THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
LH 
NEW BULLETINS OF INTEREST TO NURSERYMEN 
Technical Pa])crs on Miscellaneous Forest Insects. Y]. 
Chalcidids Injurious to h''orcst-Trce vSeeds. By. S. A. 
Rohvver, ILitomological Assistant. Pp. 157-163. (d'eehni- 
cal Scries, No. 20, Part 6, Bureau of Entomolo^^y.) Price, 
5 cents. 
The I)i.si)ersion of the Oii)sy Moth. By A. F. Burgess, 
F 2 x])ert in Charge of Biological Investigations. P]). 62, pis. 
16, figs. 6, map. (Bulletin riy, Bureau of Entomology.) 
Price, 20 cents. 
The Persian Walnut Industry of the United vStates. By 
FL R. Lake, Assistant Pomologist, Pomological Collections. 
Pp. 112, pis. II, figs. 24. (Bulletin 254, Bureau of Plant 
Industry.) Price 20 cents. 
Office of the Secretary, 
Washington, D. C^ 
March 10, 1913. 
The Department of Agriculture has been figuring up the 
losses by fires on the National Forests for the calendar year 
1912, and finds that they were the lowest of recent years. 
Less than one acre to every thousand of timbered lands was 
burned over, and the total damage is estimated at $75,290, or 
less than one dollar to every 2,000 acres of area. 
The good record is attributed to, first, favorable weather 
conditions in most localities, and second, the increased effi¬ 
ciency or the fire-fighting organization. As Congress makes 
available the means for extending the system of communica¬ 
tions on the National Forests, the equipment of trails, roads, 
telephones, and lookout stations is .yearly enlarged and the 
fires, it is said, are discovered more quickly and fought more 
rapidly. 
An especially good showing was made by the Forest 
officers last year in extinguishing fires outside the National 
Forests before they reached the Forest boundaries. Such 
fires constituted more than one-sixth of all fought by the 
Forest rangers and guards. About nine-tenths were extin¬ 
guished before they touched the Forests. Of the fires within 
the Forest boundaries more than 18 ]ier cent were on lands in 
private owner’shiji. Nearly one-fourth of the extra expendi¬ 
tures due to fighting fires—that is, expenditures outside the 
time of the regular Forest force—was incurred in fighting 
these fires. 
Lightning caused more fires than any other agency, fol¬ 
lowed by railroads, campers, and incendiaries, in the order 
given. The greatest losses occurred in Arizona, Arkansas, 
and California, in which vStates there was also the largest 
jiroportion of fires caused by lightning and by incendiarism. 
About 27 ])er cent of all the fires were started by lightning, 
and about 38 per cent were due to carelessness. The propor¬ 
tion in each case was practically the same as in the jjrevious 
year. 
The total number of fires was 2,472, as compared with 
3,369 in 1911. They burned over, in the aggregate, 230,000 
acres as against 780,000 in 1911. California led all vStates in 
total number of fires, and in the number caused by lightning. 
Arizona stood second in both of these classifications. Arkan¬ 
sas stood fourth in total number of fires, and first in those of 
incendiary origin, with California .second. The one National 
Forest in Kansas had only one fire, which burned over less 
than ten acres and cost $1.11 to extinguish. North Dakota 
had no fires on its one small F''orcst. 
Of the 2,472 fires, over 75 per cent were put out before 10 
acres were liurned over, and nearly 50 ])cr cent before one- 
quarter of an acre was covered. ()nlv 12 fires caused damage 
of more than $1,000 each. 
BROWN TAIL MOTH 
The winter form of this insect is very different from the 
gipsy. Eggs numbering 200 to 400 arc laid in clusters on the 
under side of leaves on the up]:)er and outer branches of ap])lc, 
]jcar, maple and elm trees. The caterjiillars appear the 
latter part of August or early in September. After feeding 
a short time they spin a web or nest among the leaves about 
the size of a hen’s egg, larger or smaller. In this form several 
hundred caterpillars one-fourth to one-half of an inch long 
pass the winter ready to feed when spring comes. They 
become full grown and feed late in June when they form a 
cocoon within a few leaves. The adult moths appear in July 
and fly long di.stances thus being difficult to control. They 
spread broadcast with the wind and are attracted at night 
by light. In this adult stage, they do no damage and soon 
die. The hairs of this in.sect are poisonous. 
If webbed nests with small cateqiillars therein are found, 
. specimens should be carefully wrapped and sent to the 
Department of Agriculture, Albany, N. Y., for identifleation 
and full particulars .should be given. 
CHECKING TREE-BEETLE RAVAGES 
Investigations conducted by the government in 1907 and 
1910 to determine the conditions on an area of more than 
1,000,000 acres in northeastern Oregon showed that the killing 
of a large number of trees by the mountain pine beetle had 
been going on in this area since 1905. In order to demon¬ 
strate the practicability of the control measures recommended 
by the expert on forest insects of the bureau of entomology, 
an area of about 90,000 acres, princijjally in the yellow ]hne, 
was selected in which to conduct a beetle control project. 
This area was located .south and southeast of the advance 
movement of the .swarms of de])rcdating beetles in order to 
check it. In the sjiring and summer of 1912 a thorough 
inspection was made of the treated area. A similar untreated 
or check area in another forest was also examined. It was 
found that on the 87,950 acres of the treated area the number 
of trees killed by the insects had decreased from 37,178 trees 
to 4,698— a reduction of 32,480 treexs—or more than 80 per 
cent, while on the untreated check area in the other forest 
there was no decrea.se and in one small i.solated area the 
increase in the number of trees killed was 240 per cent, demon¬ 
strating the practicability of the control project.—American 
Florist. 
