468 



Canadian Forestry Journal, November, 1919 



GUELPH PLANTS TO SAVE WATER SUPPLY 



Guelph, Ontario, is a tree-planting mun- 

 icipality. It has 300 acres of civic plantations 

 on the watershed of the streams that supply the 

 city. Writing to the Forestry Journal, Mayor 

 J. E. Carter states: 



We have done a large amount of tree-plant- 

 ing on the Waterworks property, situated 5 

 miles from the city, near Arkell. The city owns 

 a considerable tract of land, around 300 acres 

 on which the springs which supply the city with 

 water are located. 



About seven or eight years ago the city re- 

 forested nearly all this property. They were 



very successful, the trees practically all grow- 

 ing; that is a large percentage. We had a large 

 area of the old swamp burned during the dry 

 part of this summer. We intend to reforest this 

 next spring, and also our sewerage farm of 

 about 25 acres. 



The idea that first made the city reforest the 

 waterworks property was to conserve the water 

 supply, and although the past summer has been 

 very dry, in fact one of the driest in the his- 

 tory, our supply of water has increased over 

 any former year. 



TREES FOR THE HOLY LAND. 



Two principal recommendations which a 

 civilian commission now in Palestine will make 

 relative to the reconstruction of that country 

 will be a scheme for beginning afforestation and 

 a proposal for the conservation of water supply 

 by storage and by opening up old springs. 



The greatest of all Palestine's needs is af- 

 forestation. For centuries the land has been 

 denuded of its trees, with most disastrous con- 

 sequences, for the heavy rains at certain seasons, 

 instead of benefiting the soil over more than 

 four-fifths of the area carry away in rushing 

 torrents much of the little soil that remains on 

 the high lands and valley slopes. 



Palestine has not always been treeless. The 

 Roman Emperors had valuable forests in the 

 country, and Absalom, riding, was caught by 

 the hair among the trees, but to-day one might 

 gallop from Dan to Beersheba without having 

 to duck one's head to avoid a branch. 



— Australian Forestry Journal. 



WHY FORESTS ARE PETERING OUT. 



Statistics compiled by the United States For- 

 est Service, in co-operation with the National 

 Lumber Manufacturers' Association show the 

 lumber cut in the United States in 1918 

 was 29,362,020,000 feet. These figures are 

 based on reports of 14,753 mills up to June 15. 

 The computed cut for the past year is I 1 per 



cent smaller than the 1917 production, due 

 largely to economic conditions during the war 

 and in the wake of the armistice. The com- 

 puted total cut of 1918, based on the assumed 

 operation of 22,546 mills, is 31,890,494,000 

 feet. 



There is only one instance of increased cut 

 cited, namely in Oregon and Washington, where 

 a 2 per cent gain is reported. The latest sta- 

 tistics indicate a 20 per cent slump in pro- 

 duction in the yellow pine group of states. The 

 North Carolina pine group decreased the cut by 

 19 per cent, while the lake states fell off only 

 9 per cent. 



The heaviest cut reported was yellow pine, 

 which amounted to 9,941,997,000 feet, and 

 the computed quantity 10,845,000,000 feet. It 

 is apparent that the reported quantity of Doug- 

 las fir, the next in amount of production, is al- 

 most complete, as advices give the cut at 

 5,819,141,000, and the computed quantity 

 5,820,000,000 feet. The statistics show 

 1 ,968,477,000 feet of white pine have been re- 

 ported, and 2,220,000,000 feet computed. Oak 

 ranks fourth m order of cut, havmg 1 ,658,- 

 714,000 feet reported and 2,025,000,000 com- 

 puted, slightly higher than white pine. Hem- 

 lock cut, as reported, amounts to 1,696,493,000 

 feet, with 1,875,000,000 feet computed. The 

 cut of western yellow pme reported is 1,707,- 

 784,000 feet, with 1,710,000,000 feet com- 

 puted. — Pacific Coast Lumberman. 



