The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-06-21
FORESTRY FACTS.

WASHINGTON, d. c., June IS, 1900.
As is we'll known, the tree claims OF the
prairies of the West, while occasional
ly successful have nearly all proved
failures. This is accounted for by the
fact that hitherto the requirements OF
the trees planted were not known to the
planters. This spring, however, 80
planting plans have gone into operation
as result of the offer of the Division
of Forestry in Circular %, and during
the summer similar plans will probably
be completed for over 100 more OF those
who have applied for them. These
plans furnish the owners OF the lands
for which they are made with detailed
Instructions for planting, and recon-
mend the species best adapted to each
tract.
OF the applications for advice and
planting plans, 80 per cent. have come
from the treeless regions of Texas,
Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and the
Dakotas. The results of the first in
designations of the Division in these re-
gions are about to appear in print as
Bulletin No. u of the Division, under
the title practical Tree Planting in
Operation This bulletin reviews the
general situation in what may be called
the tree-planting region. The sort of
work it outlines will be followed up Wig
orously this summer.
AS a further result of it's work in help
to tree planters, the Division of FOres-
try will place two or three field parties
in the Plains region of the West after
July 1. These will study the uncroach-
ment of trees on the plains, and will
also estimate by valuation surveys the
kinds, growth, and size OF trees in
planted groves. This work will give for
the first time an approximate estimate
of the volume and yield of planted
trees, and of the actual timber value of
forest plantations in the United States.
The Sawyer and Austin Lumber Com
pany, which OWNS 50. 900 acres of Short
leaf Pine lands in Grant, jefferson and
Saline counties, Ark, recently applied
to the Division of Forestry for detail
ed working plan for their tract. The
preliminary examination has been
made and favorable report submitted
to the company A contract has now
been drawn up between the Sawyer and
Austin Lumber Company and the Dlvi-
sion of Forestry in which the latter
agrees to make a thorough investigation
of the tract and to make out a detailed
working plan. and the lumber company
undertakes to pay the expenses OF eX
perts of the Division in the field.
\ field party from the Division of
Forestry is about to start for southern
California to make detailed investiga-
ton of the soil cover of the watershed
at the headwaters of the Mohave River.
a preliminary investigation of this
watershed was made in October, 1892
when it was ascertained that cOmpre-
hensive data regarding precipitation,
run off, wind velocity, and evaporation,
| covering period of several years, had
been recorded. 1t was further ascer-
| tanned that the watershed in question
included secondary drainage basins rep
resenting different types of soil cover,
varying from de nse forest to open chap
arral.
Conditions appear to be particularly
favorable toward undertaking the solu-
ton of the important problem of the
| relation of the soil cover to the run off
OF streams. The party now going into
the field is to investigate the soil cover
including forest and chaparral growth
on all parts of the watershed. The data
regarding soil cover obtained for each of
the secondary drainage basins will later
be compared with the data available re-
garding rainfall and run off from the
same basins.
1T is thought that the investigation
will result in the possibility of arriving
at a scientific conclusion regarding the
relation of soil cover to run off.