Natio7ial Parks. 



289 



the patented lands, and bonds satisfactory to the Secretary of 

 the Interior must be given for the payment of such damages, if 

 any, as shall be determined by the Secretary of the Interior. 



Sec. 4. That the Secretary of the Interior may also sell and 

 permit the removal of such matured or dead or down timber as 

 he may deem necessary or advisable for the protection or im- 

 provement of the park, and the proceeds derived therefrom shall 

 be expended under his direction in the management, improve- 

 ment, and protection of the park. 



[This bill has passed both Houses and has been signed by the 

 President. The object to be accompHshed is unquestionably good, 

 but it opens the door to possible injury which could result if its 

 terms are not wisely carried out. — Editors.] 



National Park Reserves in Switzerland. 



The national park idea is now quite well under way in Switzer- 

 land, where late last season the Federal Council took the action 

 necessary to establish the park in the Val Cluosa. This, which has 

 already been noted during its discussion, is a natural preserve 

 for wild animals and flowers, and it is now for a term of years 

 to be protected. The original park, bounded by four great peaks 

 which serve for cornerposts, included a territory of about ten 

 miles to a side. To-day the sentiment has broadened so that it 

 is proposed to preserve much country of the same kind about it. 

 These projects have been accomplishted by mutual agreements of 

 the communes that are to run for twenty-five years. It is pointed 

 out, however, that this arrangement is rather dangerous in its 

 shortness, and there is an attempt to bring the communes together 

 again in an agreement that shall make this a protected country 

 for ninety-nine years. The risk that is run in the present agree- 

 ment is that the forests which are included in the district and the 

 protection will have increased in twenty-five years to an extent, 

 and this increase may at the end of the short term cause one or 

 more of the communes to end the agreement. It is obviously 

 better to arrange for the growth of the forests for the longer 

 time, when it will be of real consequence. 



In the Jura Mountains there is the proposition to create a 

 park, "The Gruyere," on the plateau between Saignelegier and 

 Tramelan. It is to be protected so that the wild creatures and 

 flowers will have the opportunity to increase in numbers. — "The 

 Mountaineer," Boston Evening Transcript, May 18, 1912. 



