TREE PLANTING ALONG THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY 



929 



eludes the planting of white oak, reminiscent of Lincoln's 

 career. With it will be combined Norway maples, hem- 

 locks and white birches. 



Masses of American laurel have been selected by the 

 New Jersey women as decorative for the highway as it 

 enters cities and towns or passes historic spots and fruit 

 trees will be extensively planted throughout the state. 

 The natural forests along the way, with laurels, hardy 

 vines and perennials, have been adopted for Pennsylva- 

 nia in an attempt to preserve and accentuate the native 

 vegetation, presenting to the traveler a beautiful wild 

 garden. Again in Ohio the wild garden effect will be 

 used. \'ariety will be the aim of Indiana, the occidental 

 plane tree, or sycamore indigenous to that state, elms, 

 hardwood maples, golden glow and roses all figure widely 

 in the plan. A "Lincoln motif" in plants and trees illus- 

 trative of certain of Lincoln's characteristics has been 

 arranged in Illinois. Among the trees included in the 

 arrangement are white oaks, to typify the national appeal 

 of Lincoln's character, as it has the widest range of all 

 trees, the red cedar, an evergreen, symbolizing the per- 

 manence of his fame, and flowering dogwood a reminder 

 of the rail splitting days of the former President, since 

 the latter shrub was prized by the pioneers for the making 

 of wedges. In Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, it is noted that 

 the prairie rose will mark the approach to cities, towns 

 and spots of historic interest. The Kentucky coffee tree 

 recalls the state of Lincoln's birth, while the wild grape, 

 the silver bell tree, and the June-berry signify other 

 sides of his character in the poetic conception outlined by 

 the women's clubs. 



West of the Mississippi River the highway will be 

 bordered much of the distance by cottonwood trees. In 

 Wyoming, the native cottonwood, quaking aspen, box 

 elder and the old standbys in which are numbered pines 

 and cedars find a place. Segra lilies, the state flower of 

 Utah, the pines of the hills, and cottonwoods have been 

 chosen for those sections of the road where vegetation 

 will flourish in Utah. Unusual difficulties are presented 

 to the women in the state of Nevada. The road stretches 

 o.jO miles, often through desert where for 40 or 50 miles 

 there is no water and no possible way of irrigating. The 

 tree planting committee of the state has expressed the 

 expectation of securing assistance from the forestry 

 service and from the State University. Cedars, pines, 

 junipers are the state's native trees and can be em- 

 ployed along the rivers and in the mountain districts. 

 A long lane bordered with California poppies, of golden 

 hue, blue lupines, and the many vari-colored flowers of 

 the California hillsides combined with pepper trees in 

 abundance and other native trees promises an ending to 

 the Lincoln Highway unexcelled in its attractiveness. 



The planting on the Lincoln Highway itself, will be 

 but a small part of the finished plan, for all the school 

 yards along the route are to be beautified, and many in- 

 quiries have come to the planting committee in charge 

 from the Southern States, which it is expected will result 

 in road planting throughout the South with a possibility 

 of new roads being built. In Georgia, the state Society 

 of the Daughters of the Confederacy have already an- 



nounced plans for a "Jefferson Davis Highway" which 

 will also reach from ocean to ocean beginning at the 

 I'otomac and extending to the Rio Grande. 



PROTECTING REDWOODS 



FOREST owners of California are taking an active 

 interest in effective and economical protection of 

 the forests against fire, as is shown by the fact 

 that three local forest protective associations have been 

 organized in Mendocino County. 



These three associations will protect over one-half 

 million acres of redwood forests by cooperation among 

 the owners. 



These, with the Redwood Fire and Protective Asso- 

 ciation, which was organized four years ago, will place 

 practically all of the redwood forests of that county 

 under systematic protection. These local associations 

 will cooperate with the California Forest Protective 

 Association, which is actively engaged in organizing such 

 associations throughout the timbered counties of the 

 State, and it is expected that practically all the privately 

 owned timberland will be under such cooperative pro- 

 tection against forest fires before the dry season of 1915. 



In Santa Cruz County the forest and home protective 

 association was organized early in the season and has 

 been able to almost entirely prevent forest fires in that 

 county. This is an especially good record because the 

 most extensive and destructive forest fires in the State 

 during 1913 were in Santa Cruz County. This associa- 

 tion is also cooperating with the California Forest Pro- 

 tective Association. 



Wherever the privately owned timberlands are adja- 

 cent to the National Forests, many of the owners coop- 

 erate with the Federal Forest Service for protection 

 against fire and this cooperative work is being rapidly 

 extended as the benefits are realized by both the Federal 

 foresters and the owners. 



Without doubt this cooperative system can be carried 

 on more effectively and economically through local forest 

 protective associations, especially as they will be able to 

 secure the participation of small owners. 



While this cooperation between the Federal Forest 

 Service and local forest protective associations, com- 

 posed of private owners, will do much to preserve the 

 forests of merchantable timber, there are vast areas of 

 cover growth which are not protected. 



This can be accomplished only by a law providing 

 for cooperation on the part of the State with the Federal 

 Forest Service and private owners of timberland, which 

 would effectively protect from fire all the merchantable 

 timber and all the cover growth on the watersheds. 



A law providing for such cooperation on the part of 

 the State was introduced in the Legislature of 1913 by 

 the State Conservation Commission. It was known as 

 Assembly Bill 643, was approved by Gifford Pinchot, 

 Federal Forester Henry S. Graves and other authorities 

 on forest protection, and passed both the Senate and 

 Assembly. It was opposed by the State Forester, how- 

 ever, and was not signed by Gov. Johnson. 



