50 



by au emiiKMit botanist who, in discussing the forestry hiws of several 

 States, said of Indiana that slie liad notliing to offer in this direction. 

 ^^■hi]o tills docs represent the main facts in the case it does by no means 

 tell the whole story. A law passed in ISU!) exempted from taxation pi-r- 

 nianent forest land containing not less than 170 trees per acre and also 

 any areas that might be i)lanted to the same number or more, cultivated 

 a few years and [irotected from cattle for a stated time. A like exemption 

 could l)e secured by bringing land containing 10b or more trees to the same 

 standard and maintaining it as a forest. 



This law has in it much that is good, but the results of its operation 

 demonstrate the ditticidty of accomplishing nmch by legislation without 

 provision for education. This law was intended to indtice owners to secure 

 a. compactness that would make their tindier lands forests in all that this 

 term means to the forester and thus prevent the clearing of land below 

 the point where it ceased to be a. forest and became a woods jiasture. The 

 financial consideration was not enough to attract any veiy large number of 

 people and the farmer was not made to see the beneficial effects of the 

 forest so preserved or th(> possilyility of their management to secure prutit- 

 able returns. Further no attempt was niad(> to direct the owner in his 

 efforts to bring his depleted foi-ests 1o the standard where exemption could 

 be secured and consequently the total acreage was not increased. But 

 284 exemptions, including ~i.'-W2 acres, have been secured in the whole 

 State. 



The law ])asse<l by the last legislature seems to be a wise one in that 

 it places the forestry matters of the State in charge of a pro]>eily organized 

 board Avith authority to make all desirable recommendations for the regu- 

 lation of our forests. The last legislature deserves our special conmiemla- 

 tion in its taking the first official step and establishing a board of for- 

 estry. I am certain that this board will receive the hearty support and co- 

 oi)eration of the Academy of Science and of the public spirited citizens 

 who have for many years persistently urged attention to our forestiy in- 

 terests and thus have opened the way for forestry legislation. To secure 

 any permanent benefits additional laws must be enacted, whenever such 

 as are suitable to our local conditions are suggested, and the campaign of 

 education inaugtu-ated nuist be pushed l>y all friends of forestry. Had the 

 State adopted any radical legislation Avithout the thorough study of the 

 situation within our borders it might have resulted in a misfit, since only 

 those forestrv laws are reallv effective that are based oh the exact needs 



