526 



Garden and Forest. 



[October 30, 1889. 



a time more remote than would represent the life of any of 

 the trees stamling- upon it. The writer has crossed the entire 

 breadth of our northern forests in many parts, and has foiuid 

 tiiese conditions to prevail everywhere. 



Knowing the care which the Indians have always exercised, 

 and the fact that the country had not been invaded by white 

 men, the question arises — what caused these fires which have 

 in turn swept over every part of the enormous country — 

 and not only once, but again and again since a very early 

 period ? My answer is that forest-tires are a natural phenom- 

 enon, and that the conditions which we find in our northern 

 woods could not otherwise have been attained. These fires 

 have had an effect on the formation of the soil, on the rotation 

 of crops of trees — so necessary to their healthy condition — 

 and on the dispersion of their seeds. 



We have both direct proof, and also the evidence of the 

 trees themselves, that forest fires have originated without 

 human agency, and that they have been going on ever since 

 the present species of trees existed — if, indeed, they have not 

 played a part in producing some of their characters. Light- 

 ning has been the commonest cause of these fires, although 

 in some cases they may have originated from spontaneous 

 combustion, due to the decomposition of pyrites, whicli is 

 known to have set fire to beds of lignite in tlie Saskatchewan 

 region. 



In the northern states and the inhabited parts of Canada it is 

 not uncommon for lightning to strike barns and houses and set 

 them on fire in the hot months of summer. This is the season 

 when oiu" northern forests are dry and ready to burn, and we 

 should naturally expect similar accidents to occur among them 

 with at least equal frequency in proportion to area. Exam- 

 ples have been observed where the fire which lias destroyed 

 a large area has been traced back to a tree which had been 

 struck by lightning. With an experience of over thirty sum- 

 mers spent in these woods, I have only once actually witnessed 

 a case of this kind. The lightning on this occasion Avas 

 plainly seen to strike the brink of a wooded bluff near Red 

 Rock, on Lake Superior, and to set it on fire. Owing to the 

 very small number of human beings in these regions, the 

 chances of these occurrences being witnessed are very few as' 

 compared with civilized regions, yet the Indians tell me that 

 they frequently happen. 



Referring to the evidence afforded by the trees themselves, 

 that forest fires are a natural phenomenon, I shall mention the 

 case of the Banksian Pine. The cones of this tree are hard 

 and remain closed as long as the tree lives. The older ones 

 become weathered and covered with lichens, often indicating- 

 great age. The tree may fall down and rot, and the cones fall 

 from the decayed branches, yet they will not open. But if the 

 tree should become scored by a forest-fire, they will immedi- 

 ately gape open, and the healthy seeds will become scattered 

 far and near by the wind. — Robert Bell, Assistant Director- 

 Geological Survey of Canada, in " Forest Leaves." 



Correspondence. 

 The Lynn Public Forest. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — A large proportion of the German cities, if not, indeed, 

 the most of them, have their public forests. These date back 

 to the earliest days, when woodland was held in common to 

 supply the people with fuel and timber. Fortunately the cities 

 have retained their titles to large portions of these adjacent 

 forest tracts, which, administered on scientific principles, are 

 now sources of considerable revenue. But their chief value 

 lies in their service as delightful rambling grounds for the 

 people, and to their existence is largely due the healthy love of 

 Nature and of out-door life that characterizes the Germans. 

 One of the pleasantest features of the city of Leipzig, for instance, 

 is the nol)le pleasure-ground called the Rosenthal. This is a 

 park consisting of a great central meadow surrounded by 

 woods. The park is continued for miles out into the country 

 by the city forest, which is intersected by rambling paths and 

 roads. In the midst of it stands the famous Thousand Year Oak. 



The early towns of New England likewise held their wood- 

 lands and pasture lands in common. The second settled town 

 in the Massachusetts Bay colony, now the city of Lynn, had 

 for its common woodland a wild and rugged tract that, from 

 the slight fringe of civilization which had established itself on 

 the shore, began at the feet of the outer crags of rocky hills 

 and stretched away indefinitely into the vast wilderness of the 

 continent. This woodland was held in common until 1706, the 

 proprietors of Lynn being free to enter it and cut all the fuel 

 and timber required to meet their needs. At that date the 



tract was divided up among the land owners, subject to the 

 restriction, which still remains, that any man might cross the 

 territory of any other whenever convenience demanded. The 

 greater portion of this territory, within the municipal limits of 

 Lynn, remains in very nearly its original state. It occupies the 

 north-westerly portion, which is a region of rock-ribbed hills, 

 with bold ledges and precipitous crags, the intervening glens 

 and valleys coursed by clear and rapid brooks and rills, and 

 having in their depths extensive swamps and ponds. Its wild- 

 ness is in marked contrast to the densely populated and 

 bustling city close at hand, whose masses of buildings back 

 up into the outer valleys of the territory. 



