880 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



inspector-general <>f forests of the Government of India showing the extension and 

 organization of forest areas, management of State forests, and financial returns, with 

 appendixes showing the amount of reserve and leased forests, total forest area, work- 

 ing plans, etc. 



Annual report of the state forest administration in South Australia, 

 1903-4, \V. (in.i. (South Australia Woods and Forest Dept., Rpt. State Forest Admin., 

 1903-4, PP- 1?, I'lx- •')• — A progress report is given of the forest investigations on the 

 reserve and protected areas of South Australia, which amounted in 1904 to L82,074 

 acres. 



During the year reported upon, l.">,7t>4 acres were inclosed for planting and natural 

 reforestation, and of the 95,000 trees originally planted 89,000 are reported as living. 

 Brief notes are given on the gratuitous distribution of trees through the department, 

 and a report on the cultivation of the date palm, which shows that in :! localities 

 about 3,000 trees are living which are the results of plantations begun in L894. 



Report of the forestry branch, New South Wales, 1903, E. Mai parlane 

 (New South Wales, Dept. Lands, Rpt. Forestry Branch, 1908, pp. 9, pis. 9). — The forest 

 area under the supervision of the department amounts to 7,271,100 acres, being an 

 increase of 307,404 acres during the year covered by the report. 



A synopsis is given of the work of the field staff and progress made in the estab- 

 lishment of forest nurseries, thinning, planting, etc., and figures presented showing 

 the revenue derived and the imports and exports of timber. Notes are given on the 

 enforcement of the regulations regarding the eradication of the prickly pear. 



The black ash, J. T. Rothrock (Forest Leaves, 9 (1904), A'"- l ', pp. is l, 185, 

 pin. ,/). — An account is given of the black ash (Fraxinus sambucifolia), its forest 

 characteristics, and the nature and value of its timber. 



The basket willow (Forestry and Trrig., l<> (1904), No. !<>, pp. 455-460, figs. 7). — 

 Investigations carried on by the Bureau of Forestry on the growth and manufacture 

 of basket willow are described, the information being largely drawn from Bureau of 

 Forestry Bulletin 46 (E. S. R., 1(5, p. 161), 



The formation of lodgepole pine forests, M. L. Erickson ( Forestry and Trrig., 

 10 (1904), No. 11, pp. 503-511, figs. 5). — The lodgepole pine in typical regions occurs 

 as a pure forest of even stand, the trees being nearly all of the same age. Such for- 

 ests are comparatively young as a rule, the older lodgepole forest not always being a 

 pure forest. This is due to the dying out of the trees that are overtopped, and the 

 space left is taken up by Engelmann spruce, Alpine fir, and other species. The 

 lodgepole pine is intolerant of shade, especially when young, and very few seedlings 

 are found growing in the dense virgin forest. The fact that it does not come up 

 under dense shade determines very largely the composition of the forest. 



The reproduction of the lodgepole pine is closely related with the effect of forest 

 tires. The cones do not open immediately after maturity, but the scales remain 

 closed from 2 to 10 years, or until they are made to open by heat. During tins time 

 the ripe seed is protected by the cone scales and seems to lose none of its vitality. 

 Unless the fire is a very severe one, young seedlings of the lodgepole pine spring up 

 abundantly on burned districts, soon covering the ground with a dense growth. 

 There is probably no better species of tree than the lodgepole pine to secure repro- 

 duction on burned-over areas. 



Studies were made of the rate of production on a number of tracts, and it was 

 found that there was an average of about 15,000 seedlings to the acre. In two sam- 

 ple acres by actual count the seedlings in one case were 17,9(>8, and in another 13,632. 

 Where partial shade occurred the number of seedlings on a number of acres exam- 

 ined ranged from 5,000 to 12,000. The well-known occurrence of the lodgepole pine 

 in what are termed "pole patches" is said to be a direct outcome of the reproduction 

 of the tree on burned-over areas. 



