really in the open, spurred the hikers on. When a quiet pool 

 was reached and some muskrats were spied a rest was taken. 

 And here the visitors were entertained by nature's music. It 

 was the symphony of the pond. While the muskrats vent- 

 ured into the stream, there was music from a thousand 

 throats. The birds, the frogs, the crickets, all joined in one 

 glad song. It is such times that men appreciate companions 

 who love nature. 



From Osceola there was the trip to Taylors Palls, in the 

 dalles of the St. Croix. In the evening a hike through the 

 dalles, a long time spent on one of the cliffs overlooking the 

 rapidly-flowing stream, with the moon making grotesque 

 shadows out from the peculiar rock formations, made life 

 seem really worth living. One could imagine that he was on 

 the Columbia or the Frazer river or even upon the Yukon. 

 Surely none 6f the rivers of the West could be more beautiful 

 than was the St. Croix that moonlight night. 



A short train ride brought the now refreshed newspaper- 

 men back to the city. The city looked better than it had 

 when they had left three days before. The wonder of the 

 out-of-doors had changed the attitude of the travelers. 



A short trip, yes; but one filled with many good things. 



PROGRESS in forestry is marked in the first instance by 

 development of systematic fire prevention. This depends 

 upon the organization of a corps of trained men working 

 in harmony and co-operation with the people. This much has 

 been accomplished by the Minnesota forest service and now 

 the chief measure of its effectiveness is the intensity with 

 which it can be applied. With an average of about fifty men, 

 the twenty million acres of forested lands have been given 

 protection, but to a degree far below a reasonable margin of 

 safety. 

 The forest law provides for a forestry board composed of 



13 



