1900. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



245 



the silvicultural characteristics are known 

 with any approach to nicety. Messrs. 

 Graves' and Pinchot's studies of the White 

 Pine and the Adirondack Spruce constitute 

 almost all the literature of their kind. In 

 regard to such valuable timber supplies as 

 those to be found in the great Red Fir 

 forests of Oregon and Washington, for ex- 

 ample, no one can make more than the 

 roughest guesses at the measures which 

 should be taken in order that, where the 

 cut-over lands are not devoted to agricul- 

 ture, the growth of a good second forest 

 crop may be insured. On every side it 

 still remains to break the ground for the 

 first time, and many laborers are needed. 

 The American student of forestry must 

 spend much of his time playing the pioneer 

 in fields yet unexplored for some years to 

 come, often letting the practice of his art 

 wait for the results of investigation and 

 experiment. His methods will be shaped 

 by conditions which have to be studied on 

 the spot. For this no European school 

 alone can possibly give the right train- 

 ing. Although some experience abroad 

 is valuable, the complexion of an Ameri- 

 can forester's education should just as 

 certainly be distinctly American ; and 

 only with the help of good American 

 schools of forestry can such an education 

 be obtained at the best advantage. 



According to a letter re- 

 Hope for New cen tly received from the of- 

 Hampshire. J .... . 



fice of the Massachusetts 



Forestry Association, there seems to be 

 better hope that New Hampshire may at 

 last rouse itself to the point of doing 

 something really effective for the preser- 

 vation of the White Mountain forests. 

 In his speech at the celebration of Old 

 Home Week in Concord, the Governor of 

 the State lately stated things squarely, and 

 declared himself clearly and emphatically 

 in favor of a vigorous forest policy. Re- 

 ferring first to what other States have done 

 to encourage the summer tourist business, 

 Governor Rollins went on : " What have 

 we done ? Not one dollar for good roads ; 

 a very small sum annually, $8,000 for the 

 fish and game, and no protection to our 

 forests. Some one will say : ' We can't 



afford to spend money for these things.' 

 I am tired of hearing that; you can't af- 

 ford not to. But we are not poor; we 

 don't owe anything to speak of. Whv, 

 there are many towns and cities in this 

 country with 20,000 inhabitants which 

 owe more money than we do. In 190=5 

 we shall be practically out of debt at the 

 present rate of payment. A large portion 

 of the towns receive to-day from the 

 State more than they pay in State tax. So 

 I say that the State tax to-day is no burden, 

 and could not be if it were three times 

 as large. What would I do? I would 

 spend $1,000,000 in good roads, distrib- 

 uted over a number of years. I would 

 give the fish and game commission, 

 $=50,000 a year if necessary, rather than 

 $8,000. I would make a park of the 

 White Mountains, and of Lake Winnepe- 

 saukee, and protect them from ruin. In 

 other words, liberal expenditure now is 

 greatest economy for the future. This 

 State sold thousands of acres of timber 

 lands a few years ago for $25,000. What 

 is it worth to-day ? Hundreds of thous- 

 ands. We are throwing away an oppor- 

 tunity not to be regained if we don't act 

 soon. The purchase of this timber land 

 for a park is a good investment, if nothing 

 else." 



The truth and soundness of this need 

 no comment. The summer visitors, the 

 hotel proprietors, the railroads, the large 

 manufacturing corporations along the 

 Merrimac River, which more than ever 

 of late years have been troubled by fresh- 

 ets and drouth, the lumbermen themselves, 

 if they realized it, are all interested in 

 having the White Mountain forests cared 

 for and preserved. Their perpetuation is 

 a matter of which the importance to Ne\\ 

 Hampshire and the neighboring States, for 

 practical reasons alone, can hardly l>e ex- 

 aggerated. But it is also largelv because- 



OO *' 



of these forests that the White Mountain 

 region is one of the most beautiful in 

 the country. For years fire and wasteful 

 lumbering have carried destruction into 

 one district after another of this region, 

 without check or hindrance. But now 

 Governer Rollins, a man who is already 

 recognized as unusually discerning and 



