998 JOURNAI, OF. FORESTRY 



be the forerunner of a collection of folk songs of American foresters 

 and forest workers" should, however, meet with a forthcoming 

 response from all forestry sources. 



In spite of his ample duties and remarkable diligence the ranger is 

 still supposed to find time to ponder upon the wonders of nature. In 

 this composite most of the pondering has been assigned to Scott 

 Leavitt, whose "Night Call," "The Trail," and "Sun River Pass" add 

 materially to the quality of the collection. Several selections taken 

 from outside the forestry personnel also contribute in this respect, 

 among them a number by Arthur Chapman and W. P. Lawson. In 

 a short review it is impossible to refer by name to all who have 

 contributed good verses. Leopold, Ivey, Constance Mainwaring, Har- 

 ris, Will Barnes, Guthrie, and Plummer have given some of the best. 



On the other hand — with apologies to the compiler for disregarding 

 his plea as to "literary aspirations" — there is not much reason for 

 complacency in these selections. It must be admitted that forestry has 

 not yet developed a Douglas Malloch, let alone a Kipling or a Mase- 

 field. There are naturally many faults, and the worst seems to be a 

 self-consciousness that makes many of the pieces unattractive to the 

 discriminating reader. The writers of too many obviously regarded 

 themselves as spokesmen. They wrote not for their own satisfaction, 

 as did the cowboy making up a ballad, but for the edification of 

 others. This is a fault of many of the pieces; but a few welcome 

 exceptions— "Only a Little Tree Button," "A Ranger's Day," "A 

 Ranger's Joys," "The Government's Handy Man" — may be cited in 

 which this fault is not oppressive. The introduction of propaganda in 

 a book of this character also appears unfortunate, yet some decidedly 

 sober propagandist pieces have been drawn in, like coals from New- 

 castle. Possibly the gravity was needed, in the compiler's opinion, to 

 balance "Wireless Bill," "The Song of the Ohmlette," the "Bugland 

 Lullaby," and "The Mystery," none of which can be accused of exces- 

 sive sobriety. 



It is customary to speak of the ranger as the successor to the cow- 

 man. The cowman's ballads, like the deep-sea mariner's chanties, 

 grew out of their distinctive callings; should not the ranger, with an 

 equally distinctive calling, also produce a characteristic anthology? 

 Possibly it is too early in the life of the profession to expect such 

 songs, or possibly the space available was too limited; however this 

 may be, the collection appears singularly deficient in actual, singable 

 songs. Nine of the selections, it is true, are apparently adapted to 



