438 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



forestation on such a scale would mean an 

 increase in the water powers of the state 

 of from 100,000 to 300,000 horsepower, an- 

 other element of profit. Growing timber 

 should be taxed no more than growing 

 corn. The tax should be on the tree when 

 cut, was the substance of the contention. 

 Mr. D. Blakely Hoar, speaking for the 

 Chamber of Commerce, buttressed Mr. 

 James's argument. 



New Hampshire. 



Early in June the forestry commission 

 of the state met to receive the report of 

 the state forester on the forest fire pro- 

 tection work, started this spring, and to 

 consider plans of future action. The state 

 forester reported that from the 19th of 

 April to the 9th of June, 1911, twelve thou- 

 sand acres in New Hampshire were burned 

 over. This all happened in the southern 

 part of the state, where celebration of the 

 Massachusetts holiday, the 19th of April, 

 started the conflagration. Ever since that 

 date fire patrol has been maintained and 

 on Sundays the force has been doubled. 

 Each patrolman has put out incipient fires 

 and warned a great number of people, and 

 yet he seems unable to cope with the law- 

 less spirit of the holiday season. 



A tract of land of 210 acres in the town 

 of Warner has been given to the state 

 of New Hampshire for a state forest as 

 a memorial to Walter Harriman, governor 

 of the state from 1867 to 1869. The donor 

 is Joseph R. Leeson of Newton, Massachu- 

 setts, a son-in-law of Governor Harriman. 

 The land lies on the south slope of Stewart 

 Mink Hill, near the birthplace of Governor 

 Harriman. Stewart Mink, the southern 

 extension of the Mink Hills, is over 1800 

 teet high, and commands a view of the 

 entire country from the White Mountains 

 on the north to Monadnock on the south. 



The reservation will be under the care 

 of the forestry commission and will be 

 used as a demonstration forest. It con- 

 tains a small area of old growth spruce 

 near the top of the hill and lower down 

 a mixture of spruce, maple, beech and 

 birch, which gradually emerges into a 

 thrifty stand of pure hardwoods containing 

 a large percentage of red oak. The open 

 land is seeding rapidly to spruce and pine. 

 It is proposed to carry on experimental 

 cuttings to improve the present stands of 

 timber and to plant a variety of species 

 on the open land. 



In giving this land to the state, Mr. 

 Leeson expressed the hope that it may lead 

 to the acquisition of other tracts, on which 

 the principles of forestry may be demon- 

 strated. 



It is much to be desired that the an- 

 nouncei name Walter Harriman Reserva- 

 tion should substitute the term State 

 Forest for Reservation. The latter term is 



a misnomer and is always obnoxious, as 

 was determined in the case of the national 

 forests. State forest, on the other hand, 

 conveys the dignified idea, not of some- 

 thing set apart, but of a useful public 

 domain. 



A New York Appointment. 



William Gibbs Howard, a graduate of the 

 Harvard Forest School of 1908, has been 

 appointed assistant superintendent of for- 

 ests of the state of New York. In addition 

 to forestry work in New England, Mr. 

 Howard has had practical experience in the 

 work of the United States Forest Service 

 in the west. He has also a working fa- 

 miliarity with the New York forestry prob- 

 lems gained by nearly two years' work 

 as forester in the Adirondack forest re- 

 serve. He has been stationed at Albany 

 for two years. 



Washington. 



A new forest fire law became effective 

 in the state of Washington early in June, 

 a law so drastic in its provisions that com- 

 plaint has been made that some of the 

 logging companies may be driven out of 

 business. The new law ranks among the 

 three or four best in the United States 

 except in the matter of appropriation. 



For the most part the law represents the 

 conclusions of the commission appointed 

 by Governor Hay. One of the principal 

 changes made in the law was a reduction 

 of the appropriation asked for. The state 

 has now only $76,000 available for the 

 next two years, although undoubtedly more 

 will be forthcoming if this amount is 

 wisely spent. The following are some of 

 the provisions of the law: The operation of 

 donkey engines is prohibited; logging loco- 

 motives must be watched by track patrol; 

 mill waste cannot be burned unless con- 

 fined; when rights of way are cut for 

 railroads or wagon roads, all the debris 

 must be burned; snags and dead trees shall 

 be cut and disposed of before a slashing 

 fire is set. 



These are some of the provisions of the 

 new law which it is said will drive the 

 lumbermen out of business, but the state 

 of Washington had a bad scare last sum- 

 mer when the extensive forests of the 

 v.'estern part of the state were threatened. 

 And the legislature, at the instigation of 

 the governor, has come to the belief that 

 torest fires and not preventive measures 

 will drive the lumbermen out of business. 



Wisconsin. 



Wisconsin has become the synonym for 

 progressive legislation and the three new 

 bills on the subject of conservation which 

 represent the labors of the special joint 

 committee seem to warrant this reputation. 

 The legislature has recently voted: 



