168 American Horticultural Society. 



Aside from this legislation, which places the timber lands of the nation 

 under a forest administration, and the natural consequences which inii^ht 

 culminate in the establishment of a national school uf forestry, and in the 

 planting to forests of the abandoned militiiry reservations, the rest is best 

 done by the several states. The time has come for everi/ state to make a be- 

 ginning in rational forest legislation, for tliose which b ive still large forest 

 areas of virgin timber, as well as for those who have their forest wealth 

 reduced to coppice and second growth, or, worse to useless brushwoods, 

 and for those who have to plant their first forests. 



No sUile can afford to day to be without an energetic forest commissioner 

 or forestry commission, or somebody charged especially with the care of 

 her forestry interests. With such an office esUiblished and suitably provided 

 for, I have hopes that threatening dangers may still be averted, and that 

 reasonable measures may be effectively applied which will lead to a recog- 

 nition of the self-protective interest which the community his in the forest 

 areas. The first legislation then is for jirolection of what we have. Protec- 

 tion against fire is needed more than anything else. Though most states 

 have some such legislation, but few have satisfactory and eliective laws, and 

 hardly any the machinery to ])ut them into practice. To provide such ma- 

 chinery is the most import<xnt point in all legislation. With a forest com- 

 missioner to look after the execution of the law, desirable effects can be ex- 

 pected from either the Massachusetts, Pennsylvania or Canada plan for 

 dealing with forest fires, described elsewhere. These plans, which call for the 

 co<lperation of the community in an organized manner, can be set in opera- 

 tion in every state without involving any new ideas of state interference. 



In some localities the forest cover is of such importance that its removal, 

 or even deterioration, brings, in time, hardships upon large districts which 

 depend for the regularity of their water sujiply upon such forests. Here 

 enters a new aspect of legislation, for which there seems to be no precedent, 

 unless we can find one in the control of waters and roivds, in which the higher 

 rights of the community allow interference with private rights. Such local- 

 ities, however, are not very frequent except in mountain districts. Moimtain 

 forests such as have been described, must either bo owneil by the state, com- 

 munity or county or else their interference in the manner of utilizing the 

 same is called for. 



A state law which will encourage the holding of forest areas by town- 

 ships or counties, and their administration under direction of the forestry 

 commission or commissioners, is highly desirable. There is uj reason why 

 a township or county should not own and manage a forest, when it is in the 

 interest of the community to so own forest property, just as they own and 

 build roads, bridges and school-houses, or as a city owns its municipal build- 

 ings and other property. Next to such direct forest legislation, much can 

 be done indirectly, and in this the most import;intstep is todispel ignorjuice — 

 ignorance as to supply and demand ; ignorance as to technical value of 

 different timbers, as to value of forests in general ; ignorance as to the man- 



