390 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 39. 



tions were adopted paragraph by paragraph, 

 after which the Association adjourned: 



Resolved, That the American Forestry As- 

 sociation learns with satisfaction of the re- 

 cent enactment of laws for the protection 

 of forest propertj' against destruction by 

 fire in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and of 

 the successful operation of such laws in 

 Maine, New Hampshire and New York, de- 

 precating at the same time the continuance 

 of forest destruction by fire in other States 

 and especially on the public domain. 



That the question of dealing with forest 

 fires is still the first and most important 

 one to be settled in nearly all the States of 

 the Union before rational forestry methods 

 can become practicable. 



That inasmuch as forestry property is 

 taxed for the support of government, it has 

 the same right to consideration and protec- 

 tion as other propertj^ and that the Legisla- 

 tures of the different States which have no 

 efiicient forest-fire laws are recommended to 

 provide the same. 



That the policy of establishing forest 

 reservations and parks is to be encouraged, 

 and for this purpose it is recommended that 

 timber lands offered for sale for non-pay- 

 ment of taxes be acquired by the State and 

 held to form the nucleus of State forest 

 reservations. 



That it is the first duty of Congress in 

 regard to the public timber lands to enact 

 proper legislation for the National protection 

 and administration of the forest reserva- 

 tions and unreserved timber lands, and we 

 appeal to the Public Lands Committees of 

 the Senate and House of Representatives to 

 secure the passage of bills which received 

 the sanction of the Senate and House of 

 Representatives in the 53d Congress, and 

 faUed to become laws only for lack of time 

 for consideration of amendments in con- 

 ference. 



That the American Forestry Association, 

 recognizing that a practical advance in 



rational forestry methods requires the ser- 

 vices of men trained in forestry practice, 

 indorse the legislation proposed in the last 

 Congress by Mr. Hainer, and expresses the 

 hope that the same will be enacted during 

 the coming Congress. 



That the knowledge of the extent and 

 conditions of our forest resources is a neces- 

 sary basis for intelligent forest legislation, 

 and that therefore the American Forestry 

 Association recommends the cooperation of 

 various government departments as far as 

 practicable in ascertaining these areas and 

 conditions, and especially recommends that 

 both a topographic and forestal survey of 

 National Forest Reserves be instituted. 

 F. H. Newell, 



Corresponding Secretary. 



Washington, D. C. 



SOCIETY FOB THE PBOMOTION OF ENGI- 

 NEERING EDUCATION. 



The second annual meeting of the Society 

 for the Promotion of Engineering Education 

 was held at Springfield, Mass., on Sept. 2, 

 3 and 4. This Society was organized in 1893 

 at the close of the session of the educational 

 section of the International Engineering 

 Congress, whose proceedings were published 

 in the first volume of its transactions. It 

 had 156 members at the close of the meet- 

 ing held in Brooklyn in 1894. The sessions 

 of the Society ai'e largely devoted to the 

 discussion and reading of papers, nearlj' all 

 the business being transacted by a Council 

 composed of 21 members, selected from 21 

 different engineering colleges. 



The President of the Society, Professor 

 George F. Swain, opened the first session 

 with an address on the relation between 

 mental training and practical work in engi- 

 neering education. He alluded to the strong 

 tendency toward practical engineering work 

 as often dangerous in preventing a thorough 

 educational development. The opinions of 

 the public and of some engineers are often 



