w Issued Monthly by New York Forest Owners Association, Inc.
Ire~surer-Membership
President: Theodore T. Buckley, R.F.D. 2, Cambridge, N.Y. Secretary: Floyd E. Carlson, College of Forestry, Syracuse, N.Y. S~cretary: Mrs. Luella B. Palmer, 157 Ballantyne Rd., Syracuse,N.Y.
January - the month of inventories - looking ahead - resolutions and stopping and starting. So far as Association is concerned I have to admit - we have made some substantial progress. membership is increasing too slowly (561 -anuary 1st) but the quality of our mems is outstanding. We have been quoted in a ional magazine and have apparently ed some prestige among other conservagroups. But we could do better, and whole picture prompts the President to little soul-searching of his own for guidance. A meeting of the Executive and Legis1a~ Committees was held Friday evening, 8th at the charming home of Dr. EdPalmer in Syracuse. John Daly was rman of the Legislative committee and ~atch as secretary. Several construcsuggestions were made, and you will more from this very talented cOffi~ittee. On Saturday, January 9th, the 14th _ing of the Board of Directors was held ~ e Northway Inn, Syracuse. Treasurer Palmer reported $856.00 on . wi th all bills paid to date. (We are rich - neither are we in debt.) The ate matter of the use of our memberlists by anyone for commercial purs was discussed. Director Emiel Palmer reported for ?rogram committee. We approved Syra, April 24th, for the Annual Meeting; d the theme "MARKETING", and accept-
ed with pleasure the offer of the New York Tree Farm Committee to cooperate at the 1965 Fall Meeting. Du Mond (chairman), Najer, Edward Palmer, Hatch and Cheney were named nominating committee. Do YOU BELIEVE? - Then please send in a new member. T. T. B.
RED OAK - DIRECT SEEDING A. B. Lyon, VPI Extension Forester, reports on tests made in direct seeding of oak. Best results are obtained when acorns are planted one or two inches deep. Planting can be done in either fall or spring, although spring planting gives the best results. The acorns should be immersed in water to determine soundness, and then heated in a hot water bath at 120 degrees F. for 40 minutes for weevil control. Acorns planted in the spring should be sprouted. From Forestry Work Tools, October 1964, Vermont Extension Service, University of Vermont •
MEMBER REYNOLDS GARNERS GRAND CHAMPION ROSETTE We are late in reporting that Mathew
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MEMBER REYNOLDS (continued) Reynolds really walked away with the blue ribbons at the 1964 State Exposition in the Christmas Tree competition. He received five blue ribbons for first prize winnings for Norway spruce, balsam fir, scotch and for fir in the true fir classification as well as other species not covered in listed classes. Then he took a third place in the white spruce competition. Congratulations! F.E.C.
CONDITIONS FAVORABLE TO GOOD HARDWOOD GROWTH PART II (Editor's Note: Norman H. Richards, Department of Silviculture, College of Forestry and NYFOA member, - was one of the speakers at our Fall Meeting on October 8. This is the second of three parts. F.E.C.) For tilemost part, we have to live with the site conditions we have inherited from the past; particularly the natural features of climate, topography, and soil. Some areas have never supported as good hardwood growth as others. For example, the soil under Mr. Hoyt's woodlot is excellent for tree growth; that of Mr. Webster's is by comparison somewhat shallower and poorer, and it is likely even the primeval forest there was never as tall, nor did it have as rich a variety of high value species as this site supports. We have also inherited some additional site conditions from past mistreatment of the woods, particularly fire and grazing. The substantial damage to northern hardwood soils produced by fire and grazing is reflected in poorer tree growth for many decades, but sites may eventually heal themselves if mistreatment does not reoccur. However, on severe burns and seriously run-down agricultural lands, it may well take several generations of forest to rebuild the soil to the point where it can once more support high quality hardwood growth. So for practical management purposes, these site effects from mistreatment must also be regarded.as relatively permanent, as we can presently do little to change them quickly. However, although we cannot do much to change site conditions, it is important for us to recognize them. In every woodlot over a few acres, we can usually identify important site quality differences. It is a good general rule to remember that we are likely to get the best
returns for our efforts when we steer most of our management investments toward the best quality sites we have. Good quality trees are to some extent a reflection of good site quality, as has already been pointed out. However, poor trees are not necessarily the result of poor sites. Past treatment has played a major role in shaping our present hardwood stands, and because of mismanagement a high proportion of our woodlots now have their growth potential locked up in considerably poorer trees than the particular site could support. The main factor leading to this condition has been the practice of so-called "selective logging" or "high-grading"; repeated cuttings aimed at removing the best and leaving the worst to expand into the remaining available growing space. It is worth noting that clear-cuttings, that have removed everything, provided they weren't followed by fire or other abuse, have generally resulted in much better second growth hardwoods than this sort of high-grading has produced. Grazing has had a direct effect on hard wood stands as well as on the forest soil, through the destruction of the more valuable hardwood species' regeneration; in favor of the more rugged and unpalatable species such as root-sprout beech, and hophornbeam.
REDWOODS ON STATION WGY - 12:30 p.m.Feb 1965 Harry Wiant, Jr., Assistant Professor of Forestry, Division of Natural Resources, Humboldt State College, Arcata, Calif., will be Floyd Carlson's guest at 12:30 on WGY's Farm Paper of the Air February 1, 1965, when Professor Wiant is interviewed on "Redwoods of California". F.E.C.
