FOREST AND STREAM. 
935 
Dec. 12, 1908.] 
New National Forests. 
S Advices from Washington convey the news 
that to Florida goes the distinction of getting 
the first National forest created east of the 
Mississippi River. President Roosevelt has 
just signed a proclamation setting aside and 
naming the Ocala National Forest in Marion 
county in eastern Florida and another procla¬ 
mation creating the Dakota National Forest in 
Billings county, North Dakota. Inasmuch as 
the last named National forest is the first in 
North Dakota, the two proclamations add two 
more States to the list of those wherein land 
will be put under scientific forest administra¬ 
tion. There are now nineteen States, and 
Alaska, having National forests. 
Before the creation of the Ocala, in Florida, 
the two forests in Arkansas, the Ozark and the 
Arkansas, were the easternmost National 
forests. Practically all the other National 
forests are in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific 
Coast States. The Florida forest has an area 
of 201,480 acres, of which about one-fourth has 
been taken up under various land laws. It 
covers a plateau between the St. John’s and 
Ocklawaha rivers and at no point is an eleva¬ 
tion exceeding 150 feet above sea level obtained. 
The area is by nature better fitted for the pro¬ 
duction of forest growth then for any other pur¬ 
pose. Nearly all of the area, however, seems 
particularly well adapted to the growth of sand 
pine, which is even now replacing the less valu¬ 
able species, and with protection from fire al¬ 
most the entire area will in time undoubtedly 
be covered with a dense stand of this species. 
The long-leaf pine, a much more valuable com¬ 
mercial tree than the sand pine, appears rather 
sparsely on this forest and is confined princi¬ 
pally to the lower flat lands, along the streams 
on the borders of the forest. 
In addition to the pines and scrub growths, 
bald cypress, cabbage palmetto and tupelo gum, 
gradually changing to water oak, ash, elm, 
magnolia, hickory, and maple are found border¬ 
ing the numerous ponds and lakes which are 
scattered abundantly throughout the confines of 
this forest. 
Fire has played a very important part in 
bringing about the present poorly forested con¬ 
dition of the Ocala, as year after year large 
fires have burned uninterruptedly over this 
tract, killing all vegetation and consuming the 
humus of the soil. Naturally protected portions 
which have not been subject to the flames, 
prove positively, however, that the soil will 
. rapidly respond to a little care taking and that 
the prevention of fires would eventually mean 
the reforestation of practically the entire area. 
No sawmill operations have been conducted 
on the area included in the Ocala National 
Forest. Turpentining by boxing is carried on 
over contiguous areas and through the careless 
and antiquated methods used the future pine 
crop of the adjoining region is greatly jeopard¬ 
ized. The soil is of little value for agricultural 
purposes, and about the only crop which can 
be produced that will be of lasting value is sand 
pine, and with proper care and attention there 
should in time be a valuable forest of this 
j species. 
The new Dakota National Forest consists of 
14,080 acres in the Bad Lands region. It is 
located in Billings county and lies an equal dis- 
1 
tance between the Northern Pacific Railroad 
on the north, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. Paul on the south. Its creation is im¬ 
portant, for it means that an experimental field 
for forest planting has been secured in North 
Dakota, the least forested State in the Union, 
having only one per cent, of tree growth. The 
Forest Service expects to establish forest 
nurseries with the hope that in time to come 
the area may be reforested by artificial means. 
This feature is expected to prove a very good 
object lesson to the settlers, who, it is hoped, 
will in turn plant windbreaks around their farms. 
The forest is very open, and for the most 
part contains a scattering stand of Western 
vellow pine timber. Along the creek bed is 
found ash, box elder, cottonwood, elm, and 
birch. Cedar breaks are also found on precipi¬ 
tous slopes bordering the streams. Western 
yellow pine is the only merchantable species, 
however, in the forest, and the average stand 
per acre is not over 2,000 feet. The reproduc¬ 
tion of pine is fairly good wherever mature 
trees occur, but owing to the open condition of 
the forest and the dense growth of grass, it is 
for the most part unsatisfactory. 
There is but little timber that will be sold 
from the forest at the present time since this 
area is very isolated, being surrounded on all 
sides by vast plains. Many homesteaders have 
in the past come to this forest for timber for 
logs to build their houses. Since the comple¬ 
tion of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul 
Railway, Billings county is rapidly being 
settled, and while stock grazing is at the present 
time the most important industry, it is very 
probable that farming will become the most 
important industry within the next few years. 
