June 7, 1918] 



SCIENCE 



557 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



NEW EASTERN NATIONAL FORESTS 



Pkesidext Wilson has issued a proclamation 

 establishing three new national forests in the 

 East — the White Mountain, in Maine and New 

 Hampshire, the Shenandoah, in Virginia and 

 West Virginia, and the Natural Bridge, in 

 Virginia. 



Proclaiming the forests is the final step in 

 carrying out the law for building up eastern 

 national forests through the purchase of lands 

 iin the mountains. Ever since the law was 

 passed in 1911 the government has been en- 

 gaged in acquiring lands about the headwaters 

 of the principal rivers, both in New England 

 and in the southern Appalachians. As the 

 lands are bought or contracted for, they are 

 put under administration as " Purchase Areas " 

 pending the time when their accumulation has 

 reached a point justifying the proclamation 

 which gives the lands their final status. The 

 Pisgah National Forest, in North Carolina, 

 and the Alabama National Forest, in Ala- 

 bama, are the only eastern areas which had re- 

 ceived this status before the new proclama- 

 tions were issued. 



The White Mountain National Forest is lo- 

 cated in Grafton, Carroll and Coos counties, 

 N. H., and Oxford county, Me. The govern- 

 ment has actually taken title to about 267,000 

 acres and in addition about 124,000 acres more 

 have been approved for purchase, making a 

 total of about 391,000 acres under federal pro- 

 tection. This forest protects in part the water- 

 sheds of the Androscoggin, Saeo, Connecticut 

 and Ammonoosuc rivers. The White Moun- 

 tain region has great value not only for the 

 protection of streamflow and the production of 

 timber but also as a public playground. 



The Shenandoah National Forest is situated 

 in Rockingham, Augusta, Bath and Highland 

 counties, Va., and Pendleton county, W. Va. 

 The government has acquired to date slightly 

 in excess of 100,000 acres, and an additional 

 area of approximately G5,000 acres has been ap- 

 jproved for purchase, making a total of ap- 

 proximately 165,000 acres under federal pro- 

 tection. The forest is for the most part on the 

 watershed of the Shenandoah River and it also 



protects a portion of the watersheds of the Po- 

 tomac and the James. 



The Natural Bridge National Forest is situ- 

 ated in Rockingham, Nelson, Amherst, Bote- 

 tourt and Bedford counties, Va. The federal 

 government has actually acquired title to a 

 little over 73,000 acres, and an additional area 

 of approximately 29,000 acres has been ap- 

 proved for purchase. The forest, which pro- 

 tects a portion of the watershed of the James 

 River, does not include the Natural Bridge, 

 but this scenic feature is within three or four 

 miles of the boundary. 



ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR PRODUCTS IN 1917 



The Fisheries Service Bulletin states that al- 

 though final figures showing the value of the 

 fishery products of Alaska in 1917 are not yet 

 obtainable, the statistics are practically com- 

 plete so that a reasonably accurate statement 

 of production can now be made. Compilations 

 indicate that the total value of such products 

 was $51,405,260 in 1917. Of this amount 93 

 per cent., or $47,778,081, represents the value 

 of the salmon products which consist of 5,947,- 

 286 cases of canned salmon, valued at $46,304,- 

 090, and 16,347,367 pounds of mild-cured, 

 pickled, dry-salted, fresh and frozen salmon, 

 valued at $1,473,991. The halibut fisheries 

 rank second with an output of products valued 

 at $1,120,226. In the order of production, the 

 herring fisheries come next, with a yield of 

 products valued at $767,729. The value of the 

 cod products was $744,976. Whaling opera- 

 tions returned products worth $653,852. The 

 production of miscellaneous fishery products 

 including clams and other shellfish a^regated 

 $340,390 in value. 



This unprecedented yield of fishery products 

 in Alaska at a time when the world is in need 

 of food is called an achievement for which the 

 country may justly feel gratified. 



The fur products of Alaska are also of con- 

 siderable importance and value, as evidenced 

 by the fact that in the year from November 16, 

 1916, to November 15, 1917, shipments from 

 that territory reached an aggregate value of 

 $1,031,638, exclusive of fur-seal skins and fox 

 skins shipped by the government from the 



