NOTES AND COMMENTS 1075 



The laboF situation in the IMissoula District has not very much im- 

 proved. Apparently it has improved in a certain sense — that is, that 

 the lumbermen and the lumber workers seem to be nearer to an under- 

 standing than formerly — but the results have not yet begun to show in 

 a larger output of logs. As an example of the curtailment of woods 

 operations, the Forest Service during the first two months of the fiscal 

 year 1917 — that is, July and August — cut 17 million, as compared with 

 35 million for the same period last year. The receipts of timber sales 

 were $33,000, as compared with $95,000 for the same period last year. 

 The Coeur d'Alene Forest, for example, cut this year 3 million during 

 this period, as compared with 10 million feet last year. A favorable 

 sign is the action which some of the lumbermen have already taken. 

 For example, the Montana Lumber Manufacturers' Association has 

 agreed to a certain standard of camp buildings and camp sanitation, 

 and they expect to enforce their standards by the employment of an 

 inspector, who will report directly to the Association. 



The State of Michigan now owns 540,000 acres of land. It is pro- 

 posed to plant at the rate of 4,500 acres by the Public Domain Com- 

 mission — I. e., for a 60-year rotation for one-half the acreage. One- 

 half of the remaining half is expected in 30 years to produce wood 

 materials to clear $15 per acre at the rate of 4,500 acres per annum to 

 be replanted. Sixty years hence the remaining 135,000 acres will be 

 treated. The initial restocking will then be completed by the year 2007. 



Acorns for stock- feeding are discussed in England, especially for 

 sheep and pigs, when two pounds per head per day is a satisfactory 

 allowance. For fattening cattle three or four pounds is allowed; less 

 for milch cows. Indiscriminate feeding of acorns, however, is dan- 

 gerous. Horse-chestnuts are also collected by organized service of 

 school children. 



The U. S. Weather Bureau has organized a new division of agricul- 

 tural methods, whose function it will be to correlate weather and 

 crop production. A similar undertaking has been inaugurated in the 

 Canadian Meteorological Bureau, with a former forester, Eric Mc- 

 Dougall, in charge. Silviculture will, no doubt, also benefit by these 

 investigations. 



The "tree-cross," an improved Biltmore stick, perfected by Prof. 

 E. T. Clark, of the University of Washington, is claimed to be more 



