298 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



time. As a student of dendrology Professor Sargent 

 easily ranks first, for he is undoubtedly the most eminent 

 living authority on the subject. 



In appearance Professor Sargent reminds you of the 

 rugged oak which one sees in the Arboretum, standing a 

 little apart from its fellows, and by its strength and 

 power commanding attention and admiration. Like all 

 truly great men, he is simple in his tastes, kindly in spirit 

 and while his work as a student has made him some- 

 what reticent, yet when once acquainted with him and 

 the subject at hand is of mutual interest, he is a most 

 entertaining conversationalist and the layman who is for- 

 tunate enough to be his guest literally sits at his feet 

 drinking from the well of his wonderful knowledge. 



Professor Sargent is in his seventy-sixth year, but is 

 as hale and hearty as many a younger man and just as 



full of plans for making the Arboretum larger and better 

 as he was twenty years ago. Just now he is very much 

 interested in securing a $1,000,000 endowment for the 

 institution in order that it may not be hampered in future 

 years in carrying out its present plans, ior it is well 

 known to all that the modest sum of money which Har- 

 vard University is able to appropriate each year for the 

 use of the Arboretum represents only a small part of the 

 amount which is actually expended in maintaining and 

 developing the institution. The balance has come from 

 the many friends of Professor Sargent, who share his 

 belief that the Arboretum represents a great asset to the 

 entire country not only from the educational opportunity 

 which it presents, but also from the standpoint of conser- 

 vation of our forests, a subject which grows increasingly 

 important as the years go by. 



LOUISIANA FORESTRY LAW GOES INTO EFFECT 



THE first meeting of the Forestry Advisory Board 

 of the Department of Conservation, created by 

 Act 145 of the Louisiana Legislature of 1916, was 

 held today at the office of the Commissioner of Conserva- 

 tion. The personnel of the Board, as appointed by 

 Governor Pleasant early in March is as follows : G. S. 

 Clark, general manager of the Tremont Lumber Com- 

 pany of Rochelle, and S. T. Woodring, Manager of the 

 Calcasieu Longleaf Lumber Company of Lake Charles, 

 representing the lumbermen of Louisiana ; J. H. Cocker- 

 ham of Luella, representing the agricultural interests ; 

 Professor of Forestry J. G. Lee of the Louisiana State 

 University, and M. L. Alexander, Commissioner of Con- 

 servation, ex-officio chairman of the Board. 



The Forestry Advisory Board will direct the expendi- 

 ture for forestry purposes of one-fifth of the Severance 

 Tax on timber and turpentine, which by the law of 1916 

 becomes available for this use from Jan. 1, 1918. Con- 

 trary to a widespread belief among the lumbermen of 

 Louisiana, no portion of the severance tax on timber has 

 ever been placed in the hands of the Department of Con- 

 servation for forestry purposes. The framers of the tax law 

 in 1910 intended that it should, but subsequent legislation 

 diverted the entire tax into the general fund of the state. 



Messrs. Alexander, Lee and Woodring attended the 

 meeting on the 9th. The first act of the Board was to 

 confirm the appointment of R. D. Forbes as state fores- 

 ter, with the title of Superintendent of Forestry, to direct 

 the actual forestry work in the state. Mr. Forbes had 

 held this position since last October having been ap- 

 pointed by Commissioner Alexander, in advance of the 

 operation of the 1916 law. That law required that the 

 forestry work be superintended by a technically trained 



forester of two years' experience. The present appointee 

 is a graduate of the Yale Forest School in 1913, and has 

 since been employed by the United States Forest Service 

 and the forest commission of the State of New Jersey. 



The Board approved an expenditure of $3,000.00 up 

 to July 1st, when it meets again. $1,000.00 of this is 

 supplied by the United States Government for fire patrol 

 under the Weeks law, contingent upon a like expendi- 

 ture by the state. 



Appropriations were made for a special bulletin on 

 forest fires and for fire posters of popular form. The 

 State Forester was directed to give his special attention 

 to the fire problem, as the most vital forestry work now 

 before the state. The Board was strongly of the opinion 

 that the forestry department could make the greatest 

 return to the lumbermen of the state by pushing forest 

 fire protection, and would also promote the grazing in- 

 terests and cut-over land utilization, by the same means. 

 ie> Second only to fire protection in the opinion of the 

 Forestry Board was the work of land classification and 

 the Board directed that arrangements be made with the 

 agricultural and grazing authorities of the state, who 

 have already informally offered their co-operation, to 

 make joint examinations with the State Forester of tim- 

 bered or cut-over tracts. These tracts, owned by indi- 

 viduals or corporations, shall be classified upon examina- 

 tion into agricultural, grazing and forest land, with an 

 eye to their systematic development. 



Appropriations were also made for investigations along 

 various lines, including a careful study of the rate of 

 growth of Louisiana timber trees, notably the pines, and 

 studies of the various problems connected with fire 

 damage and control. 



"C'REE use of dead wood for fuel has been granted the 

 * residents of Flagstaff, Arizona. This brings the 

 policy for the Coconino Forest in line with that adopted 

 on the Santa Fe and Carson where the use of green 

 timber is prohibited under free use, but dead wood may 

 be taken without permits by residents of Santa Fe 

 and Taos. 



CTANLEY AUGSPURGER, whose name is carried on 

 ^ the Honor Roll of the Roster of Foresters regularly 

 published in this magazine, and who was on the Tus- 

 cania when she was torpedoed, has the honor and dis- 

 tinction of being the first Michigan forester, as well as 

 the first Michigan ma,n to lose his life in this war for 

 the freedom and democracy of the world. 



