The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-01-06
THE CARE OF TREES
The State Forestry Associa-
ton Holds Its Annual
Meeting at Trenton.
BENEFIT OF FUNGUS GROWTH
Mrs. John Davis Elected President
and Accepts the Office in
a Pretty Speech.
BENEFIT OF FUNGUS GRoNT
Speefn,to the Jersep CStu Ne.rs.

Specific the JcrseB CStu NctrS.
TRENTON, Jan. 6, 1S97.-The State For
estry Association held it's annual meeting
| yesterday in THE Supreme Court room at
the State House.
Owing to the death Of the President, ex-
Congressman Augustus w. Cutler, the
Vice-President, Mrs. John C. s. Davis,
of Riverton, was called to the chair. Sec
rotary John c. Clifford. of Princeton, called
the meeting to order.
The following Committee on Nomina-
lions was appointed: -Franklin Dye, of
this city; ]. Madison Watson. Elizabeth;
Professor Smock, New Brunswick, and
Judge Charles e. Hendrickson. OF Mount
Holly. They reported the following list
Of officers for the ensuing year and the
| report was adopted.-President, Mrs. ]. C.
S. Davis, Riverton; ice-Presidents, Cap
tain A. Bradshaw, Lakewood; F. B. Lee,
Trenton, and Jules G~irtanner. Linden;
Secretary and Treasurer, John c. Clifford,
Princeton; Executive Committee, Frank
lin Dye. Trenton; John Hall. Atlantic City
L. B. Ward, Jersey City; Miss Susan s.
Lippincott. C~innaminson.
Mrs. Davis made a pretty little speech
in thanking the association for the honor
of her election. She said she would try
to act in watching the association as a
mother acts for the interest of a child.
Secretary Clifford reported that he had
no report to make of events since the last
meeting. Nothing had been done. except
to add, a few names to the membership
roll. There Law been receipts of $246.0S
and expenditures of SELLS.
Captain Charles McIlvaine. of Haddon-
field, read a paper ON beneficial and detri-
mental fungus in forests. He spoke at
length on toadstools. which he said were
surgeons scavengers, cultivators and farm
ers for the wodd. He had made them a
study for sixteen years. in woods and
field, during which he had observed their
growth in 1900 acres of West Virginia
He had never seen a healthy tree attacked
by an injurious fungus. There are fungi
on trees In Boston Commons which had
been there, to the speakers knowledge,
since 1868. He threw ASIDE as useless many
of the Observations of standard books on
the detrimental effects of many fungi.
Among the oil lest lived trees are many
varieties of fungi. Insects are greater
foes to forests than any fungus.
Mr.. McIlyaine exhibited a piece OF
charcoal made by a last years bonfire.
A fungus common in England but rare
here had commenced to grow upon It
and to destroy the charcoal into n
might be called a fertilizer.
The mushrooms in the forests of the
United States were worth sl52, 000,0 600 a
year which is one-sixth the value of the
lumber product. He spoke about a
number of poisonous mushrooms, saying
that when eaten their effect was not felt
for twelve hours, but after that time
death came rapidly. He dwelt at length
mushroom poisoning. He said he had
lived for many weeks on mushrooms
grown in the cutters of Haddonfield.
Edible mushrooms should be washed in
be peeled &c sare Or saasns as 18th he skim kin is the
best part, They are best when only
eaten with pepper salt and butter They
s snre' fr De c9 e fo aen minuaes. % 'he's tex
Professor Smock suggested that fungi
might be p~ropagated in South Jersey, to
reclaim the great amount of sandy land
Lee and Secretary Clifford were appoint
ed a committee to nave the association
properly Incorporated, SO as to be able 70
said that some one recently left 5000 to
a society to protect homeless cats. She
thought that the objects of the Forestry
had plenty of money.
In the evening a small audience greatly
appreciated an illustrated lecture, For
Fernow, chief of the United States For
estry Department. He said that 1t was
unreasonable to talk of forest culture
son that there are forest fires is because
of a lack of moral conception in the
people, which results IN NO laws being
lands turned into good, rivers made to
turn wheels. and forests preserved are
all Important. subjects, not only for the
present, but for the future. Those who
fail to protect the forests help to under
mineSthe rights of the community.
Trees grow to be cut, but there is much
criminal waste of forests. Thin noun
ain soils. where trees would flourish.
are used for farms which impoverish the
farmers. and the lands ought to be aban-
doned. There is sandy soil used as farms
which might more proftably be used
for tree culture.
Professor Fernow showed several pic.
lures, by the aid of the stereopticon. OF
the erosion Of and by water. a common
sight in the Southern States. and pointed
out how this land may be reclaimed.
Trees are to be planted at the highest
points of the land, and there is to. be
contour blowing. green zaanslring, ter
racing and mulching.
IT is estimated that there are two
hundred square miles of land In the
United States annually lost by erosion.
In Mississippi ten per cent. of the State
has been lost by the rush of water. Such
a loss means a great loss in taxable
property to the State. Engineer Eads,
after. spending a lifetime IN studying
the outlet of the Mississippi to prevent
the overflow of its banks, exclaimed at
his partial failure: II should have be-
gun at the other end of the river.
France has reforested many thousand
acres, to reclaim many more thousand
acres devastated By erosion.
We are In It from the cradle to the grave.
More tina half Of the people lived III
wooden houses. The railroads are laid
on wooden ties. Until recent times all
ores were melted by wood fires, and
wood enters into every department of
life. The value of the lumber produced
is a year is twice as much as the entire
products of the mines.
In New Jersey the annual fires Of
forests cause a loss of one million dollars
though the State has long since been
numbered out. The State is in q position
to produce annually one million dollars
worth of lunber Nature tries hard to
repair the losses. but the forest fires are
too much, and the condition is a dis
grace to any State that boasts OF a civil
ization. The State shonld protest by
stringent laws against incendiarism.
fire weuld maintain a forestry commits
sion which could arrange all the modern
methods for preserving the forests with
the help of legislation. The people VIII
gladly pay for such a commissions lie they
are orffvs satisfied that the nnnnev annrox