actual dam- 

 age done is enormous, the loss of life con- 

 siderable and the loss incurred by interrup- 

 tion of business immense. Thus man once 

 more is paying a high tuition for a lesson 

 learned in the school of experience." — The 

 Chicago Evening Post. 



The mammoth electric sign just 

 erected by the Oliver Chilled Plow 

 Works at South Bend, Indiana, is one 

 of the modern wonders of the world, 

 being the largest of its kind, and is 

 attracting widespread attention. While 

 it is impossible to do full justice to 

 this triumph of the electric art, the 

 illustration at the head of this article 

 is a very good effort in that direction. 



This sign is placed at the top of the 

 plow company's new five-story ware- 

 house and is visible far out into the 

 surrounding country. It extends the 

 entire length of the building, a dis 

 tance of 250 feet. The trademark por- 

 tion of the sign is a very prominent 

 feature, the highest point of the let 

 ters in same being at the center, 42 

 feet above the base line and the plow 

 shown, measuring 59 feet in length. 



The letters in the words "Oliver' 

 and "Works" are each 18 feet high by 

 14 feet wide. 



A total of 3,200 lamps is required to 

 properly illuminate this majestic sign 

 and the light sent out casts its protec 

 tive rays over the entire quarter of the 

 city in the neighborhood of the Oliver 

 plant. 



Such a light would ordinarily be con- 

 sidered very expensive and a luxury, 

 but in this case the cost is minimized 

 by reason of the electricity used being 

 generated at the power plant owned 

 and operated by the Olivers, located 

 something more than a mile distant on 

 the banks of the St. Joseph River and 

 designed primarily to furnish powei 

 for their great factory. 



An illumination of this extensive 

 character naturally consumes power, 

 and 165 of the 320 horsepower gener- 

 ated by a single one of the 12 turTDine 

 wheels at their electric power station 

 is required to keep this "Electric Mar- 

 vel'' brightly burning, making its light 

 visible through the darkness for many 

 miles, and so plain that the name 

 "Oliver Works" and the immense trade- 

 mark can be clearly distinguished and 

 read for a distance of several miles. 



Located as this sign is — very near to 

 the main lines of the Lake Shore & 

 Michigan Soutnern and Grand Trunk 

 Railways — travelers will have a fine 

 opportunity to see for themselves this 

 "Pillar of fire by night," which is at 

 once a triumph of invention and 

 science and a tribute to the enterprise 

 of its projectors and owners. 



