profuse crops of nuts of excellent quality, five or six times the size of those of the wild chinquapin parent, and ripening weeks before any other chestnuts. So far these trees show a high degree of disease resistance. The second generation of hybrids, grown from self or chance pollinated nuts, appear quite as good as their parents, which is an important feature when the cost of propagation of nut trees by budding and grafting is considered. Another line of breeding lies in the inter-crossing of disease-resisting Japanand Chinese varieties that are rapidly being imported into this country by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, and selection of the best resulting forms. Four generations of cross-bred Japan chestnuts of a very early-bearing type, producing nuts when two or three years old, have already been grown, and the varietal characters appear to be well fixed. Some of the Chinese chestnuts are said to grow nearly 100 feet high in their home forests, and it may be possible by their use to replace in some measure our vanishing native chest. nut stands, and perhaps develop very superior varieties during the process of acclimatization. The hybrid chinquapins and cross-bred chestnuts referred to in this article are not yet available for distribution to the public for testing, since they are being held for further observation as to their varietal character and the degree of disease resistance. Of the 22,000,000 trees planted on the State Forests to January 1, 1917, over 15,000,000, or about seventy-two per cent. are now living. Over 11,000,000 of the 15,000,000 are white pine. Figures are not available as to the private plantations, but up to the end of 1916 about 3,000,000 seedlings were planted by corporations. and individuals, and at least 2,000,000 should be in good condition now. Total shipments of seedlings made from the State Forest nurseries, in 1917, are as follows: Asaph, Tioga County. Total. 605,554 1,830,250 599,850 1,728,380 675,433 5,439,467 During the survey of the Karthaus State Forest, a birch was found which bore axe marks from the original survey, made in 1794. The marks were buried under six inches of new wood. The area of the State Forests is as great as the combined areas of Cameron, Delaware, Snyder, Lehigh, and Lawrence counties. National Forests, with Particular Reference to those in the Appalachian and White Mountains. M° (Read at the Pittsburgh Forestry Conference.) ORE than ever before we now see the necessity of making and keeping our lands productive. Idle lands of value for producing crops cause notice and remark no matter where they are or what the cause. We find ample reason to regret the reduction in fertility of any land capable of producing a crop, whether that reduction has taken place as result of flood damage, or deterioration through shortsighted, unwise methods of tillage and use. More than ever before we have come to appreciate that our very life depends upon the soil. From it we obtain our food supply, our clothing and some of our most important materials of construction. The crisis which is upon us now shows us that we absolutely must preserve the fertility of our farmlands for the production of food and fiber crops and for the growing of domestic animals. It forces home to us also with equal emphasis the necessity of the care of those lands. which are not capable of producing corn, or wheat or potatoes, but are capable of producing timber and grass. As a Nation we are finding the timber and the forage of the mountain slopes just as important in our life and progress as are the cereals from the flat lands. Each of them furnishes elements which enter fundamentally into our life and development, and they must be maintained at their highest productiveness. It is in this fact that the policy of National Forests is rooted. Prior to 26 years ago the great mountain domain of the Nation in the western States was unclaimed and unprotected. It was subject to all the laws for the disposition of lands through homestead, timber and stone and other entries. The time came when it was sought by timber speculators in vast areas, but it was not sought to be held in small tracts, though it had to be taken up in small tracts to meet the letter of the law. Widespread fraud resulted. Furthermore, extensive theft of timber occurred and increased from year to year. What was even more disastrous, uncontrolled fires each year destroyed timber which if it could have been preserved would today be worth many millions of dollars. Losses like these, swelling in volume every year with the growth of settlement, finally made an impression upon the thinking people who knew the situation, and the demand arose that the huge losses be stopped. They could only be stopped by the Federal Government. The mountainous non-agricultural lands remain ing in Federal ownership were therefore gradually withdrawn from entry and included in National Forests, so that by 1910 the National Forests, nearly wholly in the western States, included 171,708,765 acres of land. In 1905 these forests were placed in charge of the Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture, and an earnest attempt was begun to protect and develop them. Something in this direction had been done before, but the efforts had been quite inadequate. In the 12 years which have elapsed since the Forest Service took over the management of the National Forests, the problem of protection from fire has been practically solved. Considerable losses still occur, but none that threatens the future of the forests, and nothing like those of 25 years ago. Trespass has almost entirely ceased. In the protection of these forests we find the beginning of their successful use and the birth of their real value to the Nation. With fires prevented we find a new growth rather rapidly covers the soil. Rapidly the decaying leaves and litter of the forest adds to the soil's fertility and to its water-holding capacity. Consequently the water in the streams has become more regular in flow and purer. Therefore it is more valuable for power purposes, for irrigation and municipal use. A phase of development not foreseen at the start has been the utility of the forage on the forests. Before they were taken under control some sections were grazed to death, the sheep men and cattle men fighting for advantage. Other sections were unused because inaccessible, or on account of lack of water or for other reasons. The range is now grazed in an orderly manner under permit. Sections unavailable through want of water have been supplied with that necessary element and brought into use. Systematic handling of live stock has made it possible to utilize the elevated ranges which are