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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



possible. He then put the frogs in a glass jar, and 

 thoroughly cleaned out the bowl. Asking for a small 

 quantity of the food found in the victim's stomach, and 

 summoning the jury about him, he dissolved it, in a 

 similar manner, in water in the bowl, the water being 

 obtained from the cooler in the court-room. Then, 

 taking the same two frogs, he dropped them in the bowl, 

 again covering it with the wire gauze. The judge and 

 jury were now all curiosity as to what was to happen. 

 In about five minutes, both frogs suddenly stopped 

 swimming, and were seized with a most characteristic 

 spasm. Each straightened out as straight as straight 

 could be, curled up their forelimbs on their chests, and 

 in a few seconds they were dead. The witness then 

 turned to the judge and said: "Your Honor, the woman 

 was poisoned with strychnine, administered in quaker 

 oats by some person unknown." Requesting that the 

 bowl be once more thoroughly cleaned and fresh water 

 put in it, he produced some sulphate of strychnine from 

 his pocket, together with two more living frogs. Placing 

 the latter in the bath thus prepared, in a few moments 

 precisely the same kind of spasms attacked them, and 

 they promptly died. At this point the prisoner spoke up 

 and admitted that he had poisoned his wife; while in the 

 same breath, as he shook his fist at the witness, he said : 



"D n those frogs !" The man was convicted and duly 



executed. 



Thus we see that we have many things of the greatest 

 possible interest in our ponds, swamps, and marshes ; 

 and at least one batrachian that on occasion may serve to 

 bring a murderer to justice, or be used, in another way, 

 to demonstrate the circulation of the blood and the action 

 of the heart in health and disease. 



Firewood in Anatolia costs from $15 to $18 a ton when 

 it can be had. The Nationalist Government has prohib- 

 ited the Near East Relief from buying wood in this dis- 

 trict except on specially issued vessikas or orders. 

 Though one does not usually class fruit trees as fuel, 

 even these have been cut down and burnt, so desperate 

 is the need for firewood. 



It is this lack of wood that has hampered the Near 

 East Relief in a great measure in its provisions for the 

 Armenians. There is not only the scarcity of fuel to 

 combat, and the consequent suffering with the cold, but 

 there has been no wood for making furniture, nor, of 

 course, for building houses. The orphanages are built 

 of mud, and as far as possible the gasoline can has sup- 

 planted wood in supplying household needs. It is beaten 

 into chairs ; every needed kitchen utensil once held gaso- 

 line; it becomes both a bathtub and the dipper that is 

 used to fill it ; it is the plate, the cup, and the spoon. Un- 

 fortunately, it cannot be utilized as fuel. 



But there are no trees. And we of America, who can 

 not look to the left or to the right without the eyes rest- 

 ing on a beautiful tree are spiritually exhausted after 

 an hour's imaginary trip to Anatolia, and are eager to re- 

 turn home. 



ANATOLIA A COUNTRY WITHOUT WOOD 



BY FRANCES L. GARSIDE 



Q UPPOSE, just for an hour, you turn your eyes from 

 ^ the beautiful trees in your dooryard, and journey in 

 your imagination to a land where our not-overly popular 

 poplar is the only tree. These tiny groves, lining the 

 banks of tinier streams, are the result of forestration. 



The land is Anatolia, in the Near East, and as you ap- 

 proach a town your eyes are first attracted by the poplar 

 trees. If you look down on the town from a high hill it 

 is easy to pick out the Armenian quarter, for the way to 

 find it is to look for ruins. 



"Ah," you think, "that is a result of race hatred. The 

 Turks go mad when they see anything Armenian." 



Not entirely so. These mud houses in which the Ar- 

 menians dwell were torn down after the inhabitants had 

 departed for the sake of the poplar beams which up-held 

 the mud roofs. Wood is so scarce in Anatolia that it is 

 seized as rapaciously as if it were worth its weight in 

 gold. 



It is so scarce that carloads of vine-prunings, thistles 

 and briars are transported into the towns and villages for 

 fuel. One who has made a fire of this nature of fuel on a 

 country roadside is unpleasantly familiar with the endless 

 task of feeding the fire to secure a very uncertain heat. 



THE FOREST RANGER 



Rode through the mountains a ranger, 



Timing his motion to song. 

 Utter his helping in danger, 



Royal, and eager, and strong. 

 Hearty his handclasp at morning; 



Mighty his crushing of wrong ; 

 Splendid when loosened his scorning, 



Stained not with anger too long. 

 Proven by all things that prove, 

 Mighty his friendship and love. 



Certain his promise outflowing, 



Open his thoughts as the sky; 

 Pleasant his coming and going, 



Brilliant his dark fearless eye ; 

 Dreadful when wakened his hating; 



Awful his scorn of a lie. 

 This is a man worth the mating, 



Truth in his hands cannot die. 

 Sower of forests to be, 

 Builder of State is he. 



His are the mountains and heavens, 



His the great shaping of deeds ; 

 Wisely he casts in his leavens, 



Wisely the future areads. 

 Service he gives in strong passions, 



Forests he grows for the years. 

 Laughing at follies, he fashions 

 Spite of all falsehoods and fears, 

 Forests that long shall endure ; 

 Service immortal and sure. 



Charles Howard Shinn. 



