38 STATE BOAED OF FOEESTEY 



osition for about 200 acres of their land. The Board, therefore, 

 has under management at the present time 1,665 acres along the 

 Patapsco river. Other tracts are now being considered for purchase, 

 and it is the intention of the Board to proceed with the acquisition 

 of lands that can be purchased at a reasonable price on the Patapsco 

 watershed. 



The State Board of Forestry now maintains a patrolman to protect 

 them from fire and trespassers, and has cut a number of trails 

 through the woods for the use of the public. In co-operation with 

 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, a fire line 100 feet wide, 

 in which the undergrowth has been cut out and all inflammable 

 material raked up, piled and burned, has been constructed along the 

 exposed portions of the woodlands between Orange Grove and 

 Hollofield. 



A field party was employed almost the entire summer in surveys 

 for the purpose of preparing an accurate, large-scale topographic 

 map (200 feet to the inch) to be used as a base for locating property 

 lines and all topographic features, and to serve as a working map for 

 the entire Patapsco area. 



In accordance with the objects stated above, the plan of manage- 

 ment for these lands covers three important points : 



(a) To put them in the best condition by removing dead and de- 

 fective trees and in planting the open lands. 



(&) To make the area thoroughly accessible by construction of 

 roads and trails. 



(c) To give the greatest measure of protection by maintaining a 

 patrol to look out for fires and any depredations by the public, and 

 the construction of fire lines to reduce the danger from railroad fires. 



FOREST INVESTIGATIONS. 



The Board of Forestry has from its organization, in 1906, carried 

 on extensive investigations to determine the forest conditions in 

 the State, and to devise methods for their improvement, believing 



