402 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1900. 
be the first, however, in this country to attempt to prove by figures that the 
flood extreme of streams is in proportion to the lack of forest covering. 
results will be applicable in a general way to any portion of the country, 
will be of special value to all regions where irrigation is practised. 
Then we have the 
GOVERNMENT WORK ON THE PACIFIC COAST. 
The Division of Forestry will continue the investigation of Pacific coast 
timber begun last summer, and several parties will start in June or earlier 10! 
the redwood belt of California and the red fir forest of Washington. The 
object is to compare the reproduction with the present depletion, and 
investigate the possibility of reforesting logged-off lands. There will be from 
fifteen to twenty-five men in each State. Most of the work will be done by 
young college men under the direction of Government forest experts. 
The research will be carried on in pursuance of a system which undertakes 
by ascertaining the rate of growth and general life history of an existing fore? 
to foretell the behaviour of a future one growing under like conditions 
Measurements will be made and the age found of several thousand trees in the — 
logging districts, and large tracts will be cruised and surveyed to find the sta? 
of timber in varying situations. By measuring and counting the annual rings 
of a tree at several sections, an expert can determine not only its age but @ 
what stage it grew fastest, when it reached maturity, and the exact amount % 
wood added during any period. By obtaining these figures for large areas} 
will be possible to compute the time necessary to raise successive crops in the 
Pacific timber region. ; ) 
This work will be especially valuable to owners of timber lands who are 2 
doubt as to the profit of paying taxes on their property after it has been logge 
_ Assistance to Horest Owners.—the offer to give advice and furnish working 
plans to persons desirous to plant forest trees, made by the Division © 
Forestry, has received immediate response from farmers in every part of the 
country. Although but a few months have elapsed since the offer beam 
generally known, 118 applications have been received, and plans for thirty-e1g" 
of these will be completed before the time for spring planting to begin. Ast ‘| 
larger number have asked for written advice, which does not require fiel 
inspection by the forest officials. The treeless States have been quickest 
avail themselves of assistance, the number of applications being as follows 
Kansas, 838; Oklahoma, 19; Nebraska, 12; North Dakota, 9; Iowa, 9%} 
Indiana, 5; Texas, 5; Minnesota, 4; Colorado, 3; Washington, 3; South 
Dakota, 2; California, 2; Illinois, 2; New York, 2; Ohio, 1; Missouri, }i 
Delaware, 1. 
The majority of plans are for tracts of five to ten acres, intended by pra 
farmers to afford windbreaks and fuel supplies. A few plantings of 1,000 at 
2,000 acres are being made as experiments in raising forest crops for market im 
regions where such material is scarce. After considering these applications 
order, the Division of Forestry has sent experts to study the conditions of 
irie 
many as possible of localities which offered the best opportunities for objec” 
lessons to the public. Plans will be sent without delay to each OW 
instructing him in detail how to plant, and recommending the best spec! 
adapted to his tract. é ‘0 
Much attention is being given at present to timber’ lands. Lumbe 
companies are paying good prices for stumpage, and a large amount of capl 
is looking for good timber within reasonable haulage distances. ‘Timber clau 
are being hunted up in Oregon and Washington particularly, and many mine ‘ 
prospectors have utilised their time during the snowy months of the winter 2° 
search for good timber. 5 
Thus it will be seen that the people of the United States have taken th 
alarm ; but they have risen to the occasion, and the Government has také 
prompt steps to repair the heavy losses which the country has sustaine 
reckless destruction of forest trees. ; 
Vhe 
