32 FOREST commissioner's REPORT. 



nearly two-thirds the entire area, and that the annual yield is about 

 500 million feet of lumber which is worth, ready for market, at least 

 six million dollars. The lumber industry, therefore, is of the great- 

 est importance to the State. 



It is of the utmost concern to owners of timber lands, or those in 

 any way connected with the lumber industry, that they inform them- 

 selves upon all matters relating to forest management and the care 

 of lumber after it is cut, so that the greatest returns he realized from 

 the money invested. There should be in the State a permanent 

 forestry organization and it is a matter of surprise that one has not 

 been formed before this. Such an organization would serve a good 

 purpose in directing and moulding public opinion in reference to the 

 proper management and preservation of our forests; by co-opera- 

 tive study give a more exhaustive consideration of the forestry prob- 

 lems of the State and suggest to the legislature more efficient laws 

 to protect our forest areas from wanton destruction and increase 

 their productiveness. This convention is therefore opportune and 

 should result in a permanent organization and the appointment of 

 committees to take into immediate consideration matters pertaining 

 to the forestry interests of the State. 



Let us now turn our attention to a consideration of some of the 

 forestry questions of Maine. 



Our country is so new, and so little data has been collected, that 

 it is difficult to discuss the problems with as much positiveness as 

 has been done in the foreign countries. Having suffered to their 

 fullest extent the evil effects of forest denudation, and also havino- 

 enjoyed the good effects of reforestation, the experience of foreign 

 countries will be valuable to us. 



It is to these countries we must go to learn the capacity of forest 

 lands to yield a perpetual supply, and the benefits to accrue from a 

 proper management of forest areas. History tells us that countries 

 once populous and productive, have been converted into barren 

 wastes, by cutting forests from the sources of streams. Also, that 

 by reforestation, barren, unproductive areas, have been reclaimed, 

 made fertile, and capable of sustaining a dense population. By a 

 proper system of cultivation, and a rational forestry policy, foreign 

 governments have made forest lands exceed the natural production, 

 several fold. To a limited extent, the evil effects of deforestation, 

 and the benefits of planting trees, have already become apparent in 

 this country. 



