The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-25
NATURES RECORD OF
 WEATHER ON TREES The Severe Drought Has Left Its Mark on the
 Growing Timber. IMPAIRED ACTIVITY. A Severe Winter Is Also Bad For Trees-Suffer
 Less from Drought.
IMPAIRED ACTIVITY.

Washington, Sept. 2O,-Mother Ma ture uses the tree trunk to keep her record of weather of the passing years and officers of the Forest Service here say that the severe drought from which the forests of New England and the middle Atlantic States have been suffering this summer has left its mark upon growing timber which will remain for many decades.
 Trees 1t seems, preserve for their entire life the evidence of unusual Wather conditions of certain kinds. They do this by the effect which these conditions have upon the making of wood substance. Wood is laid on tree in concentric rings, one ring for each year, and it is the appearance of these rings, which furnishes to the trained eye a kind of chart prepared by na- ture, from which may be read some- thing of the history of the past.
 Trees suffer less from drought than most plants, because their roots go deper Nevertheless, a severe drought like that of the present season checks their growth. Naturally, those on thin or naturally dry soils suffer most. And, just as in human society which is famine stricken, the feebler members succumb first. A severe drought may be followed by the death of many trees.
 In some parts of the northeast there was no rainfall of consequence for more than two months of the hottest part of the summer. No woodcraft was needed to see the results. On thin soiled hills and ridges of good natural drain- age the leaves of the under brush hung limp, lacking the moisture which could no longer be pumped up from the roots, instead of spreading their surfaces to the light. In crowded stands the weak CT trees, already struggling hard to keep their place in unequal competi- tion with their overlapping neighbors, began to drop theri foliage and shut down for the season. And though the best trees, or those fortunately placed where moisture was less deficient, gave perhaps no outward sign of distress, impaired activity must have been very general, In other words, the wood crop grown this last year has suffered an appreciablc shortage, though since 1t will be harvested along with that ae- tually grown during many years the owner may never appreciate the dif- ference. The result is merely that where the drought was felt by the tim Der each tree has a little smaller thunk than better conditions would have giv- en it.
 German foresters say that a severe winter is followed by lessened diame- ter growth during the following sea- son. If this is true the annual ring for the present year will be small because of the unusual cold last winter as well as from the effects of drought. Just why exceptionally low winter temper atures should reduce the subsequent growth 1t Is hard to see If, however, the cold is protracted into the spring so as to shorten the growing season the connection Is obvious. Late frbsts, which nip the opening buds or young leaves and thus check the growth just as 1t is starting into full activity, may cause serious damage to forests. In various. parts of the east last spring observing persons noted that the buttonwood leaves seemed to suf- fer a sudden blight just after they had spread their tender green to the air. They were frosted. New leaves came out after two or three weeks, but such cheeks try the hardness of the tree Some kinds are much more susceptible than others, and sometimes this sus- ceptlblity Is an important factor in fixing the limits within which tree can hold it's place in the forest. Single specimens of the longest lived trees, both European and American, are known to have reached an age of from 1000 to 2,000 years, while some have lived for 5000 years or more. It is curious to think that the forester can discoverer, by studying the annual rings of these giant veterans, some- thing of the weather conditions which
 obtained before the Christian era be- gan.