448 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



d 



A HliAVY SKCUND GROW ill STAND OF LOBl,OLI.V PlNli, SUCJl AS IS FRliyUENTLY 

 SEEN IN THE LOWER EASTERN SHORE PENINSULA OF MARYLAND. 



cent of woodland is still in excess of 

 local needs. It is estimated that 20% 

 of the total land area is better adapted 

 to a forest growth than for cultivation 

 or pasture, and it is not likely that the 

 woodland will ever be reduced below 

 this percentage. Probably 95% of the 

 woodlands are in small holdings, rang- 

 ing from 5 to 1,000 acres, so that it is 

 difficult to get organized co-operation 

 in fire protection, because of the large 

 number of owners involved. 



Naturally under the diversity of con- 

 ditions that have been indicated, the 

 forest problems of even a small State 

 like Maryland are many and varied. 

 A\'hat is true of Maryland is also appli- 

 cable in most of the eastern states. 



The main forest problems in Mary- 

 land may be classed under : Investi- 

 gation of forest conditions ; Educa- 

 tional work ; Co-operation with land- 

 owners ; The control of forest fires; 

 Acquisition and care of State Forests. 



INVESTIGATION. 



Before any State can adopt an in- 

 telligent forest policy there is the need 

 of reliable information concerning its 



forest resources. This has been se- 

 cured by the difl:"erent states in various 

 ways and in a more or less approxi- 

 mate manner. The first work done in 

 Maryland was the Ijeginning of a for- 

 est survey, by counties, in which all 

 the woodlands were plotted on base 

 maps, drawn on a scale of 1 mile to 

 the inch. All woodlots of 5 acres or 

 more were located as accurately as pos- 

 sible and classified as to character and 

 condition, as nearly as could be done 

 by a superficial examination in driving 

 over the public, and many of the pri- 

 vate, roads. This work has been con- 

 tinued from 1906, until the present 

 time, when the survey of the State 

 has been comi)leted. with the exception 

 of one county. In addition to the for- 

 est map of each county, a large amount 

 of information was obtained as to for- 

 est fires, suilal)le methods of forest 

 management, timber production and 

 uses, market conditions, transportation 

 facilities, the forest fire sentiment in 

 the communities, etc. This first-hand 

 information has enabled the Forester 

 to become intimately acquainted with 

 all sections of the State and the vari- 

 ous conditions that are presented ; the 



