HOW THE FOREST SERVICE HAS HELPED THE STOCKMEN 



169 



35,000 plant specimens representing about 4,500 differ- 

 ent species of plants and grasses on the National For- 

 est ranges. 



It might well be said that the Forest Service has only 

 just got started on the scientific work connected with the 

 better management of the ranges and that there is still a 

 big job ahead of it. No one realizes this more than the 

 Forest officers who are charged with carrying on this end 

 of the work and no one is more ready than they to assume 

 the responsibility of the task. 



The carrying out of the plans for improvement in 

 range conditions and better management of stock which 



have already been inaugurated will increase the grazing 

 capacity of the ranges fully 15 per cent within a reason- 

 able number of years and there is no doubt but that other 

 knowledge will be gained which will point the way to 

 still greater advancement. The progress which has been 

 made in range management and range improvement on 

 the National Forests is a splendid illustration of practi- 

 cal conservation, which means fullest possible use with- 

 out waste, and with the support and co-operation of the 

 stockmen the National Forests will continue to add to the 

 welfare of the live stock industry and be an important 

 factor in keeping up the country's meat supply. 



TREE TIED IN KNOT 



THREES, like human beings, can be trained to do all 

 " sorts of things when they are young. Any one can 

 see a moral in that, but this article is not for that pur- 

 pose. The picture shows a single apple tree, not two, 

 as seems to be the case, sending up two shoots from a 

 common root stock. About twenty years ago the owner 

 conceived of the idea of tying the tender shoots into a 



FRUITFUL THOUGH APPARENTLY A FREAK OF NATURE 



The striking deformity of this apple tree has never affected its ability 

 to bear luscious and tempting fruit. 



knot to see what would come of the experiment. Above 

 the knot the branches were tied together to keep them 

 from spreading, which, in the course of time, caused 

 the two shoots to grow with a stove-pipe bend in them. 

 This crooked shape of the tree has never interfered with 

 its fruit-bearing qualities. The owner has received 

 tempting offers to cut the tree down and place the knot 

 portion in a museum, but he prefers to allow it to grow. 



SHIP BUILT OF MAHOGANY 



'"PHE historic old ship shown in the illustration is the 

 * "Matchless,," now used by the Government in the 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey service. She was built by 

 pirates near Key West, 1859, 0I tne mahogany stolen 

 from a stranded merchant vessel. Her timbers and frame 

 are of this valuable wood, but the planking is of oak. 

 When completed she was used in the slave trade, and 

 it is stated that she was the last vessel to bring a cargo 

 of blacks from the West Indies to the United States. 

 When the Civil War broke out the "Matchless" be- 

 came a blockade runner. She made a number of trips, 

 and, although chased by Union gunboats on several oc- 

 casions, she managed to elude them. When the fortunes 



THE "MATCHLESS" 

 The photograph of this old-timer is particularly interesting today, in view 

 of our emergency fleet of wood. And it must be remembered, too, that 

 after many vicissitudes she is still actively doing her "bit." 



of the Confederacy were on the wane and Jefferson 

 Davis decided that it was time to make his escape, the 

 "Matchless" was selected to convey him and was pro- 

 visioned and held in readiness for the task, but Jefferson 

 Davis failed to reach her, being captured on the way. 

 Shortly after the close of the war the "Matchless" was 

 purchased by the Navy Department for a training ship, 

 and was afterward turned over to the Coast Survey. 

 About fourteen years ago she was sent to Baltimore to 

 be rebuilt, and it was then that the discovery was made 

 that the vessel had so much mahogany in her structure. 



