REVIEWS 655 



Report of the Department of Forestry of the State of Pennsylvania for 

 the Years 1914-15. Harrisburg, Pa. 1916. Pp. 247. 



We have at various times expressed the belief that of all the States, 

 Pennsylvania stands foremost in having really developed a business 

 forest policy. Anyone who wishes to verify the basis for this belief 

 can do so readily by perusing this biennial report. It is business from 

 beginning to end. There is no merely educational or propagandist 

 literature included. The only matter that lies outside the story of the 

 State forest administration — and that perhaps not quite — is a brief 

 account of the luncheon given as a well deserved testimonial to the 

 veteran Dr. Rothrock, who has been mainly responsible for the successful 

 origin and foundation of that administration. 



With around one million acres of State forests as a background — to 

 be sure, mostly cut-over lands — considerable business develops and 

 keeps the staff of 68 foresters, each with a revir, and 85 forest rangers 

 occupied. The detail of their activities is given in a sensible tabular 

 form. The accoimt of their work should be a stimulus for the State to 

 expand the State forest policy, and without swerving, bring as fast as 

 possible the remaining 7,000,000 acres of cut-over lands under State 

 management, while they may still be had for a little over $2 per acre, 

 as the latest purchases have cost. 



The expenditures of this forest service have averaged in the two 

 years for which the report stands around $325,000 per annum, while 

 the receipts were only $28,550 (and since the organization, $104,000), 

 which, by the way, are turned over to the State school fund. But, 

 meanwhile, the properties have been improved by thinnings and 

 plantings, and have been brought into orderly shape for management. 

 The financial definition of forestry still stands: "Making present 

 expsnditures for the sake of a future increased revenue;" and the State 

 must make up its mind that for quite a time to come it will have to 

 make the investmsnt without adequate return, but eventually with as 

 excellent results as the G3rman State forests are yielding: these have 

 lately averaged from around 10 million acres over $3 net per year per 

 acre, good, bad, and indifferent, and there is no reason why similar and 

 even better results should not be experienced in Pennsylvania. 



The bulk of the expenditures, around 40 per cent, goes to the field 

 men; the overhead charges, as far as they can be segregated from the 

 financial statement, are less than 5 per cent; forest fires still consimie 

 about 10 per cent of the expenditure, and the reported fire loss in the 

 State is over $200,000; road and school taxes," 12 per cent, and the State 