open to grazing only during a short period in the summer. The result of this is that the number of cattle, sheep, horses and goats grazed upon these areas has vastly increased. The stock is turned off in better flesh than ever before and the business goes on in an orderly way. Last year there were issued over 28,000 grazing permits, covering more than 1,850,000 head of cattle and horses, and more than 7,875,000 head of sheep and goats. The National Forests are tending to stabilize timber production and lumber prices in this country. During each of the past two years there have been cut from the National Forests about 650,000,000 feet of timber. This is less than 2 per cent. of the total timber cut of the country, yet it is so distributed as to be of considerable im portance in the supply. The National Forests contain some 630,000,000,000 feet, so that the present cut can safely be multiplied by 10 without fear from over cutting. All of these important things the National Forests are doing, and at the same time they are rapidly approaching the point where the income from them will meet all expenses conected with their administration. In 1916 the income to the Nation from the forests was $2,823,540.71, an increase of $342,000 over the year before. During the year ending the 30th of this month the receipts will total not less than $3,300,000. year the receipts from the National Forests were approximately three-fourths what it cost to protect them and carry on the business. It will be necessary to increase the earnings about a million dollars to cover the cost of actual operation, and $500,000 of that million is being secured this year. Last Extension of the National Forests Desirable. To a Extensive as are the National Forests, amounting at present to 155,153,228 acres, they do not include even in the west anything like all the lands which are valuable only for timber and water production. Many millions of acres of such lands are in the hands of individuals or companies. Some belong to the States. It is reasonable to suppose that the States will find a way of protecting their lands. Some are doing so now. certain extent the corporations may be able to protect their mountain timberlands permanently, but individual and most corporate holdings are not likely to be protected beyond the time of cutting off the stand of mature timber which covers them. A very serious question arises from this situation. What is to be done with these lands? Because they are in the hands of individuals must they after the mature timber is cut have the timber stand obliterated by fire and become a menace to the National Forests surrounding them?` Must they be allowed to bring ruin to the valleys below them through the floods to which they give rise? Frequently such lands are so scattered in the National Forests that the Government practically has to protect them from fire in order to protect its own holdings. Constantly a menace they increase the cost of administering the forests and reduce the financial success of handling the Federal lands. No other solution of this problem appears to have the advantage of the solution to be obtained through Government ownership, attained if necessary through purchase. Such purchases should probably await the cutting off of the valuable stand of timber and bring them to the Government in a cutover condition. That will not be a serious handicap if fires can be prevented. If this policy can be put into effect, to be worked out gradually in the future it will mean the rounding out of each one of the National Forests to the point where it will include all of the lands suitable only for timber growing that are not already given protection under other kinds of ownership. The converse of this policy is already being accomplished. Since 1910 the National Forests have very largely been classified and the lands of agricultural value have been segregated and opened to homestead entry. As result of this work since 1910, 21,728,178 acres have been eliminated from the forests, and work of classification is expected to be completed within the next year or two. Appalachian and White Mountain National Forests. It is requested that I discuss particularly the National Forests which are being built up in the Southern Appalachian and White Mountains. It is unnecessary that I rehearse before this audience the arguments which convinced the Federal Government of the necessity of establishing National Forests in those regions. No land in them belonged to the Federal Government or ever had belonged to it. Originally all belonged to the States and practically all had passed into private hands. The conditions in the east as to abuse were the same as in the west except that here through 150 years of misuse the damage had gone further. It had reached that point where it was evident that the two regions would in time be utterly ruined as to timber and soil and as to water resources if some control were not put into effect. Besides, evil work in the mountains extended down all the rivers, causing disastrous floods, inundation of fertile valleys with gravel and sand, ruin of waterpowers and serious menace to the navigability of the streams. Much discussion finally lead to the conclusion that no agency other than the Federal Government was competent to deal with the subject adequately. Therefore what is now known as the Weeks' Law was passed in 1911 and the project was put under way. In These lands also include the highest mountain watersheds and the localities of heaviest rain and snow fall. They include the least agricultural land of any sections in the eastern States. most cases more than 90 per cent. of them are too rough or too steep ever to have value for anything else than timber growing, with minor uses such as grazing and mining. Public ownership of these lands quickly justifies itself. Where we have been able to buy fairly solid bodies of considerable size we have been able practically to control fires. Young timber growth has sprung into quick recovery, and the soil fertility is being rapidly increased by leaves and litter from the forest. Because of this increased mulch which keeps the ground moist better growth is taking place in the young timber so that taller, straighter and more perfect trees will be secured in the next stand. The streams are running clearer; their flow is more regular. Waterpowers and all uses of water has been distinctly aided. While much of these lands have been cutover for their best timber, we find that under the careful methods employed by the Government it is possible to make sale of much dead and defective stuff hitherto considered unsaleable. In this way we are cleaning up the ground and putting the land into