240 North American Forests and Forestry 



dimensions of forests may have been done in vari- 

 ous public or private parks, numerous groves have 

 been planted in various parts of the country with a 

 direct view to their prospective money value, prin- 

 cipally of black walnut and other high-priced hard 

 woods. Again, where the owner of timber-lots of 

 more or less extent happened to have some slight 

 knowledge of its proper treatment, or had an op- 

 portunity to take the advice of some one who had 

 such information, he has managed his little forest 

 according to something like rational principles. 

 Although wood-lots so treated are few and far 

 between, as compared with the number of such 

 holdings in the country, yet their aggregate acreage, 

 if it could be ascertained, would show a respectable 

 figure. In Southern California, considerable tracts 

 have been planted with eucalyptus and other trees 

 imported from Australia. Still, all these forestal 

 operations were of small proportions. But silvi- 

 cultural forestry on a large scale was successfully 

 introduced, seven or eight years ago, on the famous 

 Biltmore estate in North Carolina belonging to 

 Mr. Geo. W. Vanderbilt. The work was begun 

 under the direction of Mr. Gifford Pinchot, and 

 since his retirement has been carried on by Dr. C. 

 A. Schenck, another forester of German training. 

 The operations in this forest were begun under 

 rather unfavorable circumstances. Most of the 

 valuable timber had been culled by lumbermen, and 

 the farmers who had been the former owners had 

 done untold mischief by fire, cattle, injudicious cut- 



