hibition of his colored Adirondack slides; indeed, one might say that it was the most fitting introduction possible to the excursion of the day following, when, by a special train of parlor cars, the members of the congress were taken to Lake Lila, in the heart of the woods. J. T. R.

The Influence of Climate Upon Trees.

ON

N coming to Philadelphia in 1865, at the close of the civil war, one of the things that surprised me was the general abuse of the trees scattered here and there through the streets of the city. I had lived in a city in Northern New York where a shade tree upon the public streets was regarded by all with peculiar pride and interest, for the people hoped that in time their maples and elms would grow to be as beautiful and as highly venerated as were those of Hartford, New Haven, and Springfield. But the way the city trees here were pruned by ignorant laborers, and the almost sinful manner in which those upon the streets were "cribbed" and bitten by horses, unchecked by their drivers, seemed to me a very great abuse. As, however, no general complaint had been made about it, after a while these disagreeable sights became so familiar that I looked upon them as a peculiarity of the city where the streets themselves seemed open to every kind of assault from anybody. But I will confine myself to some thoughts about trees, having had unusual opportunities for observing them from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico, in addition to having been born upon a farm contiguous to two splendid forests, one full of hard and soft maples, elms, beeches, and basswood-the other rich in pine and hemlock.

A treeless country has an appearance of deplorable desolation, to be appreciated only when seen. There are no trees on the Labrador coast, even as far south as the Straits of Belle Isle-though it is probable there may be a slim growth in the interior where the cold winds that sweep down from the polar regions would have a less destructive force. I never saw a tree in Labrador that was twenty feet high. A species of dwarf hemlock shows itself there, about five feet high, and spread ing out at the top in a peculiar manner. Standing close together the branches interlock, and the heavy snows of winter flatten them down nearly as level as a house floor. At a distance it would appear to be a mass of moss or turf, but one step would reveal the mistake, for you would be plunged into a mass of interlaced boughs, through which you would sink to the solid earth beneath.

There was a time when I attempted in my own mind to formulate a theory that no land should

be inhabited by man that was incapable of supporting him in every natural want. But after visiting the far north and understanding how people lived there without trees, timber, or grain of any kind, subsisting, when forced to do so, upon fish and seal meat, one begins to see how small indeed under my theory the world would become, and how much it would be limited as a theatre where man could develop his grandest energies. Nearly the whole globe was made for man to live and thrive in, and even lands without trees, under God's all-seeing plan, may afford opportunities for human endeavor.

As you go southward from Labrador and into that noble sea which is but a continuation of the great St. Lawrence river, you begin to notice trees as far north as the Mingan river. Even Anticosti Island has quite a growth of spruce and some white birch, but it is only when well up the gulf that what may be called a "forest" is reached. Quebec is one of the greatest lumber-shipping cities in the world, but not one stick of timber ever left that ancient port that had not come down "the great river," some of it from a thousand miles towards the southwest.

When LaMountain and myself were lost with our balloon in the great Bos-ke-tong wilderness in Canada, we had even too much of an opportunity to study the trees. When you penetrate into that great forest, say two hundred miles north of Ottawa, you are puzzled by the uniform size of the trees. There that tree which here is thought so hardy and cosmopolitan, the hemlock, has entirely disappeared, while the spruce has its greatest development, being straight as an arrow, but never over ten to twelve inches in diameter and without limbs for a height of thirty to thirtyfive feet, a beautiful, sturdy, but "spindling tree. In localities especially dry and sheltered from high winds, small clumps of the white pine are found, but these also are of the "spindling " kind, never exceeding eighteen inches in diameter at the butt. A few small deciduous scrubs are also found, but excepting the white birch, the spruce and the pine, are almost the sole growth in that wonderful wilderness, as large as six States like Pennsylvania, and reaching from the Ottawa and the Gatineau rivers to the Arctic circle. The white birch there reaches perfection. I wrote many notes upon the thin cream-colored outside bark, as smooth and delicate as the finest note paper; but there is a very thick and tough interior bark, suitable for use in building the Indian

canoes.

