STATE WORK 



613 



drought and consequent danger from forest 

 fires, the state forester should have author- 

 ity to appoint supplementary wardens in ex- 

 posed districts. I also favor the establish- 

 ment of fire observatories on the tops of our 

 highest mountains, after the plan adopted 

 in Maine, New Hampshire and New York. 

 I am satisfied that a wholesome and en- 

 couraging interest in the prosecution of the 

 work of the forestry office characterizes the 

 attitude of the people of Vermont. I have 

 found gratifying encouragement upon every 

 hand and the demands upon the office, due 

 to an increasing public interest in it. are 

 steadily growing. 



Progress in Hawaii 



A communication from Ralph S. Hosmer, 

 superintendent of forestry in Hawaii, sum- 

 marizes the advances made in forestry in 

 the islands during the fiscal year just ended. 



Early in 1909 the legislature passed an act 

 authorizing the levying of a tax of two per 

 cent on all incomes over $4,000 (in addition 

 to an existing income tax of two per cent 

 with a $1,500 exemption), three-fourths of 

 the fund so created to be used for assisting 

 immigration and one-fourth for conserva- 

 tion, which was read to cover the appropria- 

 tion for the territorial board of agriculture 

 and forestry, assistance to the Hawaii ex- 

 periment station, and to the College of Ha- 

 waii, and the work in topographic mapping 

 and hydrographic measurements now being 

 carried on in cooperation with the Geological 

 Survey. Heretofore, the sum annually al- 

 lotted to forest work has amounted to about 

 $12,000 a year. It is expected that for the 

 present fiscal year this amount can be ma- 

 terially increased. Though the act dealt pri- 

 marily with immigration, its passage was of 

 interest as showing the trend of public opin- 

 ion in Hawaii, since it was backed by the 

 larger corporations, on which the principal 

 burden falls. A lively campaign of education 

 in behalf of forestry and general conservation 

 was carried on in the schools, including the 

 Normal School. 



During the year the number of forest re- 

 serves was increased from twenty to twenty- 

 two by the addition of tracts comprising 872 

 acres, and the total acreage of the reserves 

 is now 546,636 acres, of which 358,052, or 

 sixty-six per cent, is government land. 



The people of Hawaii are helped in tree 

 planting in three ways : By the giving of ad- 

 vice as to what, where, and when to plant; 

 by furnishing seedling trees for planting, free 

 or at cost; and by making experimental 

 plantations of trees of economic value, new 

 to the territory. During the past year spe- 

 cial attention was given to the free distribu- 

 tion of trees, both from the government 

 nursery at Honolulu and from distributing 

 points on the other islands. Two regular 

 substations, with paid assistants, have been 



established at Kalaheo, Kauai, and Hilo, Ha- 

 waii, where trees are grown and kept con- 

 stantly on hand to be given out. By coopera- 

 tion with sugar plantations and ranch com- 

 panies at six other places throughout the 

 territory, trees were started and distributed 

 at the time of Arbor Day. In 1909 there 

 were distributed free for Arbor Day plant- 

 ing to homesteaders and other land owners, 

 and to schools and institutions, over 62,500 

 trees, probably the largest number ever given 

 out at one time in the territory. During the 

 last fiscal year almost 185,000 trees were dis- 

 tributed. A large number of these were sup- 

 plied for planting on lands controlled by the 

 army and navy. 



A great deal of private planting is done. 

 A year ago the total number planted in the 

 territory reached 500,000, and the estimates 

 for the past year are even larger than this. 



Washington Plans to Buy Tax Lands 

 for Reforestation 



The Washington committee on forest leg- 

 islation has decided to ask the state legisla- 

 ture to enact a law which will enable the 

 state to buy outright, at a price not to exceed 

 three dollars an acre, lands that have revert- 

 ed to the counties for the failure of former 

 owners to pay taxes. This plan will be 

 more fully noticed in a future number of 

 AMERICAN FORESTRY. 



Forest Planting in Massachusetts 



Dunng the past season 1,000.000 trees 

 were planted in Massachusetts, under the 

 direction of the State Forester, Frank W. 

 Rane. The area covered was about 1,000 

 acres. Last year about the same work was 

 done, so that the area thus far planted in 

 the state amounts to 2,000 acres. The cost 

 has been $20,000 for the two years. 



Kansas Forest Planting 



The weekly bulletin of the Kansas State 

 Agricultural College says that State For- 

 ester C. A. Scott has been much in demand 

 this summer by persons desiring informa- 

 tion or plans for forest and park planting. 

 The following plans have lately been per- 

 fected : 



A general plan for a city park at Conway 

 Springs, and a planting plan for the State 

 Reformatory farm at Hutchinson. Kansas. 

 This plan includes the planting of wind- 

 breaks to protect the cultivated fields from 

 the encroachment of drifting sands along 

 the Arkansas river, the planting of some 

 thirty acres of sand-dune lands in forest 



