New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-10-17
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
rPrrs AND FORESTS.

PRACTICAL FORESTRY By AS TSMyo F oI,ns.
Illustrated l2no' PIP 2's'
Judd Co. 1884
This IL disappointing book. II contains the Or
binary directions for budding and grating and Tor
propagstiag trees nv ayers aud cuttings 10 offers
instruction Of value in regard 10 raising dcco
nous trees from seed and gives some space 10 'nc
treatment of seeding confers, although the la''
subject is handled with less intelligence than Arthur
Bryant brought 70 its discussion many wears ago.
A scant half dozen pages are devoted to the s'ruc'
ural and physiological :" characteristics OF trees
and the we'll worn arguments tn prove the influence
Of forests upon climate are concisely repeated bu'
one who desires information rs tn the most ap-
uroxed m.th,' : Of preserving forests which exist
and making them more productive, or as 10 the
most economical methods Of establishing new ones
will search these pages in vain.
More than ,wo-thirds of the book IL taken up
with list Of "all trees md geaous to the United
States, together with the best known ofintroduced
exotic species" This list is cluttered mp with the
names of many shrubs. whose introduction the au-
thor excuses by saving that only those are men
toned which belong to genera containing trees Oh
larger growth. But there is no good reason Tor III
PRODUCING shrubs OF one genus ana excluiihR 'noSo
of another This. however. is not the greatest oo-
lection 20 the list Az least three good species OF
pines arc omitted. No mention is made OF the most
beautiful of the frs. Abies dmdbihs, n common Hee
Of the Cascade range of Oregon. One good species
Of oak IL not named and some doubtful ones adj
mitted Several sub-tropcal species of Florida are
not included among them so important tree as the
ROYAL palm Oroodord rcgd. Aside from mperiec-
tions IN the list there inaccuracies OF statement
which impair its value. One of the strongest
and most durable Of our woods-that OF the
Bnrroak-is said 70 he " of little value except for
fuelD The Western Larch il mentioned simply az
"tree 60 TO 80 feet h G. IN Oregon and Washing
ton Territory" IL grows as far east as the Contl-
mental Divide and often reaches height OF lou 10
200 feet with diameter of or z feet. IL Mt
Fuller had gone TO the Jessup Collection III our
Museum Of Natural History he could have seen
what a beautiful wood th S Western tamarack is.
II he had read the bulletins Of the Census Bureau
he would nave known that ii is about the heaviest
OF orr cnniferous woods-outwc!ghmg even South
ern pine-as it is the strongest. And yet this most
important of the timber tre.s ofthe upper Columbia
BASIN receives no more Alteration tIan Ldrr Lyath,
a species of narrow range discovered By the British
Boundary Commission and never seen siucc until 1t
was found again year ago. Mr.. Fuller can hardly
be blamed for not delaying the publication OF his
book until the Census Bureau hal issued its report
Forestry Tor no one dares predict the date OF us
probable appearance. But if he had waited and
made dIliscn study Of TINS work MS tree-lSt c"ud
have been revised in accordance with the latest re-
searches and he could have learned great many
facts IN regard 10 the geographical distribution the
varied Use aud comparative value ot orr nStlVc
trees. with which il is HnpOrian that any American
writer who undertakes 10 be an authority On
"Pmcticsl Forestry" should be re1 sonaby familiar.