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HARDWOOD RECORD 



February 25, 1917 



of the United States. The tree stands three miles inside the cor- 

 porate boundaries of "Washington, and within four miles of the 

 capitol building. The fight that raged that day north, south, east 

 and west of that tree is known in history as ' ' the battle of Bright- 

 wood." It was fought wholly inside the city of Washington. It 

 was a narrow escape for the city. The Confederates had made a 

 rapid dash from Virginia and appeared in the northern suburbs of 

 Washington almost before their presence north of the Potomac was 

 known, and before troops from the lines near Eichmond could be 

 brought up for defense. 



The few soldiers in Washington were reinforced by police, citi- 

 zens, and anybody who could handle a gun, and the enemy was 

 checked at a line of trenches furnishing the inner defenses of the 

 city. Meanwhile Union gunboats opened fire with heavy guns 

 from the Potomac river, about five miles distant, firing over the 

 city and dropping shells in the Confederate lines. 



A large poplar tree which overtopped the surrounding timber 

 was used by General Early as a signal station, and throughout the 

 day his flags directed the battle from the top of the tree. During 

 that critical time. President Lincoln was standing within three- 

 quarters of a mile of the signal tree, watching the combat from 

 the parapet of a Union trench. The poplar tree, as might be sup- 

 posed, from the fact that Confederate flags were displayed from its 

 top, was the target for many a volley from the Union lines. Its 

 bole is said to have been little better than a lead mine by the time 

 the battle was over and the Confederates were in retreat. Be 

 that as it may, no bullet holes are visible on the dead trunk now. 

 Fifty years of growth, since the battle, buried all scars under new 

 wood. 



The tree escaped alive from battle only to die a tame death half 

 a century later. Its roots were laid bare in grading a street, and 

 the wounds proved fatal. During recent years several buildings 

 of the Walter Reed Army Hospital have been erected in the vicin- 

 ity, one of them showing in the picture only a few steps distaut. 

 The photograph was taken by a representative of Hardwood KEConD 

 last October, and a measurement of the trunk was made at the 

 same time. The bark is gone, and the diameter at four feet from 

 the ground is five and a half feet. The snag, which otherwise 

 would be unsightly, is made ornamental by a luxuriant growth of 

 Virginia creeper. 



Both sides overestimated the strength of their opponents in the 

 battle. Had the Confederates been as strong as their enemies 

 supposed them to be, they would have taken Washington; and they 

 would have taken it anyhow, had they known how few the defend-^ 

 ers were. The Confederates had only 15,000 men and were out for 

 a raid rather than with any serious purpose of taking the national 

 capital. How greatly General Early overestimated the army and 

 the defenses against which he fought is indicated by his report 

 to his superiors, wherein he expressed the opinion that Washing- 

 ton could not be captured. 



Beyond Human Control 



THE GOVEENMENT'S RECENT EEPOET ON FOREST FIEES 

 in the United States in 1915 brings out very forcibly the fact 

 that there is one cause of such fires which is now and forever shall 

 be beyond human control. No rules, regulations, laws, or en- 

 lightened sentiment can reach that cause or lessen the danger 

 from that source. That cause is lightning. It had long been known 

 that trees were sometimes set on fire by lightning, or by "thunder- 

 bolts" as the old settlers used to suppose; but not until records 

 began to be kept did any one suspect that lightning ranks very 

 high as an incendiary. 



During 1915 there were placed on record in this country 2,298 

 instances where forest fires were started by lightning. The large 

 number will surprise many people, and it will be equally a surprise 

 to learn what regions contributed most largely to the number. 

 A person risking a guess would probably say that it would be the 

 Appalachian states from New York to Georgia, for it is held by 

 pretty common consent that the most frequent and most terrific 

 thunderstorms in the United States are staged along those mountain 



ranges. Records show, however, that the aggregate number of forest 

 fires started by lightning that year was only 136 in the states of 

 New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, 

 North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. 



Some of the far western states make a more spectacular showing 

 in the fire records. That is likely to surprise some persons who have 

 been under the impression that the Pacific Coast states, particularly 

 Oregon and California, are immune from lightning. Information 

 sent broadcast from those states by chambers of commerce and real 

 estate agents have led to the belief by many that thunderstorms 

 are unknown there. 



Official records tell a different story. During the year under 

 investigation Montana had 315 forest fires due to lightning, Cali- 

 fornia 382, Oregon 38.9, and Idaho 728. Any one of those states had 

 more than twice as many such fires as in the whole ten Appalachian 

 states named. Idaho seems to occupy the center of the worst light- 

 ning area of the United States. 



It is well to bear in mind, however, that the record deals only 

 with fires actually started by lightning, not with the frequency 

 of lightning where fires did not happen to start. The lightning- 

 caused fire usually originates in a dry tree that is hit. The high 

 record of the far West in comparison with the East is probably due 

 to different climatic conditions. In the eastern part of the country 

 a thunderstorm is always — with the rarest exception — accompanied 

 by rain. Among the far western mountains it sometimes happens 

 that there is much lightning and little rain, sometimes scarcely 

 a drop. Under such conditions most dry trees when struck take fire 

 and continue to burn and the neighboring thickets and grass are 

 fired by falling sparks. If a tree is set on fire during an eastern 

 storm, the rain quickly extinguishes it, and the circumstance never 

 gets into the records. There can be little doubt that more trees are 

 struck by lightning in the East than in the West, but more are set 

 on fire in the West. 



Such fires cannot be prevented. The best guard against the 

 damage which they are liable to cause, is a trained force of fighters, 

 quick to discover and prompt to extinguish such fires as are started 

 by lightning. 



Movements Toward Forestry 



FORESTRY SENTIMENT IS GROWING AMONG THE PEOPLE 

 and is manifesting itself in state legislatures. Measures are 

 being taken to provide lumber for the future, and it is recognized 

 that timber must grow where none is now growing, and that time 

 is necessary. Forests cannot be produced over night, like a well- 

 known politician proposed to produce an army of a million men in 

 a single day. 



Minnesota is moving to reserve for timber growing all state lands 

 which are better fitted for forests than farms. But Michigan is 

 taking the longest look ahead in the matter of forestry. A hundred- 

 year program has been prepared but has not yet been sanctioned 

 by the legislature, which must pass the necessary laws to put it into 

 effect. The plan includes tree planting on a large scale for the 

 purpose of furnishing lumber to the future inhabitants of Michi- 

 gan. The scheme calls for the planting of 4,500 acres of trees each 

 year for sixty years. At the end of that period there will be 270,000 

 acres of growing timber. The appropriations to carry on this work 

 should amount to $155,000 yearly for the first thirty years, and 

 $217,000 a year during the succeeding thirty years, and a slightly 

 increased yearly appropriation during a further short period. 



The expense, when calculated at compound interest, will aggregate 

 a large total as the century mark is passed; but it is calculated that 

 at the end of 117 years the forests will have paid all expenses and 

 will be ready to begin paying profit. 



It is presumed that white pine will be depended upon as the chief 

 asset in this work. Details have all been worked out on a scientific 

 basis, and no doubt of the practicability of the plan is entertained 

 from the forester's viewpoint. The only doubt is whether the people 

 will be willing to put up money every year for more than a century 

 before anything appears in the profit column of the ledger. 



