News and Notes 143 



The Biltmorean is a new entrant in the field of American 

 forestry periodicals. Its primary function is to keep alive the 

 Biltmore spirit and to serve as a news medium between the 

 graduates of the Biltmore Forest School. In addition, short 

 articles on subjects of interest are included. In the present num- 

 ber are articles on efficient management, forest fires and winter 

 timber cruising. The magazine is published quarterly by the 

 Society of Biltmore Alumni. 



One of the oddest associations of over 300 members is the 

 Verhand zur Kliirung der IViinschelrutenfrage, which tries to 

 find out the truth and philosophy of the use of the willow wand 

 for finding water. It has already published four reports, having 

 been founded in Hanover in 1911. In 1913, an international 

 Verein der W iinschelruteng'dnger was formed in Leipzig, which 

 publishes a magazine Die Wiinschelrute, and still another such 

 association as mentioned above was lately formed in Vienna for 

 Austria. 



The first of the cited reports records the willow wand per- 

 formances of von Uslar in southwest Africa, who located 800 

 spots as water-bearing. Of 206 borings, 171 were successful 

 (83 per cent.). The second report refers to trials in the potash 

 mine Riedel (Hanover), when four water searchers and six 

 observers worked not only with willow but steel and iron wands 

 on a given day at the 500 and 650 meter levels ; the object being 

 to test the influence of geological formations. All searchers 

 experienced "strong reactions" ; especially at the contact of anhy- 

 drid and rocksalt the wands marked the places. 



The Revue des Eaiix et Forets, which had stopped its publication 

 at the outbreak of the war, revived its issues by the first of 

 December. The copy of that date contains, however, no technical 

 matters, confining itself to personalities and mainly war news of 

 foresters who have joined the armies, who were killed or 

 wounded, advanced in grades, etc. We do not find many names 

 well known to the general forestry public. 



A brief page refers to the forests of Alsace-Lorraine, giving 

 the organization of State forests and enumeration of some private 

 forest owners. 



