STATE OWNERSHIP OF FOREST LANDS 969 



On steep mountain slopes in a glaciated region, as in the Northeast, 

 all the king's horses and all the king's men cannot restore forest condi- 

 tions after the soil is gone. Only after centuries can the flat-rooted 

 spruce and balsam succeed in re-covering the sloping granites. In this 

 region ordinary lumbering alone, without the aid of fire, not infre- 

 quently causes total erosion of the soil. On the other hand, the degree 

 of soil destruction is very often found to be less, upon close examina- 

 tion, than the striking change in the appearance of the land after the 

 cutting of the dense virgin forest would lead one to believe at first 

 glance. For example, in the 10,000,000 or 12,000,000 acres of the 

 spruce region comprised in Maine, modern lumbering methods jeopard- 

 ize only the steepest mountain slopes, a total area of less than 3 per cent 

 of this region. On all except these occasional very steep slopes abun- 

 dant reproduction is of general occurrence even after clean cutting, and 

 if adequate fire protection is afforded ordinary lumbering does not effect 

 the permanent productivity of the forest soils. The proportion of for- 

 est soils jeopardized by modern methods is, of course, greater in regions 

 more mountainous than Maine ; but in many States adequate fire pro- 

 tection for the forests as a whole would afford the necessary protection 

 for the special areas where forest destruction appears to be particularly 

 threatened. 



It is conceivable, too, that there are soils which promise so little that 

 it is not worth the attention and energy of the State at the present time 

 to protect them. Obviously some lands will not be developed as soon 

 as others, and the poorer must await the requirements of a larger popu- 

 lation. The plea of jeopardy to certain areas may or may not, there- 

 fore, be a sound argument for State ownership. Observation must 

 determine two essential facts : first, whether or not the soil destruction 

 is actual and serious, and second, whether or not adequate fire protec- 

 tion for the forests of the State as a whole will provide the necessary 

 safeguard for the areas where soil destruction is particularly threatened. 



(4) Demonstration Tracts 



The acquisition of forest reserves to serve as demonstration areas is 

 particularly exemplified by the small reserves established in Vermont, 

 Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, and Indiana, and the lots secured 

 under the reforestation law in Massachusetts. 



In determining the proper policy in respect to the establishment of 

 reserves for this purpose, the first question to be considered is whether 

 the State can demonstrate anything which the private owner can imitate. 

 In the northern hardwood region, for example, where conditions render 



