"It would be a singularly propitious moment for America to come to the rescue of this shrine of the Spanish and Anglo-Saxon races, if only to prove that the movement toward a development of commercial relations between the United States and Spain is not solely egotistic and wealth-seeking. Of course the enlargement of such relations is materially beneficial to Spain as well as to America, from every point of view, but, when all is said and done, there is nothing ennobling or spiritual about it. If America increases her commerce with Spain it is because it suits her and she expects to make money by it.

Let

Columbus set forth from La Rabida to discover America. America now come to the rescue of La Rabida, not as an act of charity because America is enriched while Spain is impoverished by the evil chances of the war, but because, above and beyond all the clouds created by past errors and unjust prejudices, gleams and glows the one great fact that Columbus sailed from La Rabida to discover the New World, and therefore La Rabida is forever sacred to the New World as well as to old Spain.

"If every American who reads these lines will send a check, large or small, to the Eccelentisimo Senor Burgos y Mazo, Senator del Reino, at Moguer in the Province of Huelva, Spain, for the restoration of the monastery, an act of justice will be done to the country which so long has struggled to preserve the shrine of two races at her sole cost, and the monument which commemorates the greatest event of modern history will be cared for as it ought.

"No Spaniard, I imagine, would ever dream of making such an appeal to the Americans, but I feel justified in doing it, because I, an Englishwoman, well know that Americans as well as Spaniards regard La Rabida as the Mecca of their race.

"As my friend and fellow-worker I appeal to you to make the facts known in your country."

The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society very cordially endorses this appeal, and trusts that it will evoke a generous response from anyone who may read these pages.

IN ITALY

War's Destruction Begun

The first notable historic landmark in Italy to suffer destruction in consequence of the war, so far as we are informed, was the Church of Santa Maria Formosa in Venice, which was demolished in an air raid by the enemy on Thursday, August 10, 1916. This church, originally built in 842, restored in 1350 and remodeled

in 1699, was visited by almost every traveler to Venice. Through the foresight of the Italian authorities, most of the Palma Vecchio and other art treasures which decorated the interior were removed in 1915 and safely stored inland, but the beautiful mosaics of the dome, designed by Vecchio, were destroyed by the bombs dropped from airships on August 10, 1916.

In the hope of preventing the similar destruction of the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's and other famous buildings, extraordinary precautions have been taken to protect them with bags of sand. etc. Every one of the hundred arches of the Doge's Palace has been been walled up, and bags of sand placed on roofs and against walls throughout the city. It is said that 25,000 sacks were used for the protection of St. Mark's alone.

The ruin of the Church of Santa Maria Formosa and the prospect of other destruction greatly distressed Pope Benedict. who, in September, 1916, sent a protest to Austria-Hungary against the bombardment of Venice and renewing his condemnation of the damage which has been inflicted upon unfortified and harmless towns and villages when there had been no military object in view. The Pope's protest pointed out that the raids on these places were rendered all the more grave when, as in the cases of the Venice, Ravenna, and Ancona attacks, the enemy injured temples of religion and priceless unreplaceable art treasures. He declared that these monuments were reverenced by all mankind, and did not belong to any one country, but to all humanity. Therefore, the losses were equally serious for the attacker and the attacked.

Food Crop from Parks

At the beginning of the year 1917, the Italian government promulgated the policy, similar to that of England previously mentioned, of utilizing public grounds for the raising of food crops as a war measure. On January 2 instructions were issued by the Minister of Agriculture to the Prefects of the departments to increase the food supply of the country by cultivating public ground, including the city parks, using forestry employes for the purpose.

IN THE NETHERLANDS

We have had meagre advices during the past year concerning the work of the nature protection societies of The Netherlands. In February, 1917, we received calls from Mr. P. G. Van Tienhoven of Amsterdam, who gives us informal reports of the continued activity of these societies, but on account of the war and the consequent interruption of the mails, detailed reports are lacking.

IN GERMANY

Conferences on the Care of Nature Monuments

Through the courtesy of the United States Department of State, we have received from Germany a report of the conferences on the care of nature monuments held in Berlin in 1915 and 1916.

