4W 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Our Grass Snake (L. vcrnalis), like its congener, is 

 wholly insectivorous in its diet, and apparently never 

 partakes of animal food in nature. Sometimes, however, 

 it will eat small spiders and caterpillars, provided the 

 latter are of the hairless varieties. Raymond Ditmars, in 

 his most valuable and interesting volume, The Reptile 

 Book, says of this genus: "The majority of Green 

 Snakes are the most gentle of serpents and will submit 

 to the most vigorous handling, even when freshly cap- 

 tured, without showing the least sign of anger. Of 

 several hundred specimens the writer failed to note an 

 attempt to bite, except in the case of a single specimen 

 from Long Island. It is interesting to explain that this 

 specimen was very dark olive in color, and in decided 

 contrast to the rich green of the greater number of speci- 

 mens. It would bite repeatedly at the finger, but the 

 minute teeth failed to produce even a scratch. 



"A more innocent and more dainty reptile cannot be 



imagined than one of these creatures, and the spectacle 

 of a tiny green serpent beaten to death on the roadside 

 should provoke pity for the human individual who so 

 'bravely' engaged in combat and succeeded in destroying, 

 with the aid of a substantial club, about twelve or four- 

 teen inches of diminutive body that would have real 

 difficulty in battling with a fair-sized grasshopper" 



(P- 325)- 



The enormous, and for the most part invisible army of 

 these gentle little snakes in nature, in the Atlantic States, 

 doubtless number a million or two of specimens possi- 

 bly more. This great host consumes annually many tons 

 of grasshoppers ; this fact alone should be sufficient, were 

 it generally known, to deter thoughtless country boys 

 many of whom are sons of farmers from crushing to 

 death this very useful and entirely harmless little 

 snake whenever and wherever they chance to come 

 across it. 



KAISER BOUGHT WALNUT FOR WAR TEN 

 YEARS AGO 



'T'HAT this valuable wood for gunstocks was pur- 

 *- chased in large quantities by agents of the German 

 Government years ago is brought out in an article in 

 the Philadelphia Record. We quote : 



"In his efforts to locate available walnut timber for 

 use for the Government in the manufacture of gunstocks. 

 Walter B. Allen, director of military service of the Blair 

 County Branch of the Council of National Defense and 

 Public Safety, has discovered evidence of the war prepa- 

 ration plans of the German Government in years 

 gone by. 



"He has ascertained that a great amount of walnut 

 timber was bought by agents of the Kaiser, representa- 

 tions being made that it was intended for use in the 

 manufacture of furniture. The timber was purchased 

 about 10 years ago, and none of those who sold it had 

 the remotest idea of the use to which it was to be put. 

 Few, in fact, knew that they were selling to agents of 

 the German Government. 



"When trees were bought they would be felled and left 

 lying on the ground until they could be sawed into 

 pieces suitable for handling. Later they would be hauled 

 to the nearest shipping point and sent away. Several 

 persons have informed Mr. Allen that they learned that 

 the timber was sent to Eastern seaports and shipped to 

 Germany. 



"Great quantities of walnut must have been purchased 

 according to reports received here. H. E. Bodine, mana- 

 ger of the Altoona Chamber of Commerce, whose home 

 is in Tioga county, recalls the German agents' activities 

 in that county, and Attorney J. Banks Kurtz, chairman 

 of the Blair County Public Safety Committee, when at 

 his old home in Juniata county, was informed of similar 

 purchases of walnut there. 



"Evidently there is little walnut left in this region, 

 for Mr. Allen has not yet found any considerable quan- 

 tity for our own Government." 



NEWS PRINT PAPER FROM SAW DUST 



TVT EWSPRINT paper from sawdust is a fact. Not 

 only is the idea being worked out in the United 

 States, but the London Times already is using the ma- 

 terial. In a recent issue, just received in this country, 

 the Times says editorially : 



"Sawdust is a by-product produced in Britain. It 

 takes the place of wood pulp, the importation of which 

 is greatly reduced owing to government restriction. 

 Sawdust paper is manufactured by the Donside Paper 

 Mills, Aberdeen, where experiments have been in pro- 

 gress for a considerable time and are still being car- 

 ried on in the hope of effecting further improvements." 



The importance of the new process to the newspaper 

 business cannot be overestimated. Sawdust news print 

 paper, if entirely successful, means alleviation of the 

 threatened famine. The war, as is generally known, 

 had forced news print paper to new high rates, and 

 actually has resulted in scores of small newspapers being 

 forced out of business, either because of inability to buy 

 enough paper for their needs, or inability to pay the 

 prices demanded by paper makers. 



GIFT OF ROAD TO DELAWARE 



\ ROAD 200 feet wide and extending from one end 

 C* of Delaware to the other, forming a part of the 

 Lincoln Highway, has been presented to the State by 

 E. C. DuPont. The necessary right-of-way has been 

 purchased by Mr. DuPont and deeded to the State. The 

 roadbed is of cement. Some 40 miles of the southern end 

 of the road have been completed and opened to travel. 

 The State Board of Agriculture is to be entrusted with 

 the upkeep and control of the road. The necessary funds 

 have likewise been provided by Mr. DuPont. A plan 

 for the improvement and development from a scenic 

 standpoint of the woodlands, forests, and open lands 

 along the DuPont Road has been prepared by Mr. G. 

 B. Sudworth of the Forest Service. 



