The Russell-King-Burnett Convention

While the main convention of the Western retailers took place on the Cinderella Roof, there was a supplementary convention hall, slightly smaller in size and more friendly in character located in the Alexandria Hotel.

Three gentlemen possessed of wim, wigor and witality, one automobile, one set of golf clubs, and other personal incidentals, drove in from the north and hired one or two u'ings of the Alexandria Hotel, the day before the convention started. They were Elmore King, of Bakersfield, George Burnett, of Tulare, and Gus Russell, of San Francisco. All three are well kno.il'n to our readers. For many years Gus Russell posed as the best dressed mah in the San Joaquin Valley Lumbermen's Club, but Elmore King came along with three trunks and seventeen successive .suits of clothes, and dispossessed him. Since then Gus has had to be content with being runner-up every year in the r,viell-dressed hahdicap. Yet the two kemain 'good friends. When they got to the Alexandria Gus put his trunk in one corner of one room, George Burnett put his suit case under his bed, and Elmore King filled the rest of the rooms r,vith his trunks and bags.

Gus'made a deal with the manager of the Alexandria Hotel that they should receive the best of service while in the hotel, and that in exchange he r,vould guarantee that Elmore King would change his clothes and rvalk through the lobby at least five times every day, to give the folks a treat. When they left Elmore lvas two up on the hotel for their part of the agreement.

Here for six days these three valiant gentlemen held sway, outside of convention hours. They attended all sessions and "did their stuff," all right, and then the western retail convention dribbed through their rooms from five to fifteen at a time to be regaled with merry quips and jests and the warm hand of California hospitality as generally accepted in the San Joaquin Valley.

George Burnett, of the Tulare County Lumber Company, is the quiet and unassuming member of the fraternity. He wears just plain business clothes, seldom raises his voice above normal, talks very little, and in varlous rvays adjusts the normal level of the trio by cutting dorvn the average of the other two. They call him Abraham Lincoln. He looks like Honest Abe, and is wiser than George Washington, and sort of chaperones his witty and well dressed companions.

When they paid their weeks bill at the Alexandria Gus declared that hereafter he is coming to Los Angeles only during the early part of the month, being convinced that the hotel cashier added in the date of the month with each days charges.

Come often, men. Such visitors add materially to the rvealth and prosperity of Los Angeles.

Experiments In Degrees Of Cutting Continued

To determine the response of representative stands of timber in the Plumas National Forest, in California, to different degrees of cutting, research meh from District 5 of the Forest Service have tagged and are regularly observing some 4,000 trees on these tracts, states this bureau of the United States Department of Agriculture. The stands are of mixed conifers and make up 51.2 acres in all, divided into 8 plots. Measurements just made complete the first decade of observation. They show mainly a considerable loss in mature trees, broken off by the rn'ind or insect killed.

v Largest "Concatenation" in the History of J

Western White Pine Studied

To determine the yields that can be secured from second growth stands of the western white pine, a number of plots have just been laid out in northern Idaho, chiefly in the Coeur d'Alene National Forest. This u'ork has been in charge of I{r. Robert H. Weidman, Assistant Silviculturist in charge of the Priest River Forest Experimental Station, and Forest Examiner Brown in charge of the Section of Forest Measurements of the Forest Service, United States I)epartment of Agriculture.

On a large number of the sample plots the trees have been measured very carefully and in manv cases all the trees under observation were given definite numbers in order that they may be measured at intervals of five yars. The changes of growth observed during those periods will give valuable data for yield statistics and forest management. It is expected that this study will run for a period of 20 years

Hoo, Venice, Calif. February 19th: Ship Cafe.

Hammond Lumber Company Suffers Fire Loss

A blaze breaking out in a clogged sawdust blower caused damage estimated at $500 to the Hammohd Lumber Co. sawmill at Twenty-first and Alameda streets, last week The fire was extinguished by employes before the fire companies arrived.

Grading Rules Committee To Meet

The Grading Rules Committee of the California White and Sugar Pine Manufacturers Association, will meet at the Standard Lumber Company offices at Sonoma.

Mr. D. H. Steinmetz will act as chairman of the meetiing, and the other members of the committee are: John D. Spaulding, Burton W. Adams, C. Stowell Smith and the Association Inspector, Mr. Mark Decker.