FORESTRY. 



63 



not only to the denser population, which 

 uses every foot of wood of all descrip- 

 tions, but is largely due to the fact that 

 hundreds of thousands and millions of 

 acres, are managed by one hand; with 

 the result that poor returns from one por- 

 tion are balanced by the excellent re- 

 turns from others. 



If, therefore, the tendency of this law 

 were to parcel the timber lands, it would 

 be detrimental to forest management. 

 To be sure, it is not likely the law is to 

 be retained, nor is there much hope that 

 in the near future much forest manage- 

 ment will be attempted in North Caro- 

 lina. 



APPALACHIAN NATIONAL PARK. 

 As has been again and again pointed out 

 in these pages, the attempe to secure a 

 National Park in the Appalachian moun- 

 tains has been most vigorously supported 

 and almost secured success. The Appa- 

 lachian Park Association remains as active 

 in advocacy of its proposition as ever, and 

 has sent out the following letter, to which 

 it is hoped a hearty response will be made 

 by all who are interested in preserving in- 

 tact some of the wild woods of greatest 

 interest in the East: 



"The Appalachian National Park Asso- 

 ciation, as you are doubtless aware, has 

 been eminently successful in its effort to 

 procure the aid of Congress to obtain 

 evidence of the immediate need of the 

 establishment of a National forest reserve 

 in the Southern Appalachians. The Agri- 

 cultural Department, in its report to the 

 last Congress, recommended the estab- 

 lishment of the reserve, and it also se- 

 cured a letter from the President giving 

 his personal endorsement to the bill. 

 The matter has, however, been held over 

 to the next Congress, and it is needful 

 meanwhile to keep, the interest of the 

 public alive and to impress the people of 

 the United States of the great need of 

 legislative action to save the non-agri- 

 cultural forest lands of the Southern Ap- 

 palachian mountains from destruction. 



"To carry on this needed work the Ap- 

 palachian National Park Association is 

 in pressing need of funds. The expenses 

 are almost entirely for stationery, print- 

 ing and postage. If the friends of this 

 movement will give even a small amount 

 each the work can be carried on, and 

 those members who are giving their time 

 to the prosecution of the work will be 

 much encouraged. I therefore solicit 

 from you earnestly such a sum as your 

 interest mav prompt you to give, and 

 trust you will induce as many of your in- 

 terested friends as possible to contribute, 

 not only of their money but of their per- 

 sonal effort to interest others." 



SHEEPMEN CAUSE "FIRES. 



I have been much interested in the arti- 

 cles in Recreation regarding forest fires. 

 I have traveled through the Rocky moun- 

 tains from Kansas to California both by 

 wagon and by rail. Have hunted in all 

 parts of the West for more than 30 years, 

 and have seen and heard a great deal 

 about forest fires and their causes. I am 

 fully convinced that sheep, that curse of 

 the West, are directly or indirectly re- 

 sponsible for at least 3/5 of all such fires. 

 The law forbids the fencing in of govern- 

 ment lands. Sheep men cut down timber 

 and make brush fences, which the law 

 says are not fences. The sheep men often 

 cut a strip of timber one to 6 rods wide 

 for miles through the country. The grass 

 grows better along this opening, and 

 when this fence does not stop the sheep 

 any longer the herders burn it in order to 

 get more feed for their sheep. Of course 

 the fires spread over a vast extent of land, 

 thus killing the timber, both young and 

 old. Then more grass and weeds come 

 up. Young trees also grow up and they 

 would in time retimber the hills; but the 

 sheep man is there, with his thousands of 

 sheep to eat or tramp down every green 

 leaf that starts. 



That is not all. The sheep man does 

 not hesitate to have hundreds of acres of 

 good timber cut, just to make more grass. 

 This leaves a lot of dry brush and logs, 

 which are easily fired by some careless 

 tramp, if not by the use of some of the 

 sheep man's money. Then hunters are 

 unjustly blamed for the damage. 



A. Norman, Dos Palos, Cal. 



What do you think of the magnolia as 

 a shade tree? Would it sell up North for 

 25 or 50 cents? They are hard to get. 



P. B. Pope, Ora, Texas. 



ANSWER 



The only tree magnolias that are hardy 

 North of New York are the small swamp 

 magnolia, M. glauca, and the so called cu- 

 cumber tree, M. acuminata. Southern 

 grown trees are as a rule not hardy North. 

 — Editor. 



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