THE FORESTS OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 





EXPLANATION OF SURVEY. 



The survey of the several towns of Plymouth County is the 

 second work of this kind attempted by the State forestry 

 department. The other survey, that of Worcester County, was 

 carried on at odd times, and extended over a period of three 

 years. The data were collected and published last winter in the 

 form of a bulletin, which was entitled " The Forests of Worcester 

 County." 



In the Worcester County bulletin the reasons for making 

 forest surveys of the different counties of Massachusetts were 

 explained in detail, but it will not be amiss here to review 

 briefly some of the main reasons. 



Every manufacturing concern or business of any kind at 

 some time or other takes an inventory of its stock. Without 

 such an inventory no business can be carried on to the best 

 advantage. The stock, or raw material, of forestry work is 

 forest land, and since the State forestry department of Massa- 

 chusetts is just what its name implies, the raw material with 

 which this department must deal is the forest lands of Massa- 

 chusetts. 



If the woodlands of Massachusetts were made up of but one 

 or two species of trees, or if the various species of trees were all 

 of the same height or diameter size, this inventory would be a 

 comparatively simple matter. But such conditions do not exist. 

 Scattered throughout the State are many different kinds of trees 

 differing greatly in importance, value, life habits, etc., from 

 each other. Moreover, since the woodlands have been repeat- 

 edly cut over at different times for many years, we find existing 

 a variegated collection of trees of all sizes and conditions; in 

 fact, nearly every woodlot differs to a greater or less extent 

 from others. 