At the beginning of the war extensive improvements of moor lands were undertaken in Germany to increase the area of lands suitable for the growth of agricultural products. As these improvements tended towards a destruction of the animal and plant life and the picturesque natural beauties of the moors, all lovers of nature became much concerned. The desire for the conservation of moor districts had brought about the reservation of several remarkable moors in Prussia: For instance, small moors in West Prussia and Hanover with growths of betula nana, the Plage moor at Chorin in Brandenburg and the moor of Zehlu in East Prussia, 2360 hektars (5832 acres) in size. In Saxony, Wurtemberg and Bavaria several moors had been set aside as reservations, so that those interested in the movement had reason to hope their wishes would be fulfilled, but the war improvements jeopardized their hopes. The State Bureau for the Care of Natural Monuments in Prussia now took steps to protect the interests of natural history and landscape conservation. In May, 1915, the Prussian Ministry of Education issued an order requiring due regard to be paid to these interests and a similar order was issued by the Ministry of Agriculture a month later. The State Bureau caused a number of moors to be examined by experts and called a Conference together for the 3rd and 4th December 1915 in its offices in Berlin. This conference, the seventh since the foundation of the Bureau, was largely attended by collaborators

from the provinces, by persons of kindred interests, from the federated states and from Austria and by many prominent naturalists. A complete report of the addresses held at the conference and the ensuing discussion has been recently published in the form of a special "Moorschutzheft" (Pamphlet upon moorprotection) in: "Beitrage zur Naturdenmalpflege" (Contributions to the Care of Natural Monuments), edited by Professor Conwentz, 1916. The chief results of the conference were pullished shortly after the conference in a memorandum entitled: "Ueber die Notwendigkeit der Schaffung von Moorschutzgebieten" (As to the Necessity for the Creation of Moor-reservations). This memorandum is included in the above mentioned "Moorschutzheft."

These addresses and discussions contain much instructive material as to the geological, botanical and zoological conditions of the moors, and while a number of practical questions are discussed, the aesthetic value of the moors is not neglected. With due consideration for the necessity of an increase of arable lands the conference was of the opinion that at least from one to two larger moors should be reserved from cultivation in every Prussian province.

In the eighth Conference on the Care of Natural Monuments held December 1 and 2, 1916, in Berlin, Professor Conwentz, the head of the Bureau, discussed the results of the efforts made up till now to create moor reservations. It was obvious that fiscal moors would come principally under consideration for the purpose of conservation; nevertheless there were some exceptions. The town of Allenstein in East Prussia, which province had particularly suffered from the war, has reserved a small moor, and besides this the reservation of further moors in the State forests of this province is under consideration. In the district of Danzig, in West Prussia, moor areas of 132 hektars (326 acres), have been reserved by the Ministry of Agriculture upon a move by the Royal forest administration. In some other provinces the conservation of a number of moors is assured.

These conferences of 1915 and 1916 were not, however, solely concerned with the question of moors. At the first conference in 1915 three addresses were made upon a new bird refuge erected

by the State forest administration on the coast of the Baltic near Danzig. A forest official, a botanist (upon furlough from the front for this purpose) and an ornithologist discussed the legal difficulty connected with the protection of the flora and ornithology of this reservation. At the conference of 1916 the Counsel of the State Bureau discussed the measures taken to protect chestnut and walnut trees (castanca sativa, juglans regia), the wood of which is required for war purposes, and a representative of the Ministry of War who was present said that his Department had full sympathy for this movement and would further it in all ways possible. A bird lover who is at the same time college professor and former forest official discussed bird protection and natural history instruction in schools and pointed out the educational value of knowledge of birds and bird protection. A young botanist who had been connected for a long time with a field laboratory in Curland, Russia, described a primeval forest tract situated on an island in the lake of Usmaite in the northern portion of Curland which had been created a reservation by the Russian Government before the war, upon the proposal of the Riga Naturalist Society. Very beautiful lantern slides accom panied this address. Three further addresses were made, each profusely illustrated by slides: The erratic blocks of the province of Brandenburg, landscapes from the neighborhood of Munich and views of West Prussia. Each meeting of the conference ended with an illustrated lecture upon nature protection held for wounded soldiers.

The attendance at these two war meetings of 1915 and 1916 was in no way inferior to the conferences held before the war, and it is said that the pressure exercised by the war has in no measure diminished the general interest in these ideal matters of nature protection, but rather increased it.

Marsh and Moorland Reclamation

The utilization of all available tracts in Germany for agricultural purposes, which was in active progress before the war, has of course been greatly stimulated by the shortness of food supplies from which that land has suffered so seriously during the war. Therefore, those interested in the conservation of certain areas