It is very important, therefore, that the timber 
which now remains should be conserved ex¬ 
clusively for the use of the home builder. 
At the present time there are but seven home¬ 
steaders within the boundaries of the forest, but 
all of the odd sections are alienated land being 
owned by the Western Land Securities Com¬ 
pany. This company has been selling portions 
of their holdings during the past few years. 
Very little of the government land within the 
boundaries of the forest is suitable for farm¬ 
ing purposes, since it is quite rough and broken 
and water is very scarce. It is the country out¬ 
side of the forest which is now being taken up 
by settlers. 
No sawmill operations have ever been con¬ 
ducted on the area. When the Northern Pa¬ 
cific Railway was being built a large number 
of trees were cut for railroad ties, and together 
with the logs which have been procured for 
house building by settlers, this is the only use 
which has been made of the timber in the 
forest. It is understood that the logs used in 
the construction of President Roosevelt’s 
cabin, which now stands in the State Capitol 
grounds at Bismarck, N. D., were obtained 
from the area now included in the Dakota Na¬ 
tional Forest. 
Governor Burke, of North Dakota, is very 
much interested in this forest and thinks it will 
be of inestimable value to the people who live 
in the region. 
Both of the new National forests, the Ocala 
in Florida, and the Dakota, will be put under 
administration by the Forest Service as soon 
as possible. 
The Season in Pennsylvania. 
Williamsport, Pa., Dec. 1 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: The law limiting the killing of 
deer to “one male deer, with horns,” from Nov. 
15 to Nov. 30, both inclusive, is working out 
nicely, with every promise of an increased deer 
population in our Pennsylvania mountains. 
For the first time in a number of years, we were 
so fortunate as to have the open season ushered 
in by a very considerable fall of snow. In the 
mountains it averaged about four inches and 
fell on Saturday and Sunday, 13th and 14th, 
making excellent fresh tracking Monday morn¬ 
ing when the season opened. It afforded the 
keen hunter a splendid advantage, as it proved 
a severe handicap to the alert deer. Before the 
day was done nearly every hunting party had at 
least one buck hung up. The tracking was good 
through Tuesday and Wednesday, but by Thurs¬ 
day things were somewhat more evened up and 
the deer had their innings from that on to the 
close of the season, as the snow had practically 
disappeared by Thursday, and few deer were 
killed after the first week. 
On the whole the season was a good one 
from the view-point of the hunter, if not so 
favorably viewed by the hunted, over fifty bucks 
falling in Lycoming county, while reports from 
the neighboring counties of Clinton, Center and 
Clearfield place the numbers killed in those 
counties at about 100 each. In spite of the law 
and the careful attention given the matter by 
the game commission, a number of does were 
slaughtered; some, perhaps, in mistake, but the 
larger part, no doubt, in open defiance of the 
law and of good sportsmanship. In a number 
of instances heads were severed and left lying in 
the woods, and in some others the head and 
skin were allowed to remain as evidence of the 
offenders’ defiance of law and authority. These 
cases will be closely investigated and the of¬ 
fenders brought to justice whenever possible. 
Public sentiment is with the authorities in this 
matter and some people will be both wiser and 
poorer before they get through with the 
wardens. In the past but few offenders have 
had the nerve to stand trial when apprehended 
by the game commission’s agents, but have 
walked up and settled. For the first time, the 
State constabulary was distributed in small 
groups at advantageous points throughout the 
game sections and did patrol duty. They will 
remain for some time to help the game wardens 
in looking up violators of the law. 
The tracking snow and the deer hunters to¬ 
gether proved most disastrous to bruin. The 
number of deer taken hardly exceeds the num¬ 
ber of bear that fell victims to the great horde 
of hunters that literally filled every nook and 
ravine of our mountains. Until the returns 
came in, no one believed that we were living 
in the midst of such a raft of bear. Quite every 
party of returning hunters had one or more 
black bear. While the majority of those taken 
were small, several good sized ones were num¬ 
bered with the slain. One taken at the foot of 
Burnett’s Ridge, in Plunkett’s Creek township, 
Lycoming county, weighed 370 pounds. As is 
to be expected, the bear slayer looks somewhat 
askance at the mere killer of a buck, and 
“How I Killed a Bear,” will afford a fruitful 
theme for many weary hours to the unfortunate 
nimrod. But the point I would make just here 