far better condition both for fire protection and for the production of a valuable forest. It would do you good to go with me into one of these stands which was full of the wreckage of former timber operations and see how it has been cleaned up and regenerated under improvement cutting by the Government. The returns from these purchased lands are already coming in. Beginning with a few hundred. dollars in 1914 they amounted to nearly $10,000 in 1916, and will double that during the present fiscal year. Further, the people are beginning to sense their ownership of this property. They are going into the mountains in far greater numbers than ever before because the way has been opened for them to get there. In great numbers they are using the Government trails, which for the strong tramper, offer an enjoyable means of getting through the mountains. In the White Mountains of course the highways of the States of New Hampshire and Maine offer splendid opportunity for enjoying the scenery through automobile travel. Few automobile roads penetrate the Southern Appalachians, although those that do offer scenery unexcelled. For the most part, however, the construction of good highways through the Southern Appalachian All acquired lands are situated within certain Mountains is a work for the future. It is possible, defined Purchase Areas, which are located at the however, even now to reach by railroad or highsources of the principal rivers of the two regions. | way many of the spots of great beauty and charm. The program which has been followed from that time involves the purchase of some 5,000,000 acres in the Southern Appalachians and about 1,000,000 acres in the White Mountains in New Hampshire and Maine. Upon this program nearly $9,000,000 have now been expended and lands to the extent of 1,400,000 acres have been acquired or contracted for. Of this area 375,000 acres are in the White Mountains and 1,025,000 acres are in the Appalachians. More roads and trails, more hotels and lodges are needed. Every year will see further development of this wonderful region. There remain for expenditure under appropriations already made slightly more than $2,000,000, which will carry the work very satisfactorily for a full year from this time. The program, however, is now only about 25 per cent. complete. Beyond question it ought to be carried on to completion. The only question which can arise is whether it should be continued now during this crisis when so much of our resources and energies are needed in the war. On the one hand it may be argued that this is a work which can be suspended now and resumed later. It is not absolutely necessary that it go on continuously. On the other hand it is unquestionably true that the results are proving of distinct value to the Nation, and if valuable results are being secured with the program only onefourth carried out, how important it is that the work should go forward without curtailment until the program is finished. The work cannot stop without great loss. The force which is now thoroughly trained and working effectively will be dispersed and can never be got together again. A new force would have to be trained. The intimate touch with the land situation of the region, which means much to progress of the immediate future, would be lost, as would also the results of examinations which have been made in the past two or three years on several hundred thousand acres of land which has not yet been acquired. Much of it we shall be able to acquire in the immediate future if we can keep on. An interesting lawsuit has arisen from the burning over of a portion of the State Forest in Elk county by a fire which was undoubtedly caused by sparks from a locomotive. The land burned over was covered with very young trees of little value at the time of the fire-but of large prospective value. The Department of Forestry claims damages on the basis of the value of the trees 60 years hence, when they would have been mature, discounted to the present at 3 per cent. interest. The railroad company insists on 5 per cent., which would make the bill considerably lower. Enough campers and transients visited the State Forests last year to make a city larger than Altoona. New Publications. French Forests and Forestry. By Theodore S. Woolsey, Jr. 8vo, 238 pages, bound in cloth, illustrated. Price, $2.50. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, N. Y. Mr. Woolsey was a former student of the French Forest School at Nancy, and treats of the more important phases of forest practice in Tunisia, Algeria and Corsica, the aim being to set forth the methods which may be applied in the United States, as 90 per cent. of the forests under French administration are regenerated naturally. There is first a general description of conditions in Tunisia, Algeria and Corsica. Then each of these countries is taken up in detail, giving forest and climatic conditions, forest management, working plans, fire protection, administration, and in the case of Tunisia protection against moving sand, also a translation of the Algerian Forest Code. The methods used are worthy of study by those who wish to practice reforestation in arid and difficult sites. In Tunisia the forests of the regency cover approximately 1,606,000 acres, the principal trees in the north being the cork oak and zeen oak, producing an annual income of $116,000 to $258,000. In the central plateau the trees produce no revenue, being maintained for the protection of the water supply, the chief species being aleppo pine and holm oak. The wooded area in Algeria is about 7,000,000 acres, over half being federal forests, the principal species are the cork oak, zeen oak, afares and holm oaks, aleppo pine, maritime pine, cedar, thuya and juniper. The annual value of the cork and wood secured is about $950,000. Corsica has a forested area of 326,185 acres, the chief species being holm oak, Corsican pine, maritime pine, beech and cork oak. The revenue obtained in 1911 from the federal and communal forests was $123,648. Commissioner of Forestry Robert S. Conklin states that no seedlings will be distributed for private planting this fall. The State Forest nurseries are organized for making spring shipments, and the experience of the State's foresters has been that spring plantations have a better chance to succeed. This decision will in no way affect the free distribution of trees for planting in the spring of 1918. If weather conditions are favorable during 1917, from 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 trees will be available for private planting about April 1, 1918. Did it ever occur to you that your shade trees and nut trees, as well as your fruit trees, should be fed? |