FOREST SERVICE. 407 



forest policy, (2) assisting them to determine the extent and value 

 of their forest resoiirees, and (3) assisting j)rivatc owners in the ])rac- 

 tical application of forestry to their lands. All cooperative woik is 

 done at the request of States or ])rivate owners, and they always share 

 in its expense. The assistance given is educational as well as advisory, 

 and the ])utting of the recommendations into effect rests entirely with 

 the State or the private owner. 



The obstacles to the ])ractice of forestry by private owners are 

 chiefly the danger from hie and the burden of a iault}^ system of forest 

 taxation. Both fall within the field of state action; but the Forest 

 Service stands ready to help the States in every way it can to work 

 out a wise course of action. Many States have requested assistance 

 in develo])ing a forest i)olicy. The recommendations of the Forest 

 Service have ordinarily covered the appointment of a state forester 

 or a forestry bureau to supervise the forest work of the State and to 

 cooperate with private owners in assisting them to manage their forest 

 lands ])ro})erly; the enactment of laws for the protection of forest 

 lands from lire by establishing fire warden systems, placing reason- 

 able restrictions upon the use of fire, and providing suitable penalties 

 for their infraction; the adjustment of taxes on forest lands so as to 

 encourage the private owner to cut his timber conservatively and 

 retain the land for future production; and the purchase or retention 

 by the State of timbered or cut-over lands suitable for permanent 

 state forests. 



Preliminaiy examinations of forest conditions were made in Vir- 

 ginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana, in cooperation w^ith 

 difi'erent state departments. In all these States the forest -fire 

 problem is a serious one, and in the rej)orts on these examinations fire- 

 protective systems were outlined. In Virginia particular attention 

 was given the woodlots of shortleaf pine in the Piedmont region, 

 with the view of hel})ing the farmers to protect and make better use 

 of this timber and" to j)ut it under practical forest management. In 

 South Carolina, Mississip])i, and Louisiana the chief forest problems 

 besides fire are unrestricted grazing, waste in logging, and waste in 

 tun)entining. 



Besides these preliminary examinations of forest conditions, 

 detailed examinations were made in Illinois, western Kentucky, and 

 western North Carolina. In Illinois the Forest Service cooperated 

 with the state laboratory of natural history. The chief ]u-oDlem in 

 that State is the care of the farmer's woodlot. Cooperation in Ken- 

 tucky with the state board of agriculture, forestry, and immigration 

 has covered three successive fiekl seasons. The forests of the entire 

 State have now l)een examined and ma])]ie(l, and recommendations 

 for a state forest ])olicy have been made. The total amount of timber 

 in the State is estimated at 23,000,000,000 board feet. At the pres- 

 ent rate and under present methods of cutting this amount will last 

 about fifteen years. It can be made continuous, however, through the 

 ])ractice of forestry. In North Carolina an examination similar to 

 that in Kentucky was com])leted for the western part of the State. 

 This work is in cooj^eration with the State Geological and Economic 

 Survey and will probal)ly continue until tlie entire State is covered. 

 These detailed examinations are practically a stock taking of the for- 

 est resources of the States. 



In Wisconsin a study was made in cooperation with the state for- 

 ester to show the relation of forest taxation to forestry and to the 



