xo2 G(~ord: [J. F. 1.,

Adopted a t the s t a t e d mee t ing of the Commi t t ee oi1 Science and the Arts, he ld Wednesday , D e c e m b e r Ii , I895.

JOS. M. W I L S O N , Pres ident . W M . H . xvVAHL, Secre tary .

S A M U E L S A R T A I N ,

Chairman, Committee oJ~ Science aud the Arts.

A w a r d confirmed b y the Board of Direc tors of City Trusts .

APPENDIX.

Fig. I shows the complete calendar clock, Fig. 2 the calendar movement and Fig. 3 the clock movement . By reference to Fig. I it will be seen that the day-of-the-week, month-of-the-year and day-of- the-month are all shown in full-sized let ters and figures, which appear directly behind the sight-open. ings or windows in the ease. They are sufficiently close to the glass of the windows to give a clear and desirable effect, the white margin of the mat~ adding considerably to the genera l result, and making the names and date~ stand out in such a manner as to appear much larger than they really are.

Fig. 2 shows the calendar movement, and also the drop-rod and release- lever by which the calendar is started. The " 21 " is shown at the sight. opening, and on the start ing up of the mechanism this card first drops down out of the way and lies close to the number " 2%" while a further revolution of the card device allows the " 22 " to drop into the posit ion formerly occu. pied by the " 2 1 . " The regulator-wheel and month-wheel may also be seen on the left of t he cut.

Fig'. 3 shows the clock movement , and also the cam and drop-rod which set off the calendar. The drop-rod falls sufficiently to str ike the release- lever a sharp blow, and then rebounds and is held up and out of the way by its spring.

F O R E S T F I R E S IN N E W J E R S E Y .

BY JOHN GIFFORD,

Fores t ry Agent for the Geological Survey of New Jersey.

The ques t ion of fires in New Je r sey d e m a n d s immediate a t tent ion. I t is the m a i n cause of forest de ter iora t ion and its consequences , and of the impover i shed condi t ion of ~- large par t of the S ta te of New Jersey. T h e r e are very few s t re tches of woodland in this region which have not beet1 thus affected.

Aug., I896"] Forest Fires z)a 2Vezu Jersey/. 1o3

The causes of forest fires may be classified as follows : (I) Incendiarism. (2) Carelessness. (3) Sparks and hot coals from locomotives.

(4) Lightn ing . The most serious fires are usua l ly those which are pur-

posely set, because set at the proper t ime and in the proper Mace. An incendiary bent upon mischief wai ts unt i l the, Wood is dr); and the wind in the desired direction. There are usually two mot ives back of incendiar i sm :

(I) Individual gain at the expense of another. (2) Revenge. A few years ago it was not uncommon for colliers to fire

a wood in order to buy it cheaply. The charred wood is then only fit for charcoal. Owing to the decline of the charXcoal indus t ry and the abundance of charred wood in the forest, this is no longer profitable. Fires were set in meadowy regions to improve the grass for cattle. Savanna lands are still burn t for tha t purpose in regions where cat t le are turned into the woods. Berry-pickers set fire to huckle- berry bushes to improve the berry crop. In a couple of years, the young growth which follows bears larger and finer berries. Wood thieves, it is said, set fire to the b rush and stumps to hide their tracks. There are m a n y people living in the backwoods of New Jersey who own no wood- land, but who gain a l ivelihood in a var ie ty of ways out of woods which belong to other people. T h e y are mos t ly berry-pickers, hun te r s and wood-choppers.

Fires are set out of spite. If a backwoodsman th inks himself wronged by a woodland owner, he " g e t s even" by touching a match to his woods. I t is certain tha t for sev- eral purposes forest fires are set. Such fires do much dam- age, and the conviction of such incendiar ies is difficult.

Woodland owners, du r ing forest-fire season, feel inse- cure, expect ing a fire at any moment . The incendiary m a y set a fire to in jure an enemy, but the wind may suddenly change and m a n y others may suffer in consequence. Several fires in At lan t ic County were set last season in the same region several n igh ts in succession.

lO4 G(ffbrd." [J. F. I.,

Second in impor tance are fires caused by careless indi. viduals. In c lear ing land, fires escape from burn ing brush. A large foreign e lement has come to South Je r sey to clear farms. This increases the danger from fires while the land is be ing cleared. Tramps , hun te r s and boys, wi th camp. fires, l ighted cigars and cigaret tes , cause m a n y fires.

