DIGEST OF OPINIONS ON FORESTRY 



757 



BIG FOREST RESERVE IN NEW 

 YORK 



A forest preserve of over 2,000,000 acres is as- 

 sured to the people of the State of New York, 

 and the purchase of more than 200,000 additional 

 aires in now heing negotiated with the owners, 

 according to a summary just compiled by Con- 

 servation Commissioner George D. Pratt. The 

 summary represents what has been accomplished 

 by the Conservation Commission in the eighteen 

 munths since funds became available under the 

 $7,500,000 bond issue which the voters of the 

 S:ate approved for the acquisition of lands in the 

 AJirondacks and Catskills for State park pur- 

 poses, says an Albany dispatch to the Philadel- 

 phia Record. 



The figures show that, since the approval of the 

 bond issue, 460,731 acres of forest land have been 

 offered for sale to the State, of which, after 

 deducting such tracts as by their location were 

 manifestly unsuitable for forest preserve pur- 

 poses, 411,650 acres have already been examined 

 and appraised by the Commission's foresters. 

 This is an area almost one-quarter the size of 

 the entire forest preserve owned by the State 

 previous to the bond issue, which has gradually 

 accumulated since the year 1883. 



Of the 411,650 acres, of which the Conservation 

 Commission has completed its inspection, it has 

 agreed upon a price for 171,045 acres, and recom- 

 mended their purchase to the Commission:.-; of 

 the Land Office. This board has so far approved 

 the acquisition of 156,398 acres 135,398 in the 

 Adirondacks and 21,000 in the Catskills and 

 passed the cases on to the office of the Attorney 

 General for the necessary examination of titles. 

 The lands purchased in the Adirondacks average 

 $5.79 per acre, and those in the Catskills $7.10 

 per acre. Altogether, a total expenditure of over 

 $900,000 is involved. 



GROW TREES, SAVE PAPER 



Trenton Evening Times 



Timely recommendations are being made by the 

 American Forestry Association, looking towards 

 the growing of trees and the saving of paper for 

 the conservation of wood pulp and wood. 



Following the recent recommendation that trees 

 be planted along highways and elsewhere as 

 memorials to men in the service, P. S. Rids- 

 dale, secretary of the association and editor of 

 the Forestry Magazine, now backs up his pro 

 duction plea with a new conserving scheme. He 

 advocates the writing of the carbon of your 

 answer on the back of each business letter you 

 receive. 



This not only saves much paper, but also con- 

 serves filing and filing room and gives a com- 

 pact record of business transactions. Mr. Rids- 

 dale takes his own medicine and finds this plan 

 works admirably in his own department, as well 

 as in his own private office. 



The need of saving paper is apparent when 

 it is known that in 1918 America will use seven 

 million cords of wood in the making of paper, 

 a truly tremendous drain on our forests. 



SAVE THE TREES 



it Liverpool Review 

 The forest fires which swept Minnesota and 

 Wisconsin recently were deplorable, not only for 

 the tragic loss of life and the destruction of 

 thousands of feet of lumber, but also because 

 of the loss of the tree themselves. To love trees 

 and understand their value, to be actively in- 

 terested in th-ir preservation, to guard in every 

 possible way against their nnnecesMfy destruc- 

 tion, and when a tree falls to plant a tree, is 

 mere evidence of intelligence in man or nation 



PENNSLYVANIA TO PLANT WAL- 

 NUT TREES 



The project of John M. Phillips, of Pittsburgh, 

 member of the State Game Commission, to have as 

 many black walnut trees planted as possible by 

 the people of Pennsylvania this fall, has been 

 given the unqualified approval of that veteran 

 woodsman and hunter, Dr. Joseph Kalbfus and 

 the support of men connected with the State 

 government, says a Harrisburg dispatch to the 

 Philadelphia Inquirer. Robert S Conklin, State 

 Commissioner of Forestry, has been an advocate 

 of tree planting, especially the nut bearing trees, 

 for years and Dr. Nathan C. Schaeffer, State 

 Superintendent of Public Instruction, is out with 

 a proclamation that everyone should plant a 

 tree next month. 



"Mr. Phillips' idea of planting walnut trees is 

 splendid and I hope everyone who can do so will 

 plant as many as possible," said Dr. Kalbfus. 

 "The tree is a valuable one, not only for its 

 wood, but for its shade. This is the time of 

 the year to get ready for it and I would like to 

 see thousands planted. Ten years from now 

 we would be thankful for it. The way to plant 

 the tree is to have it so arranged that they can 

 be thinned out and be spaced about forty feet 

 apart. Get the nuts with the hulls on, crush the 

 hull slightly and plant in about four inches of 

 earth. Don't forget to plant hull afid all " 



THE WOODS AND THE WAR 

 Washington Post 



If you want to forget the world war, 

 accept the welcome of the hospitable woods 

 and leave your troubles to the wind and 

 the trees. There are no first-page head- 

 lines there. No talk of armistice. No 

 clamor of war. No peace negotiations. 

 No transatlantic conversations. No elec- 

 tioneering. No Politics. No adjournment. 

