22 



THE FORESTER. 



January 



CURRENT COMMENT. 



Tree Protection for the Suez Canal. 



Favorable progress is being made in 

 planting trees and shrubs along the Suez 

 Canal, to protect it from drifting sand. 

 Reeds have been placed along the water 

 line of the canal proper for a distance of 

 nearly nine miles. Excellent results are 

 expected. 



A Momentous Purchase. 



" The Weyerhauser syndicate's purchase 

 of the timberlands of the Northern Pacific 

 Railway still is unsettled, though it is gen- 

 erally believed that it will be consummated. 

 The best posted timbermen hold that the 

 Noi'thern Pacific is making a serious mis- 

 take in disposing of its vast heritage of 

 forest wealth." To which comment of a 

 lumber contemporary might be added that 

 the same advice applies equally to the 

 American people. 



great. In the second place the rivers ha\ 

 all been worked inland for a distance ( 

 about three miles from their banks, am 

 in order to reach the so-called unexploie 

 rubber forests, still further inland, it wi 

 require much more time and necessita 

 more workers while the trees so long taj 

 ped are given rest." 



American Lumber in Paris. 



The American lumber to be used i 

 the construction of the Forestry builclir 

 at the Paris Exposition has been take 

 abroad by the United States auxiliai 

 cruiser "Prairie," which has been plact 

 at the service of the American Commi 

 sioners. The " Prairie " left New Yoi 

 on December 2, with a partial cargo, ar 

 completed it at Baltimore and Norfol 

 The cruiser sailed December 1 1 , dii'e 

 for Havre. 



A Few Congratulations. 



Gi'eylock mountain, the most famous 

 peak in Massachusetts, located in the 

 Berkshire hills, has been taken by the 

 Metropolitan Park Commission and $20,- 

 ooo has been appropriated as an initial 

 expenditure for improving the property, 

 laying out rough walks, drives, etc. For- 

 estry enthusiasts have been making a 

 special effort to get this property beyond 

 the reach of the lumbermen, and at last 

 they have carried their point. Lumber- 

 man's Review. 



What Substitute For The Forest? 



Science and invention are moving 

 too swift a pace for nature. It has on 

 been in comparatively recent years, le 

 than a generation, that the use of wo< 

 pulp came into general use in the man 

 facture of paper. But the rapid and i 

 creased demand for news paper is exhau; 

 ing the supplies of wood necessary for : 

 production, and now the inventive geni 

 of man is being taxed to find a substitu 

 for the wood which took the place of ra 

 and other materials in paper manufactu 

 but a few years ago. Philadelphia Pra 



Amazonian Rubber Trees. 



The enormous increase in the use of 

 rubber for vehicle tires, etc., leads a trav- 

 eler to remark : " But the sources of sup- 

 ply are still vast, especially in the Amazon 

 district of South America. The difficulty 

 is that trees conveniently located near the 

 banks of the rivers are naturally the first 

 to be worked, and in consequence are be- 

 coming exhausted from constant tapping, 

 the milk extracted being weaker each year ; 

 hence the shrinkage in such rubber is very 



A Pertinent Question. 



Undoubtedly it is true that public i 

 terest in the preservation of the forests 

 Pennsylvania is increasing. Arbor D 

 alone would seem to indicate that. B 

 in this, as in all others, the Inquir 

 believes in being practical, and therefc 

 it would like to ask a straightforward qu< 

 tion. 



No man could conscientiously read t 

 newspapers of the State without bei: 



