1432 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



STATE NEWS 



CALIFORNIA 

 i/THIS year for the first time the state of 

 California is enabled to benefit by the 

 terms of the Weeks Law agreement by 

 reason of the appropriation made by the 

 last legislature for the prevention and sup- 

 pression of forest fires," says M. B. Pratt, 

 deputy state forester. "Through the use 

 of the federal and state funds, approxi- 

 mately three million acres of brush and tim- 

 ber land lying in the foothills of the Sierra 

 Nevada Mountains outside the National 

 Forests are receiving systematic protection 

 through the employment of four experi- 

 enced patrolmen. 



"These patrolmen cooperate with the 

 federal forest service and rural fire-fight- 

 ing companies organized through farm 

 centers by the county farm agents. They 

 are provided with Fords and fire-fighting 

 equipment for twenty men by the state 

 which also authorizes them to incur fire- 

 fighting expenses to the extent of their 

 monthly letters of authorization. These 

 salaries are paid by the federal govern- 

 ment through the office of the district for- 

 ester at San Francisco. 



"The region covered by the Weeks Law 

 patrolmen is one of great fire hazard due 

 to the amount of inflammable material, in- 

 tense summer heat, heavy winds and the 

 large number of campers and hunters. 

 Precipitation in California during March, 

 April, May and June of this year was, 

 according to Weather Bureau records, 27 

 per cent, 53 per cent, 74 per cent and 97 

 per cent respectively, below normal. Rain 

 cannot be expected until the last of Sep- 

 tember which makes a long fire season and 

 strenuous work for those engaged in fire 

 protection. 



"Since being appointed in July, the 

 Weeks Law patrolmen have been almost 

 constantly engaged in fighting fires some 

 of which would have swept the Sierra foot- 

 hills had they not been promptly sup- 

 pressed. The region which they cover is 

 patrolled daily by airplanes from Mather 

 Field near Sacramento, and is under the 

 eyes of federal lookout men in the adjoin- 

 ing National Forests as well. As a result, 

 fires are promptly apprehended. The very 

 bad fire conditions have made some of 

 them difficult to control, and several have 

 covered five thousand acres or more de- 

 stroying young timber, watershed cover 

 and ranch property. Reports to Septem- 

 ber 1st give a total of 30,000 acres of brush 

 and timber lands burned over outside the 

 national forests. 



"The situation is not as bad as in Idaho 

 and Montana since the country is well set- 

 tled for the most part, and there are roads 

 and trails from which to back-fire in ad- 



vance of the main fire. The loss has been 

 serious enough, however, to make people 

 realize that the fire problem in California 

 is a long way from being solved. The 

 few trained men that are on the job in the 

 Sierra foothill country have demonstrated 

 to the local residents what can be accom- 

 plished by organized effort, and the way is 

 being paved for better cooperation and a 

 more efficient organization next year." 



CANADA 



A V. S. Pulling, who graduated from the 

 * New York State College of Forestry, 

 at Syracuse, New York, in 1915, has been 

 secured by the University of New Bruns- 

 wick at Frederickton, New Brunswick, 

 for the position in charge of the Depart- 

 ment of Forestry. At the outbreak of the 

 war Mr. Pulling enlisted in the 504th 

 Engineers, winning a sergeancy, and being 

 sent overseas with his organization. 



ILLINOIS 



STATE Forester R. B. Miller has had 

 an interesting trip with Ransom H. 

 Kennicott, Forester for the Cook County 

 Forest Preserves, through the preserves, 

 traveling by auto for an entire day without 

 covering the entire chain of parks belong- 

 ing to Cook County. Mr. Kennicott is con- 

 fronted by the question of recreation and 

 along this line is building roads, dams and 

 drinking fountains and driving wells to 

 secure drinking water for the campers and 

 vacationists who are constantly seeking 

 these wooded areas for health and enjoy- 

 ment. On one park, the Deer Creek, he 

 has two or three Boy Scout camps under 

 competent direction and a Fresh Air camp, 

 for Chicago children. The entire chain 

 comprises 12,353 acres of forest and wood- 

 lands and on some of these he plans to 

 maintain forest conditions and raise timber. 

 On the Desplaines river he has also started 

 a forest nursery of considerable size, in 

 charge of "Bill" Johnson, of Syracuse 

 University, who has surmounted many dif- 

 ficulties in the raising of seedlings. It 

 takes a formidable force of rangers, guards, 

 road builders, and others to look after the 

 comfort of the public, as well as several 

 district foresters, and Mr. Kennicott is 

 happy in looking after all of the various 

 projects and looking out for the comfort 

 of his many guests. 



About six miles east of Polo, Illinois, 

 on the east side of Pine Creek, a tributary 

 of the Rock River, in Ogle County, Illinois, 

 is a unique white pine stand, the origin of 

 which is unknown. Here is a fine tract of 

 white pine resembling the finest stands in 

 Pennsylvania or Connecticut, occupying 

 about 150 acres. The diameter of the trees 



varies from 10 to 24 inches and the height 

 is from 75 to. 80 feet. According to Wes- 

 ley Bradfield, who wrote a short report on 

 this tract some years ago, the number of 

 trees in the two groves is 1,017 and their 

 total volume is about 245,000 feet. Accord- 

 ing to H. DeForest, a graduate of the Yale 

 Forest School now making a report on the 

 flora of Ogle County, the grove is unique 

 in that the succession is from oak to white 

 pine rather than from white pine to oak, 

 the ordinary succession. There is a strong 

 local sentiment in favor of making "The 

 Pines" a forest reserve which would be a 

 very good way of preserving a beautiful 

 and rare tract of native timber, one of the 

 few in Illinois. The stream, Pine Creek, 

 has been stocked with bass and down near 

 the stream there is an ideal camping site. 

 A map of the site will be found on the Dix- 

 on Quadrangle of the Illinois Geological 

 Survey. 



Governor Lowden, of Illinois, has been 

 an enthusiast for several years in forest 

 and ornamental planting and at his farm, 

 "Sinnissippi," three miles from Oregon, 

 Illinois, can be found white pine and Scotch 

 pine plantations fifteen years of age down 

 to recent planting, all doing remarkably 

 well on sandy soil. Many species of hard- 

 wood trees are also growing successfully 

 on this farm which will well repay a visit. 

 An informal meeting of much importance 

 was recently held at the Quadrangle Club, 

 in Chicago. Those present were Dr. John 

 M. Coulter and Dr. Cowles, of Chicago 

 University; Dr. Shepherdson, Director of 

 Registration and Education, from Spring- 

 field, Illinois; Dr. Forbes, Chief of the 

 State Natural History Survey Division and 

 State Forester R. B. Miller. Among the 

 things to be included in the work* of the 

 first year it was decided that a forest sur- 

 vey of at least one county was necessary, 

 in cooperation with the soil survey and 

 topographic survey; an investigation should 

 be conducted showing the profit and loss 

 from grazing in the ordinary wood lot ; 

 that demonstration forests similar to those 

 in Ohio be established on a cooperative 

 basis with farmers; that certain questions 

 vital to a forest policy for the state be 

 carefully looked up, such as state forests, 

 state nurseries, fire protection plans and 

 forest taxation ; that the estimating of tim- 

 ber and the bringing together of buyer and 

 seller was a legitimate work for the state 

 forester to engage in and that so far as 

 possible he should cooperate with the 

 county advisers, through personal confer- 

 ences and lectures, so as to bring forestry 

 information to the people; in addition carry 

 on publicity work through the press and 

 by public lectures wherever possible. Co- 



