resignation was to take effect August 1, but the board saw fit 

 to accept it at once. Various versions are given of the differ- 

 ences that have existed between Mr. Maxfield and various 

 members of the board. Following the first reports of the 

 resignation the Twin City newspapers were filled with state- 

 ments and counter-statements sent out by Mr. Maxfield and 

 the board. One of the chief differences seems to have been 

 the method of making public the names of prospective settlers. 

 Fred Sherman, for a number of years, chief clerk in the im- 

 migration department, has been appointed to the position of 

 acting commissioner. Many applications are being received 

 for Mr. Maxfield's place. It is unlikely that the board will 

 make a choice of a successor for some weeks. Mr. Maxfield 

 has announced his intention of entering the land business. 



State Forester Cox, in an address delivered at Macalester 

 college on Arbor Day, emphasized the attention that should 

 be given to the birds. He said in part: 



Some people may wonder why we give attention to birds 

 in connection with tree planting and the consideration of 

 forests. To my mind, this association is very appropriate. 

 Birds play an exceedingly important part in the life of a for- 

 est and even in the life of groves and individual trees. Trees 

 have a continual fight for existence against hordes of de- 

 structive insects, and it is upon the insect-eating birds that 

 the trees must depend for their defense. Not only do birds 

 make possible the existence of woodland, but they oftentimes 

 play an important part in the actual reproduction and exten- 

 sion of the forest. As an illustration of this may be men- 

 tioned the spread of heavy seeded species of trees. It is prob- 

 able that the range of the beech and the oaks was extended 

 many hundreds of miles through the agency of the passenger 

 pigeon, which fed upon the beech nuts and the acorns. In 

 this connection might be mentioned also the close relation- 

 ship between certain other animals and forest trees. The 

 walnut, the butternut and the hickories were undoubtedly ad- 

 vanced in their range and made more important factors in 

 the forest by the gray squirrel, which had the habit of actual- 



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