STATE WORK 



Florida. 



A bill introduced by Senator Williams, 

 in the Florida legislature, which is in- 

 tended to promote conservation of the 

 forests of Florida along the line of the 

 national laws, provides for the establish- 

 ment of a state forest commission and 

 the conservation of forest resources of the 

 state. 



The bill provides for the commission con- 

 s-isting of the governor, the commissioner 

 of agriculture, the director of the state 

 experiment station, the attorney general 

 and the state geologist, which commission 

 Dhall act without compensation, but shall 

 be reimbursed for actual necessary ex- 

 penses. It provides also that a state for- 

 ester shall be appointed by the forest com- 

 mission who shall be designated fish, game 

 and forest commissioner, and who must 

 be technically trained. He shall have the di- 

 rection of all piatters pertaining to forestry; 

 have charge of all forest wardens; enforce 

 all laws pertaining to forests and woodland 

 and prosecute for any violation thereof; 

 collect data relative to forest destruction 

 and forest conditions; deliver annually a 

 course of lectures at the University of 

 the State of Florida upon forestry and 

 silviculture; carry on an educational course 

 of lectures on forestry at the farmers' in- 

 stitute, act as secretary to the forest com- 

 mission and prepare an annual report with 

 plans for improving the state system of 

 forest protection, management and replace- 

 ment. 



The state forest commission shall, by this 

 bill, have the power to purchase, in the 

 name of the state, lands suitable for state 

 reserves at a price which shall not exceed 

 one dollar per acre for cut over land and 

 two dollars per acre for any other land. 



The governor of the state is authorized 

 to accept gifts of land and the attorney 

 general is directed to inspect the deeds. 



If, for any cause, lands revert to the 

 state, the title of these lands shall be per- 

 manently vested in the state after a period 

 of two years and shall become, if suitable, 

 a forest reserve. 



Strict penalties are in force against every 

 individual or corporation which carelessly, 

 negligentlj', wilfully, or maliciously sets 

 f.res. 



Logging and railroad locomotives, donkey 

 or threshing engines, operating in, through, 

 or near a forest, which do not burn oil, 



shall be provided with appliances to pre- 

 vent the escape of fire and sparks. 



Upon examination by the commissioner 

 and recommendation of the state commis- 

 sion, state lands suitable for forest growth 

 can be maintained permanently as such. 



Pine trees under ten inches in diameter 

 cannot be boxed one foot above the ground. 

 Railroad ties must be cut from trees which 

 are fourteen inches in diameter or more. 

 Cedars cannot be cut less than eight inches 

 in diameter, six inches above the ground. 



The forest commission is authorized to 

 regulate the sizes of green timber in the 

 different portions of the state. 



The "forest fund" shall be created by a 

 ten-cent stamp which must be affixed to 

 all naval stores. 



Manufacturers of lumber must once a 

 month make a sworn statement to the col- 

 lector of revenues of every thousand feet 

 inanufactured and pay to the collector three 

 cents for every thousand feet, the money 

 to be added to the "forest fund" named 

 above. 



An appropriation of four thousand dol- 

 lars annually for each of the fiscal years 

 1911 and 1912 is made for carrying out 

 the provisions of this act. 



Massachusetts 



Governor Foss has recently (June 10, 

 1911) proposed an amendment to the state 

 constitution in regard to taxation, one 

 portion of which is of interest to the read- 

 ers of Amekicax Forestry. This amend- 

 ment gives to the general court full power 

 "to prescribe for wild or forest lands such 

 methods of taxation as will develop and 

 conserve the forest resources of the com- 

 monwealth." At a hearing on this propo- 

 sition, Henry James, Jr., spoke for the 

 Massachusetts Forestry Association, and 

 urged the adoption of the amendment 

 which, he said, would give relief to the 

 owners of forest lands during the long 

 growth of new timber when the burden of 

 the present tax is too great for the small 

 owner to bear. Mr. James quoted from 

 the report of the state forester that there 

 are three million acres of waste land in 

 Massachusetts which ought to be covered 

 with forests. Following the plan of Europe 

 these forests should yield a revenue of up- 

 wards of $2.50 an acre, thus a revenue of 

 $7,500,000 upward would accrue to the state 

 and, Mr. James went on to point out, re- 



437 



