304 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Just at a time wLcn we were planning and hoping for the 

 establishment of more permanent forest reserves, Mayor 

 Coughlin of Fall River, together with his water commis- 

 sioner and city engineer, called at the office in an official 

 capacity to determine if the State could assist them in con- 

 verting their water basin about Watuppa Pond into a forest, 

 the suggestion having come to the water commissioner when 

 reading an article which appeared in one of the Boston Sun- 

 day papers, on the State Forester's work. The results of 

 this meeting were that the State Forester and his assistant 

 spent a day with the Fall River city officials, made a pre- 

 liminary report, which was accepted, and then a working 

 plan of the whole watershed, which covers an area of over 

 3,000 acres, exclusive of the reservoir itself. This work will 

 appear as a publication from this office later in the year. 



Upon learning of the work at Fall River the town of 

 Westfield applied for a similar examination and plans for 

 its watershed. This report is in progress at the present time. 



Seeing that the work would be of equal interest to many 

 other cities and towns, the State Forester wrote all such, with 

 the result that at the present time we have applications on 

 hand for several more, and this department of the office can 

 see plenty of work ahead of it for some time. It may be 

 said that the cities in each instance have been ready to turn 

 over to the State, for its assistance, the help of its engineers 

 and assistants, so that the expense to the State remains rela- 

 tively low for this work. 



The beauty of this work is that, from whatever standpoint 

 one cares to look at it, it is found to be a great benefit. Prac- 

 tically or economically, sesthetically or from the sanitation 

 standpoint, the city is bound to derive great future benefit. 



Public Lectures and Addresses. 

 The State Forester has done all this kind of work he pos- 

 sibly could, and keep up with the routine work necessary 

 under the present organization. During the winter months 

 one's whole time could be utilized largely in lecture work on 

 forestry, the demands are so great. As heretofore, the policy 

 has been to accept invitations to address public meetings 