Locomot ives also are often Mamed. It is certain that many fires have been set by sparks from the s tack and hot coals from the grate. The o-renter number of tile railroads are us ing some care. On some roads, engineers are cau. tioned, safe ty str ips are cleared, and, in one instance, fur- rows have been p loughed along the road, and section-men usua l ly endeavor to pu t ou t the fires which are thus caused. If engineers are careful, if the spark-ar res ter is not with. d rawn or poked wi th holes, if coals are d u m p e d in places prepared for tha t purpose, and if sa fe ty str ips are cleared and furrows p loughed along the road, and section-men a r e watchful and willing, there is l i t t le danger from that source. I t is certain tha t some rai lroads are us ing more precaut ions at present than woodland owners themselves.

A l though not common, fires have been set by lightning. Certain species and sol i tary trees are more apt to be s t ruck than others. The re are several indicat ions that a disastrous fire was set last s u m m e r in South Jersey, by lightning, which s t ruck a sol i tary tree in a field of dry grass.

The effects of f i r e m a y be classified as follows : (I) Des t ruc t ion of t imber and o ther property. (2) Ext inct ion of va luable species. (3) Impove r i shmen t of soil. (4) Des t ruc t ion of seeds and game. (5) Consequent ia l damage, by affect ing industr ies de-

pendent upon the woods, and by changing moisture, soil and cl imatic condit ions, which are more or less dependent upon a forest cover.

The a m o u n t of damage depends, of course, upon the severi ty of the fire, which, in turn, depends upon the dryness ~f the wood, the force of the wind and the na ture of the Lrees and underbrush .

Often eve ry th ing above g round is killed. The charred

At~g', t896'] Forest Fircs iJz Nc~, Jersey. xo5

boles of hundreds of trees fall and rot in the woods. In low ground, after a fire, fresh green underbrush soon appears. High land recovers slowly, often remain ing bare for many years. There is danger from fires about six ~a~onths of the year. T h e y are very des t ruct ive dur ing the high winds in the spring, when there is l i t t le sap in the

~rood. Dry leaves cover the ground, and m a n y cling to the low

oaks. Certain trees are affected much more than o th~ ,~ . This

depends main ly upon the na ture of the bark. Often, large pine trees appear to be but s l ight ly affected by a g round fire, which burns the underb rush and leaves on the surface. Bark is a non-conductor of hea t ; bu t if the cambium, the active part of the tree jus t benea th the bark, is affected, the tree dies.

Even then, if it happens in spring, the tree appears to be recovering. Dormant buds in the t runk sprout, and fresh, green le:/ves are formed.

It is be t te r to cut such trees at once, because they soon die. W h e n the s tarchy m a t t e r in the t runk is ex- hausted, these sprouts wi ther and die, the tree is invaded by insects, rots and topples over. Even a pine log, if cut in the winter, sends out fresh shoots in the spr ing from dorman t eyes. Even if the tree is not i tself di rect ly injured, its supply of nu t r imen t and mois ture is affected by burn ing the undergrowth.

The value of underbrush m u s t not be underra ted. Al- though it smothers y o u n g trees, it is useful to forests of larger growth. The amoun t of mineral ma t t e r which a tree absorbs is insignificant. W a t e r is the essential ele- ment. In checking evaporat ion and re ta rd ing the flow, un- dergrowth is often necessary. But the smaller amoun t of dead wood in a forest the better, since it breeds m a n y kinds of insects, some of which may invade the l iving trees. The material resu l t ing from decay, however, enriches the soil, so that it is be t te r to burn the dead wood which cannot be utilized. In tha t way the soil is enr iched jus t the same, the iasects are disposed of, and the unde rb rush is not seriously

Io6 Gifford: [J. F. I.,

d is turbed. I t is easy to see, therefore, how fire in a forest is of ten usefu l if whol ly under control and di rected by a for. ester.

In old pine woods, on upland, there is of ten li t t le Under. brush. The g r o u n d is covered wi th a thin layer of pine leaves.

S tump holes are common in such woods. W h e n a pine tree is cu t or b u r n t the s t ump decays and a hole of consid- erable size, wi th many ramifications, is formed. Theground is often riddled with holes from suppressed trees. These drain the water from the surface.

This, together with the slight shade of pines and lack of underbrush, accounts for the dryness of the soil and atmos. phere in a pine woods. Many trees are soon affected by removing underbrush. The growth of a young oak grove can easily be retarded by trimming the lower limbs and

removing the undergrowth . Since one species is affected more than others, a kind of

selection cont inues , which accounts for the pecul ia r distri- bu t ion of t rees in certain places. Thick-bark trees, and trees which produce a v igorous coppice growth, survive the longest . P i t ch pines and oaks, therefore, predominate in South Jersey, while in isolated posit ions, p ro tec ted from fires, a g rea t var ie ty of t rees m a y be found. Certain plants, a l though covered wi th a thick bark, conta in subs tances in the form of resin, oils and waxes, which are inflammable. Others conta in subs tances which have a t endency to quench fire. T h e sowing of such plants a long safety lines has been sugges ted to p reven t the slow b u t des t ruc t ive g round fires. The whi te cedar (chamwcy2aris tlzyoides), the most waluable t imber tree in Sou th Jersey, and one of the mos t valuable in America , a l though g rowing in we t swamps, is often ser iously d a m a g e d b y fire.

