Lincoln County leader., July 19, 1912, Image 5

rTU-tnREiNBuacmiLs national fqpxst a$?P'"
THE latest word In the protec
tion of the forest from fires
comes from the Black Hills,
where by means of a lookout
on a high peak, who locates in
cipient fires by means of a map and
telephones their exact location to va
rious ranger stations, hundreds of
thousands of acres of fine timber
lands are made Immune from the
scourge , that threatens the nation's
lumber resources, says a writer in the
New York Tribune.
The national forests of the Black
Hills have been the scene, of many
disastrous fires In recent years. The
country is sparsely settled, and It Is
difficult to get sufficient help to fight
k fire that has gained any headway.
On that account the forest service has
been bending every energy to catch
Dres in their Inciplency.
The first step toward solving the fire
problem was the selection of a look
out station. A station was established
on Harney peak, the highest point in
Harney National forest, at an altitude
Dt 7,242 feet above the sea level. The
peak Itself Is a barren rock, from
which a clear view can be had on
every side. The approximate forest
irea which can be seen from the lock
out station is 400,000 acres, and it Is
estimated that the amount of stand
ing timber in this area is 1,200,000,
D00 feet The radius of a circle which
can be covered from any lookout sta
tion depends entirely upon the topog
raphy of the surrounding country,
the weather conditions and the condi
tion of the atmosphere. Fires have
been definitely located from the Har
ney lookout station twenty-five miles
distant Some of the area thus cov
ered is In the Black hills forest and
tome is outside national forest bound
nrlei. Useful Maps and Phone System.
Telephone connection is maintained
between the lookout station and vari
ous ranger stations In the national
forests. In fact, without an adequate
system of telephone lines the lookout
station would he of little value. But
after sighting the smoke of a distant
Dre the lookout steps to the tele
phone box on top of the barren peak
and Is soon In communication with the
nearest ranger station.
To describe the exact location of a
lire, even when It Is sighted from the
peak, afforded a pretty problem. In
most cases the smoke from the fire
would not be visible to the rangers.
The rolling hills, covered with the
heavy growth of timber, effectually
hut off all signs of distant fires. It
would not do to depend entirely on
general Instructions, as there are few
trails through the forest The exaet
location must be described If an effeo-
WIGWAM HAS PASSED AWAY
Indians In Canada Now Make Use of
Canvas Tents and Iron
8toves.
A novelist would find a veritable
mine of data for stories of the severe
life In the woods among any of the
northern Indian tribes. During my
stay among the Montagnais at Lake
St John two families descended from
their winter hunting grounds to the
post being forced on the way to boll
their moccasins and pel fries for soup
to avoid starvation. Yet these same
people were strong enough to travel
ana attend to the necessities of their
camp. Within five days they return
ed again to the forest
The canvas tents, which have en
tirely replaced the native birch bark
wigwams, came Into general use
about twenty-five years ago. The first
Indians to Introduce them set up their
tents and made camp in the space of
an hour without having to cut the
numerous wigwam poles or dig away
the now underneath, while the old
bark lodge required the enow to be
wfl I
tlve fight was to be made against the
fire.
The solution was worked out by pro
viding the forest officials with maps.
On sighting a fire the man at the look
out station figures out Its exact loca
tion on the map of the forest. He
then telephones the location to the
chief ranger, who is familiar with all
the roads and trails in the forest and
knows instantly how he can best reach
the fire.
On receiving a fire warning from
the man at the lookout station, with
the map location of the blaze, the
fire fighting force departs for the
scene of the fire, armed with shovels,
axes and other fire fighting parapher
nalia. The effectiveness of this plan
was shown last summer in a unique
way. The lookout descried a column
of smoke arising from a certain part
of the forest and called up headquar
ters, describing the location on the
map. The fire fighters were rushed
to the scene of the fire in wagons and
found it in a gully only a few hundred
yards from a ranch house. Yet so
well screened was the smoke from
those at the ranch house that it had
not been seen there, and the farmers
were amazed when a fire fighting crew
descended on the ranch with the Infor
mation that a fire threatened destruc
tion almost at the very door of the
farmhouse.
Great Saving at Small Coat.
