744 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



The new association has strong support 

 and seems to represent a real awakening of 

 interest in this subject. In a recent meeting 

 at Anderson, Professor Thomas, of Wabash 

 College, said : 



It is not the purpose of The Indiana For- 

 estry Association to reforest the State or 

 recommend even the covering of rich agri- 

 cultural lands with trees. It is their purpose 

 to urge the replanting of woodlands in large 

 tracts wherever they occur, and in small 

 tracts on a very large percentage of the 

 farms of the State. A farm woodlot on 

 every farm will be one of our movements. 



Commenting upon this the Indianapolis 

 Neivs remarked : 



That is well for a beginning and well 

 begun is half done. If we can get the old 

 wooded tracts replanted as Gifford Pinchot 

 urged that they so much needed to be ; arouse 

 an interest that will make a wooded tract a 

 feature of every farm, we shall do a work 

 of inestimable magnitude. But we should 

 say that as the work goes on it will spread. 

 There is no reason why we should not have 

 all city streets and the "better roads" of the 

 State (which was also a subject of the as- 

 sociation's solicitude), lined with trees. In 

 short, attention once turned to the subject, 

 the work will grow beneath the hand. There 

 are practical questions of moisture misun- 

 derstanding of which has been one of the 

 causes that have brought about the denuda- 

 tion of the soil. The farmer begrudges the 

 moisture that the trees draw and wants to 

 save it for his crops by cutting the trees 

 away. But if accepted theories are correct, 

 he at once cuts away cause as well as effect, 

 since more trees would hold as well as draw 

 moisture. 



But all this is a detail that the expert and 

 learned opinion of the work will be able to 

 settle. The practical thing now is to replant 

 the wooded tracts and to draw popular at- 

 tention to the whole subject ; to spread pop- 

 ular knowledge ; to make Arbor day a great 

 day, a day of public celebration, so that tree 

 planting shall become general. 



The News further notes the systematic 

 way in which the whole Belgian people once 

 enlisted in reclothing the country with trees, 

 making it a national festival, and says in 

 conclusion, that of all the forms of conserva- 

 tion "none is of greater importance for In- 

 diana than reforesting. It is a patriotic duty 

 that every citizen owes this State to take an 

 interest in it." 



This fine spirit will surely accomplish re- 

 sults. The new association can be assured 

 of the heartiest good wishes and support of 

 the American Forestry Association. 



% & 91 



Forest Fire Conferences 



The Lake States have been thoroughly 

 aroused by the fires of this past season and 

 conferences to deal with the fire question 



seem to be much in order. In addition to 

 the Michigan meeting, which resulted in the 

 formation of the Northern Fire Protective 

 Association, which we have referred to else- 

 where, a meeting was held at Bemidji, Min- 

 nesota, on the llth of November, under 

 the auspices of the Northern Minnesota De- 

 velopment Association, to frame a bill for 

 the protection of the timber lands of Minne- 

 sota, this bill to be submitted to the Develop- 

 ment Association at its meeting in Brainerd, 

 December 2nd. 



Broader in scope than either of these, how- 

 ever, is the Lake States Forest Fire Confer- 

 ence which is to be held in St. Paul, Decem- 

 ber 6th and 7th. At this conference the 

 Governors of the three States are to speak. 

 Governor Eberhart of Minnesota, is to speak 

 on the State's duty in preservation of its 

 forests; Governor Warner of Michigan, on 

 Michigan's forestry policy, and Governor 

 Davidson of Wisconsin, on what the forests 

 mean to its people. The program* of this 

 meeting has been shaped by the Minnesota 

 Forestry Association and the discussion will 

 be broad and thorough. National and State 

 forest officials and timber land owners wi 1 : 

 be present and it is believed that much good 

 will result from the gathering. 



A Generous Forest Gift 



Joseph Battell, of Middlebury, Vermont, has 

 offered to Middlebury College ten thousand 

 acres of wild land in the towns of Hancock 

 Goshen and Ripton to be used for a school 

 of forestry. He believes that with such a 

 demonstration forest close at hand Middle - 

 bury would be in a position to do good work 

 for higher education in forestry. 



Mr. Battell has already given to the public 

 a large tract for a park and has offered the 

 United States Government a tract on Lin- 

 coln Mountain in Warren, 4,000 feet above 

 sea, worth $100,000, if the Government will 

 spend as much improving it. He believes 

 New England, which shares but little, and 

 Vermont especially, which shares hardly at 

 all, in the money expended by the Govern- 

 ment for public improvements should have a 

 government reservation, so he offers this 

 splendid tract of land, attaching to the gift 

 no conditions except that the Government 

 shall expend $100,000 on the property when 

 acquired. 



Mr. Battell is the largest individual land- 

 owner in Vermont. It was through his in- 

 terest, generosity, and faith in the Morgan 

 horse that the Government breeding station 

 was established in Weybridge, Vermont. He 

 is a gentleman of active and efficient public 

 spirit. 



