756 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Indian forester, Oct., 1911. Note on the best 

 season for collecting myrobalans as tan- 

 ning material, by P. Singh, p. 563-6; 

 IMethod of distinguishing powellised and 

 unpowellised wood, by P. Singh, p. 567- 

 8; Ficus elestica, the indigenous rubber 

 tree of the middle east, p. 584-8. 



Ohio forester, Oct., 1911. Conservation of 

 our natural resources, by R. V. Sears, p. 

 3-7; Suggestions concerning forest con- 

 servation in Ohio, by G. R. Green, p. 8- 

 9 ; Some exaggerated statements about 

 the hardy catalpa, by J. J. Crumley, p. 

 11-12. 



Quarterly journal of forestry, Oct., 1911. 

 The erection of a permanent estate saw- 

 mill, by W. Gauld, p. 293-302; Experi- 

 ments with Scots pine seed from various 

 sources, by W. Somerville, p. 303-12; 



Damage bj^ volts in Germany, by J. M. 

 D. Mackenzie, p. 313-16 ; How big tim- 

 ber is felled and manipulated in British 

 Columbia, p. 317-35 ; The annual excur- 

 sion of the Royal English arboricultural 

 society, Aug., 1911, p. 335-48; The for- 

 estry exhibition at the Royal agricul- 

 tural society's show at Norwich, 1911, by 

 J. F. Annand, p. 348-55. 



Revue des eauxet forets, Oct. 1, 1911. Les 

 exploitation et le gemmage des -forets de 

 pin dAlep dans la Province d'Oran, by 

 Laporte, p. 577-96. 



Zeitschrift fiir forst- und jagdwesen, Sept., 

 1911. tJber das wachstum der Krafts- 

 chen stammklassen im verlaufe einer 

 zehnjahrigen zuwachsperiode, by Japing, 

 p. 663-86. 



RECENT FOREST SERVICE PUBLICATIONS 



Value of Windbreaks 



Tree planting has lost favor with present 

 day farmers in the Middle West whose crops 

 have never experienced the damage from the 

 great winds that once swept unimpeded across 

 the plains, and against which the early set- 

 tlers planted trees as a barrier. It is the idea 

 of the younger farmers of to-day that all but 

 the most productive tracts of timber should 

 be done away with, and their places taken by 

 crops which will bring quick money returns. 

 The fault, however, lies as much with the 

 owners of the timber as with the trees them- 

 selves, for, while much progress has been 

 made toward improved and more intensive 

 methods of crop management, little has been 

 done to increase the productiveness of the 

 grove or belt of trees. The great need is for 

 better management. In addition, care has not 

 been given to forest plantations, and as a re- 

 sult, the revenue from them is only a frac- 

 tion of what it should be. When the produc- 

 tive value of windbreaks is rightly consid- 

 ered, there will be in the benefit to crops, 

 and in other helpful influences of the belt of 

 trees, an annual income of considerable mag- 

 nitude in addition to the value of thinnings, 

 which, in certain regions, will bring the pro- 

 ductiveness of the forest up to that attained 

 by field crops. Forest Service Bulletin 86, 

 Windbreaks, presents a very thorough study 

 of the problem. The eflfects of windbreaks, 

 both good and bad, upon nearby crops are 

 gone into minutely, the possible timber yield 

 from plantations is estimated, the species best 

 adapted for windbreak planting are discussed, 

 and suggestions given for the most efficient 

 windbreaks for various regions. 



Forest Service Bulletin 86. Windbreaks : 

 Their Influence and Value, by Carlos B. 

 Bates, Forest Assistant. Washington, 191. 

 Pp. 100; plates 20; diagrams 35. 



The Substitution of Colombian Mahog- 

 any for True Mahogany 



That Colombian mahogany, Cariniana py- 

 riformis, is being widely substituted for true 

 mahogany, Swietcnia mahagoni, is the asser- 

 tion made in Forest Service Circular 185, Co- 

 lombian Mahogany : Its Characteristics and 

 Use as a Substitute for True Mahogany. The 

 great popularity of true mahogany as a furni- 

 ture and finishing wood has caused a steady 

 depletion in the available supply ever since its 

 earliest use in about 1724. To-day, though 

 the consumption of material passing in the 

 markets as mahogany amounts annually to 

 about 40,000,000 feet, the cut of real ma- 

 hogany is only about 18,000,000. Colombian 

 mahogany, which is the wood most often 

 substituted for true mahogany, although it 

 differs widely from the latter, in its botanical 

 and anatomical characteristics, bears a close 

 superficial resemblance to it, and its physical 

 properties at once distinguish it as a high 

 class cabinet wood. There is no reason, in 

 fact, why Colombian mahogany should not be 

 employed for all purposes for which true ma- 

 hogany is used. There should be no objec- 

 tion to calling such a wood by its proper 

 name. The wood is hard, heavy, strong, and 

 tough, and in color and weight compares 

 almost exactly with the genuine mahogany. 

 Those who work Colombian mahogany wood 

 observe that it dulls the saws and other tools 

 very quickly, a fact which first cast suspicion 



