66 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [DEC. 9, 



sixteen counties. Of this, about 88,000 acres have been added 

 since 1886 by forfeitures through tax sales, — the only provision 

 tbus far made for increasing the State's holdings. Tbe lands thus 

 acquired are generally of the most worthless character, denuded 

 of timber, and largely rendered incapable of tree-growth for a 

 century to come, through the frequent ravages of forest-fires. 



The counties of Essex, Franklin, and Hamilton, constituting 

 the most important part of the Adirondack water-shed, embrace 

 within their borders 3,448,960 acres, of which the State owns 

 €15,744 acres, — less than 18 per cent, — scattered in compara- 

 tively small bodies amidst the holdings of private or corporate 

 owners. 



This is a fair presentation of the most important forestry 

 legislation in New York, with the exception of an act establish- 

 ing Arbor Day, approved by the Governor April 30th, 1888. 



It is perhaps the best that could have been secured at the 

 time, in view of the powerful opposition of some of the lumber- 

 men in the northern part of the State. 



The administration of our forestry laws has not checked the 

 progress of forest denudation in the State, and especially in the 

 Adirondack region. 



On the contrary, the lumbering interests there have continu- 

 ally increased and grown more active. Under the influence of 

 a growing demand for forest products and of better facilities 

 for transportation, this industry has been carried into the heart 

 and centre of this great water-shed, where tower the loftiest 

 peaks, and from whose heights the great rivers of the State have 

 their beginning. Here Mt. Marcy rises more than 5,000 feet 

 above the sea, and up near its top is a beautiful lake, embowered 

 in overshadowing forests, in which the Hudson takes its begin- 

 ning. A short distance to the westward, Mt. Mclntyre, "The 

 Thunderer, '^ rises to nearly the same height, and also has a lake 

 ** above the clouds '' that is another source of the Hudson. And 

 there stand the neighboring mountains, all rising to great 

 heights and together forming the crown of the principal water- 

 shed of the State. 



This region, while covered with the primeval forests, was of 

 enchanting beauty, and most impressive in the grandeur of its 

 scenery. 



But to-day the lumbermen are there by the hundreds, busy 

 in stripping the mountain-sides and valleys of their valuable cov- 

 ering, leaving in their wake the debris to feed the' destructive 

 fires when the dry season comes. 



In this central region, and within a short radius of Mt. Marcy, 

 the Hudson, Ausable, St. Regis, Raquette, and Mohawk have 

 their source; and the lands around their head-waters, with the 



