Dec. 30, 1905.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
B29 
the boat at the proper time, to keep me warm, wet as 
i was. But at tins juncture we found we had lost and 
burned all th.e pitch and our torch was going out. 
This discoy.ery became more, and more disconcerting 
as _we looked in vain for the light of the camp-fire, 
which we could not see. We Irad been . so occupied 
with watching for fish, -trying to spear them, and with 
the general results, we had. failed to take any notice 
whatever as to our course. We relied upon the camp- 
fire to give us our bearings at any time, and now it 
failed us just as our pitch had given out. To make 
our position more hazardous the boat was leaking 
badly, while the shore, as far as we could see, w'as so 
hned with stumps and snags we could not approach it 
anywhere that we could land. Before our light failed 
us entirely, I told Dick to row into open water as 
much as possil le. I raked together a few splinters of 
the pitch and blew these into as much of a flame as I 
could. 
Finally, the last of the pitch flickered out, the night 
closed down in utter darkness, for clouds hid even the 
stars. I commenced striking matches while I directed 
Dick to row as steadily and slowly as he could. Neither 
of us had ever been in a similar predicament. When- 
ever I struck a match, the dark water now showed no 
bottom, and we both felt that we were somewhere about 
the center of the lake. 
Suddenly, in the very direction we were moving, I 
aw a little bunch of sparks float upward as if a stick 
h.ad fallen in a fire, and I urged Dick to pull as evenly 
as possible straight ahead. After some time I saw a 
few more sparks float upward, still at considerable dis- 
tanee, and we kept the boat moving as directly as we 
could. 
After what seemed a long time, and we could see 
no more sparks, we shouted repeatedly but got no 
response. We were about worn out with our work and 
anxiety, while I was chilled to the center — when the 
boat struck against something head on. I lighted 
about the last match and came near overturning the 
boat in my emotion at seeing a bunch of reeds that I 
recognized as being within a hundred feet of our 
proper landing. 
We sent her ashore in a hurry, took our single fish 
with us, and in five minutes we were stirring up the 
last embers of our fire at the camp. Enochs was 
snoring placidly in his blankets, with Jack and the dogs 
sprawled about promiscuously. When we got the fire 
going, Enochs roused a little and said: 
“Yew get a-n-y foosh, a-n-y frish?” 
Ransacker. 
Shasta Mo-utyT.- ins. 
Lost in the Woods. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
. . -The very entertaining contribution your friend 
Horace Kephart, in reply to Mr. Manly Hardy, “On 
Not- Getting- Lost in the. Woods,” inspires me to.Tnject 
a few observations into the discussion. : :v, ; 
■ The expression “lost in the. woods” is susceptible of 
dififerent interpretations. Mr. Hardy evidently refers 
to the “tenderfoot” in a state of panic and such mental 
perturbation that he could not utilize woods signs if 
he knew them, and probably would be incapable of 
using a compass if he had one. It is quite vain to offer 
instructions or advice to such a man, who is liable to 
lose the use of his rational faculties, other than the 
advice offered by Mr. Hardy, to remain in reach of his 
moorings. On the other hand, experienced woodsmen 
when roaming through unfamiliar forests, must ffe- 
quently, if not usually, lose all idea of direction on 
cloudy days, being without a compass, except by the 
adventitious aid of woodcraft lore. But such men 
under such circumstances do not lose their heads, but 
go about in a rational way to utilize all available sources 
of information to determine the cardinal points. 
In a recent number of Forest and Stream it was 
related by a contributor that an Indian guide in New 
Brunswick had journeyed some thirty miles through 
the wilderness and found his way to camp, using the 
direction of the wind as his only guide. 
Mr. Kephart, in his condemnation of “sweeping gen- 
eralizations,” falls into somewhat of the same error 
himself in his allusion to the moss on the trees in the 
Mississippi River bottoms. He says that in these great 
forest tracts of the overflowed country the trunks of. 
the trees are clothed uniformly all round with moss 
as high as the last spring overflow reached. I can- 
not speak by the card about the more northerly portions 
of these bottom lands, with which Mr. Kephart is 
perhaps more familiar; but as applicable to the over- 
flow regions of Mississippi, Louisiana and lower Ar- 
kansas, his statement is wholly in error. ' 
There is one variety of tree in these swamps that 
presents exactly the contrary conditions, this is the 
honey locust. The trunks of these trees are perfectly 
clean up to the “'high-water mark,” above which they 
are usually clothed with a fine white moss, or bark 
growth of some kind, the lower margin of which makes 
a sharply defined water mark. 
,, My own observation is, that on the ridges and higher 
portions of the overflowed lands, where cane or dense 
undergrowth prevails, there is no distinction as to the 
growth of moss on one side or the other, because the 
protection afforded by the undergrowth prevents a 
differentiation of the drying effects from the sun’s 
heat. But in the low, open swamps, where the trees 
s.tand o.u.t cIea,n without such protection, the differentia- 
tion of the moss growth is very pronounced, so that 
locking northward the tree trunks in moss have a 
light color, which, viewed in the opposite direction, 
they present a decidedly dark appearance. I have on 
more than one occasion used this guide when the 
marks were so plain that “he who ran might read.” 
