6 



Varying from 4 to 15 feet. Seed plots were attempted by some, 

 and others even tried out broadcast sowing. At the end of 

 this period there were in Massachusetts alone forest plantations 

 of white pine to the extent of 10,000 acres. 1 



Typical of the forest planters of this time was Mr. Augustus 

 Pratt, a former member of the State Board of Agriculture, who, 

 when nineteen years old, planted pine seed on an old pasture 

 belonging to his father. The wood lot which thus developed 

 has been recently cut, and was between forty and fifty years 

 old. 



After 1880 interest began to decline, chiefly because of the im- 

 mense supply of lumber brought from the region of the Great 

 Lakes at a low rate of transportation and the inadequate 

 methods of combating forest fires; these conditions tended to 

 gradually dampen the enthusiasm of the forest planter. 



PRESENT NEED OF REFORESTATION. 



We are now entering once more upon a campaign for the 

 reclamation of waste land. This is due not alone to the de- 

 crease in our supply of lumber, but also to the following facts : 



There is a growing sentiment among our people for forests 

 and scenic beauty. There are nearly 1,000,000 acres of waste 

 land in Massachusetts; our hardwood forests are threatened by 

 gypsy, brown-tail and other moth pests, and our beautiful 

 chestnut tracts by the ever-increasing chestnut bark disease. 

 Improved methods of forest-fire fighting and the co-operation 

 of railroads, local fire departments and individuals have made 

 possible the protection of forests, once they have been ac- 

 quired. 



Coniferous trees offer the best means of realizing our present 

 needs. They act as the most effective check upon the devasta- 

 tions of the moth, being unedible to the brown-tail, while the 

 gypsy will pass them by if he can find anything else upon 

 which to subsist. 2 Beneath a pine forest there is always a 

 thick bed of needles which keeps the ground moist and free 

 from sprouts and deciduous seedlings. Therefore, while pine 

 develops tremendous heat in case of fire, it prevents the collec- 



1 United States Forest Service Bulletin No. 35. 



2 See Massachusetts State Forester's Bulletin on "Improvement Thinnings." 



