460 
indicate that the time for destructive criticisms of present attempts for 
its solution has passed, and that the time has arrived for cooperation in 
this work. If this cannot be given, the criticism should at least be con- 
structive. In eight years of service on the State Board of Forestry, it 
has been my privilege to hear many sharp criticisms of its personnel and 
its work, but in all that time there has come neither to the board nor to 
any individual member of it a single suggestion as to how either might be 
improved. 
It may be assumed without argument that a complete invoice of the 
present stand, as to amount, composition and distribution is absolutely ne- 
cessary in order to secure results which are even approximately satisfac- 
tory. As a matter of fact, it has been demonstrated that with the present 
sources of information and with the present limitations as to the functions 
of the State Board of Forestry the collection of such data is absolutely im- 
possible. Yet, it is evident that such a census of our forests and such knowl- 
edge of their composition and distribution are conditions precedent to any 
successful work looking to the maintenance of our timber supply. It is 
at this point that the state should cooperate with the National Forest 
Service. In many states, such a ferest census has been or is being taken, 
the Forest Service detailing experts for the work and the state paying the 
expenses of the survey. Such cooperation gives the most complete, the 
most accurate and the most easily comparable results in the shortest time 
and at the least expense. If such cooperative work is impossible, then the 
Board of Forestry should as rapidly as its means will permit, collect and 
organize information covering these points. The slightest consideration 
of the future of the forests and of the wood-working industries of the 
state will show that the results of such a census would prove of the high- 
est importance, not only in determining the policy of the state but in em- 
phasizing the significance and value of existing timbered areas. 
There is need also of much more exact and indeed of much additional 
knowledge in relation to the selection of species for planting in the differ- 
ent soil, drainage and exposure conditions of the state. There is need 
also of equally exact. knowledge concerning the silvical qualities of these 
species, the most economical methods of propagation, their spacing in 
plantings, their cultivation and care and above all their rate of growth 
under variant conditions. The securing of such data is a matter of years 
of continuous experimentation and this work the state is properly under- 
