12 Bulletin Wisconsin Natural History Society. [Vol. 10, Nos. 1 & 2. 
In 1872 stimuated by the endeavors of Carl Schurz to inaug¬ 
urate national legislation against the ruthless destruction of our 
forests, he 1 and his friend Peter Engelman 2 labored for this cause 
in Wisconsin. The apathy of the public mind, in this matter, at 
the time, made all progress hopeless, and the arguments for re-for¬ 
estation, for rational forestry were labeled as ridiculous, our for¬ 
ests were believed indestrucable; today we deplore the destruc¬ 
tion of our indestructable forests. Had the admonitions of these 
men been heeded, what would be the added wealth to Wisconsin! 
Doerflinger’s chief claims to distinction were his lofty char¬ 
acter and his uncompromising devotion to principle. Austere in 
appearance, serious and strenuous in thinking, and in his life, 
sincere, frank and conscientious in the highest degree, an idealist, 
a lover of nature, a warm and true friend, and an untiring worker 
for the broadening of human life and the refining of human nature. 
P. H. DERNEHL. 
1) Bericht des Naturhistorischen Vereins von Wisconsin, 1872. 
2) . Among the first papers read before the Wisconsin Academy of Arts, 
Science and Letters, were those of Peter Engelman on the im¬ 
portance of the conservation of our forests.—Trans. Vol. XV, pt. 2. 
