No. 4.] KEPOKT OF STATE FORESTER. 



321 



sprout or scrub land which has been uuderplanted, it is necessary to 

 thin out and trim up the hardwoods in order to prevent too much 

 shade and the destructive thrashing- of the tops of the pines. This 

 process, termed " improvement thinning among planted trees," costs 

 about $6 per acre. 



In the original timber stands the policy has been to take out the 

 mature, undesirable or weak trees, thereby improving the stand by 

 giving more space and air to the strong, hardy specimens. This class 

 of work costs about $20 per acre, but there is a considerable revenue 

 from the wood cut, which in some cases has been sufficient to make 

 the Avork pay for itself. 



Fire Protection. 



Among the greatest dangers to the forests are fires, and in order 

 to prevent their spreading to or from abutting property, and to 

 provide a Ime of defence on which to fight them, a fire guard 40 feet 

 wide has been cut around the entire outside limit of the marginal 

 lands of the reservoir. There is also a network of forest roads 15 feet 

 wide throughout the reservation, which acts as supplementai-y fire pro- 

 tection. The brush and weeds are cut from these two protective 

 systems once every year. 



A double furrow has been plowed along that portion of the fire 

 guard where there was no stone wall, to check the advance of creep- 

 ing fires from neighboring property. 



On holidays and Sundays, di;ring the dangerous seasons of the 

 year (early spring and late fall), men armed with fire extinguishers 

 patrol the reservation to further protect it from the ravages of 

 forest fires. 



Thus far no serious fires have occurred, though several have 

 started which would have caused great damage but for the effectual 

 protection given. 



Table of Work accomplished to Jan. 



Total area of nurseries (acres), 

 Total area planted (acres), 

 Total number of trees planted: — 



Coniferous, .... 



Deciduous, .... 

 Total length of reservoir margin planted 

 Total length of fire guard cleared and maintained (miles), 

 Total length of forest roads cleared and maintained (miles). 

 Planted area thinned (acres), ..... 



Original timber stands thinned (acres), .... 



1, 1909. 



miles). 



1,330 



948.000 



902,000 



32 



20.8 



30 



488 



209 



Table of Costs {Wage Rate, $1.75 j}er Eight-hour Day). 



Nurseries: — 



Clearing nursery on south shore, . . $200 00 per acre. 



Maintenance of nursery, first-year seed- 

 lings, . . . . 1 50 per 1,000 trees. 



Maintenance of nursery, second and third 



year seedlings, . . . . . 1 60 per 1,000 trees per year. 



