FOREST CONDITIONS OF MISSISSIPPI. 69 



local needs; (2) to serve as practical object lessons in forest 

 planting and management. Within the State forests it 

 might be well to establish preserves for the protection and 

 propagation of deer, wild turkey, quail, woodcock, and 

 other game birds. 



These forests should be in all parts of the State, and 

 they should comprise absolute forest land, such as locali- 

 ties unfit for agriculture because they are annually inun- 

 dated or are too hilly to allow of profitable permanent cul- 

 tivation. Many thousand acres of such lands are held at 

 values of from $1 to $5 per acre in the rough hills of north- 

 east Mississippi and the cut-over swamp areas in all parts 

 of the State. 



The State Forester should be empowered to sell timber 

 on terms most advantageous to the State, and the revenue 

 derived from the forests, together with all money obtained 

 from penalties in connection with the forest-fire law, should 

 be placed in the State Treasury in a fund which should be 

 drawn on only for purposes of forestry. 



Forest Fire Legislation. — The chief lack of the forest-fire 

 law in Mississippi is, that it does not provide for a fire- 

 warden system to fight fires and to apprehend and prose- 

 cute offenders against the law. During the past few years 

 the majority of forest laws enacted in the various States 

 have been for protection against forest fires. A study of 

 these laws and a knowledge of the results which have fol- 

 lowed their enforcement, have indicated that certain pro- 

 visions are essential to the successful solution of the forest 

 fire problem. 



The firewarden system should have as its head a State 

 Forester who should also be chief forest firewarden. He 

 should direct the county firewardens in their work and 

 prosecute for all violations of the forest-fire laws. 



In each county there should be one forest firewarden, 

 appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of 

 the State Forester, who, in addition to doing all in his power 

 to extinguish fires, should report to the State Forester as 

 soon as possible, all fires and violations of the forest laws, 

 together with all data which might aid in convicting 



