FORESTRY. 



EDITED BY DR. B. E. FERNOW, 



Director of the New York School of Forestry, Cornell University, assisted by Dr. John C. Gifford of the same 



institution. 



It takes 30 years to grow a tree and 30 minutes to cut it down and destroy it. 



GAME AND FOREST PRESERVES. 



The egotistic vandalism of cutting down 

 and burning forests, by individuals indif- 

 ferent to the welfare of the community, 

 will prove a calamity for this country if 

 strong measures are not taken to provide 

 for the regeneration of the woods and 

 game by establishing preserves, both gov- 

 ernmental and private. 



Game is a source of great revenue to 

 many States ; and the maintenance of the 

 woods and agriculture depends largely on 

 the wild animals and birds. Careless de- 

 forestation is especially destructive in 

 Northern States, where the growth of ani- 

 mals and plants is less rapid than in South- 

 ern States. 



In the East Indian Dutch colonies, with 

 their tropical climate, a complete forest 

 culture is established; but even in the Brit- 

 ish East Indies there is only crude forest 

 preservation, often nothing but the preven- 

 tion of forest fires. I have been in that 

 part of the globe and in almost every 

 country of Europe. Being a graduate of 

 the Agricultural University of Halle and 

 the Academy of Forestry, Munden, and 

 having been in 6 States of this country, I 

 am convinced that only a rigid protection 

 of private forest and game preserves will 

 prevent a calamity which is underestimat- 

 ed by most people. Private preserves will 

 be more effective than government pre- 

 serves. There is great need of good men 

 and there is plenty of room for improve- 

 ment and good advice. 



A forest should be a producer, or at least 

 a preserver of the woods, and a harvester 

 only to such an extent as is needed to per- 

 petuate and improve a forest. From a 

 standpoint of profit, private preserves will 

 win. In such preserves the objects are: 

 The perpetuation of the woods ; the pro- 

 tection of game; the purifying of the air 

 and the tempering of the climate ; the beau- 

 tifying of the landscape; recreation, which 

 includes sport, pleasure and health. The 

 protection of the hillsides and the regula- 

 tion of the water flow are natural conse* 

 quences. 



In such preserves the coppice system, 

 with standards, should be partly used, as a 

 first class game protection ; or, if this is 

 not possible and underbrush is not allowed, 

 then game should be domesticated, as in 

 European preserves. 



C. Boudewijns, Hoboken, N. J. 



The above letter is printed for some of 



the suggestions" it contains; some of the 

 positions taken by the writer will, no doubt, 

 amend on longer sojourn in this country. — 

 Editor. 



Mistakes are often made in stocking for- 

 ests and waters. Importing quails from 

 Southern to Northern States need not be 

 a failure. Neither cold nor snow will kill 

 quails in well managed preserves. 



Quail, Colinus virginianus, which is 

 sometimes incorrectly called partridge, but 

 which is not the same as the European 

 partridge, perdrix, is to some extent mi- 

 gratory by nature, and will, therefore, 

 when imported from warmer climates, that 

 is, when not born on the spot to which 

 it is taken, surely move to warmer, 

 well protected places during the cold win- 

 ters. They will not fly so far as does the 

 European quail, wachtel, but they will leave 

 the mountains for warmer places, or the 

 treeless plains to find protection where 

 there are plenty of underbrush, woods, 

 hillsides, etc., for shelter. Snow does not 

 kill quails; neither does cold, as long as 

 they can find shelter under pine trees, 

 rocks, berry bushes, shrubs, etc. Wet, 

 cold weather kills them by flocks, even in 

 summer. 



To raise quails from eggs by incubators 

 and brooders is not hard, but a thorough 

 knowledge of the life of the birds is needed 

 to keep them and have them multiplied 

 on the preserve. A thorough knowledge of 

 the bird's habits is also needed in trans- 

 planting grouse. This bird can not be 

 successfully reared in pine woods or where 

 underbrush is lacking. Neither is grouse 

 at home near roads, factories, playgrounds, 

 etc. However, as soon as the deciduous 

 trees shed their leaves Mrs. Grouse moves 

 to the pine woods, to return later to the 

 first woods. 



I have never had trouble in incubating 

 and raising pheasants, quails, guinea hens, 

 etc., but there is a great difference in the 

 methods of raising these birds, even of dif- 

 ferent varieties of the same species. Geese 

 eggs are the hardest to hatch; still I have 

 found the secret of successfully hatching 

 and raising them. 



It is a mistake to try to raise pheasants 

 by themselves. In that case they will sel- 

 dom get sufficiently tame to be handled 

 Always mix about 1-5 their number of 

 Crown Leghorn chickens of the same age 

 with them. Another mistake is to raise 



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