482 



CONSERVATION 



propriation of the legislature 



has thus 



far established three game preserves 

 within the state since 1905 for the prop- 

 agation of game protected by law. The 

 Fish Commission is stocking the 

 streams of the state with various spe- 

 cies of fish, and generally, are favoring 



Breaking Ground for Nursery at Asaph, Pa. 



the Forest Reserves in allotments. The 

 Forest Reserves indeed are fast becom- 

 ing the sporting grounds of the 

 commonwealth. 



(4) Because of the privileges grant- 

 ed in the form of permits to camping 

 parties ; picnics being allowed for a day 

 without such permits, although regula- 

 tions must be obeyed. Thus the popula- 

 tion of the cities has privileges which 

 are public and without discrimination. 



(5) Because of the advantages given 

 in private commercial economy. The 

 Department has the approbation of the 

 commercial interests of the state in the 

 promulgation and furtherance of its 

 policies. This interest takes a moral as 

 well as a business aspect although the 

 moral aspect finds its adherents in 

 others besides the commercial interests. 

 The business interest sees for its pos- 

 terity the redemption of a moneyed 

 cause ; the moral interest the well-being 

 and pleasures of its descendants ; the 

 business interests depend on it for the 

 continuance of commercial aggression, 

 the moral interest for the dependence 

 and stability of human wants. 



The commercial interests, of course, 

 include the lumbermen. State Forester 

 Wirt stated the attitude of the lumber- 

 men very effectively after a recent in- 



vestigation of the matter when he said : 

 "Lumbermen who operate largely are 

 almost wholly reconciled to the policies 

 advocated by the Forestry Department ; 

 the discontent is evident among 

 those who do not understand the 

 proposition." 



(6) The farmer is naturally interest- 

 ed more in his woodlot, which ques- 

 tion I do not intend discussing. (Let 

 me say that I wish to discuss only the 

 situation with regard to state land and 

 that only in brevity, for fear of extend- 

 ing this article to undue length.) But 

 he also has both the business and the 

 moral interest — business interest for 

 the propagation of trees for the making 

 of fence posts, rails, building material, 

 etc., for the continuity and perpetuity 

 of value of property for himself and 

 descendants, and also that moral inter- 

 est inherent in the majority of us, 

 namely, the perpetuity of comforts and 



Preparing for Transplanting 



benefits of the influence exerted by the 

 forest. Lindoubtedly, the farmer views 

 the question of water conservation with 

 the least complacency, for it is he who 

 gets the direct results in this respect, 

 for inundation during flood time is the 

 cause of considerable loss to the farmer 



