Lamb: Hybrid Trees 
artificial hybrid plant on record, in 1715, 
by fertilizing the stigma of a carnation 
with the pollen of a Sweet William. 
Since then, the process of artificial 
cross-pollination has transformed com- 
mercial horticulture and agriculture. 
There is good reason to believe that it 
will find an equally widespread applica- 
tion in forestry, and it is probable that 
Europe will undertake the work rather 
than the United States. The American 
continent still contains a large supply 
of virgin forest. Many years ago, 
however, the European forests passed 
the virgin stage and became the objects 
of thorough silvicultural management. 
They became an agricultural crop. 
Even in normal times the planted timber 
is recognized as entirely inadequate for 
the domestic requirements, but the 
present war has placed a responsibility 
upon the European forester greater than 
can possibly be appreciated. Timber 
reconnaissance, after the close of the 
war, will reveal an awful destruction of 
319 
forest growth... Never before in the 
history of the world has military 
activity been so destructive. The great 
battle wave, extending from Ostertd to 
Belfort, and from Riga to Persia, flows 
to and fro, while artillery of unprece- 
dented caliber, great jets of liquid fire, 
and clouds of deadly gases, reduce the 
forests to desolation. The strategic 
value of the forests, so often mentioned 
in official dispatches, but too plainlv 
indicates approaching necessity for in- 
tensive reforestation projects, a work 
which will be so imperative as to render 
studies on accelerated reforestation of 
the greatest economic importance. The 
investigator, therefore, who can produce 
trees which will exceed the natural 
species in vigor, will be rendering the 
most valuable public service. If he 
can accelerate the reforestation of the 
battlefields of Belgium and France, he 
will be rendering a priceless contribution 
to the national welfare. 
Wanted: A 
There is a possibility of an opening in 
teaching plant breeding in the Division 
of Agriculture at the lowa State College. 
The candidate should have had some 
practical experience along plant industry 
Plant Breeder 
lines, preferably in horticulture. Fur- 
ther information may be had by ad- 
dressing Professor S. A. Beach, head of 
the Department of Horticulture and 
Forestry, Ames, Iowa. 
Eugenics and Military Preparedness 
The relations of war to national 
eugenics have often been pointed out; 
the eugenic aspects of military pre- 
paredness are less often considered. 
Starting with the axiom that prepara- 
tion for war should bear in mind the 
necessity of safeguarding national eu- 
genics as far as possible, we arrive at . 
the following conclusions: 
1. A military establishment should 
be composed of men of as advanced an 
age as is compatible with military 
efficiency. 
2. It should not be made up of cel1- 
bates. Short enlistments might be val- 
uable in favoring marriage. 
3. Universal conscription would ap- 
pear to be better than voluntary ser- 
vice, since the latter is highly selective. 
4. Officer’s families should be given 
an additional allowance in pay for each 
child. This would aid in increasing 
the birth-rate, which appears to be very 
low among army and navy officers. 
5. Means should be worked out to 
establish men, at the end of enlistment 
or the end of hostilities, as rapidly as 
possible economically, so that they 
may not be forced by economic pressure 
to refrain from marriage or parenthood. 
6. ‘Preparedness,’ in the ordinary 
sense of the word, is highly desirable in 
order that the loss of men may be 
minimum, especially during early days 
of war when, if unready, a nation would 
probably lose heavily. 
These appear to be some of the con- 
siderations, which should be regarded in 
advance of war, if the necessity for 
defense is to be made as little of a 
handicap, eugenically, to a nation as 
possible. 