Besides being connected with the of-
flee of the former supervisor and with
the various ranger stations in the for
est, the Tarney forest lookout Is also
connected with the ranger stations on
the Black hills forest A shelter is
constructed at the top of the peak for
the use of the lookout The guardian
of this immense forest area lives a
lonely life, but his wants are well pro
vided for. He has a tent at the base
of the spire of rock which forms the
top of the peak. All his supplies and
water have to be carried to him. He
gets a salary of $75 a month, but Is
required to pay for his own supplies
and the transportation of the same.
Transportation of forest service equip
ment to and from the station Is fur
nished, but that expense for a season
does not exceed $25. It Is difficult to
estimate the amount of money saved
by the establishment of this perma
nent lookout but the sum Is very
great The only other feasible method
of patrol would be to select a number
of less Important peaks and establish
lookout stations on them.
This would multiply the expense by
at least four, but would result In no
better service. To Increase the num
ber of guards would mean a heavy ex
pense, and probably would not give
as good results, for the reason that
the heavy forests on the lower hills
cleared to the ground on account of
the fire in the center, the whole task
consuming about two and one-half
hours. The box Iron stoves heat the
tents very well and consume less
wood than the open fires. Southern
Workman.
Retribution.
J. Henry Peck emerged from the
voting booth with a triumphant smile.
"This equal rights stunt Is a great
business," he remarked to a friend..
Then, glancing around carefully and
drawing nearer, he whispered: "I vot
ed againBt my wife."
81tterly.
Nell Here Is the engagement ring
George gave me. Lovely, Isn't It? I
wonder what It's worth?
May I know Just what It's worth,
dear. When George gave It to me I
went down and asked the price. It's
$47 on Installments of a dollar a weekl
All Has Root In Wisdom.
Our highest hopes are often de
stroyed to prepare us for better
things. William George Jordon.
act as a screen, which makes It prac
tically Impossible to descry Area at a
distance.
Between July 12. 1911, when the sta
tion was ready for use, and Septem
ber 30, 28 forest fires occurred In the
Harney forest Seventeen of those
were reported by the guard at the
lookout station, and in only two cases,
where the lookout reported fires had
a previous report been received. Six
fires were reported from the lookout
station which were within the Black
hills forest, -and one fire was outside
forest boundaries. In every case the
rangers were able to get to the scene
promptly and to extinguish the fire
before any appreciable damage had
been done.
It is probable that the success of the
Harney lookout will result In the es
tablishment of similar stations in oth
er forests. The old adage that an
ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure seems particularly applicable
to Uncle Sam's fire threatened timber
reserves.
Always Leap Year In New Guinea.
So tar as proposals of marriage are
concerned in New Guinea it is always
leap J ear, for In that Island the men
consider It beneath their dignity to
polite women, much less to make
overtures of marriage. Consequently
the proposing Is left to the women to
do. When the ebony belle falls In
love with a man she sends a piece of
string to his sister, or, if he has no
sister, to his mother, or another of
his lady relatives. Then the lady who
receives the string tells the dusky
Adonis that the particular damsel is
In iove with , him. No courting fol
lows, however, for It Is considered bad
form to waste time In such a pursuit
If the man thinks be would like to
wed the lady, he meets her alone, and
they decide straight away whether to
marry or drop the Idea. In the for
mer case the betrothal Is announced.
The man is then branded on the back
with charcoal, while a mark Is cut in
to the woman's skin. No breach of
promise actions are possible in New
Guinea, though if the lady Is jilted her
friends may hunt her lover up and
"go" for him.
Question of Grammar.'
The ready wit of the late Eugene V
Ware, author of "The Washerwom
an's Song" and other poems, is shown
in the following story:
He was giving a dinner, says Lip.
plncott's, at his home in Kansas City,
Kan., the place to which he had re
tired after he resigned from the office
of pension commissioner at Washing
ton under Roosevelt
The guests were equally divided be
tween Missourlahs from the twin city
across the line and Kansans. All pres
ent had Imbibed the spirit of theli
genial, humorous host
Said a Mlssourian: "You Kansans
always have your brass bands going
and your flags flying. We from Mis
souri get tired of your cocksureness,
Tell me, what have you decided about
the hen, tor Instance; does she sit or
does she set?"
"We don't bother about things like
that," flashed Ware. "What concerns
us, when she cackles, Is has she laid
or has she lied?"
For a Rainy Afternoon.
