TOWNSHIP FORESTRY CLUB 



109 



mon pastime of all boys a few years ago. 

 Other ways in which the Scouts have 

 aided directly in the conservation of 

 trees are the recent census of shade trees 

 in New Jersey and the help which they 

 have furnished in protecting the street 

 trees in Pittsburgh. The planting out 

 of seedlings either for forest purposes 

 or as shade trees is likewise a field in 

 which Boy Scouts have done much. 



It will readily be seen that the boy 

 who enters the Scout organization, 

 passes through the three stages of 

 tenderfoot, second and first class Scout 

 and then tries for the various merit 

 badges referred to above, can attain 



an excellent grounding in the ways of 

 taking care of himself in the woods, and 

 a thorough understanding of the im- 

 portance of the forests in our national 

 life. In fact, if he cares to do so he may 

 easily equip himself as well as most 

 Forest Rangers are when they start to 

 work in the woods. Should he decide 

 to take up forestry as a profession he 

 will find himself far ahead of young 

 men who have not had the advantage 

 of a Scout training. In case he chooses 

 to go to one of the higher professional 

 schools he will have a foundation upon 

 which to build a solid superstructure 

 of technical knowledge. 



TOWNSHIP FORESTRY CLUB 



By George B. Cobb, 



Secretary Forestry Club, Tryon, N. C. 



^""T^O TRYON, Polk County, North 

 I Carolina, belongs the distinction 



1 of organizing and putting into 

 practical operation the first 

 township organization for the express 

 purpose of preventing forest fires, and 

 conserving and perpetuating the timber 

 tracts of the old North State. The 

 State has, in years past, suffered greatly 

 from fire, insect pests and blight. Now 

 special committees of this club are 

 successfully safeguarding, and at very 

 small cost, the trees of the county from 

 such ravages. 



This Forestry Club, organized more 

 than a year ago, has over sixty active 

 members. 



A chief warden directs the fighting 

 at all forest fires in the township, which, 

 as soon as discovered, are reported to 

 him by telephone or signal. With 

 several lookout stations established in 

 the "Thermal Belt" section along the 

 south side of the Blue Ridge range of 

 mountains, and across the Pacolet and 

 Skywicker Valleys below, practically 

 overlooking the entire area of the 

 township, it has been possible to cope 

 successfully with every fire that threat- 

 ened in 1914. 



The organization of this club was the 

 outcome of an idea advanced by George 

 B. Cobb Editor of The Polk County 



News, Tryon, N. C, in an editorial pub- 

 lished in October 1913, enumerating the 

 many benefits forest landowners would 

 realize from the systematic cooperation 

 of all interested. The idea met with 

 universal approval, resulting in organ- 

 ization of the Club the following 

 November. 



The officers are: E. R. Rankin, 

 President; W. B. Stone, Vice-president; 

 W. H. Stearns, Treasurer; George B. 

 Cobb, Secretary; C. M. Howes, Fire 

 Warden. 



Standing Committees of three mem- 

 bers each for Forest Protection, Forest 

 Preservation, Forest Perpetuation, and 

 Finance, complete the organization. 



This small Club has proven so satis- 

 factory to all interested, and its work so 

 efficient, that it has met the approval 

 of the State Forester and The North 

 Carolina Forestry Association, which 

 advocate the formation of like township 

 organizations for forest protection, in 

 place of County organizations which in 

 many cases have proven too large, and 

 too scattered for quick, effective work in 

 forest fire fighting. 



Through the efforts of this Club the 

 Commissioners of Polk County offer a 

 standing reward of $50.00 for the 

 apprehension and conviction of any 

 person setting fires in the open, contrary 

 to the laws of the State. 



