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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1901)
DESTROY BIG TKEES. CALIFORNIA GIANTS ARE RUTH LESSLY CUT DOWN. Necessary Waste of Lumbering: Mam moth) Over Fifty Per Cent Forestry . Department Demanl That Efforts Be .Made to Save Few Remaining Groves. Gifford Finchot, United States fores ter, bas issued a pamphlet concerning the big trees of California which has created no little comment through its endeavors to state clearly and emphat ically the necessity for the preservation of the California mammoths. The writer protests against the rate at which the big trees are being destroyed by private owners, pointing out clearly that the chances of a renewal of the wonder growths are to be little consid ered. "Most of the scattered groves of big trees are privately owned and, there fore, in danger of destruction," he FELLING A BIO TKEE. writes. "Lumbering is rapidly sweep ing them off; forty "mills and logging companies are now at work wholly or In part upon big tree timber. The southern groves show" some reproduc tion, through which there Is hope of perpetuating these groves. In the northern groves the species hardly holds Its own." In Introducing a history of the big trees, with facts concerning each of the groves now existing, the writer says: "At the present time the only grove thoroughly safe from destruction Is the Mariposa and this is far from being the most Interesting. Most of the other groves are either In process of or In danger of being logged. The very flnest of all, the Calaveras grove, with the biggest and tallest trees, the most un contaminated surroundings and prac- the destruction of these forests. Every one who has visited a forest In any part of the world will regret the destruction of these jungles of beauty. Every thoughtful American is waking to a realization of the criminal carelessness with which the forests of this country have been wiped out. The lumbering of the big trees, with Its accompanying waste and devastation, seems a partic ularly unnecessary and almost Immoral proceeding. Forester Tineuot says of It: "The lumbering of the big tree is destructive to a most unusual degree. In the first place, the enormous size and weight of the trees necessarily entails very con siderable breakage when one of them falls. Such a tree strikes the ground with a force of many hundreds or even thousands of tons, so that even slight Inequalities are sufficient to smash the brittle trunk at Its upper extremity Into almost useless fragments. The loss from this cause Is great, but It Is only one of the sources of waste. The great diameter of the logs, and, In spite of the lightness of the wood, their enormous weight make it Impossible to handle them without breaking them up. For this purpose gunpowder is the most available means. The fragments of logs blown apart In this way are not only often of wasteful shapes, but un less very nice judgment is exercised In preparing the blast a great deal of wood Itself Is scattered In useless splin ters." "At the mill, where waste Is the rule in the manufacture of lumber In the United States, the big tree makes no to the other sources of loss already men tioned, makes a total probably often considerably In excess of half the total volume of the standing tree, and this Is only one side of the matter. "The big tree stands as a rule In a mixed forest, composed of many spe cies. The result of sequoia lumbering upon this forest Is almost ruinous. The destruction caused by the fall of enor mous trees Is In Itself great, but the principal sourse of damage Is the Im mense amount of debris left on the ground the certain source of future fires. This mass of broken branches, trunks and bark. Is often five or six or more feet In thickness and necessarily gives rise to fires of great destructive power, even though the big tree wood Is not specially Inflammable. The devas tation which follows this lumbering Is as complete and deplorable as the un touched forest Is unparalleled, beautl- bioscience snvention LOGGING RAILROAD IN A .BIG TKEE FOREST. A sheet of water one inch thick and one acre In area weighs 101 tons. j An old Danish galley was recently dug up in England, while an excava tion was being made. Its timbers are of oak and elm and they are well preserved. The vessel is assigned to the time of Alfred the Great, which would make It over one thousand years old. An antique sword and some bones of animals now extinct In England were also found. Some of the vast changes which the face of the earth has undergone are indicated by the recent discovery in the small lakes scattered among the ex tinct volcanoes of Auvergne In France of the survival of certain forms of ma rine animals. Salt plains exist there whose deposits were formed before vol canic forces upheaved the surrounding rocks and created mountain peaks and craters. It has been asserted that Insects are particularly attracted by the colors of certain flowers. Felix Flateau, after Investigating the conduct of Insects In their visits to various flowers, con cludes that while they may perceive colors and thus be enabled to distin guish, at a distance, between flowers and leaves, yet they show no prefer pnpt union' the different colors. Bine. red, yellow, white are indifferent