8 



and runs up to five thousand dollars in cities, the community 

 must spend from its own funds, provided the conditions call 

 for it. Where amounts in excess of the liability are spent by 

 the towns, the whole or portion of said excess is reimbursed 

 by the State to the town, such reimbursement depending upon 

 the valuation of the town. Formerly such reimbursement 

 was paid in money, but now such payments are made as far 

 as possible in the form of supplies, as it has been found that 

 the State can secure supplies cheaper than the towns and 

 thus the money goes further. 



In combating insects the State forester is limited to work 

 against the gypsy and brown-tail moths. In regard to other 

 insects he can act only in an advisory capacity, and if towns 

 wish to combat such a pest they must do so at their own ex- 

 pense, through a special appropriation. 



The State Forester is superintendent of moth work. He 

 has an assistant who supervises the work of the five district 

 moth superintendents. There is in addition a purchasing 

 agent, who looks after the buying and distribution of the 

 supplies used in the moth work and incidentally does the 

 same service for the other branches of the Department. 



Forest Utilization. 



Special conditions sometimes call for an effort not specifi- 

 cally provided for by law, and such is the work of this branch. 

 Owing to the depredations of the gypsy moth, a great deal 

 of the oak timber in the eastern part of the State has been 

 killed or partially killed, and the normal market for this 

 material was overflowed, with the result that much valuable 

 wood was going to waste because there was no profitable 

 outlet for it. Furthermore, it has been scientifically dem- 



