News and Notes 175 



Syracuse starts what appears at first sight as intended for a 

 periodical under the title "Empire Forester" (the frequency of 

 appearance is somewhat enigmatic, for it starts with "Volume I, 

 Number 1," but is to be "published annually"!), the material 

 consisting of actual experiences which the contributing students 

 obtained in the field. The "Georgia State Forest School Forest 

 Club Annual," in its first volume confines itself almost entirely 

 to extracts from speeches or from other sources elaborating the 

 arguments for conservation of ; resources in general and of 

 forests in particular. This compilation is undoubtedly useful in 

 furnishing technical foresters with the necessary material to 

 help propaganda along. 



The two publications are made up in elegant style, showing 

 that forestry students at least are thriving, but could be improved 

 in literary direction. 



It is said the paper shirts made in Japan are now being served 

 out to Russian soldiers for use in the cold and wet weather. A 

 number of these paper shirts were used by the Russians last win- 

 ter and they proved to be much warmer and cheaper than ordi- 

 nary shirts. The paper is made from the bark of the paper 

 mulberry tree. Shirts of this kind have been used by the Japanese 

 army and people for many years, their only drawback being that 

 they cannot be washed. 



The world's production of lead pencils probably amounts to 

 nearly 2 million a year, half of which are made from American 

 grown cedar. Owing to the growing scarcity of Red cedar and 

 to the fact that many other trees now little used appear to be 

 more or less valuable substitutes for that wood in pencil making, 

 the Forest Service has carried out a series of tests which show 

 that next to the two species heretofore used for the purpose the 

 best trees are in order of merit. Rocky Mountain Red cedar, 

 Redwood, Port Orford cedar, and Alligator juniper. 



According to newspaper reports an Austrian engineer in 

 Vienna, named von Dunikowski, recently applied for a patent 

 on a tire built of wood fiber and certain binders. It is said the 



