University of Idaho School of Forestry - Forester Yearbook (Moscow, ID)

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BRANDED A BlLER STANLEY Foss BARTLETTS' THERE are some trades and businesses that a man can bluff about, but cooking in a logging camp is not among these gilt-edged careers. In preparing meals on a large scale for a big crew of hard working, hungry woods- men, alibis and hot air should be omitted from the menug for results of the simple old square sort are what the boys expect when a hundred of them face the festal board thrice daily. And once a cook fails to produce nourishment fit for King Spruce he is branded forever, a biler fboilerl, the cussedest culinary term known north of the bright lights. For the reason foregoing, some of the keen- est rivalry in the world exists among woods cooks. From the plentiful, but plain, raw ma- terials which are furnished them, ambitious cooks have succeeded in producing about everything from ice cream to Hungarian goulashg and if one doesn't mind taking it off' tin a mighty good meal is to be had in the cook-room of a Maine woods camp. I know one cook who is famous for his pink- frosted cakes, fthe extract of this delicate hue he squeezes from ordinary beetslg another one carries in his Nwar-bag, as a part of his regular equipment, several fancy shaped cookie cutters, and a plate of his cookies would fitting- ly and properly grace a five-year-old's party table. Then there are tricks of the trade which are guarded secrets such as: a grated raw potato can be successfully used in place of an egg in mixing up doughnuts. So rivalry runs high in the big woods kitchen, and it reached the high-water mark a few years ago when a lemon pie craze swept over the camp cuisine of the northland. Where or how this epidemic started is an unknown and unimportant fact. But reports of luscious lemon pies here and there spread from camp to camp and for a time a cook was rated by the lemon pie he could make. At one camp, where the crew was building a big dam on a Penobscot tributary, the cook- rooni was governed by an old-time cook of irreproachable reputation. Heretofore, lemon pies had not been on his bill of fare, but, not to be outdone, he ordered a pail of lemon-pie filling. In due time a full wooden pie-filling bucket was deposited in the dingle Qpantryj. The cookee removed the cover and the famous cook proceeded to construct a batch of such pies as had never been tasted this side of the Ritz. He was late with his work and the pies were hot out of the oven when the cookee yodelled iEclitor's Note: Mr. Bartlett attended the School of Forestry Ranger Course in 1921-22 and now IS Assistant Editor of thc Lewiston Lhlztinel SUN-JO1II'1lIlI.-XVl'ltll'lQ. feature forestry articles. He has been :ln zrctivc con- tributor to The Imno Fonesrsn and the editorial stan' is prmtcfxil for his assistance. the dinner call. The crew of half-famished men pushed into the cook-room and fell hastily upon the well-prepared bread and meat. Mean- while the cookee placed the hot pies on the long tables at regular intervals within easy reach of all. For the chief of chefs had at last tried his hand at the popular pastry and the men would be anxious to brag about the lemon pie THEIR cook had made. Several of the crew, having partaken their fill of the plain food, reached for the lemon pie, took large wedges of it into their plates and lost no time in conveying generous cuts to their mouth. Woodsmen being undemonstra- tive fellows of impassive expression, no hint as to the reception of the pies caught the cook's beaming paternal eye until Jim Malone, the boss, who had appropriated a half of one pie for himself, closed his teeth on the first mouth- ful. He started to swallow but choked and coughed, his eyes rolled and a series of light effects and grotesque grimaces passed over his leathery face. Then, emitting thick curses of the seven black ganders of China on some one, he turned a mean eye toward the cook-the cook had gone white and the men at the tables w-ere silent. At last the boss's tight lips opened slowly-he spoke- Biler, what is them pies made of? The cook, for lack of a better move, produced the nearly empty pie-filling pail and as he held it his eye noted a blue- penciled inscription, made by the storehouse clerk on the cover, and he read aloud: This pail contains petroleum grease for use on the dam-gate runways. The whiteness of his face turned to a gray pallor-the crew muttered fiercely in chorus-the boss was first to recover and again he spoke loudly and cer- tainly, Feedin' vaseline pies to a man-and built of the gate-grease I been looking for all the mornin'!'i Somebody cussed and someone laughed and the cook, who had been struck motionless said, anxiously in a trembling voice, Do you reckon it'll kill any of yus'? The boss replied for the body, Biler, we don't know that yet, but vaseline pie is a durned poor diet for a mar- ried man with three children and no insur- ance-but nobody here's any nearer death this minute than you be and if I wuz you I'd evacu- ate mighty sudden. The crew arose and sauntered toward the men's camp with mixed emotions as the once- famous cook, now branded for life, packed his Kennebunker and left for parts unknown. A SKIN GAME In looking over a silver fox farm an inquisi- tive lady asked How many times can a fox be skinned for its fur? 19

