510 JOURNAI. OF FORESTRY 



localities and under specific conditions the practice is also recommend- 

 able for private effort. 



The planting of forest trees, both native and foreign species, has 

 been a common practice in Pennsylvania since 1728, when John Bar- 

 tram established his botanical garden on the banks of the Schuylkill 

 River. In the early days, the effort consisted chiefly in planting indi- 

 vidual trees or estabHshing groves, parks, or arboretums. About 1910 

 the early plantations established on the State forests began to show up 

 and serve as real object lessons to the citizens of the State, most of 

 whom had been skeptical about the outcome of planting small forest 

 trees. The success of this novel undertaking was heralded across the 

 State and private owners of forest land began to inquire about the 

 advisability of reforesting their idle land. It soon became evident that' 

 the time was at hand for the Department of Forestry to launch a co- 

 operative scheme for reforestation of thousands of acres of private- 

 ly owned forest land within the State. In 1909 an act was approved 

 by the Governor permitting the distribution of planting stock at the cost 

 of production. During the first year of this co-operative scheme 66,374 

 trees were distributed to private planters. Five years of effort in this 

 direction convinced those in charge of the work that a fuller degree of 

 co-operation on the part of the State was recommendable. Conse- 

 quently, in 1915, a new act was passed and approved which authorized 

 the Department of Forestry to grow young forest trees and distribute 

 them to persons desiring to plant them within the State, the applicants 

 paying only he cost of packing and shipping. 



The impetus which this act gave to private forest tree planting was 

 almost phenomenal. The following table shows the prodigious growth 

 of the practice : 



Number of trees distributed 

 Year to private planters 

 lyiO 66,374 



1911 25,360 



1912 66,854 



1913 47,770 



1914 ■ 108,685 



1915 115,577 



1916 1,471,875 



1917 1,812,997 



1918 2,186,899 



1919 3,139,631 



, ■ Total 9,042,022 



