4O2 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



September 



some fine specimens of Canadian logs 

 and lumber, and the only exhibit of 

 pulp wood at the Fair. The Canadian 

 species, of course, are the same as those 

 found in our northern states. 



Other Foreign Countries. Mexico, 

 Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, 

 and some other countries make exhibits 

 of woods, and sometimes of herbarium 

 specimens, that are interesting botan- 

 ically ; yet, since no one goes to a Fair 

 to study such things, their value is not 

 apparent. It is well known that few 

 tropical woods are commercially impor- 

 tant, because they are unworkable or 

 too widely scattered; consequently most 

 of the specimens might as well have 

 been left at home. One likes to see 

 Quebracho Colorado, the Argentina wood 

 that is so rich in tannin, and to recog- 

 nize in the really great Brazilian collec- 

 tion some of the more familiar cabinet 

 woods, but it is impossible to go into 

 details s . The Portuguese exhibit of cork 

 would be more interesting if it showed 

 even a little of the methods employed in 

 handling the cork bark. As it stands, it 

 is out of place in the forestr)' building, 

 being purely a manufacturer's exhibit. 



PHILIPPINES. 



In the Philippine concession a large 

 building is devoted to the forest products 

 of the islands. Much space is given to 

 specimens of fruits, fibers, gums, etc., 

 and though there are many fine samples 

 of wood, one is a little disappointed in 

 the collection as a whole, in view of the 

 reports that have been published about 

 the size and quality of Philippine tim- 

 bers. The woods are characteristically 

 tropical, most of them heavy, hard, and 

 full of defects, and consequently of 

 relatively little worth. The labels are 

 good, and might well furnish sugges- 

 tions to other exhibitors. 



THE UNITED STATES. 



Comparisons between the exhibits of 

 the several states are inevitable, and if 

 the task be undertaken here it is in an 

 effort to point out what appear to be 

 the deficiencies of some of them. An 

 exhibit at an exposition is meant to in- 

 struct, and the extent to which it does 

 that must be the measure of its success. 



The reader will bear in mind that what 

 is here said refers to the forest exhibits 

 only not to the fish and game that 

 often share the same space, nor to the 

 attendants. In not a few cases infor- 

 mation that the exhibit itself fails to 

 give can be obtained from the capable 

 men in charge. 



Arkansas. Two-thirds of the space 

 allotted to the state that contains more 

 hardwood than any other is filled with 

 samples of short-leaf pine flooring, sid- 

 ing, etc., all varnished. There are 

 specimens of nearly all the native woods, 

 it is true, yet they represent very inade- 

 quately the actual quality of much of 

 the lumber that is produced. A few 

 white oak staves, ash oars and handles, 

 and hickory wagon stock represent the 

 very important industries in those lines. 

 Several samples of turned ware in tupelo 

 gum suggest many uses for that light, 

 soft, clean, and much-despised wood. 



California. California's exhibit is a 

 disappointment; not because it has been 

 shown before, but because it does not 

 truly present the real resources of the 

 state. Redwood is dominant naturally, 

 but in the inside exhibit it is shown 

 chiefly as a cabinet wood, in burls and 

 veneers or as freaks. The same is true 

 of all the other woods. The specimens 

 are fine without a doubt, but where is 

 the sugar pine, the western yellow pine, 

 the common lumber and shingles, and 

 the information about them all that 

 should be the state's chief care? Out- 

 side the building is shown a western 

 yellow pine stem 145 feet long, 45 

 inches in diameter at the butt, and 28 

 inches in diameter at the top, neces- 

 sarily cut into 9 logs to be brought 

 hither, and a sugar pine log 8 by 14 

 feet. 



Georgia. The chief interest in this 

 exhibit attaches to a collection of tur- 

 pentine trees, tools, distilling apparatus, 

 and products. The material is more 

 complete than that of the Bureau of 

 Forestry, though not so well arranged. 

 There is also a good collection of wood 

 specimens and some sample pieces of 

 hardwood furniture, but neither give 

 much of an idea of what the lumber 

 resources of the state are. Of forestry 

 there is no suggestion other than that 



