FOREST NOTES 



During March twenty-five forest fires 

 burned on or near the land in the south- 

 ern Appalachians, which the Govern- 

 ment is securing under the Weeks law 

 for the establishment of national for- 

 ests. Seven of these fires reported by 

 the Government's forest officers covered 

 more than 10 acres, but 11 were less 

 than one-quarter of an acre in size. 



The most common cause was railroad 

 sparks. On what are known as the 

 Cherokee, Mt. Mitchell, Unaka, and 

 White Top areas the railroads cross 

 lands which the Government is acquir- 

 ing, so that there is considerable risk, 

 even though the rights of way are pa- 

 trolled during very dry seasons. The 

 State laws, however, are so lax in re- 

 gard to the maintenance of spark ar- 

 resters and keeping the railroad rights 

 of way clear of inflammable material 

 that, the foresters estimate, more than 

 half of the total number of fires occur- 

 ring during March were probably set by 

 railroad locomotives. 



Six out of the 14 areas in which the 

 Government is purchasing lands re- 

 ported fires during March. Except for 

 the White Top area, which is on the 

 border line between Virginia and Ten- 

 nessee, all the areas from which fires 

 were reported are in North Carolina, 

 South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. 



through cooperation between Clemson 

 Agricultural College, the office of Farm- 

 ers' Cooperative Demonstration Work, 

 and the Forest Service of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. 



Much of the low-lying land in this 

 region has previously been used for the 

 production of rice, but several factors, 

 including the development of new rice 

 areas in the Gulf States, have made 

 rice growing unprofitable and a new 

 crop for the land is being sought. Bas- 

 ket willows at once suggested them- 

 selves as a possibility, and the present 

 investigation is being conducted to de- 

 termine to what extent they can be 

 successfully grown on lands of this 

 character. The soil is a rich, black 

 muck, and the continuous production of 

 good crops of rice for years with little 

 or no fertilizer indicates its richness. 



Wood is extensively used for fuel in 

 the Black Hills region. During the 

 past year the Forest Service at Dead- 

 wood, S. D., issued 500 permits author- 

 izing the removal by settlers and home- 

 steaders of 6,000 cords of wood for fuel 

 purposes. 



An investigation to determine the ad- 

 visability of growing basket willows in 

 the low-lying lands along the South 

 Carolina coast has recently been started 



384 



A reconnaissance survey of the plant 

 life of New York State is being carried 

 on by Dr. William L. Bray. Dr. Bray 

 is in charge of the botanical instruction 

 in both the University and the State 

 College of Forestry, and as he has been 

 granted a leave of absence for a year, 

 he will spend this year in resuming a 



