VOL. XXIX.
INDIANAPOLIS. IND , NOV. 24, 1694
NO. 47.
STATE FORESTRY.
Move for a Bureau of State Forestry.
Horticulture and Irrigation.
The Legislature Will be Asked to Provide
for the Improvement.
Draft of a Bill for the Purpose.
Following U the draft for a bill for creating a Bureau of Forestry, Horticulture and Irrigation for Indiana,
wbich will be presented to onr next Legislature, and Its passage urged by a committee appointed at the recent meeting of
oar State Horticultural Society, with Uenl.
John Coburn as chairman:
Section 1. The Governor of this State is
hereby authorized to appoint three male
citizens of this State of not less than thirty
years of pge to act as tbe members of a
Bureau of Forestry, Horticulture and Irri
gation, one of whom shall serve two years,
one fonr years and one six years from the
day of appointment, and on the expiration
of the terms of office of the first incum
bents of two and four years, all of the ap
pointments are to be made for six years.
Section _. The duty of the Bureau shall
be to er quire into the character and extent
of the forests in the State, to investigate
the causes of their waste and decay, to
suggest what legislation may be necessary
for the development of a rational and
practicable system of forestry, adapted to
the wants and conditions of the State, and
to establish a forestry station on suob
grounds as may be procured by the State
for that purpose, at which station the
planting, care and cultivation of forest
trees shall be conducted under their gen
eral direction. And the Bareau shall have
power to appoint a superintendent to take
charge of the same, who shall be skilled in
forest culture and horticulture, which appointment shall not be made until sn* h
station is established. The Bureau shall
appoint a secretary, whose duty it shall be
to keep the records of tbe proceedings and
conduct suoh correspondence and do such
clerical duty as may be required of him by
the Bureau. His compensation per annum
shall not exceed six hundred dollars, to be
fixed by the Bureau.
Section 3. When any person shall plant
and properly cultivate for timber for the
term of five years a grove of trees not less
than eight, nor more than twelve, feet
apart in any direction, and shall keep the
same in a proper stateof cultivation and in
a healthy condition for suoh time, it shall
be the duty of the County Commissioners
to pay such person by warrant on the
county treasurer a su m of money amounting to three and one-third dollars an acre
for each acre so planted and cultivated annually, so long as the same is planted and
kept growing and in a proper state of cultivation, for a period of not to exceed five
years, and an extent not to exceed three
acres, and not les9 tban one acre of land.
Section 4. It shall be the duty of the
county assessor to make proper examination as to the condition of the trees and require evidence of the same under oath,
and report to the connty commissioners
annually, on the first Monday in December, the condition of all timber so planted
and cultivated nnder the provisions of
this act. And if the assessor shall ascertain that said trees are not in a healthy
condition, or have not been cultivated, or
are decaying or dying, it shall be his duty
to report the same to tbe commissioners
and they shall take action thereon forth
with, upon notice to the ewner of the
land or his agent first given, and shall be
paid s per diem for the discharge of this
duty at the same rate aa for the discharge
of his other duties, for the time actually
employed.
Seoond 5. The Governor of the State is
authorized hereby to set apart by proclamation one day each year to be observed
as a tree-planting or arbor day, requesting
all public schools and colleges to observe
the same by suitable exercises, having for
their object the imparting the knowledge
of horticulture, ln the department known
as arboriculture, and the adornment of
school and publio grounds.
Second 0. All trees planted in separate
groves or clumps of not less than 60 trees,
each of tbe trees to be not less than 12 feet
apart, if so planted to the number of 250,
shall be considered as an acre of trees for
the purposes of this act.
S action 7.   There shall be assessed and
collected for tbe years 1895 and 1896 annn
ally a tax of five mills upon each $100 of
taxable property in the State for the purpose of establishing a State Arboretum,
shif s, towns, oounties and cities to purchase and hold in fee simple or to dedicate
to public u*ie for forestry planting, for
horticulture and experimental irrigation
and for public assemblies, any quantity of
land not exoeeding half a section for such
publio uses and may improve them by
planting forest and fruit trees, constructing reservoirs and dHehes, by establishing
horticultural stations and improving
grounds for military encampments and
for athletic exercises and for public
assemblies, and free to all the people of tbe Inhabitants thereof, and
wbich, while so held and used, solely for
the public welfare and not for any private
use or profit, shall be exempt from taxation. Whirl shall be done under tbe
authority of the proper officers of such
townships, towns, counties and cities who
shall hold and control  the same for the
ln the green-houses and gardens ln otber
countries grow wild ln the forests. Cotton
is found in great abundance in a wild
state on the banks of the Amazon and its
tributaries. Among the numerous shrubs
which clothe the highlands, the different
species of cinohona or Peruvian bark are
the most valuable. It is scattered along
the skirts of the Andes over an extent of
2,000 miles, at an elevation of from 2 800 to
9,600 feet, and therefore thrives in a great
variety of climates. On the east declivity
of the Andes it forms a continued forest
for many miles. Caoutchouc is procured
from the inspissated juices of a variety of
different plants. The tree-ferns range between 1.500 and 5,000 feet above the sea;
beyond the height of 10,500 feet aborescent
vegetables disappear; between (1,500 and
13,600 feet the Alpine plants are found;
species of the Wintera and Excallonia occur between 9,200 and 10 800 feet, and form
scrubby bushes in the cold and moist climate.
