226 Forestry Quarterly. 



Through a series of issues of two journals 



Lumbering (not yet concluded) are recorded the observa- 



in tions on timber conditions and logging and 



Southern sawmill practice which several older and 



United States. younger German foresters have made during 



a journey mainly through the Southern 



States, in connection with the St. Louis Exposition. The articles are 



of interest and value, bringing together a large amount of field notes 



by men of experience. Especially those of Dr. Jentsch, professor in 



the forestry academy at INIiinden, are worthy of perusal by American 



foresters for the suggestions Avhich they incidentally contain. We 



may brief these when they are concluded. 



Forstliches aus Nordamerika. Zeitschrift fiir Forst- und Jagd- 

 wesen. June, July, August, 1906. 



Forstwissenschaftliche Reise in den Vereinigten Staaien von 

 Nordamerika. Allgemeine Forst- und Jagdzeitung. June, July, 

 August, 1906. 



UTILIZATION, MARKET, AND TECHNOLOGY. 



To find use for the enormous quantities of 



Use rotten wood which our forests produce 



of would be one of the greatest boons to for- 



Rotten Wood. estry. An interesting use, although of no 



practical value for us, is discussed by Pilli- 

 chody, namely for the polishing of the fine parts of watches. While 

 in general this polishing material has been sujaplanted by machinery 

 and benzine, the finest Swiss and French watches, especially in the 

 escape parts and small screws, are still polished by hand and rotten 

 wood. In Switzerland it is estimated there is still $4,000 worth of 

 rotten wood annually used for this purpose, and since suitable wood 

 has become scarce, the price for ordinary wood is from 18 to 60 

 cents per pound, and for the best quality as much as $1.00 per 

 pound, which is sold in pieces half as large as a fist. Not every kind 

 of rotten wood, however, is fit for such use; not only is the species 

 of wood, but the species of fungus is determinative in producing 

 the desired result, namely a j^ellowish-white silky wood, soft and 

 spongy, brittle and of featherAveight, in which tlie annual rings are 

 still recognizable. Such is produced in the stumps and roots of 

 beech, also of maple, ash, aspen, willow. The fungi probabh' active 

 in producing such wood are Poly poms comatus and Trametes odora. 



