NOTES AND QUERIES. 221 



fall, and June with 2 inches the least. Rain fell on 237 days 

 in the year. At Ford, only 150 feet above sea-level, the total 

 fall was nearly 71 inches; February with nearly 10 inches 

 having the greatest fall, and June with 2^r inches the least. 

 Rain fell on 245 days, in spite of the smaller total. 



The Timber Supply of the United States. 



The Department of Agriculture, Washington, has issued a 

 circular on this subject. It estimates that the original forests 

 of the country have been reduced by cutting, clearing, and 

 fire, from an acreage of 850,000,000 to 550,000,000, of 

 which 100,000,000 are public lands. A further reduction 

 by 100,000,000 acres of the present total, owing to the 

 necessity for more farm land, is considered probable, but 

 the opinion is expressed that 450,000,000 acres, if properly 

 developed and guarded, would produce sufficient wood for a 

 population much greater than the present. The total yearly 

 consumption, not counting losses from fire, storms, and insects, 

 is calculated at 20,000,000,000 cubic feet, two-fifths of which 

 are lumber, shingles, or firewood. Forests are being cut 

 three times as fast as they grow, and, while the absolute 

 exhaustion of the timber supply may never be reached, un- 

 restricted exploitation has already had serious results. The 

 yield of white pine, for instance, which was once considered 

 inexhaustible, has decreased by 45 per cent, since 1900, and by 

 70 per cent, since 1890. The consumption of wood per head in 

 the United States is 250 cubic feet, against 37 in Germany and 

 25 in France. 



Leaf-Shedding of Conifers, due to Botrytis cinerea. 



Leaflet No. 234, issued by the Board of Agriculture, describes 

 the disease caused by the above-named fungus, which has 

 been recorded as attacking the following trees : — Douglas fir, 

 silver fir, spruce, larch, and Wellingtonia. It has also been 

 observed on juniper and Scots pine. The leaflet, which may 

 be obtained free of charge and post free on application to the 

 Secretary, Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, 4 Whitehall 

 Place, London, S.W., comprises an illustration and a description 

 of the preventive measures recommended. 



