348 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



Governor Sheldon, of Nebraska, 

 spoke on the excellent work being 

 done by the agricultural experiment 

 stations in his State. He said that in 

 Lancaster county, Nebraska, for the 

 last five years, the yield of corn has 

 been thirty-five bushels per acre. Yet 

 the corn raised under the direction of 

 the agricultural experiment station 

 located in that county, under the same 

 conditions and the same circum- 

 stances, but in accordance with the 

 teachings of science, has yielded sev- 

 enty-six bushels to the acre for the 

 last five years. He said that these ob- 

 ject lessons are something that the 

 farmers of the country cannot argue 

 down or get around ; and he contin- 

 ued with a plea for the extension of 

 this line of governmental work. Re- 

 forestation and the planting of new 

 forests, he said, was also a vitally im- 

 portant work, and he urged that indi- 

 vidual and State co-operation be given 

 the National Government in its work 

 along this line. 



Lieut. Governor Davidson, of Tex- 

 as, spoke on the natural resources of 

 that State and urged the extension of 

 a system of water conservation for 

 irrigation and power purposes in the 

 mountainous regions of western Tex- 

 as. Mr. William Louden, Iowa, spoke 

 briefly in a general summing-up of the 

 proceedings of the Conference ; and 



< ! 



Mr. Bryan presented the following 

 resolutions. 



"Resolved: That this Conference 

 records its deep regret that Ex-Presi- 

 dent Cleveland is prevented by sick- 

 ness from participating in this historic 

 meeting; and that, extending to him 

 a cordial greeting, it expresses a sin- 

 cere wish for his speedy recovery." 



After a brief discussion, at the close 

 of which it was decided to print the 

 proceedings of the Conference in full, 

 Governor Blanchard said : 



"With profound appreciation of the 

 great work that this Conference has 

 accomplished, I do now move that the 

 Conference adjourn sine die." 



Before putting the motion, Presi- 

 dent Roosevelt said : 



"Let me extend a word of thanks 

 to all of you, to the Governors and 

 the other guests for coming here. The 

 \Yhite House has held many distin- 

 guished gatherings in its day. I do 

 not believe it has ever held as distin- 

 guished a gathering as this, composed, 

 of executives and representatives of 

 the executives of all of the States of 

 the Union. I thank you for coming ; 

 and I can assure you that at least no 

 body of guests has ever been more 

 welcome than you have to the White 

 House." 



Thereupon, at 1 130 o'clock P. M., 

 the Conference stood adjourned. 



THE FOREST LESSON 



By ARTHUR CHAPMAN 



In order to reforest a part of the Adirondacks, it has been found necessary to import a million 

 young trees from Germany. Press Dispatch. 



T~"HE throb of the ax in the forest went on through a nation vast, 



Like a fevered heart that is beating in measure that's all too fast ; 

 \Ye gave carte blanche to the woodman, and none stayed the vandal hand, 

 And now, to replant our forests, we must send to the Fatherland. 



The sawmill shrieked in the mountains, and the sound was borne on the breeze, 

 O'er the crash of the falling giants as they splintered the smaller trees, 



And all that was left was silence, where whispered the forests grand 

 And now, to repair the mischief, we must send to the Fatherland. 



\Ye have gained some industrial captains of lumber monarchs a few 

 But somehow they don't quite balance the damage that such chaps do ; 



There's naught to make up for those barrens where wantonness set its brand, 

 In these days when for forest seedlings we must send to the Fatherland ! 



Denver Republican. 



