1900. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



227 



have thus far been destroyed, and unless 

 rains set in soon the timbered sections will 

 suffer as never before. 



" One of the rangers in the government 

 employ was in town to-day and secured a 

 large body of men to go and fight the 

 fires on the Uncompahgre plateau." 



" BUENA VISTA, Colo., Aug. 16. To- 

 night the flames from the forest fires 

 twelve miles west of here can be seen. 

 This fire has been burning for a number 

 of days, but not until to-night has it 

 gained so much headway that it could be 

 seen. It is reported that the amount of 

 damage done the green timber will be be- 

 yond description. The fire since it has 

 started, some days ago, has burned over 

 several miles of timber, and at this writ- 

 ing seems to be in a fair way to reach this 

 side of the mountain and finish what tim- 

 ber is on this side." 



"CENTRAL CITY, Colo., Aug. 16. 

 The timber fire at the head of Silver Creek 

 is reported to be gaining ground and is 

 spreading over a considerable area. There 

 are several shaft buildings in this vicinity, 

 which it is feared will be destroyed, and, 

 should the fire be turned toward the west, 



it may endanger the safety of the people 

 at Apex." 



An Associated Press dispatch of Aug. 

 2 ist said : " Ten million dollars' damage 

 is estimated to be the result of the forest 

 fires in Colorado and Wyoming. The 

 estimate was made by C. E. -Wantland, 

 general agent of the Union Pacific Rail- 

 road. According to that official, the loss 

 on timber is only a comparativelv small 

 item. Mr. Wantland said to-day: 



" ' In many places the fires are spread- 

 ing over almost bare country, land where 

 there is nothing but young growth, which 

 might have made the forest of ten and 

 twenty years hence if it had not been for 

 these fires. 



" ' Lands which could have been sold 

 for homes because of the pleasant sur- 

 roundings will now for years not be worth 

 much. The vicinity of Glenwood Springs 

 and such places, where the tourists re- 

 sort, will be much affected in a commer- 

 cial way because the scenery will be im- 

 paired.' 



"In Middle Park the fires are burning 

 so fiercely that ranchmen are beginning to 

 fear that their homes will be swept away." 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 



Annual Report of the Pennsylvania State Com- 

 missioner of Forestry. By Dr. J. T. Roth- 

 rock. Report of the Pennsylvania Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture for 1899. Pages, n. 

 Dr. Rothrock begins his letter of transmittal 

 to the State Secretary of Agriculture by saying: 

 " You will observe that it [the report] is briefer 

 than usual. This is due to the fact that up to 

 the commencement of 1900 much of the work 

 done has pertained to what may be called the 

 period of agitation of the cause of forestry. It 

 was necessary before our people could be in- 

 duced to enter upon a new work that they 

 should be convinced that it was necessary. This 

 has been accomplished, and the task now before 

 us is to begin the practical work of forest res- 

 toration." The substance of this report even 

 more than its comparative brevity, shows that 

 Pennsylvania has advanced rapidly in its ap- 

 preciation of the meaning and value of forestry. 

 The report consists almost entirely of an ac- 

 count of the ways in which practical forestry is 



beginning in the State, and of indications of 

 lines along which work may best proceed. 

 Many subjects which have an equal interest for 

 other States, and many phases of these subjects 

 which are peculiar to Pennsylvania, are touched 

 upon more or less fully. Several passages from 

 the report will be quoted or referred to from 

 time to time in the FORESTER. Meanwhile it 

 is fitting to point out that, as in Colonel Fox's 

 New York report for 1897, the increasing value 

 of hard woods is thought worthy of comment. 

 On page 133 Dr. Rothrock says: "The cone- 

 bearing timber is relatively, so far as this genera- 

 tion is concerned, a thing of the past, but there 

 are still large quantities of hard wood remain- 

 ing. Until within five years the Beech, Birch 

 and Maple, which were usually associated with 

 the Hemlock, were regarded as having prac- 

 tically no value. The owners of large tracts on 

 which such timber still remains are beyond 

 doubt aware that this ' hardwood ' timber 

 must speedily increase in value. The only 



