September ii, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



369 



truthfulness of the assumption that the spherical bodies were 

 living organisms. Infection experiments upon myself were 

 discontinued for obvious reasons. But following up the idea 

 of the parasitic nature of the disease (?), applications were 

 made of various germicidal agents, with apparently favorable 

 results. Since that time abundant evidence has l^een had of 

 the value of carbolic acid — two to three per cent. — in glycerine 

 as a palliative or curative lotion. 



But some studies made a few years later tended to discredit 

 the agency of bacteria in the case, at least as self-acting para- 

 sites. The particles in the milk-sap of the plant were found 

 to be constituents of it, rather than independent organisms. 

 As upon other leaves, there are various kinds of bacteria com- 

 mon on those of Rhus Toxicodendron, but none could be 

 found capable of such effects upon the skin. There are liv- 

 ing organisms in great numbers, at least at times, in the exud- 

 ing serum ; but no cultivations from these were successful in 

 securing such as cause intlammation. Here the matter was 

 again dropped. There still seem to be some reasons for sup- 

 posing bacteria have to do with the irritation, but proof of it 

 must be considered wanting. 



Mr. C. O. Boring, of Chicago, himself very susceptible to the 

 poison, is confident that the parasitic theory is the true one. 

 He feels very sure that he has been badly poisoned by simply 

 being in the vicinity of the shrub, without contact with it. The 

 late President Clark, of Massachusetts Agricultural College, 

 unhesitatingly asserted that this method of poisoning was well 

 known, and this seems to be a popular belief. It is said one 

 is much more liable to be thus poisoned if he is perspiring at 

 the time. 



If it is true that poisoning actually occurs without contact 

 with the plant, something more subtle and more virulent than 

 any known chemical substance must be assumed. To our 

 senses the air is absolutely free from noxious properties after 

 blowing over the plant. What chemical compound can there 

 be in such air, so infinitesimally charged, capable of such 

 notable results ? But the facts in this case should be put be- 

 yond controversy before explanations are undertaken. Who 

 can give them so substantiated that a skeptic must believe ? 



If it proves true that actual application to the skin of the 

 plant, or of its products (aside from any invisible something), is 

 essential to produce the intlammation, the first suggestion of 

 bacteria in the case falls. What then of the apparent ]jeriod 

 of incubation and of the possible activity of the exudation 

 from infected skin ? 



It is true the matter ought to be absolutely settled by proper 

 investigation, but it is no triifing affair to experiment upon 

 one's self. There may be some other method of procedure, 

 yet no one knows what without trying. I have not tried. 



University ot Illinois. T. J. Burrill. 



Meetings of Societies. 



The American Forestry Association. 



THE summer meeting of this society was held at Springfield, 

 Massachusetts, on September 4th and 5th, in connection 

 with the American Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence. The Hon. G. F. Talbot, of Maine, argued that all 

 worthless lands forfeited by tax sales be permanently held by 

 the state and devoted to the purpose of the production of 

 trees, to which end they are admirably adapted. He spoke of 

 the fire-laws of Maine and stated that the adverse interests of 

 forest-owners was the great obstacle to any reform in control- 

 ling forest-fires. Under a sharp competition the land is stripped 

 of everything salable and the refuse left where it happens to 

 fall, and this ultimately becomes, through its inflammability, a 

 menace to all neighbormg property. 



Mr. George H. Moses, Secretary of the New Hampshire 

 Forestry Commission, reviewed the history of legislative at- 

 tempts to provide suitable protection to the forests in his state, 

 and spoke of the creation of the present Commission, organ- 

 ized simply to investigate the extent and character of the forest- 

 cover and the general relation of forests to climate, water and 

 health. Much of their energy has been devoted, however, to 

 efforts at convincing lumbermen that it is for their personal 

 interest, as well as that of the state, to introduce less wasteful 

 and destructive methods. They are also striving to preserve 

 the natural beauty of the White Mountain region as a summer 

 resort, since, if this is destroyed, great annual loss will come 

 to the state as a whole. Mr. Joseph B. Walker followed with a de- 

 scription of the present condition of the forests of the same state, 

 especially those in its northern portion. Here large areas are 

 owned by individuals whose sole object is to make the 

 most money in the shortest period, and who have no interest 



in obtaining a future crop of trees. Everything is cut which 

 can be sold either for lumber or matclies. Vast sections are 

 denuded one after the other, and fires in the "slashings" 

