12 



I CII1 f, AN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



ONE WOMAN'S WORK 



FOR FORESTRY 



Interest in the preservation is the begin- 

 ning of interest in the greater and more in- 

 clusive subject of forest preservation. This 

 big, new country, with its vast extent of wood- 

 ed area, and its apparently inexhaustible sup- 

 ply of timber, has at last waked up to the 

 immediate necessity of guarding its forests 

 from the ruthless encroachments of 'organized 

 capital and the ignorance or indifference of 

 private individuals. The warning cry has 



world happier and more beautiful than she 

 found it." 



Field of Women's Clubs. 



The first field of work that naturally opened 

 to Miss Dock was that of women's clubs. 

 Week after week she traveled from city to 

 city in the state, from town to outlying vil- 

 lage, lecturing on forestry, on the care of 

 trees, on the flora of the state, illustrating 

 her points frequently by lantern slides, stirring 

 up wherever she went a genuine enthusiasm 

 for the cause. The forestry -question and just 

 what it involves is not generally understood 

 even now, although much less understood a 



ynvcu.^. v.... u .. - --- p..---' few years. ago. It was not until 1892-93 that 



gone out from careful students d the s - > ^slature of Pennsylvania appointed 



tion, a cry based on experience and ob.erva- Forestry Commission, with. Dr. Roth- 



tion, that unless prompt measures are taken tne . t inseparably linked with 



, 



this country, in the lifetime >pf a vast number 

 of people now living, will experience a tim- 

 ber famine of severe and long duration. Many- 

 states have heard this warning and ' havt 



saes . . 



heeded, chief among them being , the great > Ibe 

 Keystone State of Pennsylvama. a 



To all women, whether they are intended 

 in forestry or not, it is a matter of pride to 



rock, whose name is inseparably linked with 

 the movement, as its chief. It was part of 

 Miss Dock's work to enlighten the women 

 pf the state, as to actual needs and condi- 

 The stage was passed when only the 



was more to consider than the mere economit 

 feature that the preservation of forests would 



tc * j . fcvwvw* *-*** J- '**** -jr _ 



., . lltcr ol P rl<J f ' > | b r j n g about the continuance of the even flow 



Tvioow that chief among those who have done P-j our spr i ngs an d streams. There were laws 

 most for forestry in Pennsylvania is a woman, j vn j ch ha( j to b e understood, conditions that 

 Miss Mira L. Dock. A member of -the State liee( j e d to be grasped, before people could 

 Forestry Association, on it's cojincil, and active 



in its support, she has had the additional 

 honor of being appointed by the governor as 



be awakened to the seriousness of the situ- 

 ation. The chief aims of the forestry experts 

 may be summed up under five main heads. 



* V * V v* ~y * Iljcllr l/fj 11141111 w*l l*M **lVIltoJ v- * 



-one of the state commissioners of forestry. p irst the cornrn i ss i O n wishes to secure the 

 Miss Dock is fitted by training and personality ] equ ; ta 5i e taxation of forest lands. In pioneer 

 -for the work to which she is devoting' her- ^ a t i m b e red tract was a barrier in the 



self. Born in the capital city ot Pennsyl- way of sett i ement an d civilization. To clear 

 vania, and in touch since her youth with the j away thg f orests was the first duty of the 

 movements that have added,; to its ' beauty , owner o f t .h e I an d. Consequently, the state 

 and progressiveness, she has become identified ; mposcc i a tax upon growing timber. That 

 with the forestry question in no forced way. time jg j Qng s ; nce passe d, but the tax re- 

 Botany she has loved and studied from gin-. ma j ns , anc i has been the reason for the re- 

 hood, and her home on one of the principal mo y a i o f valuable timber that should have 

 residence streets possessed among other at- k een a n owe( j to grow untaxed until ready 

 tractions a wild-flower garden. She knew the fof thc mar k et . A second object .is the re- 

 haunts of all the local flora, and could tell f orcstrat ion of denuded lands, a difficult prob- 

 just where to find the earliest hepaticas, or )em tQ so j ve> necessitating careful study and 

 what spot was made lovely by wake rpbjins ^ rcAt expenditure of time and money. To 

 or lady's slippers. That is, she could tell- - : re( j ucc the risk of damage to forests by fire 

 but did not, for those who havt heard Miss js a na t ura i corollary, involving the co-opera- 