The heat, a l though it may not burn, is of ten Sufficient to kill the cedar. In unusua l ly dry wea t he r fires burn for m a n y days in the bed of a swamp. I t is of ten necessary to dig deep t renches in order to check its headway .

I t des t roys c ranber ry bogs in a s imilar fashion. For fear of fires, cedar is cut when fit only for rails, hop-poles and

laths.

Aug., IS96'] Forest Fires i,a New Jersey. lO7

The soil is much impover ished by fire; this is the testi- ino,LV of a large majo r i ty of farmers. The " l i f e " is ,, cooked" out of it, as they say. The organic ma t t e r in the surface soil is often ent i re ly burnt . The surface is bared so that the soil is soon complete ly leached.

prof. F. H. Storer, in Agric~dt~re, says: " W i t h i n porous soils ni t rates are doubtless formed ra ther freely, and, e.~ is well known, the n i t ra tes are easily washed out from soils, and are liable to go to waste after every rain tha t is hmg continued. T h e y are, in fact, leached out of the soil, and the manure from which they came rapidly wastes away. It is said to be a ma t t e r o ] ~ t d and famil iar obser- vation in Germany, t ha t in sandy regions, in seasons t h a t are part icularly wet, the soil m a y finally be so tho rough ly leached tha t it becomes unfru i t fu l . W h e n we consider the facts that n i t ra tes are easily washed out of the soil, t ha t they are absolutely essential to p lant growth, and tha t t hey are continually produced, dur ing the period of growth, f rom humfls, by the action of n i t r i fy ing bacteria, we can appre- ciate the damage to l igh t soils by fire. Land thus damaged needs very careful t i l lage and green manur ing before it can produce a crop of consequence."

When a pine woods twen ty years old is des t royed it m a y mean many years before the soil recuperates and seeds are again disseminated. Seeds on the surface are des t royed by fil-e. Some seeds are ser iously affected by s l ight changes of temperature.

Also, many animals are destroyed. In the spr ing of the year ~he young are burn t in the nest. I t is not uncommon to see many of the smaller animals chased before a fire. 133" p~'eserving the forest, the animals dependen t upon its fruit,~ are preserved.

According to the s t a t emen t s of several seamen, the smoke and fog which the forest fires produce were a serious impediment to naviga t ion a long our coast last summer.

The total area bu rned over in South Jersey dur ing the past aeason of i895 amounts to not less than I97,ooo acres. No improvement in the forest condit ions of a count ry is P<>~!ble as long as fires are allowed to burn wi thou t any

IO8 Gifford: [J. F. I.,

sys temat ic prevent ive measures . W i t h no protect ion what- ever aga ins t incendiaries and individuals gu i l ty of malicious carelessness, the owners of woodland are at the mercy of chance. In consequence, wood is usual ly cut jus t as soon as there is a marke t of any kind. Proper ty in some towns in South Jersey is often endangered . Under such condi- t ions capital ists hes i ta te to invest in woodland.

If a fire breaks out, it is seldom noticed unt i l it has a t t a ined considerable size. The owner of the land coaxes and lures a few men to help h im fight it. A fire often burns for some time, owing to the fact tha t competen t men cannot be found. Many refuse to fight in the dayt ime. T h e y wai t un t i l evening, when the fire is smoulder ing. Many fighters do more h a r m than good. These men are genera l ly not paid. Often they are allowed to cut the dead wood. W h e n this is refused, the land-owner is considered mean, and often has difficulty a f te rward in f inding fighters. W h e n allowed to cut dead wood, the privilege is usual ly abused. When a fire once gains headway in a dry woods, propelled by a s t rong wind, i t is difficult if not impossible to check. Such work requires brave, skilful men, famil iar wi th the region, and not chance men picked up here and there. The rapid- i ty of spread of the fire depends, of course, upon the con- di t ion of the woods and the s t r eng th of the wind;

A l t h o u g h these fires are rapid, and a l though the sparks may fly long distances, a s tream, spur of swamp, or even a road, are often sufficient to check their headway. Many fires which are very des t ruct ive burn for some t ime wi thou t be ing noticed.

