News and Notes. 357 



Mr. F. W. Besley, State Forester of Maryland, has established 

 two demonstration forests this spring, one near Bowie and the 

 other near Princess Anne, Md. The one at Bowie contains twenty 

 acres of which about fifteen acres, comprising a young stand of 

 mixed hardwoods, will be managed as a woodlot to demonstrate 

 methods of thinnings and improvement cuttings. The other five 

 acres is an old field on which planting experiments will be con- 

 ducted and probably a small nursery started. A three-acre plan- 

 tation of loblolly pine {Piniis taeda) has been started, using 

 three-year old transplants. The object is to introduce this valu- 

 able timber tree into a part of the State where it is not indigenous 

 and where it may supplant the less valuable pitch and scrub pine. 

 The demonstration forest near Princess Anne is a portion of an 

 800 acre tract, and contains a variety of forest types. The 

 demonstration area covers about 30 acres, including the field type 

 now coming up in pine thicket, a pure loblolly pine stand 40 years 

 old, a mixed pine-hardwood stand 30 to 40 years old, and a virgin 

 swamp hardwood type. These different blocks will be given 

 scientific treatment. The old field portion which was only 

 partially seeded, has been fully stocked by transplanting small 

 trees from the heavily seeded to the open places and the other 

 work will be taken up this coming fall. These with the two that 

 were established last year make four demonstration forests 

 under State supervision and control. The ownership of the land 

 does not pass to the State, but by agreement the State Forester 

 makes the plans and superintends the work, while the owner 

 furnishes all labor that may be necessary. These demonstration 

 forests, together with the four State Reserves, will serve to show 

 what practical forest management will do in the different types 

 of woodland in the state. The growing interest in forest manage- 

 ment throughout the State is shown by the increased number of 

 applications for advice in handling forest lands. Since October 

 I St, twenty-eight woodlots and timber tracts, aggregating over 

 8,000 acres, have been examined by the State Forester and plans 

 of management proposed. A number of other applications are 

 yet to be acted upon. 



The forest fire loss in Maryland for 1910 because of peculiar 

 conditions was greater than during the previous year. Sixty-five 

 fires were reported by the Forest Wardens as burning over 

 18,000 acres of woodland and causing a damage of $97,000, in- 



