?84 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



that other interests are involved in some 

 regions, preservation of soil, regularity 

 of water flow and attractive scenery be- 

 ing chief among the number. On this 

 subject I desire to say that what we 

 shall need most is clear knowledge of 

 the facts, and then the demarcation of 

 such areas under the head of protection 

 of forests or some similar term. Sec- 

 ond, third, and fourth head, repetition 

 of the ideas in Marsh's great work, 

 "The Earth as Modified by Human Ac- 

 tion," is not sufficient basis upon which 

 to base positive legislation strongly 

 affecting private interests. Accurate, 

 trustworthy information is a requisite 

 here, and that we are only just begin- 

 ning to get. 



When this information is in hand and 

 areas of protective forest are pro- 

 claimed, the question will arise if 

 public ownership is not altogether the 

 best solution of the problem, rather than 

 the regulation of the private holder. It 

 certainly is simplest and siu'est. and un- 

 less types of forest are such that they 

 will produce an income at the same time 

 that the protective offices of the forest 

 are maintained, it is the only real solu- 

 tion. 



I feel that New York state in ac- 

 quiring its forest preserve in the Adi- 

 rondack and Catskill Mountains is pur- 

 suing the most just and satisfactory 

 course, a course which it will pay all 

 our states to follow in the care of truly 

 protective forest areas, at whatever cost 

 of money and sacrifice. 



In conclusion, some of the salient 

 points may be briefly summarized : 



I. Adequate fire protection often se- 

 cures in reasonably good fashion all the 

 objects necessary to secure reproduction 

 and growth of the forest and mainte- 

 nance of its protective office. In my 

 opinion the state of Maine, in which 

 this judicial opinion originated, will be 

 among the last of the states to act upon 

 it, except with the purpose of promoting 

 this particular end. because of the 

 abundant reproduction and rapid 

 growth of the region, its freedom from 

 soil erosion and the regular flow of its 

 rivers due to topography and the exis- 

 tence (if lakes. Regulation or state 



ownership will be needed more the 

 farther these ideal conditions are de- 

 parted from. 



2. To compel men to hold standing 

 timber while it is subject to such taxa- 

 tion as it is exposed to in some of our 

 states is an injustice not to be borne. 

 The tax law must be revised first. 



3. Legal regulation of cutting is a 

 different matter, so difficult that when 

 education will accomplish the same end, 

 as it will in many cases, it should be em- 

 ployed to the full before resorting to 

 the other measure. 



4. Public ownership of those tracts 

 on which the maintenance of forest 

 cover is indispensable, is the simplest 

 and most satisfactory means of attain- 

 ing that end. In some types of forest 

 regulation to secure its protective 

 agency will really amount to confisca- 

 tion of its money value. 



5. Hard and fast rules like a dia- 

 meter limit are very imperfect means of 

 regulation, entirely inapplicable to some 

 types of forest. If complete plans can- 

 not be made, then soiue limit should be 

 defined, like devastation or destruction 

 of the growing power of wood land, 

 terms to be interpreted by state officers 

 under supervision of the courts, beyond 

 which the owner will not be permitted 



to go. 



5t' «r «t' 



O 



DISCUSSION BY A LAWYER 



By ALLEN MOLLIS, of New Hampshire 



NE of the memorable dates in our 

 history is May 13, 1908. It marks 

 no great victory at arms, nor hero's 

 birth ; but on that day President Roose- 

 velt gave to the world the doctrine of 

 conservation as a living force, since 

 grown into the issue of our times. 



The President's opening address to 

 the Congress of Governors, with char- 

 acteristic vigor, emphasizes the imme- 

 diate danger of exhausting our national 

 resources, including our forests. It 

 suggests a remedy — state regulation ; 

 and as authority quotes a recent opinion 



