Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-06-02
CHILDREN TO
STUDY TREES
TEACHERS WILL WORK WITH
FOREST SERVICE
EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN is OUT
LINED
Head of Government Department Will
Furnish Schools with Forms,
Data and information
for Research

Teachers throughout the country
have been invited by the United states
forester to cooperate with the forest
service in an effort to obtain more
definite knowledge of the characters
tics of the most important forest trees
of the United States. To do this it will
/ be necessary to obtain large num-
Der of volunteer observers who VIII
collect material on the time of leafing,
blossoming and fruiting of the various
/ kinds of forest trees. In his letter in
Yiting the cooperation of the teachers
Forester Pinchot says:
/ acknowledge of this kind is greatly
needed and will be of value from the
standpoint both of education and of
practical forestry. For educational
i purposes the results obtained for each
/ species. averaged and presented
/ graphically by means of colored charts,
will be available to all who are inter-
ested in the subject, and particularly
/ to schools. They will form virtual
/ tree CALENDARS and will be valuable
aids to nature study
Makes Interesting 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 faculty of
accurate observation, and at the same
time to promote an interest in forestry
which may lead to a better apprecia-
ton of its aims and methods. 1t may
also prove to be a profitable addition
to botany courses for older students.
"a study of this kind viii be of great
value to practical forestry, since the
proper treatment of forests depends
PARTLY on a knowledge of these char
aCteristics of trees For example, the
time of year at which a tree leafs out
| and blossoms is one of the indications
as to whether or not it is frost-hardy
in a given region, and the length of
time that q tree is in leaf influences
the growth it is able to make during
the season.
knowledge of the time when seeds
of each species ripen in various lOcalt-
/ ties is of great value to those who are
collecting seed, since seed often de-
teriorates or is eaten by squirrels and
birds if not gathered and stored as
soon as ripe.
Will Furnish Forms
Another result of this study will be
a more intimate knowledge of climate
as manifested by plant growth, for
differences in climate are shown by
plant life as well as by Instruments
and a preliminary idea can thus be
gained as to whether a given region is
suited to a valuable tree which it is
desired to introduce there.
MANY such examples could be given
but sufficient has been said to show
that the results of these observations
will be a real help to practical fores-
try in addition to their general inter
est and educational value. Volunteers
will later be supplied with publications
and charts containing the information
they help to gather, as return for the
| services rendered"
On request the forest service will be
/ glad to send forms upon which t.
record data and a pamphlet containing
full instructions as to the nature Of
the observations and how they are t.
! be made.