STATE NEWS 



Vermont 



The Republican Party in Vermont has 

 adopted the following plank in its platform : 



"The maintenance of the forests of the 

 State is of prime importance. We believe 

 that adequate measures should be taken by 

 the General Assembly to safeguard the for- 

 ests from insect ravages, fires and other de- 

 structive agencies; that the forestry branch 

 of the State government should be strength- 

 ened and that forest tracts suitable for 

 nurseries and for demonstration of the most 

 approved forestry methods shsuld be ac- 

 quired and utilized for these purposes in 

 various parts of the State. 



"We approve the present policy of encour- 

 aging private owners to re-forest their waste 

 lands in an intelligent manner. Conservation 

 of such woodlands should be fostered by a 

 liberal tax policy." 



The State has just acquired two new State 

 forests : one of between 800 and 1,000 acres, 

 including Bald Mountain in Mendon, about 

 three miles from the city of Rutland ; the 

 other in Townshend of about 700 acres in the 

 beautiful West River valley of Southern 

 Vermont. Both of these tracts are admirably 

 located for demonstration purposes. 



Colorado 



Every day has been Arbor Day high up on 

 the slopes of Pike's Peak lately. Govern- 

 ment forestry officials have been replanting 

 a vast area which was fire swept more than 

 fifty years ago. Hundreds of thousands of 

 pine seed and young trees have been planted 

 on barren slopes, marking the first important 

 step toward reforesting the entire Rocky 

 Mountain range — or so much as is included 

 in the national forests. 



With the denuded areas on the slopes of 

 the Rockies covered with a sturdy growth 

 of young trees, the snowfall in the moun- 

 tains will be much slower in melting. This 

 will hold back the waters which now rush 

 to the Mississippi Valley from the Rocky 

 Mountain watershed in April and Ma}'. 

 These late floods have done the most damage 

 this season, as their addition to streams al- 

 ready bank full has proved too great a strain 

 for levees. 



Minnesota 



The importance of the forests in the south- 

 eastern part of Minnesota and the oppor- 

 tunities for further economic value are little 

 realized, in the opinion of W. F. Cox, state 

 forester, who returned yesterday from an 

 extensive trip. The forestry service has 



538 



started an investigation of the situation, 

 looking toward the protection of the forests 

 in that portion of the State. 



"Certain counties have about half forested 

 land, in spite of the fact the country has 

 been settled longer than other parts of the 

 state," said Mr. Cox. "These lands, of 

 course, are the rougher lands, either quite 

 hilly or lie along the bluffs of the rivers, 

 like the Zumbro and the Cannon. The forests 

 consist o_f hardwood, oaks of several kinds, 

 maple, elm, basswood and a great variety of 

 other kinds. 



"There is an opportunity for a great many 

 small cities and villages to own municipal 

 forests, particularly at the source of their 

 water supply. Such forests would pay well 

 and at the same time keep the source of 

 water supply free from contamination. The 

 bluffs along some of the rivers are all par- 

 ticularly adapted for municipal forests. They 

 could be bought cheaply and would make 

 beautiful parks." 



South Dakota 



Two years ago the forest service seeded 

 with pine a tract of 500 acres near Savoy in 

 the Spearfish canyon countrv and results 

 manifest thus far show that the work will 

 prove a success. The young trees are up 

 over the entire tract and appear to be strong 

 and healthy. In most instances they have 

 already attained a height of six or eight 

 inches. 



In the Redfern district, where a tract of 

 several hundred acres was seeded at the 

 same time, the results have not been so suc- 

 cessful, although in many places there a new 

 growth of pine has started, which promises 

 to develop well. On the whole, the growth 

 there is not as good as in the Spearfish dis- 

 trict, but the work is far from being un- 

 successful. 



Ne"w York 



Nearly 3,000,000 acres of land in New 

 York State, or about 8 per cent of the total 

 area of the State, are in immediate need of 

 reforestation, being now without profitable 

 growth of any kind, is the statement of the 

 conservation commission based on a careful 

 survey just completed. 



To encourage the farmers of the State to 

 recover these waste lands and to instruct 

 them how to restore and handle his woodlot 

 so as to produce the best results is one of 

 the important undertakings of the conser- 

 vation commission, which was created by 

 Governor Dix and the Democratic legisla- 

 ture. 