It is needless to dwell upon the trees of Pennsylvania and New York, since your admirable paper has already said so much about them. Passing from north to south in this wonderful country of ours, one is impressed with the changes which

climate effects in the growth of trees. Our beautiful and sturdy soft maple, that variety which shows the bright red leaves in November, in Florida becomes a sturdy shrub, taking the place on the streams which the common alder assumes here; while the magnolia, which has with us but a slight growth, though ever beautiful, and one variety delightfully fragrant, in Florida becomes a shade tree, sixty to eighty feet high. One of them just below Palatka, on the St. Johns, which is larger at the butt than a barrel, is curiously intergrown with an oak. J. A. H.

H

One Cause of Forest Fires. AVING noticed in FOREST LEAVES articles about forest fires, and seen large sections of our State burnt over by them, I send some reflections caused by noticing night after night the beautiful sight of freight engines throwing showers of sparks as they labor around mountain curves, and by having one favorite spot almost yearly burnt over by railroad fires. The remedy seemed to be to amend or make new our spark-arresting law for engines, framing it so plainly that no court could twist it. Enact a new law providing that when a forest fire is started by sparks from an engine that whoever is responsible for the policy of that road be imprisoned for not less than three weeks, or more than two years, as the punishment of the court might decide. That the railroad causing the said fire be fined double the amount of damage caused; the loss on property to go to the owner, whether State or private, and the balance to the county treasury to be used as a fire and tree fund.

The county law officers should be compelled to investigate every fire and bring the guilty parties to justice. It should be the business of the sheriff or constable, or whoever has charge of policing a county, to put out fires as they put down riot; they should have power to call on all citizens to assist, and in case of it being too large a fire for a county to fight, then the sheriff should call on the State for help.

I have not visited the extreme western part of this State, but have been in the central part and along the Susquehanna, the Lehigh, the Schuylkill, the Delaware and the Juniata, and seen the sad havoc of fire in all these sections. More than this it is the uniform testimony of the inhabitants in all these sections that forest fires are mostly started by the railroads. As things are now, it is easy for hunters or berry pickers to lay the blame for the fires they start on the railroads, because everybody knows the engines throw out sparks.

N. K.

[The laws of the State seem to be clear enough in regard to the punishment of railroad companies and others starting forest fires, but the difficulty is in bringing such evidence as will secure conviction, viz., the witness who can or who will affirm that he saw the engine throw off the sparks, and observed that these sparks caused the conflagration. To secure enforcement of laws demands action.-ED.]

The Relation of the Forests to the Commonwealth.

R. J. T. ROTHROCK delivered an interest

DRing lecture on March 11th

fore the Spring Garden Unitarian Society, on "The Relation of the Forests to the Commonwealth." He considered the relation of trees to the soil, and pointed out how the forests served to keep the soil in place, referring to the discovery, settlement and cultivation of this continent in the space of four centuries as one of the most remarkable events in the history of the world, and then went on to show how the destruction of the trees had been begun by the settlers, and carried on to such a vast extent that very serious consequences were to be feared if measures were not taken to restore the devastated forests.

A number of views illustrated how the forests of Pennsylvania had been destroyed, so that there were now, in consequence, 6000 miles of unproductive land in this State.

He explained how the trees produced soil and served to keep it in its place, and said we were now face to face with the problem whether we would allow this protective power to be swept away. Every twenty-four hours 25,000 acres of timber were swept off the face of our country.

He denounced the burning of forests, and hoped that the sentiment would become general that the man who fired a forest was as bad as the man who stole a horse. He argued that as the forests made the State valuable, the State should pay for them by diminished taxes, so that it might be more profitable for the owners of timber lands to retain the trees than to clear them off. Dr. Rothrock explained the relation of the trees to the atmosphere, and described, in illustration of the beneficent effects of the forests, the climate on the Pacific slope.

In concluding, he made a plea for the culture of trees in cities.

-A white oak, cut near Shenandoah Junction, W. Va., made three logs whose length was 36 ft., the diameter of the largest at the butt being 70 inches.

