THE NEW EARTH 



has under forestry control five hundred and 

 sixty thousand acres of timber land, chiefly 

 located in the central portion of the state. 

 As an illustration of the effectiveness of state 

 supervision in the one matter of fires, it is 

 shown that while there were probably three 

 thousand deer-hunters upon the reservations 

 of the state during the month of November, 

 1904, — the deer-shooting season, — ^not a forest 

 fire was reported from this source. A forest 

 academy, under the direction of the state for- 

 ester, has been established. With all efforts 

 to preserve the forests, the rate of cutting still 

 remains greater than the rate of reproduction. 

 One of the very interesting features of forestry 

 in Pennsylvania is the encouraging of the 

 planting and cultivation of osier willows for 

 use in manufacturing baskets for an indefinite 

 number of purposes, — wicker furniture, car- 

 riage and automobile bodies, and so on. With 

 the rise in wood values, boxes made of wood 

 for shipping purposes become more expen- 

 sive, and the willow baskets admirably take 

 their place. The Department of Forestry in 

 Pennsylvania makes note of one hundred and 

 sixty-eight varieties of willows, and suggests 



172 