SPEAKING TO THE LADIES Alex Dickson said it as we stood in We ster's Woods in October. "The hardwoods of New York have a distinct feminine streak; they do a strip tease in the fall, go throu
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ith bare limbs; get 2. brand new outspring; and all the while they are :.g o~f some sap!" However, he doesn't claim -he author of the statement. Webster's 5, and Hoyt's, too, demonstrated to me so ore than good management. I had a strong __::..g of "family" in both these woodlots. It - as if I had been invited into the front par-~ ~o si~ in great-grandmother's old rocker _ :00k through the family albumn. They seemed == onstration of the eagerness of generation =~=r generation to preserve that which is truly while. Do the youngsters in your family =: a deep interest in the Back Forty", the -~eation area you are developing, the tree an-ation just set out, the pond lately dug and _ -.ed? Can they see their futures related to ~5e projects? Junior membership in the F.O.A. _ being offered the young folks to let them we consider them an important part of our ily". We promise them a larger interest in rn for their vigor. D.B.W. II
Denons rat:'on of ::he loads of New York" have brough:: him too county and dist~ict honors. His "Know Your Trees" exhibit has also captured many awards. The winner, a son of Mr. and Mrs. William Catchpole, plans to attend a forestry college. He currently is a senior in high school. "My 4-H forestry work has' not been an end in itself, but a journey which has inspired interest and enthusiasm for new and greater activities and aCbievements," Tom said. The National 4-H Forestry program is supervised by the Cooperative Extension Service and arranged by the National 4-H Service Committee.
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: (Editor's Note: With this issue We are beginning a series giving information about leading magazines in the conservation field. LE.C.)
SCHOLARSHIP Planting 11,000 trees in the last three ~~s has helped Thomas Catchpole, seventeen, Geneva St., Bath, N.Y., to gain a $400 coll__ scholarship as a national winner in the 4-H ~estry program. The scholarship was one of ~x awarded by American Forest Products Indust_:55, Inc., during the 43rd National 4-H Club gress held in Chicago, Nov. 29-Dec. 3. Catchpole is the 14th New Yorker to win --~onal honors during the 17 years the 4-H ~estry awards have been sponsored by AFPI. Tom purchased a 16-acre tract this past ~ing with funds he accumulated from his 4-H jects. The land, mostly open, will afford ~- an opportunity to observe the conservation _~ctices and forestry procedures he has learn. through 4-H work. The wooded area of this act is now being used for Tom1s new woodlot rovement project. He has planted 1,000 trees on his newly _quired acreage, in addition to the 2,000 :anted on his family's land. He also has -sisted in the planting of 8,000 trees for ~'~_路_~erpeople and in the pruning of 120 acres - Christmas trees for neighboring farmers. has practiced timber stand improvement on acre of white ash by cutting and poisoning desirable trees.
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American Forests is called the magazine of forests, soil, water, wildlife and outdoor recreation. It is published by the American Forestry Association at 919 Seventeenth St. N.Y., Washington 6, D.C. The SUbscription price is $6.00 per year. The banner line reads "The American Forestry Association, publishes American Forests, is a national organization - independent and non-political in character - for the advancement of intelligent management and use of forests and related resources of soil, water, wildlife and outdoor recreation. Its purpose is to create an enlightened public appreciation of these resources and the part they play in the social and economic life of the nation. Created in 1875 it is the oldest national forest conserva~ion organization in America."
ADDITIONAL FINANCING FOR TIMBER GROWING The last Congress passed a law (PL 88-341) which liberalized the conditions under which National Banks can make loans on properly
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ADDITIONAL FINANCING (continued) managed forest lands. The law (1) broadens the basis of the loan security to include "growing timber, land and improvements;" (2) increases the loan term periods;" and (3) increases the loan ratio from 40% to 60% of the appraised fair market value. It is good to know that forestry in this country has reached a stage that results in such confidence on the part of members of Congress that they will pass such a law.
projects gave a strange atmosphere to the forest. From earliest times, forests have always supplied products indispensable to human progress. From Tree Tips Nov.-Dec. 1964, published by Wisconsin's Trees for Tomorrow, Inc.
From Forestry Work Tools, October 1964, Vermont Extension Service, University of Vermont.
WHY IS A KNOT ---7 (Editor's note: Can you answer this one? will, in February issue. F.E.C.)
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1150 Glenmore Ave. Brooklyn, N.Y., 11208 N.Y. College of Forestry Syracuse, New York Dear Sirs: I am a student at Brooklyn Technical High School. My industrial processes teacher requested that I find the answers to the following questions: Why is a knot in a board darker than the rest of the wood? And why is a knot in a board harder than the surrounding wood? I would appreciate it very much if you could answer as soon as possible. Thank you very much. (Signed)
Rimas Likterius
FORESTS IN THE MIDDLE AGES Forests were man's first home. They supplied food and shelter. As fuel their effect on civilization is inestimable. Wood as fuel not only furnished warmth against the onslaughts of winter but also heat for metal working and other crafts. In the middle ages whole families working as metalurgists and glass makers lived in the forests of France. Glowing glass furnaces, charcoal furnaces, lime kilns and wood working
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