312 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



ests." In referring to Pennsylvania's ad- 

 vanced position, he paid a tribute to the work 

 of Dr. J. T. Rothrock and Miss Mira L. 

 Dock. 



Pennsylvania has 916,569 acres of state 

 forests, and trains its own forest force at its 

 academy at Mont Alto under Chief For- 

 ester George H. Wirt. Thirty graduates of 

 the school were present at the convention and 

 discussed with intelligence and understanding 

 problems of their work. What the Pennsyl- 

 vania foresters are looking forward to is the 

 putting once more under forest cover of the 

 9,000,000 acres of land in the state that are 

 unfitted for agriculture. It is a splendid ob- 

 ject and a great task, and one that means 

 much for the future of the state. The forest 

 problem is studied more completely in Penn- 

 sylvania, and is being worked out more along 

 the lines of German scientific forestry than 

 in any other commonwealth of the United 

 States. At this meeting the whole forest 

 problem, as it affects state, nation, and the 

 individual was considered, and in a most 

 admirable spirit. The following declaration 

 of principles of the Pennsylvania Department 

 of Forestry was adopted : 



"The Pennsylvania Department of Forestry 

 in every part of its organization, being mind- 

 ful of the interests of the farmer, the lum- 

 berman, the manufacturer, the dwellers in 

 cities, the continued health and prosperity of 

 a long-lived commonwealth, has since its 

 organization followed and will continue to 

 follow the policy herein outlined as the one 

 best fitted to produce desired results and in- 

 vites the cooperation of all the interests 

 affected as a prerequisite for a successful 

 system of forest conservation. 



"i. That since private woodlot owners hold 

 more forest land than the state, they should 

 be aided in its care and development by the 

 distribution of seedling forest trees at cost, 

 by personal assistance when desired, and by 

 information relating to the best and most 

 economical methods of forest preservation 

 and restoration. 



"2. That complete publicity concerning the 

 work of the department is desirable in the 

 interest of both the state and its citizens, and 

 forest officials should utilize every opportu- 

 nity to reach the public through the press, 

 through public meetings, or other suitable 

 means. 



"3. That since the present system of taxa- 

 tion drives the timber owner to cut his forest 

 that he may avoid what amounts to confisca- 

 tion by excessive taxation, the only wise sys- 

 tem of forest taxation in this state is to tax 

 the land annually and the timber crop only 

 when the latter is cut for the market. 



"4. That at least 20,000,000 of young forest 

 trees should be planted annually on state 

 lands alone, and that private woodlot owners 

 should be encouraged and aided in planting 

 as many more as possible. 



"5. That no forester should be expected 

 to develop and care for more than 10,000 

 acres and do it well. 



"6. That foresters should be so located 

 on reserves as to bring several into the same 

 neighborhood, that their isolation may be 

 broken, their safety assured, their families 

 educated, and that better protection may be 

 afforded the forests because of their mutual 

 assistance. 



"7. That a system of telephone com- 

 munication, especially for use in pressing 

 emergencies, should exist between important 

 forestry points ; that a system of good roads 

 be established and maintained on the re- 

 serves to connect with other important public 

 roads, and to reduce to a minimum the ex- 

 pense of removing and marketing the product. 



"8. That a system of lookout stations, as 

 recommended and discussed in the report of 

 the Department of Forestry for the years 

 1903-4, connected by a telephone and equipped 

 with complete signal, map and range-finding 

 outfits, should be erected at commanding 

 points to detect and locate fires; that during 

 fire seasons a sufficient force of laborers 

 should be employed, immediately available 

 for the prevention and suppression of fires, 

 and when not so engaged, in doing other 

 necessary and valuable work, on the theory 

 that it is cheaper to prevent than to sup- 

 press a fire, and that, in addition, the timber 

 is saved. 



"9. That because of its location on one 

 of the most important reserves where stu- 

 dents learn forestry practice by actual labor 

 and the principles of forest science by class- 

 room instruction, the State Forest Academy 

 at Mont Alto should be continually developed 

 as a school of forestry and brought to the 

 highest possible point of efficiency. 



"10. That since American forestry is in 

 its infancy, extensive experimental work by- 

 plots for seeding and planting, by pure and 

 mixed forests for rate of growth, and re- 

 sult of different methods of management of 

 natural stands of timber should be carried 

 on within each reserve and accurate data 

 collected and preserved for future use; that 

 since the public is the owner of these lands, 

 they should be encouraged to enjoy them to 

 the fullest extent that may be done without 

 interfering with the purpose for which they 

 were purchased. 



"n. That these policies, some of which 

 now are and others of which ought imme- 

 diately to be carried into practical operation, 

 would mean a production of timber for the 

 farmer's fences, fuel for his fire, and lumber 

 for his buildings; for the lumberman, per- 

 petuation of his industry ; for the manufac- 

 turer, a steady supply of raw material for 

 his plants ; for the dweller in cities, outing 

 grounds and a permanent supply of pure 

 water; for the tired, underpaid citizen who 

 needs simply rest and recreation to prevent 

 his becoming an actual invalid, a place where 

 he may find health and renewal of life ; and 

 for the commonwealth and for all her citi- 

 zens, the restoration of an industry which 

 once was worth thirty millions of dollars 



