800 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



would be carefully protected and put to work growing timber for the 

 good of the entire State and which would pay its share of the cost of 

 local roads and schools. 



4. The passing of legislation providing for needed reforms in forest 

 taxation to encourage the growing of timber by private owners. As 

 long as timber is taxed each year the same as an annual crop, private 

 tim.ber production will be financially a losing enterprise. Timber must 

 be taxed as a periodic crop at the time it is cut. the only annual tax 

 being a nominal tax on the land only. 



5. A survey of the State's timber resources and a classification of 

 lands to determine those best adapted to the growing of timber crops. 

 In drawing up adequate plans for developing the timber resources of 

 the State it will be essential to know much more definitely than at 

 present what those resources are, both in young and mature timber and 

 in lands adapted to permanent timber production. 



6. Lazirs to assist in the financing and insurance of timber crops. In 

 addition to tax reform it will be necessary to reduce the carrying 

 charges and increase the safety of the investment in order to make 

 timber growing profitable and attractive to private owners. There 

 will always be large tracts of forest land in private ownership and 

 everything possible should be done to encourage the owners of such 

 land to devote it definitely to the growing of timber crops. Laws are 

 needed providing either for Federal or State forest loan banks which 

 will make long-time loans at low interest rates on growing and well 

 cared for forests. Also timber insurance companies or agencies should 

 be organized either publicly or privately so as to distribute the risk 

 of loss from fire, insects, winds and other destructive agencies. 



7. The establishment of a Federal or State forest experiment station 

 to study the technical problems of JVisconsin forests. The value and 

 necessity of research work and of scientifically established facts is 

 coming to be recognized in every branch of human endeavor. In no 

 activity is it more essential or badly needed than in forestry because 

 mistakes made in handling a crop which matures only once in 50 

 or 100 years are so much more serious in their harmful results and 

 difficult to correct than are mistakes made in growing annual crops 

 or other work of comparatively short duration. Forestry experiments 

 must often run through a long period of years before conclusions can 

 be drawn because of the slow growing character of the crop. Yet our 

 present infornlation is very deficient on technical methods adapted to 



