PARK 
AND L 
PUBLISHED 
R. J. HAIGHT, President 
VOL. XXIII 
AND CEMETERY 
ANDSCAPE GARDENING 
BY ALLIED ARTS PUBLISHING COMPANY 
H. C. WHITAKER, Viee-President and General Manager O. H. SAMPLE, Secretary-Treasurer 
JANUARY, 1914 No. 11 
EDITORIAL 
Organization To Study Forest Insect Problem 
The enormous losses due to forest insects have led to the for- 
mation of a society for the advancement of forest entomology in 
America. The members of this society hold that the work of 
insects has not received the attention which it deserves. Henry 
S. Graves, United States forester, the newly elected president of 
the society, says that the purpose of the organization is to call 
attention to the part which insects play in forest problems. “We 
have had,” he said, “widespread and specific interest in insect 
pests such as the San Jose scale and the boll weevil, which affect 
all of us as to what we eat and what we wear. Forest insects, 
through their destruction of timber, increase the cost of a neces- 
sity which enters quite as much into the daily life of the indi- 
vidual as do the products of the field and orchard. If the im- 
portance of the protection of our forest resources from insect 
depredations is generally recognized, a large part can be pre- 
vented or avoided.” 
In the national forests the bureau of entomology and the forest 
service are co-operating to stop insect ravages by discovering 
their beginnings, and stamping them out. A few isolated trees' 
attacked by insects may form the nucleus of a mountainside 
devastation quite as serious as that from a forest fire. Watchful 
care on the part of forest officers, lumbermen and private indi- 
viduals will make it possible to catch these infestations before 
they get a good start. By cutting and burning the trees, or strip- 
ping off the bark, these insects can be killed Membership in the 
organization is open to anyone interested in the subject. New 
members are to be recommended by the present membership, 
which is made up largely of persons who have studied the forest 
insect problem at first hand. In order, however, that the objects 
of the society shall be kept foremost, it is required that at least 
four of the seven officers must be chosen from among professional 
forest entomologists. It is expected that honorary vice-presidents 
representing federal, state and private interests will be elected 
to promote the objects of the organization in many localities 
through the country. The objects of the society are largely edu- 
cational. As in all questions of large public importance, the main 
idea is to give the public an opportunity to know just how impor- 
tant they are. In the second place, the society will form a clearing 
house for information, and its meetings will discuss the most 
advantageous methods of insect control. Take, for example, the 
ravages of the gypsy moth and the brown- tail moth in the North- 
eastern states. If we can bring about a general knowledge of 
these insects and of the harm they do, and are able to instill into 
the mind of the individual the necessity for and the proper meth- 
ods of their control, how much easier it will be to combat them 
than when the work is confined only to governmenal agencies ! 
Experiments In Dir 
Pine seed sown directly in the spots where the trees are to 
grow is yielding good results in young trees on the Tahoe Na- 
tional Forest in Western California, according to a recent report 
of the forest service. This is in marked contrast to the usual 
results in such cases, because squirrels, mice and birds will eat 
the seeds where they are planted without protection, and even 
when these enemies allow the seed to germinate the drying out of 
the soil in drought periods is usually too much for the tiny seed- 
lings during their first season. Because of these vicissitudes, for- 
esters usually find it advantageous to grow the seedlings in nursery 
beds, where seeds and plants can be protected by wire screens 
and shade frames, and where water can be applied when needed. 
Usually, too,, the seedlings are transplanted once or twice before 
they are set out in their final situation, the transplanting process 
Editorial 
The forest service collected 40,000 pounds of tree seed last 
year for use in reforestration work. The total area reforested 
was about 30,000 acres. 
There are sixteen maples in the United States, most of them 
being Eastern species. The most valuable, not only because of 
the product of its sap but also of the lumber, is sugar maple. 
In twenty-six states there are state foresters who co-operate 
with private timber land owners in solving forest problems. 
The forest service maintains nine experiment stations for studies 
in reforestration and similar subjects. 
The bureau of entomology and the forest service, working 
together for the control of forest insects, last year covered more 
than 160,000 acres in their operations. 
Torrey pine, a distinct California species, Ess been found in 
only two isolated localities in the southern pa' ;ate. 
:t Seeding Of Pines 
serving to develop stocky plants with compact sturdy roots. While 
the nursery bed and transplant process involves more work, it is 
said to be generally cheaper in proportion to results accom- 
plished, particularly when the cost of seed is taken into consider- 
ation. The California experiment, which indicates the possibility 
of direct seeding of certain species in some localities, was con- 
ducted on an area of twenty-two acres, sown in the fall of 1910 to 
Jeffrey pine. A large number of seedlings have become thor- 
oughly established and have made thrifty growth. The plantation 
is at an altitude of 6,000 feet, where there is more moisture, than 
at lower elevations. When the seeds were planted they were 
coated with red lead to discourage mice and other rodents, but 
so far as the forest officers could find out, the lead coating had no 
such effect; not enough of the seed was eaten, however, to destroy 
the value of the planting. 
Notes 
One hundred acres on the Florida National Forest will be sown 
to maritime pine seed this fall. Maritime pine is the source of 
the French turpentine industry. 
The Republic of Colombia is said to have excellent regulations 
for its national forests. Lumbermen who take cedar and mahog- 
any are required to plant young trees of the same species in the 
cut-over spaces. 
One of the largest forest nurseries in the United States is con- 
ducted by the forest service near Haugen, Montana. It is known 
as the Savenac nursery and has a capacity of 4,000,000 young trees 
a year. 
The forests of Norway are mostly in private or municipal 
ownership, the nation owning 28.5 per cent of the total forest area. 
The national forests of the United States occupy only about 20 
per cent of the total forest area of the country. 
