76 

 GREAT FOREST DISASTER. 



There is every reason to believe that the recent windfall dis- 

 aster on the Olympic Peninsula in the State of Washington was 

 the most extensive and destructive of any which has occurred 

 in the forests of America for several centuries. 



A tremendous tornado on January 29, 1921, blew down eight 

 billion board feet of timber. A wind velocity of 132 miles an 

 hour was recorded at the weather station near the mouth of the 

 Columbia River and the observer estimates that after the storm 

 destroyed his instruments the wind increased in strength to 150 

 miles an hour. 



The wind-thrown timber which lies in a tangled mass over 

 an area of 2,250 square miles constitutes the greatest fire trap 

 known in the history of the United States and consists largely 

 of western hemiock and spruce, both of which are subject to 

 rapid decay. Transportation is lacking for much of this region 

 and it is doubtful whether any considerable proportion of the 

 tim.ber can be salvaged. 



Where the full force of the wind was felt practically every 

 tree was thrown down and all roads, trails, and telephone lines 

 were completely obliterated. 



Winds that blow down some timber are commpn every few 

 years, but violent storms like this one on the Olympic Peninsula 

 with the attendant destruction of timber are in the nature of a 

 catastrophe like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions which for- 

 tunately occur only infrequently. 



INTRODUCING FIG WASPS. 



Restrictions on the extent to which wasps, which fertilize the 

 seed of Ficiis trees, should be introduced into this Territory were 

 recommended to the Board of Agriculture and Forestry in the 

 following letter: 



Honolulu, March 2, 1921. 

 Board of Commissioners of 

 Agriculture and Forestry, 

 Honolulu. 



Gentlemen : 



During my absence from the Territory the Board passed the 

 following resolution at a meeting held on September 9, 1920: 

 ^'Whereas, the forests of the Hawaiian Islands are being 

 depleted, due mainly to the ravages of stock, and it is nee- 



