TREES AS WIRELESS TOWERS 



THE tree is a piece of electrical apparatus. During 

 the war trees in this country received wireless 

 messages from the principal European stations for 

 the information of the General Staff of the American 

 Army. This most interesting and important fact is 

 revealed by Major General George O. Squier, chief 

 signal officer of the United States Army. 



From ships at sea radio messages were communicated 

 by way of trees to the various receiving stations in dif- 

 ferent parts of the United States. 



Radio telephonic messages from airplanes were readily 

 received by the tree-antennae arrangement. These mes- 

 sages were then transferred to the wires of Washington, 

 D. C., and relayed to any desired point. Thus the link- 

 ing up of the wire and the wireless methods of com- 

 munication was found to be convenient and efficient. 



General Squier pointed to the significance of the facts 

 which he presented as an 

 evidence of the value of 

 "the physical method of 

 studying all sciences," and 

 he expressed the hope that 

 the data in regard to trees 

 as potential wireless plants 

 would furnish "points of 

 departure for further re- 

 search." 



"The physicist and engi- 

 neer, accustomed to deal 

 with inanimate matter," he 

 said, "is here confronted 



THE TREE SERVANT OF MAN. 

 "All through the ages there is shown in litera- 

 ture a feeling of reverence, sympathy and human 

 intimacy with trees. It is significant that this 

 practical thing possessing utility and natural 

 strength, architectural beauty of design, and en- 

 durance far superior to artificial structures pre- 

 pared by man, should be able yet further to 

 minister to his needs." Maj. Gen. George O. 

 Squier, Chief Signal Officer, United States Army. 



with the employment of 



living vegetable organisms of growing trees. From the 

 moment an acorn is planted in fertile soil it becomes a 

 'detector' and a 'receiver' of electromagnetic waves ; and 

 the marvelous properties of this receiver, through agen- 

 cies at present entirely hidden from us, are such as to 

 vitalize the acorn and to produce in time the giant oak. 

 In the power of multiplying plant cells it may, indeed, be 

 called an incomparable 'amplifier.' 



"For our present purpose, we may consider a grow- 

 ing tree, therefore, as a highly organized piece of living 

 earth to be used in the same manner as we now use the 

 earth as a universal conductor for telephony and teleg- 

 raphy and other electrical purposes." 



The Chief Signal Officer called attention to the fact 

 that experiments which had been conducted before the 

 war had shown the possibilities in this direction but that 

 "with the sensitive amplifiers now in use it was possible 

 to receive signals from the principal European stations 

 by simply laying a small wire netting oh the ground 

 beneath the tree and connecting an insulated wire to a 

 nail driven in the tree well within the outline of the 

 tree top." 



"It was soon found," said General Squier, "that a tree- 

 antennae could be used efficiently as a multiple receiving 

 set over widely different wave lengths, receiving either 

 from separate terminals at the same or different heights 

 of the tree or in series from the same terminal. This 

 same type of circuit was employed in an inverse manner 

 for telephonic transmitting purposes although the ex- 

 periments thus far have been limited to short distances. 



Furthermore tele phonic 

 transmission through the 

 tree-antennae was received 

 by another tree-antennae 

 and automatically returned 

 to the sender on a wire 

 system, thus making the 

 complete circuit." 



The value of trees in the 

 study of many of the earth's 

 physical problems was em- 

 phasized by General Squier, 

 who quoted from an earlier 

 report he had made on the 

 subject, as follows : 

 "Our great forest areas may exercise an influence in 

 maintaining a general equilibrium between the electrical 

 charges of the upper atmosphere and the earth, which 

 has not been fully realized. On this point comparisons 

 between observations from the interior of great desert 

 areas devoid of any vegetation, with those from other 

 portions of the earth's surface well covered with forests, 

 would be instructive. 



"From this viewpoint the general surface of the earth 

 may be considered as supplied by nature with innumer- 

 able meteorological observation towers, which possibly 

 may be employed by means of apparatus involving prin- 

 ciples already well known to science." 



'"PHE Massachusetts Forestry Association announces 

 - 1 a most attractive itinerary for the 1919 trip of its 

 members to the National Parks and National Forests. 

 While the purpose of the tour is primarily educational, 

 in making known to our people their great, public play- 



grounds, it also affords an essentially restful, invigorat- chusetts. 



ing and delightful way to spend an ideal vacation. The 

 Association hospitably invites its members to make up 

 parties and bring their friends and full information 

 regarding the trip may be had by addressing Mr. Harris 

 A. Reynolds, Secretary, at 4 Joy Street, Boston, Massa- 



WANTEDBACK ISSUES 



We Need Copies of American Forestry for April, July and August 1918 



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