Perhaps a better idea may be had of what the size of this block would 

 be by the statement that it will amount to 300 square miles, which is one- 

 quarter of the area of the State of Rhode Island. 



One of the prime requisites for either a state or a national forest is 

 the securing of a large enough tract of timbered land to make scientific 

 forestry possible. By this I mean that the tract should Include sufficient 

 acreage and a sufficient stand of timber of varying ages to justify the log- 

 ging expense of cutting the ripe timber each year. In other words, the 

 yearly cutting would not diminish the resources of the forest but would 

 simply allow the marketing of an amount equal to the yearly crop. After 

 this had been in effect some years the forest would present all ages of 

 timber and perhaps it would be possible to make the more valuable species 

 predominate. Having shown in this article that the state will ultimately 

 possess approximately 300 square miles of contiguous tracts of splendid 

 timbered land, I feel safe in closing with the statement that I have at the 

 same time demonstrated that a state forest will be possible if desired by 

 the people of this commonwealth. 



Courtesy West Coast Lumberman 



Western Red Cedar measuring: 17 feet In 

 diameter 



20 



