Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1905-08-26
Foresters w Work.


lock.
Up until February the first last, the
forest reserves had been under the
charge Of the general land Office which
is part of the department of the interior
At that time, however, a change was
made which placed the forest reserves
under the control Of the department of
agriculture. There are now in the Un-
tied States sixty-two forest reserves and
the scope Of the bureau is constantly be-
ing extended as new reserves are being
continually set aside. In the Uintah
reservation soon to be opened for settle
ment the president has power given to
him by an act Of congress to set apart a
large portion as forest reserve. Dur
ing the last few years large number of
American officials connected with this
service were sent abroad to travel in
Germany and France and study the con.
ditions there and acquire knowledge con.
cerning the latest and most scientific
| AoANSb piScOl NdAlOll ulGlliOuss
There are now on the reservation in
the Black Hills about fourteen forest
rangers and forest guards, all of whom
report to the Office Of Capt. Bullock
here in Deadwood. Their duties are to
keep all parts Of the district assigned to
them under inspection, to watch for
signs of, and to guard against forest
fires to see that there is no illegal tim
Der cutting on the reserve and to report
all infractions of the law to the Dead
wood headquarters. They also act as
| inspectors whenever timber is being cut
either on free use permit, which is
issued to settlers living on the reserve,
or on a sales permit which is given
when timber is purchased from the gov
ernment by parties. 1t is the duty of
the rangers to stamp all the timber cut
make an accurate record of it and report
the same to Capt. Bullock.
Besides the Black Hills reserve,
which contains l,25OO00 acres, there are
under the control of the Deadwood
Office three other small reserva-
tions located in Butte county and known
respectively as the Slim Buttes reserve,
the Cave Hills reserve and the Short
Pine reserve, the last one of which has
just been set apart by presidential proc.
lamation.
One of the most serious matters with
which Captain Bullock and his assist
ants have to deal is the bark beetle.
The pest is small insect which bores
into the pine trees and kills them. After
they have done their work the tree
looks as if it had been scorched by fire.
Last fall large number of pines might
be seen on Forest Hill, which had been
killed by the bark beetle. 1t can hardly
be said that any really satisfactory met
hod has been yet discovered to deal
with this dangerous nuisance, but the
method that is being now employed on
the Black Hills reserve is to watch care
fully for signs of the insects presence,
and as soon as pines are attacked to cut
them down and burn them. There are
a great many conflicting theories in re
gard to the nature Of the insect, one of
which is that they are recurrent, coming
every few years like the seven year 10.
Gust and that they spend the time bet
ween the periods of recurrence in the
trunks of trees as worms. Another
theory is that they are are carried by
the wind and thus distributed over the
country. This is one of the que stions
to which the Forestry bureau is giving
its serious attention, and there is no
doubt that in time, means will
be found to completely exterminate
them.
That the opportunity offered by Uncle
Sam in the forest service for profitable
and pleasant employment to those who
love an outdoor life. is being duly APP
preciated by the young men of the Hills
is shown by the fact that there were
fifteen candidates at the forest ranger
examination held recently at Hill City.
The results of the examination have not
yet been learned from the bureau at
Washington.
The forest service here in America is
just now in its infancy. Though similar
work has been carried on for hundreds
of years in European countries, yet even
they are not very far advanced, in the
matter or borrowing the results of SCI
entific investigation to use in the work
Hence Uncle Sam will haye for the
great part to do his own investigating
and make his eva experiments and
many of the most important problems
will, in fact, be settled by the expert
ence of the men who are spending their
lives among the Hills and trees of the
forest reserves.
The fact that the work here in the
Hills is under the charge of Captain
Bullock, is guarantee that it will be
carried on with energy and thorough
ness and that the best results may
be confidently xpected.-Pioneer
Times.
Deputy United States Marshal John
P. Belding arrived in Deadwood yester-
day with George R. Mcpherson of Meade
county who was arrested on the charge
of fencing government land. Mr.. Nc
Pberson had fenced this land some time
ago, and had been advised that the
fences must come down. Failing to
comply with the law he was arrested
and had hearing before United States
Commissioner Nelson. He waived ex-
animation and was bound over to the
district court in the sum of FIVE hundred
dollars. Lead Tribune