The method of f ight ing is by back-firing. Af te r t he wind and other condit ions have been noted, a pa r ty goes ahead to a road, which is always an excellent point of vantage, and burns back toward the fire. If possible, furrows are ploughed. The fires meet, and the force of the main body of fire is checked or diverted. Back-firing on another man's proper ty to save your own, often causes trouble.

This much is certain about fires in South Jersey, that back-firing, in the proper way, is the most pract ical method of checking a fire, and tha t roads are excellent points of van-

Aug., 1896. Fores t F i res it~ N e w ffersey. In 9 i

tage. The clear ing of roads for some dis tance on each side, and the bu rn ing of sa fe ty str ips at the proper season, are impor tan t s teps toward the prevent ion of fires. W e r e large t racts of woodland divided into sections, and each sect ion su r rounded b y fire lines, t h e r e w o u l d be less danger. South Je r sey is such a mass of woods, tha t when fire once gains headway, it t ravels for miles w i thou t mee t ing wi th opposi- tion. Fires can be much more easily control led in South Je r sey than in a moun ta inous region. Sand, which is ex- cellent mater iM to fight with, is, for tunately , plentiful.

Proper pol icing by a mounted , organized, well-directed force of wardens , is necessary. The terr i tory mus t be di- v ided into dis t r ic ts of ~ certain size, i r respect ive of polit ical divisions, wi th a warden to each distr ict , wi th the woods, roads and clearings of which he m u s t become perfect ly fa- miliar. H e mus t be held responsible for tha t district. Sta- t ioned on an eminence, wi th field-glasses, one man can con- trol a large area in South Jersey. It mus t be his du ty to enforce regula t ions and to apprehend and br ing to cour t all offenders. It mus t be his d u t y to keep a str ict record of fires and o ther facts concerning the forests of his district. W i t h a corps of twenty-five brave, skilful men, organized and under one head, fires can be reduced to a min imum, if not a l toge ther s topped in the southern inter ior of New Jersey. These wardens mus t have the power to call on men to.help them when 'necessary. These men mus t be under his control, and be paid fair wages for their work. F igh t ing fire is such a d isagreeable and labor ious task that there is little wonder compe ten t men who will work for no th ing are difficult to find. Exper ience in o ther countr ies shows that the presence of wardens has a s t rong educat ional influence. Twenty-f ive good men, for six mon ths of the year, could be procured for $5oo each. Al lowing as much more for o ther expenses, $25,ooo would cover the cost of such a force.

Consider ing the damage dur ing the pas t season, there is economy in such a measure .

The prevent ion of fires is a difficult mat ter . It can be accompl ished only by the co-operation of railroads, a large major i ty of the woodland owners and public-spir i ted citi-

I I 0 _Dur fee : [J. F. I.,

zens, coupled with the aid of the proper kind of laws, backed wi th ample means for their enforcement .

To sum it all up, fires can be reduced to a min imum by removing the causes. Many of these causes are avoidable and will not exist if there is the proper kind of laws, with ample mach ine ry for their enforcement . The few fires which are unavoidable can be ex t ingu ished in their incipi. ency if there is a warden present , who knows jus t what to do and how to do it.

THE C O N D I T I O N S WHICH C A U S E W R O U G H T IRON TO BE F I B R O U S AND S T E E L L O W IN

C A R B O N TO ~¢E C R Y S T A L L I N E . '~

BY W. F. DURFEE, (2.E.

~/IR. C H A I R M A N AND G E N T L E M E N :

I am announced to speak to you this evening upon the condit ions which cause wrough t iron to be fibrous and steel low in carbon to be crystall ine.

In discussing this subject, the views which I shall pre- sent for your considerat ion are a few of the observations and conclusions derived from a somewhat in t imate practical acquaintance, du r ing the past for ty years, wi th the manu- facture and employmen t of both iron and steel.; and I offer them as cont r ibut ive to a correct unde r s t and ing of the s t ruc tura l relat ions of these metals, or as indicat ive of their proper t r ea tmen t in the course of manufac tu re and use.

The opinion is common among users of wrought iron and soft steel t ha t the former h a s n o carbon associated with i t ; and the belief is also prevalent tha t the minute percentage of carbon (o"Io to o'I 5 of I per cent.) in the latter is at once the cause and explanat ion of the s t ruc tura l dis- s imi lar i ty of these metals.

*A lecture delivered before the F rank l in Inst i tute , January 3 I, I896. Some of the mat te r of this lecture was presented in a lecture delivered by the au thor before the Uni ted States Naval Ins t i tu te , at Annapolis , in z887, atl~ will be found publ ished in the Proceedings of tha t Ins t i tu te for tha t year.