WHITE PINE 2,000,000 White Pine, nursery grown, from Northern seed, part 3-year seedlings, 4 to 5 and 5 to 7 inch, and part transplanted 2 years, 4 to 5 and 5 to 7 inch, all abundantly furnished with fine fibrous roots. 3000 American White Beech, 3000 Yellow Birch, 4 to 5 and 5 to 6 feet, and a large choice ornamental stock for sale low to close an estate. Correspondence solicited. H. A. JACKSON, Successor to Thomas Jackson, Portland, Me.

The attention of the advertising public is called to the advantages we offer as a medium. Address, 1012 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

RATES.

Much of the space in this issue is devoted to reports of Arbor Day celebrations, and many more records could, with propriety, be added. Our friends should not imagine that a failure to notice important meetings or interesting exercises in some portions of our own or other States, indicates ne| glect on the part of the Publication Committee. While it is desirable to notice with equal credit exercises in all parts of the State and country, the committee must rely upon the readers of FOREST LEAVES to supply the desired information. We hope next year to hear from every county at least, and from many towns, villages, or settlements. Arbor Day should grow in favor, and this growth will be encouraged by reports of what is done to celebrate it. J. B.

It is a source of regret that in some of the meetings which have lately been held in the avowed interest of forestry or tree planting that so little ' of practical value was presented to ears willing to listen and minds anxious to learn. There is much which can be said to arouse interest and encourage activity, without demanding technical knowledge of botany, or thorough acquaintance with tree life. Addresses which treat only of the sentimental aspect of forestry may be of marked service, for it is the desire of those who seek to advance the forestry interests to use all legitimate means for popularizing the movement. But there is so much to be said on the practical side, that our friends who arrange meetings can well afford to lay out a programme which means actual progress, and not fill the time with mere speeches. Speeches may do much to aid or discourage the forestry movement; if when friends of forestry meet together a few well digested suggestions are offered, they will help the cause; while more eloquent speeches which are merely talks against time may drive away those who would be valuable allies. J. B.

that the decision can be reached by April 1, 1895. Being desirous of arriving at a most equitable decision, and at the same time permit of the fullest competition, the committee having the matter in charge have not formulated the details of the plan, but will probably include a means of securing the co-operation of the various teachers' institutes and other similar organizations, so that the institutes or public meetings will get the benefit of the papers prepared, and pass upon them prior to their submission to a final adjudication. It is also probable that the scope of the paper will cover a wide field, and thus we feel warranted in suggesting that our friends who teach the youth of the State take advantage of the vacation season to collect J. B. * We note with pleasure that the New Jersey House of Representatives has passed a bill for $5000, to be expended under direction of the State Geologist, in looking into the forest resources of that State, and devising means for a perpetuation of the same. The sum is inadequate, but it is a step in the right direction, and is doubtless but the herald of a more liberal forest

the information desired.

*

* * * *

*

policy. Such measures seldom move backward. J. T. R.

*

*

*

*

*

In my report of the recent meeting of the National Forestry Congress at Albany, published in the April number of FOREST LEAVES, I called attention to what I then and still regard as an unfortunate interference by those who were neither citizens of the State of New York, nor members of any of her forestry associations. It is simply fair to add, however, that the discussion over the Adirondack policy arose from the consideration of the resolutions introduced by Mr. Fernow. He is a citizen of that State, and a member of the Genessee Valley Association, and also of the New York Forestry Association. It was, therefore, entirely proper for him to take the initiative under these circumstances as a citizen expert.

This, however, does not in the least alter my belief that it were wiser policy to avoid mixed meetings. The meetings of the national body should, in my judgment, be distinct and separate from all other kindred associations. Its own field of work is quite as distinct from that of the State organizations as the duties of the Senate of the United States are from those of a State Senate.

J. T. R.

Our readers will be glad to hear that the Minnesota State Commissioners have presented their State Forestry Association with the splendid exhibit of woods which the State had at the World's Fair.