Forestry and Irrigation. 



VOL. X. 



SEPTEMBER, 1904. 



No. 9. 



NEWS AND NOTES. 



A New Mr. Gifford Pinchot in 



Term. the accompanying letter 



proposes a new word for 

 use in forestry, and one that seems not 

 only good, but necessary. As he ex- 

 plains it, " silvics " deals with the be- 

 havior of trees in the forest in relation 

 to their environment, or is the science 

 which has to do with the life of forest 

 trees. But the letter is self-explanatory: 



Mr. H. M. SUTER, 



Editor Forestry and Irrigation, 



Washington, D. C. 



DEAR SIR : I submit herewith a new 

 term and its definition, which I desire to 

 propose for use in forestry. It is " sil- 

 vics." It would, for example, if prac- 

 tically used, replace the term "silvicul- 

 tural characteristics," so that we would 

 speak of the silvics of a tree just as we 

 would speak of the optics of a kind of 

 glass. With silvics in use, then silvi- 

 culture would be restricted to a definite 

 use in connection with actual work in 

 the woods, or to the reproduction, 

 planting, and tending of woods, while 

 silvics would denote the knowledge nec- 

 essary for a man who desired to practice 

 silviculture, just as an engineer would 

 have a knowledge of mechanics. The 

 word is formed upon the analogy, for 

 example, of words like optics, which 

 deals with the relation of substances to 

 light, or mechanics, which deals with 

 the behavior of forces and their effect 

 on matter in general. 



Very sincerely yours, 



GIFFORD PINCHOT, 



Forester. 

 & 



Well Records. The United States Geo- 

 logical Survey has re- 

 cently perfected plans for the systematic 

 collection and preservation of well rec- 



ords and samples. The demand for in- 

 formation regarding wells has become 

 so great that the Survey has decided to 

 issue an annual publication containing 

 a brief account of the wells bored each 

 year. This report will be published as 

 near the beginning of the year as prac- 

 ticable, and will be sent to all those who 

 apply for it. It will contain the names 

 and addresses of persons doing well 

 work, and will summarize the work 

 done by them in the preceding year. 



In order to obtain data for such a year 

 book, the Survey wishes to make ar- 

 rangements with well drillers and well 

 owners to send samples and records to 

 the Survey's headquarters in Washing- 

 ton, D. C. On receipt of names of per- 

 sons willing to save samples of well 

 borings, the Survey will at once send 

 them supplies of canvas bags in which 

 they may transmit them through the 

 mails without paying postage. As these 

 samples may be sent as often as the 

 drillers visit the postoffice, there is no 

 danger that they will accumulate and 

 become burdensome. For the keeping 

 of a log, a convenient pocket memoran- 

 dum book will also be provided. 



It is to be hoped that the drillers and 

 well owners of the country will appre- 

 ciate the importance of the Survey's ef- 

 fort, and will cooperate so heartily as to 

 assure its complete success. It should 

 appeal to them for several reasons : 



First. Their names and work will be 

 kept before a class of readers interested 

 in well drilling. 



Second. Records of their work will 

 be carefully filed in the office of the 

 Survey, and will be readily available to 

 them at any time, so that in case their 

 notes are lost they can be duplicated. 



Third . Their cooperation will aid ma- 

 terially in the study of the geologic 



