434 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



NEW YORK FORESTRY MATTERS. 



PROF. S. B. GREEN, ST. ANTHONY PARK. 



The state of New York has a state forest commission that is 

 in charge of the state forests, their protection and renewal, and the 

 care and protection of the game and fish. It is known as the 

 "New York State Fish and Game Commission." Formerly, it was 

 composed of several members, but a recent act of the legislature 

 has changed this so that now there is but one commissioner. 



I recently had the pleasure of visiting the state forests near 

 Saranac Lakes, in the Adirondacks, in company with General C. C. 

 Andrews, chief forest fire warden of Minnesota ; Colonel William 

 F. Fox, superintendent of the New York forests, and Professor 

 Knechtel, the forester of the New York Game and Fish Commis- 

 sion. 



The state of New York has for a number of years followed the 

 practice of buying up forest lands in the Adirondacks and Catskills 

 with the object of creating immense parks for the use of the citi- 

 zens of the state. It is paying as high as seven and eight dollars 

 per acre for much of this land. Altogether the state now holds 

 about a million and a half acres in these parks and in sundry de- 

 tached pieces elsewhere. Previous to the last New York state 

 constitutional convention there had been so much irregular work 

 in connection with the state forests that there was inserted in the 

 constitution at that time a clause which prohibits the sale or lease 

 for revenue of any portion of the lands held by the state. This 

 handicaps the work of the forest, game and fish commission, since 

 they could lease a large number of camp sites that would pro- 

 duce them a revenue of forty or fifty thousand dollars per year, 

 and they have some forest lands that need improvement cuttings 

 in order to bring them into the best condition. An eflfort is now 

 being made to secure an' amendment to the constitution permitting 

 the leasing of camp sites and improvement cuttings, so that the 

 forests may produce some revenue. 



When New York began to acquire land for forest reserves, it 

 found great opposition from local authorities, as they were afraid 

 of having the land tied up in such a way that it would not bring 

 in taxes for local improvements. The matter has now been settled 

 by the state paying taxes for local improvements to the same amount 

 as private individuals. 



The state forests are very popular with the guides and citizens 

 generally. They are open to all citizens of the state alike. There 

 is a great deal of opposition here to large private holdings, which 

 formerly were enclosed with fences and travel over them forbidden 



