323 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



July 



Dams Give Recently two big dams 

 "Way. went out under the 



stress of heavy floods, 

 resulting in considerable property loss, 

 but fortunately in no loss of life. At 

 Hatch, Utah, on the Panguitch branch 

 of the Sevier River, an irrigation reser- 

 voir under construction broke its dam 

 and destroyed considerable property, as 

 well as ruining the prospects for the ex- 

 tensive irrigation works contemplated 

 for this summer. Hatch is in the ex- 

 treme southern part of the state and 

 50 miles from a railroad. The other 

 dam which was washed out was on the 

 Coweeman River, which empties into 

 the Cowlitz a short distance above 

 Kalama, Wash. This dam was situated 

 in a narrow canyon, and when it gave 

 way under the pressure of water from 

 melting snow a large shingle and saw- 

 mill and several bridges were carried 

 away in the torrent. The dam was the 

 property of the Coweeman Rafting and 

 Driving Company, on whom the prin- 

 cipal loss will fall. They will rebuild 

 as soon as possible. 



To Solve 



Water 



Problems. 



The Division of Irriga- 

 tion Investigations of 

 the Department of Ag- 

 riculture, through the 

 experiment station connected with the 

 University of California, at Berkeley, 

 will commence a series of experiments 

 which will have an important bearing 

 on water problems, and particularly in 

 California. Some of these will touch 

 on a determination of the evaporation 

 of water from soil and plant surfaces, 

 and from cultivated and non-cultivated 

 soil surfaces, and will be under the di- 

 rection of Professor Fortier, of Mon- 

 tana, and A. P. Stover, lecturer on 

 irrigation at the university. An ex- 

 haustive study of pumping water for 

 irrigation will be made by Professor 

 J. N. Le Conte and A. J. Turner, both 

 of the College of Mechanical Engineer- 

 ing, who will work in connection with 

 the irrigation investigations. Another 

 phase will be the investigation of pump- 

 ing water as it affects the level of ground 

 water. In addition to these, the ques- 

 tions of seepage losses will be taken up, 



the duty of water, the value of winter 

 irrigation, and the location of wastes in 

 irrigating. The series of investigations 

 will cover a period of two years and 

 will be very exhaustive. 



& 



Remove The Journal of 'the Royal 



Dead Wood. Horticultural Society of 

 England, in comment- 

 ing on the statement that there are more 

 insect and fungoid pests which attack 

 trees in that country than there were a 

 few years ago, calls attention to the prev- 

 alent carelessness in not removing dead 

 trees and branches from otherwise well- 

 managed estates. In some cases the 

 owner insists on retaining dead growths 

 because they are ' ' picturesque. ' ' Dead 

 trees should be removed and limbs cut 

 in all practicable cases, and in pruning 

 away the branches they should be cut 

 flush with the good growth and the 

 wound coated with tar or other sub- 

 stance which will protect the cut from 

 the entrance of fungi or insects. When 

 this is done the tree covers the wound 

 with new bark and no opening is left 

 for the penetration of decay into the 

 trunk itself. 



& 



Harvested His It has been urged on 

 Own Planting, many persons to plant 

 trees as a heritage for 

 those who come after them, and the re- 

 iteration of this statement leads people 

 to believe that there is no profit from 

 tree planting to be enjoyed by the 

 planter himself. To offset this idea, 

 there is the case of a Kansas farmer 

 who in 1877 planted trees on a home- 

 stead claim, which trees have since 

 yielded him timbers for three large 

 barns, and have supplied lumber and 

 fuel in abundance. Mr. S. Bethers, of 

 Rice county, Kansas, began his tree 

 planting experiments in 1877, using 

 Osage Orange to produce fencing, and 

 Cotton wood, Walnut, and a little Soft 

 Maple to supply lumber. These trees 

 have not only supplied his timber needs, 

 but there is now standing a fine grove, 

 which adds materially to the comfort 

 of his family and his stock, and gives 

 protection against storms. His experi- 

 ence has been that all trees do best on 



