EDITORIAL 



D 



ESPITE the financial stress 

 and the business uncertainty 

 due to the European war the 

 responses to the request of 

 the American Forestry Association for 

 subscriptions to its $50,000.00 bond is- 

 sue have been highly satisfactory. A 

 number of members have already sub- 

 scribed from $10 to $100 and several 

 subscriptions for larger amounts have 

 been received. The total is steadily 

 growing, but it has a long distance to 

 go before it reaches the $50,000.00 

 mark. Members who have not done so 

 already are asked to give the project 

 their careful consideration. Letters 

 describing the bonds and for what 

 the money derived from their sale will 

 be used, will be received by every mem- 

 ber, and it is hoped that the subscrip- 

 tions will come in steadily. 



It is far from a good time to sell 

 this class of bonds, but it is believed 

 that the members of the Association 

 are so interested in the importance of 



its work and the need of extending it, 

 that the entire issue will be taken. 



Members of the Association and all 

 persons interested in forestry who sub- 

 scribe for these bonds should do so pri- 

 marily for the purpose of helping and 

 forwarding the cause of forestry. 

 While the present excellent financial 

 showing of the Association, and the 

 results that are being attained by its 

 magazine, AMERICAN FORESTRY, have 

 encouraged the directors to make this 

 bond issue, and there is good business 

 prospect that the bonds will pay inter- 

 est and principal, they should be taken 

 rather as a means of aiding the cause 

 with a fair prospect of recoupment, 

 than as an assured investment based 

 on real estate security, for the security 

 depends upon the continued growth of 

 the forestry movement and the finan- 

 cial success of the magazine and this 

 bond issue is made specifically to raise 

 funds to better and popularize the mag- 

 azine and to enlarge its field of teach- 

 ing and usefulness. 



A A RESULT of the war in 

 Europe there is almost cer- 

 tain to be an exceptionally 

 large demand for forest prod- 

 ucts from both the United States and 

 Canada. While some lumbermen and 

 lumber manufacturers may until peace 

 i? restored find business dull, they 

 should take advantage of this dullness 

 to prepare for full capacity production 

 when the war is over. If the European 

 market is for the present largely cut 

 off, the South American market is wide 

 open and there should be and there are 

 many ways in which forest products 

 hitherto exported to Europe in large 

 quantities can be diverted now to the 

 markets to the south of us. When the 

 war is over an enormous boom in trade 

 of all kinds is expected and the better 

 prepared the dealers in forest products 

 are. the greater will be their gain. 

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The exceptional demand, when it 

 does come, should, among other things, 

 serve to impress upon timberland own- 

 ers the necessity for protecting the for- 

 ests against fire, providing where it is 

 practicable, for new forest growth, 

 greater utilization of timber and gen- 

 eral conservation of our forests. 



One effect of the war which will not 

 be felt for some years will be the need, 

 ultimately, of replacing timber of vari- 

 ous kinds which has now to be used 

 without being treated with preserva- 

 tives, becaues the supply of creosote 

 from Germany has been cut off. Rail- 

 roads which have millions of ties on 

 hand awaiting treatment will doubtless 

 be compelled to use quantities of them 

 untreated, as it may be some months 

 before they can secure a new supply of 

 preservatives. 