A   PERUVIAN   FOREST.
and farm, for the purpose of p auting. cultivating and propsg .ting forest trees for
economic and other purposes, for expert
mental grounds in forestry and horticulture; also for grounds for a State military
encampment, also for athletic exercise*",
for public assemblies, for a State park,
and for experiments in irrigation, wbich
tract of land shall consist of not lew than
320 acres or more than 640 acres In Mari *n
county, which miney, when collected,
shall be placed to the credit of and known
as the fund of the Bareau of Forestry and
Horticulture, and the same is hereby appropriated for tbe establishment thereof,
and the money thus collected shall be paid
out of said fund npon warrants of the
auditor of State, upon the requisition of
said bureau as now prescribed by law.
Section 8. The treausurer of S»te is
hereby authorized and required to bid for
lands offe ei for sale for delinquent taxes
the amounts due and after the deed is
made in pursuance of said sale, for the
space of two years it shall be lawful for
the former owner, his heirs or assigns to
redeem the same by paying to the said
treasurer the full amount of the bid made
by the State and all penalties, interest and
costs and thereupon the treasurer of State
shall reconvey the same to said owner, bis
heirs or assigns, by a deed in fee simple
with the condition attached thereto that
the same shall thereafter be subject to the
laws as to forestry in this State and such
as may thereafter be enact* • I And such
treasurer shall make and preser\ e a record
of suoh purchase at tax sale, of said land,
of the deed to the State and of the redemp
tion thereof with the deed of the State to
the former owner, his beirs or assigns,
containing an accurate deioription of the
land, with dates of purchase and of deeds
in a record book prepared for this purpose
Section 9.   It shall be lawful for town-
public u-e and benefit alone. And the
township trustees, the county commissioners, the common councils of
the towns and the city conncils shall
each have the power to purchase said lands
for such uses and purposes ani to hold
control and improve them as herein before
provided.
A Peruvian Forest.
Peru is exceedingly rich In vegetable
production, and each of its natural regions
has its own fl ira. The coast district baa
not many plants, but east of the Andes
the species are exceedingly numerous.
Many species cf medicinal herbs, and a
great vatiety of aromatic balsams, oils,
and gums are produced. Trees and
shrubs which yield seven different kinds
of wax are known, and, according to Peruvian writers, this territory is a new
world in itself. Almonds, ginger, the balsam of copaiba, gum copal, etc , are all
said to abound. On the coast, and the
west slopes of the Andes, are produced the
cabbage palm, the cocoanut, the chocolate
nut, the cotton shrub, tbe pineapple,
tumeric, plalntain, and sugar-cane, besides some trees that have only Peruvian
appellations. The eoffma raesmosis is fonnd
in the interior, and the berries are used in
the same way as those of the cultivated
species. The large flowered jasmine, and
the datura arborea, are very abundant in
the vicinity of Lima, and are mnch used
by the women for wreaths, and for braiding in their hair. No fewer than 24
species of pepper, and five or six of cap-
siuui are reckoned natives; there are several species of solatium, or plants of the po
tato genus, and the potato commonly
called the Irish was originally brought
from Peru. Tobacco and jalap are abundant in the groves at tbe foot of the mountain; and many of the varieties cultivated
Thanksgiving Proclamation.
Washington, Oct 31 —The President today issued the following proclamation:
"The American people should gratefully
render thanksgiving and praise to the Supreme Ruler of the universe who has
watched over them with kindness and fostering care during the year that has passed;
they should also with humility and faith
supplicate the Father of all mercies for
oontinued blessings according to tbeir
needs, and they should by deeds of charity
seek the favor of the Giver of every good
and perfeot gift.
"Therefore, I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart Thursday, the 29th day
of November, inst, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer, to be kept and observed
by all the people of the land. On that day
let our ordinary work and business be
suspended and let us meet in our accustomed places of worship and give thanks
to Almighty God for our preservation as a
nation, for our immunity from disease
and pestilence, for the harvests that have
rewarded our husbandry, for a renewal of
national prosperity, and for every advance
in virtue and intelligence that has marked
our growth as a people. And with onr
thanksgivings let us pray that these blessings may be multiplied unto us, that our
national conscience may be qulekened to
a better recognition of the power and
goodness of God, and that in our national
life we may clearer see and closer follow
the path of righteousness. And ln our
places of worship and praise as well as in
tbe happy reunions of k iudred and friends
on that day, let us Invoke Divine approval
by generously remembering the poor and
needy. Surely He who has given us comfort and plenty will look upon onr relief
of the destitute and our ministrations of
charity as the work of hearts truly grateful and as proofs of the sincerity of our
thanksgiving."
Adam Dobson, of Pendleton, is dead.
He was a Virginian by birth, in December, 1795, and he settled in the vicinity of
Pendleton in 1820.
An exoeedirgly heavy snowfall is reported at Kouts, which daring the night
turned to sleet. One hundred head of cattle perished, and an ice-house, with 800
tons of ice, fell to tbe ground.
Amerine Wood, of Franklin, bought a
blooded Jersey cow and was leading the
animal home, when his hand became entangled in the ring at the end of the rope,
and before he oould get loosened the cow
began to run. He was thrown to his side
and dragged a blook, when the thumb and
fore finger of his left hand gave way and
were jerked from their sockets. The physicians say that it may be necessary to
amputate the entire hand.