Current Literature 29 



formulae date back to the early history of forest mensuration, 

 when mathematicians more than foresters gave direction to its 

 development. Instead of studying the conditions affecting the 

 volume and form of trees, the old teachers of forest mensuration 

 tried to find a geometrical body that would approach nearest the 

 form of a tree, and by figuring out the formulae for its volume, 

 be thus enabled to determine the contents of any tree. By ignor- 

 ing the only method of investigation justifiable in forest mensura- 

 tion as in all other natural sciences, the inductive method, they 

 failed to produce results of any practical value. 



Our literature on forest mensuration is exceedingly scanty, and 

 we must therefore, feel grateful to Dr. Schenck for his pamphlet, 

 even if it is nothing but notes hastily jotted down. There is a 

 virtue always in being first in the field to supply the demand for 

 information, and Dr. Schenck may justly answer his critics with 

 the words of Horace: "Feci quod potui, faciant meliora 

 potentes:" (I did what I could, let those who can do better). 



R. Z. 



Futttre Forest Trees. By A Harold Unwin. 1905, 108 pp. 

 Price 7/6 net. 



This English translation of a series of papers, which appeared 

 in an Austrian Forestry Magazine is of interest to American 

 foresters only by giving them the experience and estimate of 

 value of quite a number of American species, planted for trial 

 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Great Britain. A chapter 

 on the German timber imports of different species, at various 

 harbors for the 11 years from 1890 to 1900, is tolerably complete 

 only for Hamburg. The largest import at all the other harbors 

 but Hamburg is in Pitch Pine (Longleaf), of which 145,000 

 cu. m. were imported in 1900. At Hamburg the relative position 

 of species was as follows : Walnut with 40,000 cu. m. stands far 

 ahead of all others ; Yellow Popular next with 6700 cu. m. ; 

 Oak and Cottonwood each with between 4,000 and 5,000 cu. m.; 

 Satin Walnut (spec?) enters with over 1300, then Ash, Red 

 Cedar and Hickory with only hundreds of cu. m. and all others 

 only in nominal quantities. An importation of 3760 cu. m. of 

 Cedrela odorata is credited to the United States, which, of course 

 comes from South America, Mexico and West Indies, making 

 the total importation from those countries 18,000 cu. m. as 



