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An Act conferring upon persons employed under existing laws by the Commissioner of Forestry for the protection of State forestry reservations, after taking the proper oath of office, the same powers as are by law conferred upon constables and other peace officers, to arrest, without first procuring a warrant, persons reasonably suspected by them of offending against the laws protecting timber-lands, and also conferring upon them similar powers for the enforcement of the laws and rules and regulations for the protection of the State forestry reservations, and for the protection of the game and fish contained therein, and further conferring upon them power to convey said offenders into the proper legal custody for punishment; this act to apply only to offences committed upon said reservations and lands adjacent thereto.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the persons employed under existing laws by the Commissioner of Forestry for the protection of State forestry reservations shall, after taking the proper official oath before the clerk of the court of quarter sessions of any county of the Commonwealth, be vested with the same powers as are by existing laws conferred upon constables and other peace officers to arrest on view, without first procuring a warrant therefor, persons detected by them in the act of trespassing upon any forest or timber-land within this Commonwealth, under such circumstances as to warrant the reasonable suspicion that such person or persons have committed, are committing, or are about to commit, some offence or offences against any of the laws now enacted, or hereafter to be enacted, for the protection of forests and timber-lands. Such officers shall likewise be vested with similar powers of arrest in the case of offences against the laws, or the rules and regulations enacted, or to be enacted, for the protection of the State forestry reservations, or for the protection of the fish and game contained therein, Provided, That the abovementioned rules and regulations shall have been previously conspicuously posted upon the reserva

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tion. Said officers shall further be empowered, and it shall be their duty, immediately upon any such arrest, to take and convey the offender or offenders before a justice of the peace, or other magistrate having jurisdiction, for hearing and trial or other due process of law; Provided, further, That this act shall extend only to the case of offences commited upon said forestry reservations and lands adjacent thereto, and the powers herein. conferred upon said officers shall not be exercised beyond the limits thereof, except where necessary for the purpose of pursuing and arresting such offenders or of conveying them into the proper legal custody for punishment, as aforesaid.

Sec. 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith be and the same are hereby repealed. Approved March 11, 1903.

SAMUEL W. PENNYPACKER.

H. R. Bill No. 47.

An Act authorizing the Governor to appoint a Deputy Commissioner of Forestry and an additional clerk in the office of the Commissioner of Forestry.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That on and after the passage of this act the Governor be and he is hereby authorized to appoint a Deputy Commissioner of Forestry at a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars per annum, and an additional clerk in the office of the Commissioner of Forestry at a salary of fifteen hundred dollars per annum.

Approved March 26, 1903.

SAMUEL W. PENNYPACKER.

Proposed Legislation.

Two bills, not heretofore mentioned in FOREST LEAVES, are:

H. R. Bill 138.

An Act to limit the amount of money expended each year by the State Forestry Reservation Commission in the purchase of lands for the Commonwealth.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the passage of this act the amount of money expended by the State Forestry Reservation Commission in any one fiscal year shall not exceed the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Provided, That contracts heretofore made for the purchase of land by the State Forestry Rerservation Commissioner shall not be affected by this act; but no land, except that heretofore contracted for, shall be purchased or contracted for before

June 1, 1904. All proceeds derived from the lands purchased by the said Commission shall be paid into the State Treasury, and shall be held as a special fund, and shall be paid by the State Treasurer to the said Commission, from time to time, upon warrants drawn by the Commissioner of Forestry, and countersigned by the AuditorGeneral for the purpose of assisting in defraying the necessary expenses of protecting and improving the said lands, or for the purchase of additional land.

Sec. 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

This Bill has passed the House, and is now before the Senate.

Senate Bill No. 329.

An Act making an appropriation for the erection and fitting of a sanatorium, and for the maintenance thereof, on the State Forestry Reservation at Mont Alto, in Franklin or Adams Counties, and authorizing the Commissioner of Forestry to make and enforce rules and regulations governing the same.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That, immediately after the passage of this act, the Commissioner of Forestry shall select a suitable site for the erection of a sanatorium for poor consumptives within the bounds of the State Forestry Reservation located near Mont Alto, in Franklin County. He shall have authority to select and decide upon a design for said sanatorium, and the material out of which it shall be constructed, and shall have full power to make contracts for its construction; but he shall make no contracts in excess of the appropriation herein named. The total cost of the said sanatorium and its maintenance for the two fiscal years, beginning June 1, 1903, shall not exceed the sum of $8000.

Sec. 2. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act, the sum of $8000 is hereby specifically appropriated out of any moneys in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the said appropriation to be paid by the State Treasurer upon warrants drawn by the Auditor-General, from time to time, as the work progresses, upon specifically itemized vouchers, approved by the Commissioner of Forestry and the Governor.

Sec. 3. That after the completion of the said sanatorium, the same shall be under the control and management of the Commissioner of Forestry, who is hereby empowered to take control of said sanatorium and make and enforce such rules and regulations in relation thereto, and the use thereof, as in his judgment shall be deemed best and proper.

