T902. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



521 



two or three seasons, so as to develop a 

 single sprout from the stump, greatl)^ 

 hastens height-growth and prevents low 

 side branches. 



With close planting and cutting back 

 two years afterward, thinning will be- 

 come necessarj' within eight or ten years 

 from the time of planting Some of 

 the trees will be large enough for fence 

 posts, and if the work is judiciously 

 done good returns may be secured from 

 this first cutting. 



When the first growth is bushy and 

 undesirable a better growth can usually 

 be secured by cutting the stand clean 

 and reproducing it by sprouts. 



A clean-cut stand should be protected 

 by occasional strips of timber left uncut 

 for the protection of the succeeding crop 

 of sprouts. This is especially necessar}- 

 on the prairies where heavy winds pre- 

 vail, for the young sprouts are very ten- 

 der and easily broken off during the first 

 year or two of their growth. The pro- 

 tective strips are best run east and w^est, 

 as the most damaging winds are from 

 the south. 



The best growth of Catalpa is not ob- 

 tained in pure plantations. This state- 

 ment is contrar}- to general practice and 

 belief, for almost all Catalpa planta- 

 tions throughout the country are pure 



planted. The advantage of a suitable- 

 associate tree is that by shading the 

 ground it will keep out weeds and 

 gra.sses and kill off the lateral branches 

 of the Catalpa, thus giving the tree a 

 straight, clean bole to the height of 18 

 to 20 feet. The best trees for planting 

 with Catalpa in the middle west are 

 Osage Orange and Ru.ssian Mulberry. 



Growers need not hesitate to force the- 

 growth of their Catalpas, as the wood is 

 apparently just as good when grown 

 fast as slow. The rate of growth makes 

 no difference in the sale of the product. 

 Onh^ shape and size count. 



Dr. von Schrenk finds that Catalpa 

 wood, if cut from the living tree, is one 

 of the most durable timbers known. 

 No fungus has 3'et been found that will 

 grow in the dead wood. The wood of 

 living trees is attacked by two fungi,, 

 one causing a soft rot, the other a brown 

 rot. Dr. von Schrenk discusses these 

 two diseases and recommends methods 

 of preventing them. 



The bulletin is handsomely printed, 

 and the mau}^ excellent half-tone plates 

 add much value to the text. The ac- 

 companying illustrations are taken from 

 the bulletin, and are reprinted here 

 through the courtesy of tire Bureau of 

 Forestry. 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 



The "Woodsman's Handbook, Part I. By Henry 



Solon Graves. Bulletin 36, Bureau of 

 Forestry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

 Pp. 148. 

 "Tiie Woodsman's Handbook," the first 

 volume of which has just been issued l)y the 

 Bureau of Forestrj^ will be of great value to 

 lumbermen and foresters alike. Its author, 

 Mr. HeuryS. Graves, director of the Yale For- 

 est School, has endeavored to collect all the 

 rules in use in this country and Canada for 

 finding the contents of standing timber and of 

 logs 12, 16, and 20 feet in length, of diameters 

 from 6 to 60 inches. He has compared them 

 in a series of tables and described their origin 

 and mode of use. The vScribner, Doyle, and 

 New Hampshire rules are printed in full ; the 

 rest appear in part in the comparison tables. 

 Descriptions are given of the methods of esti- 

 mating standing timber in use by timber 

 cruisers in different parts of the countr)', and 

 of the method adopted by the Bureau of For- 

 estry. The Handbook contains also an out- 



line for a forest working plan and descriptions 

 of instruments of use to the woodsman. 



The second volume of the Handbook, which 

 is to be published soon, will contain detailed 

 directions for ihe study of age and growth of 

 trees, including diameter, height, and volume 

 growth. A most valuable feature will he a 

 compilation of the tables of growth, vield 

 tables, and volume tables for all the trees that 

 have been systematicall}- studied in this coun- 

 try. The deffcts, strength, durability, and 

 fuel value of timber, the amount of tannin in 

 bark, specifications and weights of logs, and 

 weights of lumber will be discussed. In addi- 

 tion, the second volume will contain compound 

 interest tables, tables for converting metric to 

 English measure, and areas of circles. 



Tlie Handbook is of a size convenient for 

 carrying in the pocket, and is attractively 

 bound in green leatherette. It may be ob- 

 tained only through the Senate, the House of 

 Representatives, or the Department of Agri- 

 culture. 



