1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



40.5 



and contrasting the old method of box- 

 ing with the new, in which cups and 

 gutters are used. In another sec- 

 tion the operation of timber testing is 

 shown by a ioo,ooo-pound testing ma- 

 chine, and its results by a number of 

 beams and smaller pieces and by a 

 series of charts and diagrams. On a 

 relief map of the United States are 

 shown many important facts relating 

 to forests and forestry, and other maps 

 give sundry kinds of information. An- 

 other important feature is the outdoor 

 exhibit of forest planting, in which 

 about three acres are devoted to demon- 

 strations of how and what to plant in 

 any section of the country. Other out- 

 side exhibits are those of practical tim- 

 ber-testing and wood-preserving, which 

 are carried on daily in that part of the 

 grounds known as "The Gulch," more 

 than a mile from the Forestry building. 



YELLOW PINE EXHIBIT. 



The exhibit of the Southern Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association deserves 

 special mention, because it is the only 

 display made by a lumbermen's organ- 

 ization, and because it shows what a 

 given kind of wood is good for. In the 

 exhibit no distinction is made between 

 long-leaf and short-leaf pine, yet the 

 manufacturers and dealers recognize 

 the peculiar qualities of each and fur- 

 nish what is wanted. 



The chief object in the exhibit is a 

 cottage built throughout of yellow pine, 

 stained in attractive colors outside and 

 treated as a cabinet wood within. Each 

 of the three rooms has a different treat- 

 ment, and all are notably attractive. A 

 car-load of short-leaf pine logs is another 

 feature, and a series of stock samples 

 includes the ordinary commercial grades 

 of yellow pine. This last is especially 

 interesting, because it is the only col- 

 lection that shows anything but selected 

 specimens. 



HOO-HOO. 



The building that the lumbermen's 

 organization has erected must not be 

 overlooked, since besides being a club- 

 house it contains a series of rooms that 

 afford a practical demonstration of the 

 value of redwood, cypress, red gum, 



and several other commercial woods for 

 inside finish. The building was unfor- 

 tunately burned down in June, and 

 though the energy of the members re- 

 stored it in less than a month, it was 

 impossible to reproduce the original 

 beauty of many of the rooms. 



SUMMARY. 



The features of the exposition that 

 have been referred to in detail may be 

 summed up under three heads attract- 

 iveness, educational value, commercial 

 value. 



In general the first is satisfactory, the 

 second and third less so. In any exhibit 

 an object without a label to tell what it is 

 and what it is for is a nuisance. Many 

 collections are full of nuisances. Again, 

 the exhibit that shows specimens with- 

 out indicating their relative quantita- 

 tive and qualitative importance does 

 little to enlighten the visitor. In the 

 Texas exhibit, for instance, are speci- 

 mens of bald cypress and red willow, 

 both of about the same size, yet with 

 nothing to suggest that the one has 

 little more than a botanical value, while 

 the other is one of the most important 

 lumber woods. 



Another fault is the too general use 

 of varnish. It is employed often in the 

 interest of neatness, it is true ; yet in 

 several exhibits the specimens look 

 well without it and far more natural. 



The criticisms here made, whether of 

 individual exhibits or of all together, 

 are to be viewed in the light of an effort 

 to measure the display by. a high stand- 

 ard. As a whole, the forestry exhibit 

 is creditable and highly instructive ; yet 

 in four directions it falls short of what 

 it should be: 



First. The motto of the exposition, 

 ' ' Processes, not products, ' ' is negatived 

 by the signal failure to have exhibited 

 a complete set of up-to-date logging 

 and wood-working tools and machinery. 

 There are some stave saws, coopers' 

 tools, and hand tools in the Forestry 

 building, and some barrel and box ma- 

 chinery, a portable sawmill and some 

 planing machines, etc., in the Machin- 

 ery building ; but the lumberman will 

 look in vain for a donkey engine, a com- 

 plete band mill, or a steam skidder. 



