No. 4.] REPORT OF STATE FORESTER. 329 



State treasury with interest. This, therefore, eliminates as 

 a real out-go from the State treasury fully one-half of the 

 annual appropriation made for this office. 



We are convinced that the enactments passed in recent 

 years are proving their value. Now that we have our corps 

 of 350 forest wardens appointed and in the harness, let us 

 give them every legitimate worthy support possible. With 

 an early convention of the forest wardens, I am sure the re- 

 sults to come from such would be regained financially an 

 hundred fold in a single year. The State Forester could 

 utilize the services of forest wardens in various towns to a 

 great advantage along many mutual lines, were there more 

 funds that would permit it. Where such work is left to the 

 towns, many are likely to be indifferent, while, if awakened 

 by a general current of live endeavor on the part of the State, 

 they catch the spirit and realize the importance of self- 

 preservation. As soon as we have our forest wardens thor- 

 oughly familiar with the great good to be accomj^lished, they 

 are going to impart its importance to the towns they repre- 

 sent. 



As I stated last year, the State Forester hopes to so edu- 

 cate his wardens that they will become in a sense town forest- 

 ers, who shall keep the importance of forestry and how to 

 perpetuate and manage the same practically directly before 

 the people. With such an organization, when gypsy moths, 

 pine blight, fires, etc., are troublesome, or, on the other hand, 

 when people desire to reforest lands or thin and give proper 

 care to their wood lots, in either case here is a man to whom 

 they may look for advice. Is not the State making an ex- 

 penditure here that will ultimately bring a great reward ? 



In establishing workable State forest policies, as in every 

 other new undertaking that requires an expenditure of 

 money, we are inclined to be conservative. When we real- 

 ize, however, that many of our small towns are paying large 

 sums annually simply for fighting forest fires, which expendi- 

 ture is a constant drain and too often a total loss, to say 

 nothing about the actual loss in present and future forest 

 products, I am sure that business and thinking men can see 

 that it is simply a losing proposition not to definitely and at 