to them. He thinks that the odor of flow ers affects Insects more than their col ors do. The experiments of the French grape growers in Algeria have shown that too much sunshine Is unfavorable for the making of good wine. In the more temperate climate of France grapes possess a proper proportion of sugar to acid for wine making, but the hot Algerian sunshine Induces so active an assimilation by the vines that the quantity of acid Is reduced and that of sugar Is Increased. In consequence, the wine makers of Algeria are driven to many devices for improving the fla vor and lasting quality of their wines. X-rays have been subjected to a novel purpose In Calcutta. A thief was supposed to have stolen a diamond worth 10,000 rupees and to have effec tually secreted It on his person by swallowing it. Expert thieves in India temporarily secrete small valuables of this description In the throat. It Is called "pouching," and the thieves un dergo special training In order to ren der them proficient In the art. The plan Is simple. A small piece of lead Is attached to a thread, and this the neophyte swallows, then by the action of his tongue he guides the lead to the orifice of the sac lu the throat. The pupil Is prevented from completely swallowing the lead by the piece of thread which the teacher holds. When the man has become skillful In this act of swallowing, the leaden pellet Is coat ed with lime, which lias the effect of enlarging the sac so that It becomes capable of retaining large articles. In the case of Calcutta the Roentgen rays revealed the presence of some obstacle In the throat, but its precise identity could not be gathered. being a kind proposition, and we settled that he should take my whole $5 for I place at 4 to 1. He hurried away from me as soon as he got my five, and then It occurred to me that maybe I was up against it, for I had recognized my kind friend as one of the best-known touts at i the big tracks. The horse I had pick d won the race, and with little hope of I ever seeing the fellow again I went 1 over to the free field to find him. I j couldn't, and was on my way back to ' the grand stand calling myself a ! chump, when I heard some one yelling ! at me and saw one of the bookmaker j beckoning. I walked over to him, and he was the man who had shut me out on the bet I was going to make. " 'Ain't you the man that made a bet with a fellow here a while ago on so and so for a place?' he said. I answered that I was, and he told me that he had something that was left by a man f me. You can Imagine my surprise when he handed me out $25 with the explana tion that my friend was lu a hurry and could not wait, so had left the money for me. As I counted the money I thought hard, and since then I take credit for having discovered the first honest tout any of us has ever known." Chicago Inter Ocean. tlcally all the literary and scientific as sociations of the species connected with It, has been purchased recently by a lumberman, who came into full posses sion on the 1st of April, 1000. "The Sequoia and General Grant Na tional parks, which are supposed to em brace and give security to a large part of the remaining big trees, are eaten Into by a sawmill each and by private timbering claims amounting to a total of 1,172,870 acres. The test of the scanty patches of big trees are in a fair way to disappear in Calaveras, Tuo lumne, Fresno and Tulare counties, they are now disappearing by the ax. In brief, the majority of the big trees of California, certainly the best - of them, are owned by people who have every right and In many cases every Intention, to cut them Into lumber." f cientific Value of Big Trees. Further along these same lines the value of the big tree is thus considered: "The big trees are unique In the world the grandest, the oldest, the most ma jestically graceful trees and If It were not enough to be all this, they are among the scarcest of known tree spe cies and have the extreme scientific val ue of being the best living representa tives of a former geologic age. They are trees which have come down to us through the vicissitudes of many cen turies solely because of their superb qualifications. The bark of the big tree Is often two feet thick and almost non combustible. The oldest specimens felled are still -sound at the heart and fungus Is an enemy unknown to It. Yet with all these means of maintenance the big trees have apparently not in creased their range since the glacial epoch. They have only Just managed to hold their own on a little strip of country where the climate Is locally fa vorable." ' Everyone who Is interested In the big trees, as everyone must be either from curiosity, a natural love of the forest or for scientific reasons, must deplore Margaret Armstrong has made a dec orative cover for Myrtle Reed's Later Love Letters of a Musician, which, succeeds Love Letters of a Musician from the press of G. P. Putnam's Sons. Miss Sally Pratt McLean Greene's Vesty of the Basins Is an elaborately Illustrated edition by Harper & Broth ers. The pictures are reproductions of photographs taken by Clifton Johnson, who, following the directions of the author, went over the scenes of the novel in Maine. Apart from Its Intrinsic merits, The Meloon Farm has a pathetic Interest in being one of the last pieces of work done by 'the late Maria Louise Tool. It is, moreover, very characteristic of the author. It seems odd that Miss Tool should have begun -her career as a novelist comparatively late In life, for she had to a high degree the story telling faculty. Master Christian, Marie Corelli's new ... 