1908 



FOREST SERVICE 



225 



the other hand, a bill has been intro- 

 duced which would tax timberlands no 

 higher than barren, unproductive land, 

 provided the timberland is managed in 

 a way to meet the approval of the For- 

 est, Fish and Game Commission. The 

 bill provides an additional tax on the 

 stumpage value of the timber when 

 cut. The New York bill seeks to en- 

 courage forestry as a means of in- 

 creasing the wealth of the State ; the 

 Maine plan, if carried through, will 

 powerfully discourage forestry. 



The New Hampshire study has been 

 undertaken in the belief that it will 

 help solve what is undeniably a knotty 

 problem. A forest taxation law which 

 is both wise and practicable is by no 

 means easy to draw. In Pennsylvania, 

 a State which appreciates the value of 

 its forests and the importance of fore- 

 sighted action to prevent non-agricul- 

 tural lands from becoming worthless 

 wastes, a law passed in 1905 provid- 

 ing for a rebate of taxes levied upon 

 forested lands was pronounced uncon- 

 stitutional by the courts because it des- 

 troyed uniformity of taxation. On the 

 other hand, the State of Michigan has 

 one-sixth of its area on the delinquent 

 tax list because the land i? worthless 

 for any purpose but growing forests 

 and is taxed too high to be held by the 

 owners for this purpose. 



Lumber The Forest Service has 



Prices Year j^g^ issued a sheet show- 

 ^ ^ ing the wholesale prices 



of lumber year by year from 1886 to 

 1908. The prices on July i, 1886, and 

 January i of every year thereafter are 

 given on twelve different kinds of 

 lumber in the New York market, and 

 selected kinds in Baltimore, San 

 Francisco and Buffalo ; also the mar- 

 ket reports of the Yellow Pine Manu- 

 facturers' Association. 



Luquillo For- The Luquillo National 

 est to Be Ad- porest is the only one in 

 ministered ^.u • 1 • 



the msular possessions 



of the United States, and while it was 

 created in 1903, provisions for its ad- 

 ministration were not made until early 



in January of this year, when the 

 Comptroller Of the Treasury affirmed 

 the jurisdiction of the Department of 

 Agriculture over the forest. Mr. M. 

 Rothkugel, of the Forest Service, has 

 sailed for Porto Rico to investigate 

 conditions and prepare plans. On 

 reaching Porto Rico he will confer 

 with Governor Post, who has been ex- 

 ceedingly anxious that the forest be 

 early put under administration. 



While in Porto Rico Mr. Rothkugel 

 will select and appoint native rangers, 

 picking men who have a thorough 

 knowledge of forest conditions in Por- 

 to Rico. This is in keeping with the 

 Government's policy of putting all Na- 

 tional Forests under administration of 

 local officers. 



Many of the laws governing the reg- 

 ulation of the National Forests in this 

 country will not apply to Porto Rico 

 forests, because of the different con- 

 ditions. It is expected that the Lu- 

 quillo National Forest will not be put 

 under actual administration until next 

 fall, by which time the details of the 

 plans will have been worked out. 



The Luquillo National Forest takes 

 in nearly 66,000 acres in the north- 

 eastern part of Porto Rico. 



Chief There are six inspection 



Inspectors' districts in the National 

 Meeting p^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^j^^ 



United States. The chief inspectors 

 of these districts meet annually for 

 consultation with each other and the 

 higher officers of the Service and to 

 make estimates for the expenses for 

 their respective districts, that the 

 funds may be properly distributed. 

 This meeting has just taken place in 

 Washington. The reports show that 

 the affairs of the forests are in excel- 

 lent condition, and no changes in pol- 

 icy are found to be necessary. 



Thirty-Six 



Thousand 



Sheep 



The Forest Service has 

 recommended that the 

 number of sheep allowed 



to graze on the Prescott National For- 

 est in the Territory of Arizona, dur- 



