318 
FOREST AND STREAM 
iNJarch 8, 191,3 
Parker Gun Victories in 1912 
' I 'HE highest official average for the season of 1912 at both Single 
and Double Targets was made with Parker Guns. 
As on every previous occasion, the bona fide Championship of 
America w^as won with a Parker Gun, Mr. W. R. Crosby scoring 
198 X 200 targets at 18 yards rise. Same man, same gun, made the World’s 
Record, scoring 98 x 100 targets at 23 yards, which is a truly wonderful 
performance. 
Small bore Parker Guns are recognized as the Standard Game Guns of America 
and are gaining in popularity every season with the most progressive sportsmen. 
For full information regarding guns in gauges from 8 to 28, address 
NEW YORK SALESROOMS 
32 Warren Street 
PARKER BROS., Meriden, Conn. 
Or A. W. duBRAY, Resident Agent, P. O. Box 102, San Francisco, Cal. 
iFattnttd. Feb. 20. 1912.) 
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Non-magnifyine. Postpaid. $U0 to $7.00. Prescription* ground to order. 
The KING and the KING-BUSCH-STELLUX Binoculars have wonderful magnify¬ 
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Write to-day for Booklet and Prices 
THE F. W. KING OPTICAL CO. 
Clevelaixl, Oliia 
forms of conservation, protection and preserva- 
.tion. This destructive hinibering was a menace 
to the life of the forest. Only those trees con¬ 
taining the most lumber were felled, and the 
body vitals of the tree alone was brought into 
•direct use. Xo care was taken to see to it that 
the younger trees were safeguarded. As a mat¬ 
ter of fact they were often ruthlessly cleared 
away, and in many ways injured. In the wake 
of such relentless proceedings the lumberman 
■of the past left a series, of combustible material 
that was soon to he followed by the inevitable 
forest fire, which has smoothly finished up the 
work nearly completed by the destructive lum¬ 
berman. The barren mountain sides in the 
Western country are an example of devastation 
wrought, and only the united efforts of men, 
thoroughly versed in forest perpetuation, can 
carry on the work successfully, a task that is 
not so easily overcome as would seem. Forestry, 
as it is practiced in the present day, is worked 
■along systematic lines with recognition given 
every available feature that would seek to re¬ 
tard the growth and well-being of perfectly 
healthy trees. Hindering elements such as in¬ 
sects and fungus, the accumulation of worthless 
trees that stand in the way of a younger gener¬ 
ation which must he removed, the improvement 
■of the ground to the direct benefit of the growing 
branches and fallen trees, to stay the fire. The 
constant aim of the forester is to protect and 
preserve, and to make possible the growth of 
healthy trees. By the removal of worthless trees 
and the proper care of the ground around them, 
it may well be seen that it is possible to make 
for a better quality of timber in the younger 
trees. 
Where the old-time lumberman brought into 
utilization only the very best grade of timber 
to be found, recklessly cutting the tree off four 
or five feet from the ground, thus leaving a 
stump with much lumber in it, and also leaving 
as waste material the branches, now all this is 
made use of. We have arrived at a stage where 
economy and minute consideration work hand 
in hand. Practically every bit of a felled tree 
is utilized, and from the appearance of things 
the Government will not stop until the whole of 
a tree may be utilized for some definite purpose. 
The experimentations at the various Govern¬ 
ment stations evince a great interest in this feat¬ 
ure, and we may expect notable results in their 
scientific endeavors in the future. The tree life 
on the steep mountains of the West is a notable 
ally to man. These mountains with their rocky 
formations yield but little encouragement for 
the young trees or seeds to attach their roots 
in order to obtain nourishment. Soil is of course 
a prime requisite, but this is not always available 
on these granite mountains. Thus if the tree 
does attain a hold upon the rocks, in the crevices 
and pebbles therein, it is a long time in obtain¬ 
ing a growing start. What scanty soil there is 
it has taken ages to realize, hut when it once 
has attained a firm hold on the earth or rocks, 
everything coming down the mountain side is 
stayed by these trees, thus gradually forming 
that thin layer of mold which in time becomes 
earth. The gradual formation of this leaf mold 
is the means of doing a world of good to the 
tree life. The seeds that then fall have a chance 
to come to growth with a firm hold. This thin 
layer of soil, or leaf mold, on the mountain sides 
checks the rain and absorbs the melted snow. 