 Dock talk upon the subject will recall her j tjon o f Ta ii roa ds and the making of fire lanes 

 belief that no flower lover should ever re.vealh c h ec k the progress' of an uncontrollable 

 to the general public tin- s'ecret haunts of ^^ 



woodland beauties. Such revelation is sttre to T] lcn die ' commi.-.-ioners would .utilize por- 

 be followed by the inevitable "desjrwfttiori ot ljo]|s of ( , ]e . s(nu , re j erY .e? as sanitaria-, espe- 

 the flower in question. Y.c ye.a.r, while ci;l |j f or su ff eri .rs from tuberculosis, and also 



good Harrisburg housewives were indulging cr( , a ' te breathing spaces for the great masses 

 intemperately in the doubtful joys ot spring. Q j the p C01) ] c '-j-] u . urgency. of this' last Miss 

 cleaning, Miss Dock was tramping to her fa- j} ock has- made evident in the resolution she 

 vorite spots, not to tear arbutus ruthlessly ofi f ere( i rec< . m ly to the State .Forestry Asso- 

 from its bed of dead .leaves, or to' 'uproot ciali(111 proposing to amend its charter 'so 

 the delicate spring beauty, but lo revel in the - that tne . statc lands could l)e held by the 

 short-lived charm. association in trust' for park purposes.' These 



While she had not !)Cen '.rained deliber- smaller spaces cannot be included in the great- 

 ately for public service, her . friends urged woodland tracts, lying between the gradually 

 upon her the wisdom of using her talents approaching building line and the' real coun- 

 :.-.-' ire try. become the resort of the tough and the 



those who remember ramp. Where properly policed, the tough 



she preferred to call it,'"at j-fhe very ouiset a nd the tramp disappear, and thc woodlands 

 of her career, given to a small audience, on aro sa ved to the people who most need .tliem. 

 the subject of John ISartram. the . old-time 



Philadelphia lover of flowers rmd owner of The - Saving of Wetzel's Swamp. - 



a rarely beautiful garden. As a speaker. Miss - , 



Dock is interesting. Her manner is informal! Of the truth of this statement Miss Dock 

 and she makes each one of her audience feel could speak from personal experience. A 

 in close personal touch with her and with ; tract of wooded acres .lying along -the now 

 her subject. Her voice is jellned and pleas-.; unused Pennsylvania railroad canal, on t 

 antly modulated, and the enthusiasm she Teels outskirts of Harrisburg, although beautiful and 

 for her cause is expressed in every accent ! the haunt of innumerable wild flowers, was 

 and slight gesture. ! shunned by the public for fear of the tramps 



When the Pennsylvania Forestry Associa- who congregated there. Recently acquired by 

 tion was founded in 1886 by nature enthusi- the city, its name changed from Wetzel 

 asts Miss Dock was one of those who rallied swamp to Wildwood, it is now being trans- 

 to its support. Incidentally, it is worth not- formed into a center for the growing park 

 ing that the founder of this organization was j system of the city. j 



a woman, Mrs. J. P. Lundy, of Philadelphia.! The General Federation_of Womei Clubs, 



to do, and Miss Dock is strong in her ap- 

 peal for club women to study and teach the 

 principles of silviculture to those who are in- 

 different or uninstructed. 



One way in which women by their organ- 

 zed effort have helped most effectively has 

 seen in their support of the Camp Sanato- 

 rium at Mont Alto for the treatment of con- 

 sumptives. This was established in 1902 by 

 the then commissioner, Dr. Rothrock, who 

 started the work with one cabin in a beau- 

 tiful pine grove. Later the Department of 

 Forestry set aside one hundred acres of for- 

 est reserve for the sanatorium, and numerous 

 cottages and cabins have since been erected. 

