Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-06-02

Way association. The adoption of
these recommendations and the appoint
ment of technical men to carry them
out Will, it seems to me, be wise action
| for any railroad The influence Of
| their general adoption would be far
reaching and most beneficial.
Il should be very glad to discuss
the matter more in detail with you at
your convenience, or to be of use in
any other way
Responses which show much interest
are being received. and it is presumed
that definite action along the lines
mentioned will result.
| Teachers Asked to Aid.
| Teachers throughout the country
have been invited by the United States
forester to cooperate with the forest
Iservice in an effort to obtain more
definite knowledge of the character
listics of the most important forest
trees of the United States. To do this
lit will be necessary to obtain n large
number of volunteer observers who
will collect material on the time of
leafing, blossoming and fruiting of the
various kinds of forest trees. In his
letter inviting the cooperation of the
teachers, Forester Pinchot says:
| knowledge of this kind is greatly
needed and will be of value from the
standpoint both of education and Of
; practical forestry. For educational
: purposes the results obtained for each
species, averaged and presented graph
ically by means of colored charts. Will
be available to all who are interested
in the subject, and particularly 10
: schools. They will form virtual tree
calendars, and will be valuable aids
10 nature study.
"Children can readily be interested
in the actual work of obtaining rec
ords. This should form an attractive
outdoor feature of the school work
that should serve TO develop The fac
+ iulty of accurate observation, and 81
l the same time to promote an interes'
: in forestry which may lead to better
I appreciation of its aims and methods
1t may also prove to be a profitable
addition to botany courses for oldel
t students.
n OF Practical Value.
: "A study of this kind will be of grea
| value to practical forestry. since til;
5 lproper treatment of forests depends
: partly upon knowledge of these char
[ lacteriSticS of trees. For example, tn,
time of year at which Il tree leafs on
land blossoms is one of the Indication
n las TO whether or not it is frost-hard,
L in a given region. and the length @
i time that tree is in leaf influence
l. the growth it is able TO make durin;
the season. knowledge of the TIM
Ii when seeds of each species ripen il
8 various localities is of great value =
t. those VINO are collecting seed, sine
l. seed often deteriorates or is eaten b
e Squirrels and birds if not gathered an,
l. stored as soon as ripe.
e Another result of this study viii
be a more intimate knowledge u
T. climate as manifested by plant growth
n for differences in climate are shown b
l. plant life as well as by instruments
If and a preliminary idea can thus b
= lgained as to whether a given region i
Isuited to valuable tree which it
desired to Introduce there. Many sue
Examples could be given, but sufficien
has been said to show that the result
of these observations will be a rea
help to practical forestry, in addition
TO their general interest and educe
tional value. Volunteers will later b
Supplied with publications and chart
containing the information they hef
to gather, as a return for the service
rendered"
On request the forest service wi
be glad to send forms upon which 1
record data and pamphlet containin
lfull instructions as to the nature {
the observations and how they are /
be made.