1034 JOURNAL Olf FORESTRY 



graph headings. The division headings clearly state the contents : 

 Under Systems of Administration, the States working under each of 

 the six systems, referring to the character of supervision, are enumer- 

 ated ; under State Forests, the existence of such is stated and manner 

 of acquisition in each State; under State Assistance to Individuals and 

 Corporations, four different methods are in vogue ; under Restrictions 

 Directed to the Prevention of Forest Fires, seven ways are employed 

 in different States ; on Disposal of Logging Debris, five States have 

 legislated directly, and in four States slash may be adjudged a public 

 nuisance; legislation regarding safe operation of railroads, various 

 systems of fire control, liability for fire damage and penalties, each has 

 the States in which legislation is enacted enumerated. In the other 

 chapters, of course, the historical detail by States is given. 



A classified table of contents and a very full index make the book 

 handy for the student of any one phase or State. For the historian it 

 is an invaluable reference book. For this purpose, however, we would 

 have liked to see a fuller list of references to the precise laws. 



B. E. F. 



Mechanical Properties of Woods Gromn in the United States. By 

 J. A. Newlin and Thomas R. C. Wilson. Bulletin 556, U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 1917. Pp. 47. 



This bulletin contains a valuable summary of mechanical tests on 126 

 species of native woods tested in a green and air-dry condition in the 

 form of small, clear pieces. According to the authors, it is planned to 

 continue the series until all species which are important, or which give 

 promise of becoming important, have been included. Though the re- 

 sults of tests on a number of at present non-commercial species are 

 given, all commercial species, as, for instance, Osage orange (Toxylon 

 pomiferum), are not represented. The publication of these data, as the 

 authors state, is largely for the benefit of industries that are anxious to 

 find new species to supply waning supplies of present material, though 

 in the case of the data on hardwoods this object will possibly be more 

 or less defeated, due to the lack of comparable data on foreign woods 

 now used by many industries. The especial value of this publication 

 lies in the fact that unlike similar previous reports of the Forest Serv- 

 ice, which the authors indicate have contained insufficient data for prac- 

 tical use, the average moisture content of the various specimens tested 

 is given in each case. As a rule, the test specimens were taken from 

 the top 4 feet of a 16- foot butt log. The number of test specimens from 