On wet days children are apt to
find time hanging heavily, but this dif
ficulty Is overcome if games are pro
vided,
Bubbles always find favor with
young folks, but some little prepara
tlon beforehand needs to be made
when bubbles are the attraction, oth
erwise the children are likely not only
to make their dresses wet but the
tablecloth and carpet also.
The table on which the bubble bowl
Is to stand should be covered with
sheets of newspapers, and an old olan
ket or something of the kind, and the
carpet near by should also be spread
with newspapers.
To make the necessary suds, dis
solve finely shaved white soap in a
very hot water, adding a little glycer
ine to make the bubbles tenacious,
Clay pipes are, of course the other
Implements needed.
8omewhat Incomplete.
ry u .
uesiuoB propnesying "warres, revo
lutions and the death of k
almanac of the fifteenth century told
you me proper day to take medlcln
Monaay was the day for a lmenta
of
the legs, Tuesday for affections of th
neaa. uui wnat the sufferer was
to
do who bad a pain on the wrong day
it does not state.
Paper From Cotton 8talks.
toiion staiKg, it Is thought maj
be used for the manufacture of pa
per. A machine has been patented
wnicn win separate the brown bark
from the Inner nlth. and it U claimed
that excellent paper pulp may be made
from the latter. From the bark a sub
stitute ror excelBlor Is manufactured
Still There's Generally a 8uddIv.
Marriages, we are told, are made It
heaven, but It takes all kind of mar
riages to use up the raw material.
Puck,
Seldom. '
A man seldom has the courage
his wife's conviction.
of
ENCOURAGING
By H. S. NEWINS, Department of
During the fall of 1911 the United
States Forest Service purchased in
Oregon and Washington more than
10,000 two-bushel sacks of Douglas
Fir seed cones. The price paid was
an average of 75 cents per sack. In
some localities the cones were pur
chased for 50 cents per sack while in
other places the price ranged as high
as $1, this being dependent upon local
conditions, as much as upon abund
ance and quality of the seed and the
degree of competition with private
collectors in making the purchase.
The cones were accepted at the near
est railway point and shipped in carload
quantities to the government drying
plant at Wyeth, Oregon. Here they
were properly stored, later placed in
traya and subjected to a temperature
of 120 to 140 degress F., until the
cones opened and the seed fell out
through the screened bottoms of the
trays to canvas sheets below. The
seeds were not subjected to a higher
temperature than that necessary to
open the cones and as soon as freed
from the cone they were removed from
the drying room, because a tempera
ture of 140 degrees or more, if con
tinued for any length of time, would
reduce the vitality of the seed. The
work at the seed drying plant was
continued until April 1, 1912, and
while in operation the plant required
night and day shifts. The seed thus
extracted is now being used to refor
est desolate and barren areas of the
government land which are valuable
only for the support of forests. The
reforestation is done in general by
two methods, either "direct seeding,"
or that of "planting." Direct seed
ing is cheaper than the planting meth
od and with Douglas Fir produces
good results. The seed is sown either
in the fall or early spring, and some
times in the winter where the snow
conditions will permit When sown
on the snow the seed are attractive to
birds and consequently this method is
only used to advantage upon soft or
melting snow where the seed may
quickly settle below the surface and
seem to disappear. The seed is oc
casionally sown in seed spots by which
method the ground is prepared in spots
and the seed is sown and covered,
much as in the seeding of corn.
This practice economizes on the
amount of seed per acre, but the re
sults show that for the direct seeding
of Douglas Fir the method of distrib
uting the seed broadcast ia preferable.
Planting" infers the setting out
of stock which has been developed in
the tree nursery. Naturally it is
more expensive than the method of
"direct seeding," because of the add
ed cost of germinating the seed in the
nursery and the subsequent trans
planting. Nursery stock is about
ready to be planted when three years
old, although some two-year-old seed
lings are planted to advantage. The
planting method gives more certain
results than that of "direct seeding."
The federal government is at present
carrying on extensive planting opera
tions in Oregon. It is expected that
the planting of 1000 acres will be
completed this spring on the Siuslaw
National forest On the Oregon Na
tional forest a large area in Tp. 3 S.,
R. 6 E., has recently been planted.
The area has been burned over several
times, the latest burn being two years
ago. From 600 to 700 seedlings were
planted per acre and the total cost
averaged $5 to 16 per acre.
