436 United States. 



INSULAR POSSESSIONS. 



The Spanish War, in 1898, brought to the United 

 States new outlaying territory, over 150,000 square miles, 

 in three locations, the relationship as regards government 

 varying in the three cases, namely Porto Rico, the Sand- 

 wich Islands, and the Philippine Islands, besides several 

 smaller islands in the Pacific Ocean. 



While the latter are only temporarily under control 

 or tutelage of the United States, and are expected sooner 

 or later to attain complete self government, Hawaii was 

 annexed as a Territory in the same sense as all other 

 Territories, the inhabitants having become citizens of 

 the United States, while Porto Rico is a dependency 

 with partial self-government, but its inhabitants do not 

 enjoy citizenship in the States. 



All these islands are located in the tropics and hence 

 the composition of the forest is of tropical species. 



Commercially, the forests of Porto Rico and of Hawaii 

 are relatively of little value, but their protective value 

 is paramount, and a conservative policy is needed in 

 order to preserve the water supply for agricultural use 

 (sugar plantations in Hawaii) and to prevent erosion. 



For Porto Rico, a beginning of forest policy was 

 made by setting aside, in 1903, the Luquillo Forest Re- 

 servation, some 20,000 acres in the Eastern mountain- 

 ous part of the island, which is under direct control of 

 the United States government. The rest of public lands 

 and forests was placed under the Department of the 

 Interior of the island. 



In Hawaii, even before annexation, a movement on 