My own experience teaches that even when in a 
perfectly cool mental state and in full control of the 
reasoning faculties, the mind is liable- to strong de- 
lusions when in strange woods, in the impressions 
formed as to directions. This is manifested in the 
proneness to doubt_ the correctness of the compass 
when the direction indicated is diametrically opposite 
to the impression which has possession of the mind, 
requiring a considerable mental effort to persuade one- 
self to turn about and take the “back track.” 
I remember that on one occasion, when a party of 
us were embarking on a steamboat for a camp hunt, an 
old and experienced woodsman gave us the parting 
injunction, “Boys, don’t accuse your compass of lying.” 
Skipping to another subject, I wish to refer to a dog 
recently encountered which presented a well defined 
case of “bilateral” color markings, the only case that 
I remember to have seen. This was a young dog of 
uncertain breed, of a generally tawny color, and on 
each side, both before and behind the shoulders, were 
very dark curved bands, perfectly symmetrical in size, 
shape and position, on the opposing sides. Is this phe- 
nomenon very unusual or not? Coahoma. 
Three Mice in a Bottle. 
Ex-Sherief Dell Lewis came to the city last evening 
from his San Pedro Valley ranch on a business mission. 
They have lately been tearing down some old buildings 
on the ranch and putting up new ones. In the course 
of a part of this work a nest of mice was dug up under 
a stable and killed. A little later a beer bottle was en- 
countered in which were three mice so large that they 
could not get out of the neck of the bottle. The theory 
advanced by the ex-sheriff is that the mice were put in 
the bottle when young by the mother and that they grew 
to proportions that would not allow their departure be- 
fore attempting to get outside. Pursuing the subject 
further the ex-sheriff tells that since the bottle has been 
dug up it has been visited daily by mice with food for 
the prisoners. — Bisbee (Ariz.) Record. 
-^^ingnecked Pheasant and Carp. 
Woodlot Forestry. 
Simple Directions for Caring for Ite Wcod Supply on 
the harm. 
Throughout a large part of the Eastern States nearly 
every farm has its woodlot. From that woodlot. which 
is often all that remains of the vast forests which 
originally clothed the region, the farmer supplies his 
own needs. It furnishes him with fuel, fence posts, 
rails, poles, and even with timber, boards and shingles 
to keep the farm buildings in repair. A well-managed 
woodlot is therefore a very valuable part of the farm, 
and the sum total of all farm woodlots represents a 
very large national asset. 
The U. S. Forest Service has for some years devoted 
special attention to the needs of woodlot owners. Its 
co-operation is offered to all who would have advice 
on the management of woodlots, and many thousands 
of"' acres of farm forests are now actually cared for 
under practical systems of forestry which it has recom- 
mended. 
As a general rule, but little care is devoted to the 
woodlot. It is left to shift for itself, is often used too 
freely for the pasturage of live stock, and is rarely 
guarded from, fire or forest enemies. "When wood is 
needed but little discretion is exercised in the choice of 
trees, and no need is felt of providing for the renewal 
or improvement of the stand. 
Yet it is decidedly a simple matter to care for the 
woodlot. The owner need not burden himself with any 
very elaborate system.' Nor need he, in most cases, reduce 
the amount of timber which he cuts. Eventually, of 
course, he can cut more, for more will be grown. The 
first requirement of the ordinary woodlot is protection, 
and the second, selection in cutting. 
Fire is the chief enemy of the woodlot. Fires dam- 
age the larger trees, starting hollows in the butts or 
weakening them until they begin to die in the tops, re- 
ducing their value when cut; but the greatest harm is 
done to reproduction and the growth of young trees. 
Running over the forest soil, they consume the litter 
and kill the seedlings. The forest soil bepomes too dry 
to encourage the germination of tree seeds. Even if 
seedlings succeed in finding root and begin to flourish, 
the next fire destroys them. 
Fires may easily be kept out of the woodlot with a 
little care. They are often started to improve the graz- 
ing and pasture. This is certainly poor policy. While 
the grazing may be improved for a few years, the wood- 
lot is often permanently injured. It is generally a 
poor plan to expect land to produce grass and wood 
at the same time. Neither will do well, and the owner 
will be paying taxes on land which he only half uses. 
Grazing animals aften do much injury to the woodlot. 
They browse upon young growth and trample it down. 
They also pack the soil with their hoofs, destroying 
its power to retain moisture and encouraging the en- 
trance of grass. Grazing , should be . watched,, and. shpuld. 
be permitted in the woodlot only when such harm will 
not result. 
In cutting, the first thing to look out for is the young 
growth. The whole point of forest management is to 
have new trees of the most useful kind take the place 
of the old, just as soon as possible after they are cut. 