However, the government work of
reforestation is by no means restricted
to the Coast states. During the fall
of 1911 there was collected at Fraser,
Col., on the Arapaho National Forest.
2833 bushels of lodge pole pine cones
at an average cost of 40 cents per
bushel delivered at the mill. These
cones were treated in the mill In much
the same manner as those of Douglas
Fir were treated in the plant at
Wyeth, Oregon. However, the plant
at Fraser, Col., is small and suited
only to the local demands of an indi
vidual forest rather than large and
on an extensive scale. At this small
plant 2439 bushels of clean seed were
extracted. Each bushel of cones aver
aged 3.82 pounds of seed. The cones
were found to average 29.4 individual
seeds. - The coat per pound of clean
seed totaled $1.99. This figure in
cludes labor, collecting, freight,
equipment and supplies. The seed is
being used to reforest certain areas of
the Arapaho National Forest.
The officers on the forest expect to
collect as much aa 8000 bushels of
cones during the fall of 1912, and they
predict that during a favorable season
a maximum of not to exceed 6000
bushels can be reached. They also
predict that the cost can be reduced
from $1.99 to $1.75 per pound.
Halsey, Neb., is also a center for
activities in reforestation. The prob
lem here Is not one of re-establishing
growth upon desolate and barren
mountain burns, but Is rather to re
forest the non-productive sand hills of
the state. Yellow pine is the tree
best adapted to such conditions and it
REFORESTATION
i& .niiim
Forestry, Oregon Agricultural College
is used extensively. The planting sea
son this year opened at Halsey, Neb.,
two weeks later than usual, due to the
hard winter which preceded. During
the month of April 150 acres were
planted in the sand hills and one mil
lion seedlings were transplanted at the
nursery. In connection with this
work certain interesting experiments
were carried on. A forest officer with
crews of from three to seven men in
stalled silvical plots in the hills, using
various species, and ages of stock
which had been subjected to certain
treatments in the nurseries, such as
shading, watering, acid treatment to
prevent blight, or different species
were tried on different sites. The
greatest care was taken with each
plot, the trees being spaced exactly
4 'feet by 4 feet, 2 feet by 2 feet, etc.,
and planted by the cone method. This
is a German method ; a hole is dug one
foot square and one foot deep, a
mound of earth shaped like a cone is
formed at the bottom of the hole, and
the roots of the plant are then care
fully arranged over this mound so
that they occupy their natural position
in the ground. Then the ground is
packed very firmly around the roots.
A planter can plant only about 200
trees per day by this method, so that
it is not used in all silvical expert--
ments. Also transplanting and seed
sowing is experimented with under
different silvical conditions.
The movement toward reforestation
is universal. The several states which
have efficient boards of forestry are
planting up denuded and exploited
state lands, and the large tree seed
and nursery companies are each year
making extensive collections of fresh
seed with which to supply their cus
tomers. The following is a table Bhowing the
average quantity of seed per bushel of
cones of the most important Western
species :
Douglas Fir, 1.25 pounds: Western
Yellow Pine, 1.60 J Engleman Spruce,
80; Sugar Pine, 1.60: Western
Birch. .60: Sitka Spruce. 1.25: West
ern White Pine, 1.00; Western Red
Cedar, .75; Lodgepole Pine, .25.
1 he collecting season for the seeds
of the above species comes at a time
when such industries as hop picking
and harvesting call most men into the
fields, but when the market ia good
the man who turns bis attention to
ward collecting Douglas Fir cones will
earn high wages.
A certain co-onerative rnmnunv in
Iowa is typical of many similar cases.
Besides buying 400,000 bushels of
grain, this organization han in n vear
sold to the farmers 100,000 pounds of
oil meal, 40,000 pounds of barbed
wire and nails, 44,000 pounds binder
twine, 2500 tons coal, 2400 sacks flour,
1600 sacks salt 400,000 feet lumber
and 1UU0 grain sacks, besides handling
$17,000 worth of clothincr. shoes and
miscellaneous, merchandise. Yet in
mis town also competitive dealers in
all these commodities are still doing
business and unauestionablv are mak
ing a reasonable profit. Farm and
nome.
FASHION HINTS
If its on your mind to have a pannier
fown, here is one that is very attractive,
t may be developed in almost any light
weight material.