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THIS MARKS THE FOREST RESERVE BOUNDARY.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C., August 18, 1902.

OBJECT OF FOREST RESERVES. The object of setting this land aside as forest reserve is:

1. To protect a growth of timber on land which is not fit to grow other kinds of crops.

2. To keep a growth of vegetation, especially of timber, on land which would otherwise wash and gully.

The timber and other vegetation protects the ground against this washing, and thus it does two things:

It prevents the rain and snow-water from rushing off as fast as it otherwise would, and thus prevents floods.

It maintains a pervious layer of earth, into which the water can soak and be stored up for the summer months, when, in most western States, it is needed for irrigation.

3. It is for the welfare of the people of this particular region, more than that of other locali ties, that this reserve is created; it is for the settler and homebuilder of this region that the National Government expends large sums of money to insure his home the benefit of future supplies of timber and water, and a protection against flood and drought.

Regulations.

The following are among the principal regulations governing forest reserves:

1. Agricultural settlement of any kind and under any claim is forbidden.

2. Timber may be obtained as follows: (a) Under the "free use " permit, any settler or prospector can obtain timber free of charge for his own use.

(b) By purchase. Application for timber is made to the supervisor of the reserve.

3. Persons wishing to graze stock, other than riding, pack or team animals, and persons wishing to cross the reserve with herds of sheep, cattle or horses, should apply for permit to the supervisor.

4. Persons wishing to erect and occupy buildings, for purposes of carrying on any kind of business other than mining, should apply to the supervisor or to the Secretary of the Interior.

5. Prospecting and mining is permitted anywhere in the reserve; but it is forbidden to take up land as mining-ground and use it for other purposes than mining.

6. Rangers and other forest officers are game wardens within the reserve, as the law requires them to assist in the enforcement of the local game laws.

Fire Warning.

The law of May 5, 1900:

Forbids setting fire to the woods; and Forbids leaving fires, camp-fires and others, without first extinguishing the same.

This law provides :

A maximum fine of $5000, or imprisonment for two years, or both, if fire is set maliciously;

and

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ing floods and producing a more regular flow of water for irrigation and other useful purposes.

To prevent the mischievous forest fires Congress passed the law approved May 5, 1900, which

Forbids setting fire to the woods; and Forbids leaving fires, camp-fires and others, without first extinguishing the same.

This law provides a maximum punishment, in— A fine of $5000, or imprisonment for two years, or both, if a fire is set maliciously; and A fine of $1000, or imprisonment for one year, or both, if fire results from carelessness.

It also provides that the money from such fines be paid to the school-fund of the county in which the offence is committed. Directions. Since so many fires start from neglected camp-fires, the public is requested as follows:

1. Do not build a larger fire than you need. 2. Do not build your fires in dense masses of pine-leaves, duff, and other combustible material, where the fire is sure to spread.

3. Do not build your fire against large logs, especially large rotten logs, where it requires much more work and time to put the fire out than you are willing to expend, and where you are rarely quite certain that the fire is really and completely extinguished.

dig a fire-hole and clear off a place to secure your

4. In windy weather and in dangerous places

fire.

You will save wood and trouble.

5. Every camp-fire should be completely put out before leaving camp.

6. Do not build fires to clear off land and for other similar purposes without informing the nearest ranger or the supervisor, so that he may

assist

you.

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In Pike and Monroe Counties the State is now in actual possession of 39,546 acres. "Lumbered off" once, there still is much timber remaining, chiefly yellow pine.

There is a large body of land lying in Union, Centre, Mifflin and Huntingdon Counties whose point of greatest development is in the Seven Mountains, or in the prolongation of these ranges, comprising, approximately, 140,000 acres, which might appropriately be designated as the Central Reservation. Once well timbered, there is over most of it a fine young growth coming in.

In addition to the above there are smaller bodies, about as follows:

860

8,629

Licking Creek, Mifflin County,

2,263

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7,447

Tioga County,

39,509

14,662

Wyoming County,

2,854

Clearfield and Elk Counties,

23,671

Dauphin County, .

24,857

Lackawanna County,

8,282

Lycoming County,

42,382

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51,620
All of the above, except the portion located in
10,094 Tioga County, has, in addition to much old timber
124,872
remaining, a considerable growth of young forest,
1,177
part of which could be made now a source of
revenue to the State by "improvement cutting,"
i.e., thinning out.

572,722

Of the large bodies of land owned by the State that in Pike County has the least altitude above the sea-level.

It lies to the east of what is known as the Pocono plateau, and is probably on the average six hundred feet lower.

One body of land situated in Clinton and Centre Counties, in the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna river, has been officially designated as the Hopkins Reservation, but its boundaries have not yet been exactly defined. In a general way it might be said that it extends from a mile below Renovo, up the West Branch on the southern bank of that stream, to about four miles above Keating, and it runs back for probably, on Trees and Plants Used by Birds for Food. the average, six miles from the river toward and including part of the Beech Creek waters. It includes land known as the Slaymaker, Pardee and Boudinot, with a few other smaller tracts. This has been lumbered off, but in parts much good timber, principally yellow pine and hemlock, remains.

