AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION 103 



effort has been made by the congressional opponents of the project to adduce testimony 

 unfavorable to the known effects of the forests upon streamflow and the protection of 

 mountain sides. But it has not succeeded in shaking the consensus of the best scientific 

 opinion of the world. This measure is a project of vital importance to the nation at 

 large and not solely to the sections in which the mountains lie. It represents a definite 

 feature of a national policy upon which we have already embarked and which we must 

 round out to its full perfection before we can be secure in our future prosperity as a 

 nation. The failure of the bill in the present congress would be a national calamity, 

 and every effort should be brought to bear to secure favorable action by the Senate of 

 the United States on the 15th of February. No course which would result in a con- 

 ference and a dead-lock between the two houses so that the bill would fail to become a 

 law before the expiration of this congress should be tolerated by the country. The 

 popular demand for this has been made in unmistakable terms and the people should 

 insist that their just demand is met. So far as the American Forestry Association is 

 concerned this task will never be given up until it is accomplished and when the law 

 which makes a beginning has been enacted we shall use every effort in our power to 

 secure the accomplishment of its full results in the development of a public forest system 

 in the east. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



The usual routine work of the year has been carried on, correspondence from the 

 oflace, attendance upon meetings of other organizations and speaking by j-^our president 

 and your secretary. 



The secretary attended the biennial meeting of the National Federation of Women's 

 Clubs at Cincinnati, in May; the opening of the Forest Products Laboratory at Madi- 

 son, Wisconsin, in June, an interesting and important occasion; the annual meeting 

 of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, with which we have been 

 brought into the closest association through the common interest in the Appalachian- 

 White Mountain forests, in August; and the meeting of the Second Conservation Con- 

 gress at Saiut Paul, in September. We hope to have the association represented at the 

 Canadian Forestry Convention at Quebec next week. This convention is to serve much 

 the same purpose in Canada that our American Forest Congress did for us in 1905. 



It has not been possible to do as much of this work as is desirable. We believe that 

 great advantage comes to the association and to its work from the contact of its repre- 

 sentatives with other organizations having kindred or sympathetic interests and it is 

 desirable that the secretary should have more time at his disposal than present con- 

 ditions peraiit and more means available for traveling expenses. 



The secretary of the Canadian Forestry Association, Mr. James Lawler, visited the 

 United States during the summer and made a study of some of our forestry methods and 

 of the plans and working of our foi'estry associations. He spent a few days in Wash- 

 ington and expressed himself as much interested in the work that our association is 

 doing. This visit, and the spirit in which it was made, are most gratifying, and will 

 increase the cordial relations already existing between these two national forestry 

 organizations. 



Owing to the changed methods it is impossible to give exact figures at the present 

 time in regard to our membership. It has very nearly but not quite held its own during 

 the year. For the coming year we shall, of course, have three classes members, sub- 

 scribers and those who are both members and subscribers. It is gratifying to report that 

 so far as we may judge by returns thus far from the annual bills, the third class will 

 be very much the largest of the three. 



Respectfully submitted for the directors, 



Edwin A. Staet, 



Executive Secretary. 



CITY TREES AND OTHER TOPICS 



The next order was the presentation of a paper by J. J. Levison, of 

 Brooklyn, N. Y., forester of the Brooklyn and Queens Park Department and of 

 the Association for the Planting and Care of City Trees. His subject was 

 "City Trees and Their Relation to Forestry." This paper appears elsewliere 

 in this magazine. Following this was an address by Henry S. Graves, For- 

 ester of the United States, which also appears on another page. 



Philip W. Ayres, forester of the Society for the Protection of New Hamp- 

 shire Forests, was the next speaker. He described the situation in the ^^'hite 

 Mountains as one of progressive permanent destruction. He spoke of exist- 

 ing conditions and their causes and made an appeal for work in behalf of the 

 proposed Appalachian legislation. He urged the danger of amending the bill 