 sweep the ground clean after the lumbermen have left. There 

 is a beginning mainly from the sentimental side, to make an 

 attempt to prevent this great destruction, and the fire-laws 

 have been so improved that the selectmen or county com- 

 missioners are required to appoint fire-wardens, whose duties 

 include the watchmg for fires and the summoning of aid to 

 prevent their spread. No penalty for failure is provided, but 

 popular sentiment is being aroused tosuch an extent as to ren- 

 der the law generally effective. The farmers are beginning to 

 appreciate the necessity of the forests, as these, if properly 

 managed, will furnish them with opportunities for labor dur- 

 ing the winter months. At present the farmer labors seven 

 months of the year, and from his farm alone could not derive 

 revenue for the remaining five montlis. 



Mr. Cornelius C. Vermeule, of the New Jersey Geological 

 Survey, read a paper upon forests and rivers, based mainly 

 on observations of conditions within the state of New Jersey, 

 although some use was made of data from Massachusetts, 

 New York and Pennsylvania. His conclusions were that river 

 measurements have failed to indicate any notable elfect of 

 forests upon evaporation or upon the very highest or lowest 

 rate of flow. They do show what is quite as important — 

 namely, a more equable flow, fewer Hoods and shorter periods 

 of extreme low water upon well-forested catchments. Some 

 of Mr. Vermeule's conclusions were called in question by Mr. 

 Fernow as not being applicable beyond the areas studied, and 

 especially because all meteorological measurements are ex- 

 tremely unreliable, due to lack of suitable instruments. Pro- 

 fessor J. C. Smock, State Geologist of New Jersey, stated that 

 some of the largest landholdings in that part of the country 

 are in southern New Jersey, where the main source of anxiety 

 is the forest fires. One of them alone burned over and 

 destroyed probably a million dollars' worth of lumber and 

 other property. Such a fire leaves only the bare white sand, 

 destroying even the soil. 



A letter was read from Secretary Morton, President of the 

 association, calling attention to the necessity of state legisla- 

 tion to compel the proper care of waste from timber-cutting, 

 in order to prevent forest fires ; and of the necessity of co- 

 operation between the United Slates Geological Survey and the 

 Forestry Division of the Agricultural Department, in order 

 that the forest areas might be properly represented on the 

 topographical maps. He showed that by slight additional 

 expense it would be possible for an expert to classify the 

 woodlands while the map was being made, and obtain the 

 material for a report upon the condition and value of the for- 

 ests. By this means the completed map would show not only 

 the altitude and slopes of the country, the roads, trails and 

 improvements, but also the character and extent of the tim- 

 ber. Mr. F. H. Newell, Secretary of the association, described 

 tlxe methods of representing wooded areas on the great map 

 of the United States now being prepared, and dwelt upon the 

 benefits which would follow the more accurate designation of 

 timber-lands. By suitable cooperation of the Agricultural 

 Department, it might be possible to concentrate efforts upon 

 the areas covered by the national forest reservations and com- 

 plete the mapping and description of these within a few years. 



Professor Dwight Porter, of the Massachusetts Institute of 

 Technology, discussed the possible connection between the 

 fluctuations of the water-supply in the Connecticut River and 

 forest removal. His general conclusion was that, as far as the 

 flow of the lower river is concerned, there is no proof of per- 

 manent injury through cutting of the forests at the head- 

 waters. Sea-coast planting as practiced on the Province lands 

 of Cape Cod was the subject of a paper by Mr. L. W. Ross, of 

 Boston, who described the attempts being made to prevent 

 the shifting sands at the extremity of the cape from injuring 

 the settlements and harbor. He spoke of the various kinds of 

 Grasses and shrubs which have been planted to hold the sands, 

 and of the results attained, and exhil.iited specimens showing 

 the cutting of the twigs due to the sand carried by the wind. 



Mr. R. U. Johnsoi>).of Tlie Century Magazine, explained the 

 action of the New York Board ot Trade and Chamber of 

 Commerce, and urged the advisability of endorsing the 

 resolution of that body calling for the creation by Congress of 

 a forestry commission, consisting of three persons, empow- 

 ered to examine into the forest conditions of the country. 

 Mr. Giflbrd Pinchot, in a paper upon the present condition of 

 the national forests, and the necessity of action in protecting 

 these, also held that, since past clf'orts of this association hail 

 been, in a large degree, ineffectual, that the proper method of 

 procedure was through a forest commission such as that pro- 