If a forest fire should sweep these mountain 
sides, the entire work of nature would go for 
naught. The leaf mold would be destroyed, the 
trees burned, and when the spring comes, the 
melted snow would rush down the hillside 
carrying with it the soil, wearing down to the 
bed rock and pouring rocks and soil into the 
streams in the valleys, clogging them and caus¬ 
ing floods. To meet this problem the Govern¬ 
ment has directed its efforts into channels that 
attack it on all sides. The forest ranger is one 
of the foremost figures in the busy life of this 
nation, for to him falls the duty of protecting 
from the ravages of the flames the immense 
tracts of timber that make up our standing 
forests to-day. At first the proposition was a 
gigantic one to undertake and seemed impos¬ 
sible on the face of it. But in the present day 
we find our forests patrolled by an army of 
men in the interest of forest protection and 
preservation, fully capable of handling the exig¬ 
encies of the situation. Given a certain well- 
defined section to watch over, it is his duty to 
guard against the possibility of fires, and if one 
exists, to use every means at his command to 
put it out of existence. 
The ranger, if he is in a mountainous dis¬ 
trict, has what is known as a lookout, a height 
from which he can command a view of the sec¬ 
tion under his observation. For hours he will 
stand on this height, scanning through his field 
glasses the country below him. He can tell at 
a glance whether a trail of smoke rising is from 
a settler’s home fire, or whether it is from a 
camp-fire. However, if it appears to be sus¬ 
picious, he is on his horse to the scene of 
disaster. Since the Government installed tele¬ 
phones throughout the forests, it makes the 
work of the ranger considerably easier. He 
can call up a ranger nearer the scene of the 
fire, telling him minutely where it is located, 
and the other man will then be on the spot in 
double quick time.- When the second man 
reaches the fire, he at once proceeds to build 
fire breaks, and with his shovel throws up 
trenches all around. In the mean time help is 
coming, and while he may not have put out the 
fire, he at least has hindered its progress. 
Everything is worked by system, and it can 
well be seen that only trustworthy men can fill 
the position ; men who have a love for the work 
and who are skilled in the ways and means of 
bringing about the annihilation of a spread fire. 
Each ranger’s district is supplied with a network 
of trails which makes access to a fire compara¬ 
tively easy. Gradually step by step the Govern¬ 
ment is attaining perfection in its endeavors, and 
it will not be many years before the entire forest 
area will he under the closest of surveillance, 
making it impossible for a forest fire to do great 
damage. One of the features of the forester’s 
work is to keep his territory as much as possible 
rid of fire fuel scattered on the ground. 
Most fires originate from camp-fires that 
have been allowed to remain unsqnelchcd. The 
carelessness of some outdoor men is notable, al¬ 
though even where a fire has been thought to be 
completely stamped out, or soaked with water, 
a spark fanned from the coals into the brush 
will do the mission. Most of the unexperienced 
men undertaking a trip through the wild dis¬ 
tricts use what is known as a back log against 
which to bank their fires. Once a fire lias bitten 
into a seasoned, pitch-impregnated log, more 
than ordinary care is needed to put it entirely 
out. A fire should be covered with dirt or sand 
upon leaving it, or it should be soaked thor- 
oughly with water. It is a precaution that must 
rigidly be recognized by all, for it is for the 
good of the people. 
It is said that sparks from the engine of a 
passing train wifi often prove the basis of a 
forest fire, and it is commonly believed that 
lightning striking in dead trees will ignite them. 
This latter is true in rare cases. The forester 
is guarding against the possibility of lightning 
