The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-08-23
FORESTRY FACTS.

WASHINGTON, D. c., August IS, 1900.
An investigation of forest fires and re-
forestatiOn on burnt areas is now being
pursued by the Division Of Forestry
OF the Department OF Agriculture
through Prof C. s. Crandall, lately Of
the Colorado Experiment Station at
Fort Collins. This work, which Pro-
lessor Crandall began-sOme years ago as
collaboration of the Division, will be
carried on chiefly in the northern part
OF the State, where the prevalence OF
Lodgepole Pine makes the conditions
very different from those in the South.
me investigation is an important one,
Tor until the forester knows what to ex-
pect from fire and how to deal with
burnt-over areas, he can do little in a
region where burning has been as extern
SlVe and is still as common as i'll Col
olado.
In this investigation the examination
OF the first stages of reforeStatlon will
be made on areas OF which some were
burned over thirteen years ago, and on
made surveys and recorded progress at
different periods since. In the case of
! the old fires of which there is no record,
the date of burning can usually be de-
termined by the age of the trees which
came up after the fire. and the neces-
sary surveys and measurements can
then be made. Special attention will
! be paid to the causes which make the
cones OF the Lodgepole Pine open and
distribute their seed. These are not yet
understood. and i'll view of the tree S
| habit OF storing its seeds in the cone,
often for many wears, and setting them
free when killed by fire, are very I'M
portant.
Professor Crandai will have foul
assistants and will begin his eXamina-
ton in the Medicine Bow Range. From
! there he will work down the Continenta
Divide to the neighborhood of Longs
, Peak
! The great number of applications fol
the position of student assistant under
the division of Forestry which have this
year been made shows how rapidly the
interest in practical forestry is increas-
i ing. The pay, >25a month and expenses
in the field, is not enough to be alluring
to those who are not interested in the
subject, and no attempt to advertise
the opportunity has been made Yet
although it was announced early in
March that more candidates had already
applied than there were places for. the
number of applications kept steadily
increasing, until finally 232 were receiv.
ed. This number is more than seven
times as great as that of last years, the
first years applications In these
applications it is noticeable that the
majority come from in or near the large
UNIVERSITIES, where information regard
ing the opportunity, which had to spread
chiefly by word of mouth, could circu-
late extensively. From Harvard and
Yale alone 100 We're received, while II
more were scattered over different parts
of the Atlantic States. Sixteen came
from California, where several students
fromBerkeley andStanford had appoint
ments last summer If this inforna-
ton could have been spread throughout
I the Middle States as easily as it was in
the neighborhood of these large univer-
Sites the number of applications would
probably have been still greater.
The position OF student assistant was
created for the double purpose of giving
young men who are thinking of engag-
| ing in forestry as profession. prac vical
experience and assistance under the SUI
pervision of experts. and of securing
| liltSiilSNlle ttooioAttllNN lOl lllC ~ 'Ctli-
ment at slight cost In all 81 applicants
We're appointed and are now at work
They are divided up among the field
experts who are making investigations
and forest surveys as follows IN the
State of Washington. :: in California,
Is: in the Black Hills. 9: in the Middle
West, 5; i'll Arkansas. TO- in the Appal-
achian region. >: in the -Adirondacks, ID.
| Most of thpir'time is spent i'm COLLECTING
the measurements of trees and II max
ing the surveys from which the foresters
of the Division can next winter draw
conclusions and results. TO Il young
man of an observing and inquisitive
turn of mind, the work affords an ex-
cellent opportunity for learning the
nature of the problems with which a
| forester has to deal. and the ways in
which he does part of his work
! DR.. Cyrus Hamlin Dead.