FORESTRY COMMISSIONS PENNSYLVANIA. 179 



copies; to the secretary of agriculture, two thoaeand copies; to the State lil>rari:ui, for distribution among public 

 libraries and for reserve work, live huudrod copies; and to the State agricultural experiment station, one hundred 

 copies. 



Sue. 7. That the secretary of agriculture shall have an office at the .State capitol, and it is hereby made the, 

 duty of the commissioners of public buildings and grounds to provide the necessary rooms, furniture, and apparatus 

 for the use of the department. 



SKC. K. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith be, and the same are hereby, repealed. 



The legislature of IS',17, in addition to passing 



An act making constables of townships ox ollicio lire wardens for the extinction of forest lires, and for 

 reporting to the court of quarter sessions violations of the laws for the protection <>l forests from lire, prescribing 

 the duties of such lire wardens and their punishment for failure to perform the same, and empowering them to 

 require, under penalty, the assistance of other persons in the extinction of such tires; 



and 



An act to amend the first section of an act entitled "An act to protect timber lands from lire," approved 

 the second day of .luue, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and seventy, providing for a penalty in case of 

 the. failure of county commissioners to comply with the terms of said act, after demand made upon them by the 

 commissioner of forestry, and providing for the Commonwealth bearing part of the expenses incurred under said act; 



also, 



An act to autliori/o constables and other peace officers, without first procuring a warrant, to arrest persons 

 reasonably suspected by them of offending against the laws protecting timber lands 



enacted the following- laws, thus firmly establishing a forest policy for the State. 



AN ACT for the preservation of forests and partially relieving forest lands from taxation. 



lie it entti'ted, etc. : 



SECTION 1. That in consideration of the public benefit to be derived from the retention of forest or timber 

 trees, the owner or owners of land in this Commonwealth having on it forest or timber trees of not less than fifty 

 trees to the acre, and each of said trees to measure at least eight inches in diameter at a height of six feet above the 

 surface of the ground, with no portion of the said land absolutely cleared of the said trees, shall, on making due 

 proof thereof, be entitled to receive annually from the commissioners of their respective counties during the period 

 that the said trees are maintained in sound condition upon the said land a sum equal to eighty per centum of all 

 taxes annually assessed and paid upon the said land, or so much of the said eighty per centum as shall not exceed 

 the sum of forty-live cents per acre: Provided, hoirerer, That no one property owner shall be entitled to receive said 

 sum on more than fifty acres. 



SBC. 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. 



AN ACT authorizing the pun-ha-si- hy the Commonwealth of unseated lands for ihe nonpayment of taxes for the purpose of creating a 



stjttr forest reservation. 



He it eiuicleil, etc.: 



Si.cnox 1. That from and after the first day of January, anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and 

 ninety-eight, whenever any unseated lands within this Commonwealth shall, under existing laws, become liable to 

 sale by the respective county treasurers or the county commissioners for non-payment of taxes, it shall be the duty 

 of such treasurers and commissioners to publish a notice once a week for six successive weeks in at least two 

 newspapers of general circulation within the county in which the lands lie, and if two newspapers be not published 

 in said county, then in one newspaper in or nearest to the same, which notice shall contain the names of the owners 

 when known, the warrant numbers, names of warrantees when known, the number of acres contained in each tract, 

 the township in which the same is located, and the sums due upon each tract for taxes, and, further, to mail to the 

 secretary of agriculture and the commissioner of forestry each ten copies of such printed advertisement immediately 

 upon the publication thereof. 



SKC. 2. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of forestry to inquire into and examine the location and 

 character of the lauds so advertised, and if in his judgment the same are so located and are of such a character as 

 to make them desirable to the Commonwealth for the purpose of creating and maintaining a forestry reservation, 

 he shall have power, at his discretion, to purchase any such lands for and in behalf of the Commonwealth at such 

 tax sales, subject to the right of redemption under existing Irtws: Provided, however, That the bid made and the 

 price paid for said lauds shall in no case exceed the amount of taxes for the nonpayment of which the same are 

 being sold, and the costs. For all purchases so made in behalf of the Commonwealth the auditor-general shall 

 draw his warrant upon the State treasurer to the order of the county treasurer, upon certificate filed by the 

 1 commissioner of forestry with the said auditor-general. 



SKC. 3. In the event of redemption of said lands, the redemption money paid shall be remitted to the State 

 treasurer by the county treasurer, with a statement describing the tract of land so redeemed. 



SKC. -I. The title to all lands so purchased, and not redeemed after Ihe expiration of the time limited for 

 redemption, shall be taken as vested in the Commonwealth to the same extent and with like elTcct as though such 

 purchase had been made by an individual at such sale, and the county treasurer shall certify to the secretary nf 

 agriculture lists of all lauds purchased in behalf of the Commonwealth and uot redeemed within the time limited 



