Notes and Reviews 
the meridian, and when it is no longer a 
plane surface, but a cylinder, a cone, etc. 
These complexities are accompanied by in¬ 
creased chances of error, for the sun-dial, at 
best, is not an absolutely accurate recorder 
of time. Atmospheric refraction, the dif¬ 
fusion of the sun’s rays and other circum¬ 
stances each contribute some form of error, 
however small. To connect the movements 
of the dial with our svstem of clocks, it is 
v * 
necessary to correct the shadow of the sun 
by means of the “ time equation.” This may 
be found at best in the United States Nauti¬ 
cal Almanac, and is, as everyone knows, a 
uniform scale of time occupying the mean be¬ 
tween clock time and apparent time (the time 
H OWEVKR successful modern inventors 
may be in adapting various metals to the 
requirements of building construction, ex¬ 
amples of the passing of wood can only be 
looked upon with regret. The systematic 
energy of a Steel Trust is, perhaps, a power 
behind the present clamor for so-called “ fire¬ 
proof” materials, and all efforts to render 
wood incombustible, without detriment to its 
native valuable qualities, are shadowed by 
the increasing scarcity of lumber and its 
steadily rising cost. For this state of affairs 
ignorance upon the care of forests and the 
proper management of timber lands is indis¬ 
putably a cause. 11 is known to comparatively 
few persons that the Division of Forestry 
recently created under the Federal Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture holds out a helping 
hand to stay the forests’ decline. Indi¬ 
viduals, large industrial corporations and 
States are applying to this Division for advice 
and practical direction upon the best means 
of cutting and planting timber so as to 
insure for the future a steady and improved 
growth. In order to disseminate a knowl¬ 
edge of improved ways of planting and 
developing forest plantations, wood lots, 
shelterbelts and windbreaks, assistance in 
the form of expert inspection, followed by 
the preparation of working plans, is gratui¬ 
tously supplied. The results, when suffi¬ 
ciently interesting, are afterward made public. 
The fact that the Division and its scanty 
appropriation are already overtaxed is an 
earnest that America will soon place herself 
of the sun-dial). When the hour of the sun¬ 
dial is known, the “equation” will enable 
one to obtain the corresponding clock time 
or vice versa. With this reference at hand, 
the sun-dial can be depended upon as a 
Fairly accurate timekeeper. In setting forth 
the above directions I do not pretend to be 
an expert or to know all about sun-dials ; but 
I have gained some practical experience in 
their making; and realizing the difficulties, 
mistakes and mishaps encountered in mi first 
efforts to make a dial, I gladly give, for what it 
is worth, the benefit of my experience. If 
it save others from the same troubles 1 have 
met with, I shall have been amply repaid. 
H. R. Mitchell. 
upon the plane of maturer European countries 
and guard her forests as zealously as she 
husbands her wheat-fields and the fish in 
her waters. The office at Washington is 
constantly testing timber for commercial use 
and is carrying on researches of great eco¬ 
nomic importance. The effects of fires 
upon forest growth, the effects of grazing, 
the relation of the forests to the country’s 
water supply go along with the reclaiming, 
by means of tree planting, of the non-agri- 
cultural lands of the West. But the study 
of forestry is not solely for agriculture and 
commerce. It intimately concerns the arts, 
and particularly that of making homes. Its 
esthetic import is realized when we search in 
vain for a more beautiful background to 
architecture, a more effective shelter from 
northern winds, than a sturdy forest. And 
the forests when transformed are the very 
making of the home’s interior. The charm 
of how many delightful rooms lies in their 
broad paneling of wood and framed ceilings; 
for wood is silent while iron is resonant; it 
is warm when stone and plaster are cold ; it 
readily absorbs artificial color, and as surely 
will it take on of itself the richest hues 
of age; it is easier worked than any other 
material; and its very grain speaks of palpa¬ 
ble life that increases year by year. Any steps 
looking to the increase and preservation of 
wood should receive universal commendation, 
for this material,—the closest to our daily 
lives because the most agreeable to all the 
senses,—can never be replaced by another. 
518 