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GIFT OF EXPERIMENTAL FOREST F. G. MILLER Dean, School of Forestry, U'nifoers'ity of Idaho BY OUTRIGHT gift the University of Idaho has come into possession of a choice ex- perimental forest for its School of Forestry. The gift was made by the Forest Development Company, a VVeyerhaeuser subsidiary at Lew- iston, Idaho. It consists of 3,646 acres of for- est land, and it was accepted by the State Board of Education October 11, 1932. In conveying this gift to the University of Idaho Mr. C. L. Billings, President of the Forest Development Company, stated it to be the thought of the company that the area shall be used as an experimental forest as long as there is a School of Forestry at the University. Mr. Billings has also furnished the School a full and complete report, with maps, descriptive of the forest cover on these lands, which will serve the School as a basis in formulating its plan of management for the area. LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY These lands are suitably and conveniently located for an experimental forest. They are all within the Moscow Mountain Range, 3,046 acres lying on the north slope and 600 acres on the south slope. Their average distance from Moscow is about 18 miles northeast. The lands on the north slope may be reached di- rect over a graveled and dirt road known as the Old Princeton Road, or by way of Pot- latch over a graveled highway to Potlatch, thence over a dirt road the rest of the way. The 600 acres on the south slope are accessible over a dirt and graveled road by way of Troy. It probably will not be many years until the main body of the area, that on the north slope of the mountains, will be accessible all the way over a surfaced road. TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL The land is all either rolling or mountainous in character, but any of it can be readily logged. It is practically all good timber pro- ducing soil. The forest on the south slope is drained by a beautiful mountain stream which traverses its full length. That on the north slope of the mountains is fairly well watered by streams, the principal one being Hatter Creek. FOREST COVER The principal species found on the area are ponderosa pine, western white pine, tamarack, Douglas fir, white fir, western red cedar, and lodgepole pine. These species grow largely in mixed stands. All age classes of all species of timber common to the northern part of Idaho are found within this forest. Practi- cally all of the merchantable timber has been removed, but the timber was cut in such a way as to leave intact on most of the area the trees below merchantable size. The report of the Forest Development Com- pany shows that 2,180 acres or nearly 60 per cent of the area is now covered with from 14 to 53 trees per acre of pole size, that is to say, trees 8 inches or over in diameter breast high. There are, of course, some younger trees below this size, which were not counted when the cruise was made. This means that there is left standing a suiiicient number of trees to restock the area by natural regeneration. In fact some reproduction has already started. About 500 acres or 14 per cent of the area bears young trees of the sapling stage-trees from 3 to 6 inches in diameter breast high, per cent is partially varying in size from 2 inches in diameter while 180 acres or 5 stocked with seedlings 6 inches in height to breast high. Nearly 14 per cent has been burned over and 7 per cent is classed as open land. Very probably the 79 per cent of the area now bearing poles, saplings, or seedlings will restock itself. The other 21 per cent may have to be planted, though it is possible that some of this will eventually reproduce by natural means. ACQUISITION 0-F ADJACRNT LANDS The gift of this line forest property came at an opportune time as it is opening the way to the acquisition of a larger School Forest as described by Dr. E. A. Sherman in an article under the caption: Planning a Forest for the University of Idaho, on page 17.. Besides serving as a field laboratory for the training of students in forestry and experi- mentation in methods of silvicultural manage- ment, this enlarged School Forest would be highly useful as a game preserve and for recreational uses, not to mention its potential value for the production of timber. It may be added that the School is already realizing some revenue from the gift area from the sale of cordwood and grazing privileges. Due ac- knowledgment is here made to the Forest De- velopment Company for this timely and im- portant donation. It will be known as the Moscow Mountain Experimental Forest. RESPITE STANLEY Foss BARTLETT Let me turn away for a moment From the ways that are blazed to goals, Let me wander gypsy-minded While I rest from my worldly roles. Let me go where there is 'I'LO commerce, Thought-free from my friencl and foe, For Foe peace to make with my soul and God Ancl Pye dreams of my own to lmow.