This region is now to retiu'n to its original character of a 

 woodland held in common, with the function, in addition, of a 

 free public pleasure-ground. Its dedication to this purpose 

 has proceeded through successive steps by a sort of evolution. 

 Lynn has been exceptionally fortunate in her public-spirited 

 citizens — men enterprising-, progressive, of liberal ideas and 

 cultivated mintls. Their life-long accjuaintance with this region 

 naturally endeared it to them, and made them ardent lovers of 

 Nature. When the growth of the city demanded a more 

 extensive and systematically planned source of water supply, 

 attention was directed to the valleys of tliis uninhabited terri- 

 tory, and a magnificent scheme was adopted, sufficient to 

 meet the wants of the public for many years to come. The 

 series of storage basins constructed in the valleys created a 

 number of beautiful and natural looking lakes that, expanding 

 and meandering among the abrupt hills, enhanced the beauty 

 of the landscape. With wise forethought, the Water Board 

 took possession of the lands adjoining the ponds, that they 

 might remain forest covered, making the water supply more 

 steady and preserving it from contamination through private 

 occupancy. 



In the meantime the project of converting the remaining 

 portion of the region into a free public forest took shape 

 among a number of citizens by the organization of an unincor- 

 porated body called the Public Forest Trustees, whose purpose 

 was to hold in perpetuity, for the free use of the public, all 

 portions of this territory that might be accjuired either by gift 

 or purchase. A number of detached parcels were thus 

 secured, the most important of which was the strikingly pic- 

 turescjue and romantic tract around, and including, the famous 

 Dungeon Rock, where pirates' treasure was supposed to be 

 buried, and which for many years, until very recently, was the 

 scene of the excavations of the deluded searchers, the Mar- 

 bles, operating under spirit guidance through mediums. 

 But, without the right of eminent domain, there was but little 

 prospect that under this plan enough contiguous land could be 

 secured to form a continuous forest- territory, befoi'e much of 

 the woods had been hopelessly ruined. Fortunately, public 

 sendment in favor of the project had been educated to such 

 an extent that the City Council lately decided to take advantage 

 of the Public Park Act of Massachusetts, an appropriation of 

 $30,000 for the purchase of lands was made, which, in addi- 

 tion to private subscriptions, gives a fund of something like 

 $50,000 for the purpose. A Board of Park Commissioners, 

 comprising just the right men for the place, has been 

 appointed, and these are now proceeding to take the lands 

 by the riglit of eminent domain legally conferred upon such 

 bodies. 



The Park Commission, the Water Board and the Public 

 Forest Trustees will act in harmony in the improvement and 

 administration of the region as a public forest, which it will 

 be, pure and simple, with no attempt to incorporate the ordi- 

 nary park features into its plan. There are about 800 acres 

 of land to be taken by the Park Commission, which, with the 

 200 acres or so held by the Public Forest Trustees and tlie 

 territory already taken by the Watei" Board, including about 

 200 acres in the ponds, will make a total of something like 

 1,400 acres, which perhaps may be considerably increased by 

 lands which it is desirable for the Water Board yet to take. 



The character of the forests is chiefly that of a young and • 

 thrifty growth of Oaks and other hard woods, with an abund- 

 ance of Maples in the swamps, and many groves, clumps and 

 groups of Ijeautiful Pines and Hemlocks, some of which are 

 of considerable age and size. There are passages of romantic 

 sylvan beauty; and numerous legends and traditions, as well 

 as historic incidents, add to the interest of the place. The 

 highest points in the region are somewhat less than 300 feet 

 above the sea-level, but the neighborhood of the ocean gives 

 their altitudes full value, and the various prospects com- 

 manded are extensive and unusually impressive. F"rom one 

 eminence there is a broad view over the ocean, on which 

 the rocky peninsula of Nahant seems to be floating, and the 

 populous city spreads out close at hand, in contrast to the 