In Cameron and Potter Counties there are several tracts of considerable size, but as these have not yet been consolidated no official designation has been conferred upon them. There are in these counties 53,934 acres actually in possession of the State. This has been closely lumbered off, so far as the hemlock and pine are concerned, but there is yet considerable hardwood remaining.

In Franklin, Adams and Cumberland Counties the State is now in actual possession of 27,687 acres. This is known officially as the South Mountain Reservation; at times cut over for charcoal making, but now in great part covered by thrifty young growth of chestnut, rock oak, etc.

IN

N the February issue of FOREST LEAVES, Mr. Witmer Stone described generally the kind of trees and shrubs to be planted in order to bring back our native birds.

This question was taken up at the Westtown, Pa., school, where one of the pupils prepared the following list, taken from a bird-chart prepared by Helen A. Ball and published in "Nature, Study and Life." This list will convince anyone of the thickety nature of many of the species preferred by birds as mentioned by Mr. Stone:

Choke-cherry, black-cherry, elderberry, Juneberry, Virginia creeper, dogwood, virbunum, mountain ash, strawberry, bitter sweet, hackberry, bayberry, pokeberry, cedar, frost-grape, barberry, spice bush, buck thorn, greenbriar, juniper, wild grape, holly, hawthorn, blueberry, huckleberry, bush cranberry, partridge berry, sarsaparilla, falsespikenard, euonymus, blackberry, mulberry, mast.

Short-Leaf Pine. Yellow Pine. (Pinus Echinata, Mill.; Pinus Mitis, Mich.)

Its flakes are thinner, and hence the bark is smoother, and the color is lighter than that of the pitch pine. Often, indeed, the bark resembles

T is not always easy to distinguish one species that of the red or so-called Norway pine, and, of our pine trees from another.

IT

The short-leaf pine seems to have been first botanically named in 1768, and distinguished from its neighbor the pitch pine (Pinus rigida).

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I

esting to have found it in this new station. should be glad to get some seeds from these trees sometime, if you can manage it, as Pinus echinata is not very hardy here (Massachusetts). We are raising trees now from Staten Island seed, but I think your Franklin County plants would be hardier.'

It is very fortunate that the woodland containing these short-leaf pine trees fell into possession of Mr. Benjamin George, of Mont Alto, Pa., a liberal-hearted, philanthropic man, who refused to sell his trees for lumber, simply because he did not need the money, and he did love the trees.

The principal characters which distinguish the short-leaf pine from the pitch pine, its nearest associate, are as shown in the following contrasting columns:

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The term short-leaf pine has but little significance here, because its leaves are oftentimes as long as, or longer than, those of the pitch pine, but, as compared with the leaves of the southern yellow pine, it is quite distinctive. The leaves of the short-leaf pine seldom are more than five inches long; often they are less than three; whereas the leaves of the southern yellow pine may be fifteen inches long.

If one notes the character of the bark of the short-leaf pine some distance above the ground he will see at once that the tree differs from the pitch pine. The bark of the former is less deeply cleft.

indeed. this very lot of trees seems once to have been mistaken for the red pine.

So far as the character of the wood is concerned, the logs of this particular grove of shortleaf pine vary much in the relative proportion of sap and heart wood, just as we see in the pitch pine. They are, however, distinctly larger, and the bark is thinner. Logs of two feet in diameter are common, and I am informed that those of two and a half, or even three, feet in diameter are

not rare.

Thus far I have not been able to measure the height of the trees. I venture, however, to say that a height of ninety feet for the largest would not be far from the truth.

The short-leaf pine, as a rule, prefers either a warmer climate, or one nearer the seaboard. It is to be remarked as a singular coincidence that another seaboard and southern tree, namely, the sweet bay (Magnolia glauca), is found in the South Mountain, but a few miles away; and I am of the opinion that there are other instances of seashore plants being found within easy reach.

Michaux says the tree is sometimes called spruce pine, because of the tendency of the higher branches to become more erect. I could not recognize this peculiarity in the trees of this particular grove.

The short-leaf pine wood is stronger than white oak, and very much stronger than that of the pitch pine.

The physical properties of the wood may be stated thus:

Specific gravity, 0.6104; percentage of ash, 0.29; relative approximate fuel value, 0.6086; weight in pounds of a cubic foot of dry wood, 38.04. In order of strength in the woods of the United States it stands 48th, and in order of strength among our Pennsylvania trees it stands 23d.

It would be well if these trees could, in some way, be perpetually saved from the axe.

J. T. ROTHROCK.

President Roosevelt, in speaking of forest preservation, said, "you must convince the people of the truth—and it is the truth-that the success of home-makers depends, in the long run, upon the wisdom with which the nation takes care of its forests. That seems a strong statement, but it is none too strong."

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