10 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



making every effort to do this work themselves, thereby 

 reducing this cost. 



The cost of peeling willows is the one thing that is 

 holding back the willow industry in America. In Europe, 

 where labor is cheap, this is not important, but the cost 

 of peeling here is almost prohibitive. The only permanent 

 relief must come through the invention of a simple inex- 

 pensive peeling device that with two men, or with a man 

 and boy, 500 pounds or more can be stripped. Such a 

 machine would cut in two the cost of peeling and make 

 willow growing profitable even in normal times. Several 

 machines have been invented but they have not been 



successful, owing more to their size and cost than to the 

 lack of mechanical efficiency. They bear the same rela- 

 tion to the willow growing industry that the large powerful 

 corn shellcr would to the small farmer. Unless the growers 

 can band together and several use one machine, such 

 machines can not relieve the situation. As the willow 

 growing industry is mostly confined to numerous small 

 patches, it demands a small inexpensive machine parallel- 

 ing in cost and usefulness the hand corn sheller. 



In spite of labor costs, however, those who have 

 planted willows in the last two or three years are in a 

 position to enjoy at least a temporary prosperity. 



WAR STYLES IN MATCHES 



THE war now strikes the match, which, of course, is 

 a very proper thing to do with a match, but in this 

 case it strikes at the supply and sends the cost 

 upward. It is all because the Russian government has 

 prohibited the exportation of aspen wood which is what 



and five dozen safety matches per box. About half of the 

 cargo was carried on deck. Quite a lot of matches you will 

 say when you look at it that way, but that is just about 

 enough to supply these United States for 'a week and not 

 that long when you think of the "gimme-a-match" pest. 



THE VIKEN AT HER DOCK IN PHILADELPHIA 

 This boat brought over from Sweden 2,440,800,000 safety matches for use in 

 the United States. Owing to the war, styles in matches have changed. They 

 will now be shorter. 



Sweden uses in making her sikkerhetting tandstickers, and 

 Sweden gets most of her aspen from Russia. 



The good ship Viken got into Philadelphia the other 

 day with 2,440,800,000 matches aboard. These were in 

 5650 cases containing 50 gross boxes of matches per case, 



CARGO OF THE VIKEN 



These boxes contain a week's supply of matches for the United States, and repre- 

 sent a recent shipment from Sweden. 



As a result of the Russian embargo on aspen wood the 

 factories in Sweden have announced that the style in 

 matches for a while will be somewhat shorter and more 

 slender, a measure of conservation which will effect a 

 considerable saving, but may result in some burnt fingers. 



PORCUPINE QUILLS NEEDED 



PORCUPINE quills are badly needed by the Indians 

 of Michigan, writes John C. Wright of Harbor 

 Springs, Michigan. He says: 

 "Some months ago I noticed an article in American 

 Forestry regarding the destructive work of porcupines in 

 one of the western states. The article was extensively 

 illustrated, and the author said the farmers in that state 

 considered the porcupine a great pest and of no value 

 whatever. In this part of the state of Michigan our 

 Indians use porcupine quills for doing fancy work on 

 birch bark and they make many beautiful boxes, etc., 

 which find a ready sale among tourists and rcsorters. 

 Indeed the Indians in the past have almost made a liveli- 



hood that way. So you see porcupine quills are very 

 valuable to them. At the present time these animals are 

 practically extinct here, so that the Indians are compelled 

 to send to Canada for their supply of quills, which make 

 them expensive and hard to get. Of course this lessens 

 the profit on their work, which requires a great deal of 

 time and skill to do; and so it is a real hardship. I wish 

 to get in touch with some of those western parties in the 

 states where a bounty is offered on the porcupine as a 

 pest, and let them know that the Indians here use the 

 quills and can use a quantity every year. For the most 

 part, our Indians are poverty-stricken and in a pitiable 

 condition, and I would like to do something to assist them." 



