702 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



another, the pile of green cone scales on the top of the 

 stump grew high, and still he did not show any signs of 

 stopping. At last Chatter Box jumped down to get the 

 next to the last one, and Squeaky could not stand it any 

 longer. When Chatter Box started back for the stump 

 Squeaky made one grand dive for the remaining cone, 

 grabbed it and ran for his life. 



Chatter Box saw him and gave chase. It was a close 

 race, but Squeaky won out to his hole, bumped into 

 Mrs. Squeaky who was waiting for him in the doorway, 

 and they both rolled down the passageway together. 



Safe inside their snug little home with the cone, they 

 proceeded to shell out the seed while Squeaky told his 

 little wife all he had learned, and they both laughed at 

 Chatter Box who was still scolding out on the old 

 rotten log. (To be continued) 



THE HARMLESS FIRE-BUG 



The lightning bug flew through the woods, 



And flashed his little lamp ; 

 "This is the thing to use," says he, 



"The woods are very damp." 



He chuckled to himself and said, 



"The woods will soon be drier, 



Then this is still the thing to use, 

 So's not to start a fire. 



"So rain or shine or wind or calm, 



My little lamp's the best; 

 No man-made lantern, match or flash 



Can ever stand the test." 



Problems For Boy Scouts 



1. What conifers lose their needles every winter? 



2. Does the snow lie deeper in the woods or in the 



open; 



(To be answered in the next issue) 



GATHER WALNUTS FOR PLANTING 



BLACK walnut is of the most profitable woodland 

 and pasture trees. It is rapidly becoming scarce on 

 account of the important part it has played in the war, 

 and the strong demand for the wood for cabinet material, 

 caskets, musical instruments, furniture, etc. 



The nuts for planting should be selected, so far as 

 possible, from vigorous trees producing good-sized nuts 

 in abundance. If squirrels and hogs are not trouble- 

 some, the nuts may be planted this fall, putting two 

 nuts in a hole and covering with about four inches of soil 

 well firmed. In many places the safest method is prob- 

 ably to keep the nuts over winter and plant them in the 

 spring. For this purpose a pit, dug eight to twelve inches 

 deep in a well-drained, cool location, is a desirable storage 

 place. A layer of nuts, two nuts deep, is covered with an 

 inch of sand, and so on until all the nuts are stored, after 

 which soil should be mounded over the pit to shed excess 

 moisture. Nuts mixed with sand will keep quite satis- 

 factorily in a cool cellar. A bushel of walnuts contains 

 from i.ioo to 1400, depending upon the size of the nuts, 

 or enough to plant an acre, using two nuts in each hole, 

 spacing the latter three feet apart each way. 



THE TIMBER CENSUS IN THE NORTH- 

 EASTERN STATES 



From an address by A. B. Recknagel, at the Annual 

 Meeting of the Society of American Foresters, Decem- 

 ber 27, ipi8. 



SHORTLY before the Germans launched their drive 

 on the vernal equinox, which, as far as they were 

 concerned, ended in a winter solstice known as an 

 "armistice," certain members of the War Committee of 

 the Society of American Foresters foregathered in the 

 New York office of R. S. Kellogg and planned another 

 drive which, it is hoped, will result far more favorably. 



The objective was nothing less than a timber census 

 of the Northeastern States. Statistics on the consump- 

 tion of forest products we have excellent statistics 

 but we need to know with equal accuracy as to the exist- 

 ing supplies of timber so that we may balance supply and - 

 demand through the adoption of a proper forest policy. 

 The meeting was held on April 25, 1918. Those pres- 

 ent represented the States of Maine and New York and 

 a plan of campaign was developed for securing the 

 desired data. The chairman of the War Committee, 

 Prof. Tourney of Yale, was unable to attend, but 

 shouldered the burdens of securing the needed data for 

 the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 

 New Hampshire and Vermont by enlisting the co-opera- 

 tion of various organizations in these States. 



The campaign developed rapidly and met with an 

 unexpected degree of support on the part of timberland 

 owners. Forms for reporting estimates were prepared 

 and sent out in each State by some recognized agency. 

 In New York Mr. C. R. Pettis, Superintendent of State 

 Forests sent out, under date of May 15, a strong letter, 

 stressing the urgent need for reliable information about 

 merchantable standing timber. 



What followed up to the ending of the war, has 

 been told by Prof. Tourney in the November issue of 

 the Journal of Forestry, issued by the Society of Ameri- 

 can Foresters. 



On the day following the signing of the armistice the 

 "Census Makers" gathered in Boston and, with the joy- 

 ous shouts of the peace revel in their ears, decided that 

 despite the end of the war the valuable data accumulated 

 in the census should not be lost but that the work should 

 be carried to completion. It was left to each State to 

 compile the data and to publish them through whatever 

 agency in the State seemed most appropriate. Then the 

 Forest Service will probably publish a summary for the 

 entire Northeastern region. The Reconstruction Con- 

 ference of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Associa- 

 tion in Chicago on November 23, 1918, passed a strong 

 resolution endorsing the plan. 



So the matter stands at present. Conceived as a piece 

 of war work the timber census gives promise of filling a 

 peace need as well. 



T7 1 ALL or winter pruning of grape vines may be done 

 -*- at any time during mild weather from November to 

 March, while the vines are in a dormant condition. 