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EXTENSION FORESTRY IN IDAHO STANLEY C. CLARKE Emtension Forester THE word, extension, may be defined as extending information and instruction be- yond the walls of a college. Certain agricul- tural colleges were doing some forestry ex- tension work as early as 1912. Between 1912 and 1925, when the Clarke-McNary law be- came effective, 14 states developed definite farm forestry projects. At the present time, 33 states, and Porto Rico and Hawaii have ex- tension foresters. The potentialities of this organization are quite apparent when one realizes that more than 3,000 county agents be- come the messengers of the extension forest- ers to hundreds of thousands of farmers with- in their counties. Furthermore, practically all of the co-operating states have also taken ad- vantage of the provision in the Clarke-Mc- Nary law to operate co-operative tree nur- series and to produce forest seedlings and transplants at a low cost to the farmers within their respective boundaries. Delaware, Flori- da, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon do not em- ploy extension foresters, but they do co-operate with the federal government in growing farm forest planting stock for farmlands. In 1928, the distribution of forest planting stock for farmlands by co-operating states amounted to 28,757,000 seedlings and transplants. The states of New York and Pennsylvania dis- tributed more than 18,000,000 of this total. West of the Rocky Mountains, Idaho held first place in distribution of 183,000 trees, of which 150,000 were black locust. THE BEGINNING or EXTENSION FORESTRY IN IDAHO Mr. Arthur M. Sowder, now Assistant Pro- fessor of Forestry at the University of Idaho, was appointed Extension Forester for Idaho on April 16, 1927. Extension forestry was con- tinued for the first two years on a half-time basis in conjunction with farm forestry ex- perimental research work under a co-operative arrangement between the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station and the School of For- estry. This latter phase of the program of work was necessary so that more fundamental data might be had to further the extension program in the state. Every Idahoan knows that his state has a great variation in soil and climate. It probably is not common knowledge that some Idaho farmers retain the idea that all trees planted in close proximity to their crops are detrimental to crop yield. One of the major problems of research was a study to de- termine the influence of windbreaks on the growth and yield of farm and orchard crops. Two other studies, which have also been of value to the extension forester, were determi- nations of the adaptability of certain species to alkali soils, and high-altitude plantings. The early extension work consisted in mak- ing contacts with the county agents and of selling the idea of farm forestry to these im- portant key-men who in turn were to interest the farmers in this phase of agriculture. The adaptability of species to diferent counties and communities was also noted by the condi- tion of trees already planted. For many years prior to the passing of the Clarke-McNary law, Idaho had a state nursery in operation at Moscow, and was supplying seedlings and transplants to farmers for windbreak and woodlot purposes, so it was possible at this later date to gather considerable data. A program of education was started through the use of newspaper articles, the Idaho Agri- cultural News Letter, the Idaho Farm For- estry News Letter,', through talks and discus- sions at farm meetings, and occasional radio programs. LATER EXTENSION WORK After the extension forester has convinced each county agricultural agent that forestry can contribute materially to the agricultural prosperity of his county and after the county agent becomes a supporter of the work,f the extension forester can feel assured that for- estry will find a place on the agricultural pro- gram of the county. When this point is reached, the county agent begins calling for help, instead of the forester having to plead for a hearing. This takes time, but it is the beginning of progress. After this condition has been brought about, it is possible to work up the diiferent projects, such as woodland im- provement and management, the preservation of fence posts and other farm timber, the planting of windbreaks and shelterbelts, the planting of woodlots on areas unsuited for an- nual crop production, the control of erosion and fixation of sand dunes and further educa- tional work through the 4-H Club program. FARM FORESTRY TREE PLANTING Through the practice of farm forestry, the marginal areas of the farm may often be brought into use to supply the wood needs, such as posts, poles, fuel, and general repair material. Southern Idaho, being naturally an unforested area, gives one the impression that trees may not do well there, but farmers are becoming more familiar with the better tree species, and are also becoming aware of the fact that trees will grow with the same amount of soil moisture that other agricultural crops require. In our irrigated sections, where the altitude is below 4,000 feet, black locusts have