1. 1 1 I. 1 1 1 t. . 1 .1 Always Keady for Use and Takes Up uuvl, v"8 V"""""--" lurwugu uimu. No Kxtra Space. Meaa & uo. rne advance orders ror Here is a fire escape which Is design- the book, It Is said, have been very ed to take up no extra space in a room, j heavy, while news comes from Eng and yet It is always ready for Instauta- .land that, as far as this author Is con neous use. The designer is Charles cerned, the advance orders there have G. Harris of Wllllamsport, Pa., and , been unprecedented. The first editions his object is to so utilize a chair or : of the book, English and American, CONCEALED FIRE ESCAPE. divan In the construction of the fire escape that the latter will be effectlve- COMl)lNATIO. CHAllt, ful and worthy of preservation. As a rule It has not even had the advantage of being profitable. Very much of this appalling destruction has been done without leaving the owners of the big tree as well off as they were before it began." Series of Pamphlets to Be Issued. The pamphlet which was published by the forestry division of the Depart ment of Agriculture Is one of a series which will he Issued in behalf of the big trees. The report was prepared for the information of the Senate Commit tee on. Public Lands, which was at the time considering the preservation of the Calaveras and Stanislaus big tree groves. It Is the first document on the subject which has ever been published by the government, strange as the fact may seem. Prof. W. R. Dudley, of Stanford university, who aided with the work, is now preparing a more de tailed account of the big trees and the big tree groves, which will be published by the government forestry olllce. The pamphlet now out contains an excellent map of the forests of California, con taining Dig trees, together with a de tailed account of each of the larger groves. Florida Tobacce. Florida, according to local papers, Is becoming one of the great tobacco-pro ducing States, and the product has been pronounced In some respects equal to that of Cuba. Sumatra wrapper tobac co raised In Florida recently took the prize at the Paris exposition over the world. A Matter of Taste. "Beg pardon," said the postal clerk who had sold her the stamps, "but you don't have to put a 5-ceut stamp on a letter for Canada." "I know," said she, "but the shade Just matches my envelope, you know." Philadelphia Press. You can't tell by the size of the bill what the size of a ton of coal Is. HE FOUND ONE HONEST TOUT. Man from the Race Track Who Trusted a Straneer an t Won Out. Among the passengers on an elevated train the other night was a party of men returning from the race track, and from the unmistakably good humOr they displayed It was clear that they had succeeded In getting some of the bookies' money. They were talking of the dishonest people met at a race track, and the general opinion seemed to be that to find a half-way decent sort of tout was a task few cared to undertake. Everybody was pessimistic till a man who had refrained from ex pressing an opinion said: "I've been listening to you folks tell your experiences, and when you say that there-lsu't an honest tout I want to tell you of a little experience I had with one of those fellows last week, and I'm sure that when I get through you will say as I do, that there Is a good one to be found now and then. I'd been playing In the hardest kind of luck all day, and when It came time for the fifth race I had no great trouble In counting my roll, which amounted to Just $5.80. I picked out a long shot as a last hope, and I went around In quest of the best odds. Soon I ran across a book that was laying 10 to 1 to win, and 4 to 1 a place, and I was about to hand up my bet of $2 to win and $3 for a look-in, when an arm was thrust over my shoulder and a voice exclaim ed: 'Five straight and place,' and the owner of the arm mentioned the name of the very horse I had intended to play. The bookmaker took the money, Then, before I could open my mouth, he put down the odds. I said I was In line, and be should have taken my bet first, and It was tough to be shut out that way when a fellow was down to his last few dollars, but It wasn't any use. "Just then the man who'd got ahead of me said: 'Say, I can understand Just how you feel, and I'll take you on for a place bet, at least.' This struck me as ly hidden from view when not in use. The work of adjusting the ladder for use is slight and no time need' be lost In placing the apparatus. The chair is wheeled to the window, and the but toned back stripped off, when the reel of links and ruugs Is presented to view. The outer end of the ladder Is provid ed with two grappling hooks, which are attached to the window sill and the reel tossed' out of the window. The weight of the ladder holds the hooks firmly, auel the ladder is then ready for descent. When the apparatus is In position in flie back of the chair It Is concealed by a covering of cloth, which is provided with snap buttons around Its edge, this being the handiest