One thoughtless stroke of the ax will get rid of a fine 
sapling half the size of a man’s wrist, if it is a little 
in the way, and a dozen years of growth is lost. On 
the other hand, the cutting of a good tree may simply 
open room for worthless trees to take its place. 
In some regions care must be taken not to permit 
the crown cover to become too open. In a good forest 
the soil will be soft and moist, and this soil condition 
is essential if the trees are to thrive and make good 
growth. Opening the ground to the sun dries out the 
moisture, arid often burns out the young growth as 
though by fire, while the trees tend to become branchy 
if they stand too far apart. 
Past neglect has produced many woodlots in which 
the healthy trees of the best kinds are choked with un- 
sound and dead trees and trees of inferior kinds. For 
such cases improvement cuttings are needed. It will 
pay to spend the time and labor necessary to remove 
the dead, crooked and diseased trees, together with 
the weed trees, so that the remaining stand may be 
composed of good timber trees in sufficient number, 
under conditions favorable for their best development, 
d'his can be done gradually, as the material can be 
utilized. 
When once the improvement cutting has brought the 
woodlot into businesslike shape, further operations 
should be made with a view to reproduction and a 
lasting supply. Care should be taken in felling, working 
up, and hauling out wood to do as little damage as 
possible to young growth. If reproduction is to take 
place from seed, the proper location of seed trees must 
be considered. 
Where the forest is composed mainly of such trees 
as oak and chestnut, which sprout well from the stump, 
it may be advisable to cut most of the good-sized trees, 
over a part of the woodlot, for the purpose of raising 
a crop of sprouts. Such sprouts grow rapidly and pro- 
duce good poles, posts, and ties at a comparatively 
early age. But the stumps should be cut ' low and 
slanting, so as to prevent rotting and secure strong 
and numerous shoots. 
There are a number of thinning systems, some of 
which may suit the requirements of one woodlot but 
hot those of another. ' By a careful reading of Bulletin 
No. 42 of the Forest Service, entitled “The AVoodlot,” 
the owner can familiarize himself with these and choose 
which ever one his own woodlore and observation sug- 
gest as the best. Or, should the owner desire a special 
plan for the management of his wood lot, he should 
make application to the Forester, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, for the co-operation of the Forest Service. 
In a conversation wilh Mr. Fullerton upon the subject 
of game refuges and closed seasons, etc., he spoke of 
the experience with the importation of pheasants a few 
years ago into Oregon. He tells me that Mr. Denny 
either brought or sent eighteen pheasants from China 
and turned them loose in Oregon. How many years the 
season -was close on them I do not know, but Mr.. Ful- 
lerton informs me that during the past open season 
50,000 of these gamy birds were brought to bag. 
It is only a question of a few years when they will 
begin to work their way East and fill the coverts to re- 
pletion,, making an agreeable addition to our pheasant or 
partridge, as it is known in the Eastern States. 
An influx of these birds will go far toward making up 
for mistaken importations of the English sparrow and 
buffalo moth, but were they to become as numerous as 
the wild pigeons once were they could never counter- 
balance what is in store for us because of the importa- 
tion of the German carp. 
Between the English sparrow and the German carp, the 
latter is the greater calamity. As the carp spread over 
the lakes, rivers and Irrooks the trout, bass, etc., must 
necessarily begin to disappear. 
The carp is here to stay. Legislation, seines and even 
a bounty of $i per carp will not free our waters from 
their presence. They are a fixture. They cannot be 
driven from our waters any more than can the sparrow 
be exterminated.’ I do not think that the voracious 
pickerel, if placed in carp waters, would hold their own 
against them, or even keep the balance. It may , be a 
matter of years, but the home of the trout, bass, whitefish, 
lake trout, wall-eyed pike, etc., will feel the influx of the 
carp and the carp will prevail. Our streams and lakes in 
time are bound to be infested with carp, just as the re- 
mote prairie villages have their hordes of sparrows . that 
not many years ago were tried as caterpillar extermina- 
tors in a small experimental way in New York city. The 
sparrows got there and everywhere else, and so will the 
German carp. Like the poor, they will be always with 
us, only more so to the extent of many millions increase 
each year. Mary Ann, showing a disposition toward a 
change of diet as she sat at the table, was tersely in- 
formed by her father to “sit down and eat beans like the 
rest.” So its only a question of time, if we must have 
fresh-water fish, when we must forego whitefish and sit 
down and eat carp “like the 'rest.” 
There may be carp centers where, by a vigorous cam- 
paign of incessant seining they might be exterminated, 
but I doubt it. They are as sparrows of the waters, and 
will multiply as the sands of the sea. You can never 
hatch enough pickerel to down the carp. I agree with 
all Mr. Starbuck says, but how the remedy of extermina- 
tion can be practically applied I cannot see. In a fresh- 
water fish food sense I think the carp is nothing less than 
a calamity, and every straw floating in the wind goes to 
so indicate. 
