FOREST RESERVES AND FORESTRY. 
The first step in revising and reorgan- 
izing the administration of the public do- 
main, a project agitated in Congress for 
years, was the appointment by the Presi- 
dent of a special commission to investigate 
_and report on the present situation. This 
commission was composed of Mr. Gifford 
Pinchat, Chief of the Bureau of Forestry; 
Mr. F. A. Newell, chief engineer of the 
Reclamation Service, and Governor Rich- 
ards, Commissioner of the General Land 
_ Office. 
Inasmuch as grazing on the public lands 
is the most vital question in the land policy 
of the United States, the commission used 
every effort to attain the closest possible 
appreciation of the sentiment and attitude 
of the grazing interests toward the proposed 
revision of the land laws, the forest re- 
serves, and the various irrigation projects. 
The most interesting information they 
secured was from attendance on the joint 
convention of the National Live Stock As- 
sociation, representing the cattle interests, 
and the National Woolgrowers’ Association, 
representing the sheep interests, which was 
held at Portland, Oregon, in January. In- 
asmuch as the sheep and cattle owners have 
always been supposed to be opposed to the 
reserving of forested public lands from 
homestead entry and managing them as 
forests, the discussions and _ conclusions 
reached are of great interest to the country 
generally, and to foresters particularly. In 
brief, the almost unanimous attitude of the 
convention was as follows: 
First—Strong approval of the forest re- 
serve policy. 
Second.—A petition praying for the pas- 
sage of the bill, now before Congress, for 
the transfer of the administration of the 
forest reserves from the General Land Of- 
fice to the Bureau of Forestry. 
Third—The recognition that the stock in- 
dustry must be protected from the present 
injurious competition between the sheep and 
cattle men, resulting in a war for the free 
range. 
Fourth.—A gencral desire that the Gov- 
ernment step in and take control of the 
range, allotting grazing privileges, fairly and 
justly to the various owners, and making 
rigid laws and regulations therefor. 
Fifth—That the Congressional appropria- 
tion for the care of the forest reserves be 
made ample to insure a thorough, practical 
and business-like administration in propor- 
tion to the magnitude of the interests in- 
volved. 
The far-reaching significance of these con- 

443 
FORESTRY. 
It takes 30 years to grow a tree and 30 minutes to cut it down and destroy it. 
clusions by the most powerful and the most 
dangerous interests to be met with in the 
settling of these questions may not occur to 
the casual reader. They mean that the pres- 
ent lawless tangle in the fight for existence 
between sheep and cattle growers is near- 
ing an end and that we may soon see a just 
and fair division of the grazing privileges 
which will be accepted and defended by 
these men. They also mean that the most 
serious thing in the administration of the 
reserves will be unloaded from the shoul- 
ders of the Government, and that those lo- 
cally in charge of the various forest re- 
serves will know where they stand and feel 
that they have the authority of these two 
great associations and the arm of the Gov- 
ernment back of them in enforcing the re- 
serve regulations. 
But what is most important to the pro- 
fession of forestry, these resolutions mean 
that a brand new field, calling for the best 
men the country grows, is to be opened for 
foresters. Just how many trained foresters 
will be required it is impossible at this writ- 
ing to say. 
There are now over 60 million acres of 
forest reserves, which the Bureau of For- 
estry will have to manage in accordance 
with forestry principles. The British Gov- 
ernment has practically the same area in 
India and the English Forestry Service, 
which manages and cares for this Govern- 
ment forest, comprises nearly 15,000 men. 
Our own forest reserves are of as great im- 
portance and value to the nation’s greatness, 
and it is not extravagant to suppose that in 
time we may have a forestry service com- 
paring in size and importance with the Eng- 
lish service. 
The final report of the special commission 
is now in preparation, and will be looked 
forward to with great interest by all con- 
cerned in the administration of the public 
domain. 

THE PROPOSED FIELD SERVICE CLUB. 
The constantly increasing numbers of 
men in the Federal Civil Service who are 
out in the field half the year and come back 
to work up their field data in the Govern- 
ment offices in Washington have created a 
demand for some sort of social club wherein 
these men of similar tastes and occupations 
can meet and perhaps live during their tour 
of duty at the Capitol. 
The Army and Navy Clubs have always 
been a boon to the wandering members of 
both services, and have invariably been suc- 
cessful and_ self-supporting. Of course, 
from the very nature of their duties and 