 Both the erection of cottages and the mainte- 

 nance of patients devolved for a time upon 

 individual generosity, and the clubwomen of 

 Pennsylvania have been most spontaneous in 

 their support. One cottage was erected en- 

 tirely from club funds, while periodicals are 

 subscribed for and many comforts provided 

 by different clubs. So beneficial have been 

 the results from these sanatoria that $300,000 

 per annum has been appropriated by the De- 

 partment of Health for their maintenance in 

 the various forest reservations. 



From 333,015 acres of land in 1903, the 

 state reserves, for which Miss Dock and her 

 colleagues have labored, have increased to 

 809,389 acres. These do not lie in one com- 

 pact body, but are located both as connected 

 tracts and also as separate tracts in twenty- 

 four counties of the state; $300,000 is annu- 

 ally appropriated for :the purchase of land. 

 In 1906 the state college established a course 

 in forestry, and the Yale Forest School is lo- 

 cated at Milford, Pa. Another school is main- 

 tained by the state department at Mont Alto, 

 Franklin county, upon a reservation. The 

 course covers three years, ten students being 

 admitted annually upon competitive exami- 

 nation. 'The undergraduates receive both 

 theoretical and practical training, and are 

 placed upon graduation in charge of certain 

 specified work upon the state lands. Among 

 the pioneer instructors 'in this school was Miss 

 Jeannette Conklin, who went to the academy 

 in 1905. 



Miss Dock's love for the work and pride 

 in her native state can ; be illustrated no better 

 than by the concluding paragraph of a recent 

 article- contributed by her to Forest Leaves: 



"At this time of year, when the laurel- 

 bordered cities of Pennsylvania woods present 

 a spectacle that can be matched in no other 

 part of the world, for it is only in eastern 

 America that mountain laurel grows, I wish 

 that Cach of us might be so saturated and 

 filled with the 'uplift and beauty of our wild 

 gardens and woodlands that we shall be filled 

 with a determination 'to unite in preserving 

 all over our state open! spaces, to be held for 

 the people 'as long as 'grass grows and water 

 runs.' '" New York Evening Post. 



rt W WlllO.il ) J-fJ. J J . * "'-.77 



When she died last year, Miss Dock wrote 

 of her in Forest Leaves, the official paper 

 oif the association: "Mrs. Lundy's devotion 

 to her ideals was not lost, even in her last 



which met this year at Jamestown, received 

 a very interesting report of the work for 

 forestry, by Pennsylvania clubs, submitted by 

 Miss Dock to Mrs. C. S. Peterson, chairman 



to her meals was not lost, even in ner lasi ivuss iyucn. L<_> j.ii=. ^. ^. ..*,..--"> 



illness but carried with her to the very gate | of the General Federation. Much as these 



of heaven. Her one desire was to leave the clubs have done, however, still more is lett 



ACQUIRE TIMBER LANDS. 



Another forest' holding enterprise has been 

 ,.i-gaiii/cd hi Grand Rapids under the title of 

 the B'eardsley Timber Company. The com- 

 pany is capitalized at $100,000, of which 

 amount nearly a-11 has been paid in property. 

 The company has acquired the ownership to 

 6,700 acres of timbered land in Mackinac 

 county. 



Those interested "in the concern are: G. e. 

 Beardslcy. W. G. Herpolsheimer, Charles E. 

 Temple, Fred W. Stevens, H. O. Probasco and 

 Clay H. Hollister, cashier of the old National 

 Bank. 



E. J. Franklin, of the Batchelor Timber Co., 

 \Vcst Branch, says that the Batchelor mill 

 there is cutting 27,000 feet of maple and beech 

 every day. When the Batchelor Timber Co. 

 bought out the mill of the Gale Lumber Co., 

 at West Branch, over a year ago and refitted 

 it for a long run, the company had 70,000,000 

 feet of timber behind the mill. And it has 

 purchased more timber since than the milb 

 has manufactured since it started. 