to unfasten In case of a lire. will together comprise 150,000 copies. From Longmans, Green & Company comes Jane Austen, an Essay In Criti cism, by Walter Herrles Pollock. Mr. Pollock's criticism Is pure praise, but lovers of Miss Austen may feel that this. Is Inevitable In dealing with her books. Of course, he can find little to tell us about her life that Is new, though by dint of much browsing he has collected one or two facts hitherto unpublished. Nothing concerning her Is too small to Interest him. He even devotes himself to puzzling out the meaning of some "family gibberish" with which, It appears, Miss Austen and her sisters were wont to amuse themselves when corresponding with one another. Mr. Pollock touches also upon the novels of Miss Austen's eon temporaries Miss Edgeworth, Miss Burney and Miss Ferrier to whom al lusion Is made In a sub-title of his book. The Bookman. 1 DEATH LURKS IN CACTUS. Seared by Indiun Yells. A crowd of United States surveyors and allotting agents were recently working lu the reservation of the Co manche Indians, surveying, establish ing corner stones and gett'ng evry tliiug ready to divide the land In quar ter section". The Indians did n.it take very kindly to the division and allot ment of their land, and, seeing that the whites were scared, they decided to net. The surveyors were all tenderfeet from Washington. Suddenly, without warn ing, their camp was invaded by a yell ing, shooting band of 500 Indians In war paint and feathers. The surveying party could not stand the pressure' an 1 started out for the settlements along the Texas line and kept up their flight, pursued by the In Hans, until tl ey crossed the State line. Then they tele graphed to Fort Sill, and the com mander there sent out a large cavalry force to protect the surveyors. The gen eral supposition Is that a lot of cow boys and young bucks played a prac tical Joke. San Francisco Argonaut. Not Her Mtatlon. It Is characteristic of the perversity of human Intelligence to find the most amusing things In the midst of the most serious circumstances such as railway accidents, for instance. It Is related that a solemn-faced woman' was once riding on the train from Brookfleld to Stamford. Some where between the two stations an ac cident occurred, and the train rolled down an embankment. The solemn-faced lady crawled from beneath the wreckage, and asked of a broken-legged man who was near: "Is this Stamford'" "No, ma'am," the man gasped. "This Is a catastrophe!" "Oh, dear!" she answered. "Then I hadn't oughter ret off here, had I?" London Spare Moments. In spite of experience and good ad vice, it Is surprising how many people try to squeeze blood out of turnips. "Sometimes," we heard a man say to-day, "a man gets badly left" Near ly always. Great Plants of Arizona Produce a Liquor Hint Is Maddening. Distinctive amoug all the curious flora of Arizona, where the vegetable productions of the tropics, the temper ate and the frigid zones, grow side by side, is the Cereus giganteus, called by the Indians and Mexicans the sa huaro. Scattered over the waterless plains and rocky, gravelly mesas lu every part of the territory, those lurgest spec imens of the cactus faintly point their caudelabralike arms straight toward the cloudless, skies, not Infrequently attaining a height of fifty feet. The body of the suliuaro is composed of thin pieces of wood arranged In the form of a Corinthian column, covered and held together by the outside fiber. This fiber Is a pale green. At some distance from the ground large branches put out, while the whole sur face Is covered with sharp, prickly thorns. A large purple blossom springs from Its apex In May, which ripens In to a pear-shaped fruit by the last of June. This fruit, which tastes a great deal like a fig, Is highly prized by both In dians and Mexicans, who bring it to the ground by the aid of a long hooked pole. Part of the fruit Is eaten while ripe, the rest Is dried In the sun or boiled down to a Jam. Until the advent of the missionaries to the Plmas and Papagoes, some twen ty years ago the gathering of the sa huaro was the signal for the most bloody orgy of the year. All of the tribe contributed material for the sat urnalia, each bringing bis quota of fruit to the medicine men. This was mixed with water and allowed to fer ment, then boiled a highly Intoxicat ing beverage being the result. When all was ready, the women, dressed la their best, congregated on top of the wickiups, ten or twenty huddling to gether for safety from the bucks, who deliberately proceeded to drink them selves Into a state of frenzied Intoxica tion. Joining hands, they began a glo rious war dance, the dancing being mostly of side Jumps, which made the earth tremble like an earthquake. Dur ing these bibulous feasts a numler of the braves were frequently killed. The sahuaro Is short-lived, usually beginning to decay at Its base lefor attaining Its growth. Nearly all the trees are lrrfprated with holes made by the birds In their quest for water. Free Mounts for Army Officers. A brigadier general or major general Is entitled to the keep of three horses at Uncle Sam's expense; a colonel, lieu tenant colonel, major or captain to two only. A foolish woman never appears t worse advantage than she does In a dry-goods store. f