 No food and fuel conservations. No tirades 

 from the President. No tirades from 

 former Presidents. No rattle of sabers. 

 No scratching of pens. No delays in the 

 mails. No vain telephone calls. No 

 crowded cars. No liquorless bars. 



Just now autumn's gay robes are fad- 

 ing. Gold and scarlet are turning to 

 lemon and brown. The great beeches are 

 already bare, but the royal oaks still 

 flaunt their crimson vestments. White 

 caravels sail in the sapphire sky. 



Listen, and the whispering leaves will 

 tell you of peace. The sunbeams will 

 dance in the shadowy mazes to convince 

 you that life real, free, fresh, open-air 

 life is still filled with rapture. Your 

 eye will sparkle and your heart beat 

 higher. The air has the rich fragrance 

 of sun-kissed, purple Burgundy. The 

 October tonic is a sovereign specific for 

 all the ills of mind and heart. None here 

 can be homesick or heartsick. The cool 

 breezes will smooth the wrinkled brow 

 and quiet the feverish brain. No crowds. 

 No haste. No worry. 



No cure, no pay. 



MAPLE SUGAR TREES 



Investigations recently made in western North 

 Carolina by M. W. Hensel, specialist in sugar 

 plants for the Agricultural Extension Service, 

 *how that there are enough maple trees in this 

 section to produce not less than 3,750,000 pounds 

 of sugar annually, and that there is a strong 

 possibility of this reaching 5,000,000 pounds. If 

 properly worked these trees would produce this 

 amount in a period of from four to eight weeks, 

 or from about February 1st to April 1st, says a 

 Raleigh dispatch to the Christian Science Moni- 

 tor. 



PLANTING WALNUTS 



Massillon, Ohio, Independent 

 There are comparatively few black walnut trees 

 left in the United States. Many persons have 

 feared that the widespread quest of walnut for 

 gunstock material would result in the utter ex- 

 termination of this valuable tree. 



SUSPICIOUS FOREST FIRES 



St. Louis Post-Dispatch 



Great destitution and suffering ordinarily fol- 

 low forest fires of the extent of those reported 

 from Minnesota. The appeal for the relief of 

 the victims will be urgent and moving. State 

 officials estimate that 100 square miles of terri- 

 tory have been devastated and 21 towns de- 

 stroyed or damaged. They place the number of 

 known dead at more than 200, expressing fears 

 that it may reach 500. The most disquieting 

 detail is that the fire, which wiped out vast 

 amounts of timber useful for war purposes and 

 other property was caused by incendiaries, pre- 

 sumably serving enemy ends. Domestic terrorism 

 and destruction in the enemy interest would reach 

 a climax in this disaster, if this charge is sub- 

 stantiated, exceeding even the scale of successful 

 operations against steel works, munitions plants 

 and docks. 



The mere suspicion of a cause of this nature 

 imposes the duty of a rigid sifting of the facts 

 A duty with priority even over this is to ascer- 

 tain the measure of relief needed and supply it. 



TIMBER FORESTS IN IRELAND 



The Christian Science Monitor 



Dublin, Ireland Lord Powerscourt recently 

 entertained the Irish Forestry Society on their 

 annual summer excursion to the Powerscourt 

 demesne. Between 30 and 40 members were 

 present, including Professor Henry of the Royal 

 College of Science, Mr. Knowlden, secretary of 

 the Irish Forestry Society, and Mr. R. J. Kelly, 

 K. C. Lord Powerscourt, who conducted the 

 party through the beautiful woods and planta- 

 tions, said that he hoped they would make their 

 visit an annual one. He told them that his 

 father had done a bold thing in the forestry 

 line. He had selected a barren rocky patch 

 of mountain and had spent some hundreds of 

 pounds in planting a wood of over 400 acres. 

 He himself had reaped the benefit. The wood had 

 tided him over many difficulties and had stood 

 well by him in these times when the difficulties 

 in timber were so great. People with money 

 were scarce and he thought the only thing to do 

 as regards forestry was to try and compel the 

 Government to do its duty and set up a state 

 forestry department. The timber problem was 

 one of extreme importance and neither the Irish 

 Forestry Society nor any other society could 

 deal with it. It was a problem to be solved 

 by the Government and by the Government alone. 



RICHES IN PINE WASTE 

 The industrial value of a full grown pine tree 

 is no less than five times what we get from it, 

 writes Arthur D. Little in "Chemistry in Over- 

 alls." If, of all the yellow pine cut, the entire 

 trees were used not only as theoretical science 

 teaches, but according to known and proved 

 methods of applied science there would be added 

 to the estate of the American people every day 

 40,000 tons of paper, 3,000 tons of rosin, 3O0.CO0 

 gallons of turpentine and 600,000 gallons of ethyl 

 or grain alcohol, together with the fuel for these 

 industries and the lumber we get as it 'is. 



SAVE THE BIRDS! 



Charleston News and Courier 

 The advantages of preserving the insectivorous 

 song and game birds have never been more 

 apparent than now, and it is a gratifying fact 

 that the last three or four years have shown a 

 wonderful increase in bird life in this State. 



