432 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



These feathers, Mr. Beebe believes, are indicative of a 

 former stage in the development of flying birds from 

 their reptilian ancestors. Before the wings had come 

 to their present perfection and when the tail was still 

 long and heavy, it was necessary to have more support 

 at the rear end of the body to serve the same purpose as 



does the membrance between the hind legs of a bat. 

 These stiffened thigh feathers are thought to have served 

 this purpose and today, though they are no longer 

 needed and though they have degenerated to nearly 

 normal proportons, they have not yet entirely dis- 

 appeared. 



Photograph by G. T. K. Norton 



AN INSPIRING SIGHT IN THESE DAYS OF 

 NATIONAL STRESS 



f"PHE Capitol dome from the Congressional Library. 

 - The most impressive trees were "focused out" so 

 that the picture might be made. An idea of the number 

 and size of the trees in Washington is best shown by the 

 fact that it takes much time to photograph almost any 

 subject from any distance. 



SPECIAL PRIVILEGE TO THE MILITARY 



rpHE large concentration of men at Camp Dix in 

 New Jersey, which is located on the edge of one of 

 the worst wilderness sections of the South Jersey pines, 

 presented an unusual problem from the forest fire stand- 

 point. By an understanding with the authorities in 

 command special emphasis is being laid upon the need 

 for care with fire when the men in training at the Camp 

 have occasion to go into the wooded sections for either 

 recreation or official work. The Department has made 

 a blanket waiver of the necessity for securing permits 

 for building fires to all military parties who are out on 

 official duty in the various sections adjoining the can- 

 tonment. 



ITALY'S NEED FOR WOOD 



T TALY will need unusual quantities of American lum- 

 -* ber after the war. Authorities estimate that in the 

 first five years of peace that nation must import from 

 three to five times as much as it imported per year in 

 the pre-war period, and for the ten years succeeding 

 these five years, about double the annual pre-war im- 

 ports. In other words, Italy will require for the first 

 five years, 3,000,000,000 to 5,000,000,000 board feet of 

 rough and square lumber per year, and 2,000,000,000 

 per year for ten years following this period. The longer 

 the war is prolonged the greater will be the demand, 

 and another factor will be the price at which lumber can 

 be laid down in Italian ports. 



Temporary construction for war purposes has re- 

 quired great quantities of lumber in Italy, while the diffi- 

 culties attending the importation of lumber and the lack 

 of coal within the counry have made it necessary to use 

 enormous amounts of wood for fuel. 



State forestry began in Italy about 1877, the country 

 being almost forestless until the state took hold. From 

 forests and wood lots existing at the beginning of the 

 war, it is estimated that approximately 50 per cent of 

 all standing timber has been cut to date. 



Before the war except for small quantities of black 

 walnut from the United States and a little cabinet wood, 

 all the imports were of cheap commercial lumber, com- 

 ing mostly from Austria-Hungary and the United States. 

 The chief source of supply was Austria-Hungary, but 

 since the war none has been secured from that source. 



The building situation in Italy has been peculiar for 

 centuries. Scarcity of lumber for hundreds of years has 

 brought about methods of construction in which a mini- 

 mum of lumber is used. 



Beds of excellent clay suitable for brick and tile 

 making, good building stone and limestone capable of 

 yielding fine qualities of lime and cement are found in 

 almost every part of Italy. Added to this a surplus of 

 labor before the war kept wages at a point that made 

 stone and brick construction possible at prices that 

 would seem incredibly low in new countries. Wooden 

 houses are more common along the northern frontier 

 of Italy, in districts near the forests of Switzerland and 

 Austria-Hungary, where wood is plentiful and com- 

 paritively cheap. 



WE have much pleasure in announcing the fact that 

 Major W. B. Greeley, who is attached to the 

 Forestry Section of the Engineer Corps and has been 

 handling very important work in France, has recently 

 been assigned to a high staff position with the rank of 

 Lieutenant-Colonel. 



