1902. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION, 



287 



would impose upon them duties and out- 

 lays in respect to fire. New Jersey has 

 been regarded mainly as a tract of poor 

 sandy land, which must be crossed as 

 quickly as possible from Penns\dvania 

 and elsewhere to New York and the 

 seashore. The only resource of an}- 

 consequence in the sandy plain district 

 was soon consumed by fire. Once every 

 five years an area equal to a third of 

 the state has been burned over, and 

 there is nothing gained in concealing 

 the fact that 75 per cent of these fires 

 were set by sparks and hot ashes from 

 locomotives. Times are changing, how- 

 ever, and even the railroads are begin- 

 ning to realize that it is poor policy to 

 oppose the passage of reasonable forest 

 laws, and that in the end the}- do them- 

 selves as much damage as they cause to 

 others. To be sure, they pay damages 

 when the court orders them, but the 

 amount paid in the past has been ex- 

 ceedingly small in proportion to the 

 damage done. As one of the greatest 

 of timber consumers and as long-lived 

 affairs, these corporations are naturally 

 beginning to have some concern regard- 

 ing future supplies. 



The public is ready for the establish- 

 ment of a definite state forest policy, 

 and a majority of the people wonder 

 why something is not done. Legislative 

 enactment in this case, as is usual, lags 

 behind public opinion mainly because 

 there seems to be no man in power who 

 has the inclination, or knowledge of the 

 subject, to act as a leader in the work. 

 A man is needed who will unite all the 

 various forces at work and steer the 

 whole in the proper direction. We no 

 longer need mere bureaus of informa- 

 tion and the publication of tracts. The 

 press is eager enough to do this work, 

 and is able to do it as well, if not better, 

 than the state itself. There is hardly a 

 session of the legislature when one or 

 more forest-fire bills are not proposed 

 and sometimes passed, but they all fall 

 short of the requirements. They are 

 well meant, and indicate an active in- 

 terest in the right direction, but they 

 are proposed by men familiar only with 

 local conditions and without a knowl- 

 edge of the problem as a whole. 



There is needed, then, a bureau of 



forestry, with a practical forester at its 

 head. It is only through a permanent 

 organization of this nature that intelli- 

 gent treatment of the remaining forests 

 of the state will be brought about. 

 There should also be active cooperation 

 on the part of the state with private 

 owners who are anxious to improve their 

 w-oodlands. At present New Jersey is 

 far behind New York and Pennsylvania 

 in this respect. 



So much for the difficulties in the 

 way. On the other hand. New Jersey 

 has many advaritages which other states 

 do not, and in many instances cannot 

 possess. Fii.'-t of all, the state has 

 plenty of money, a portion of which 

 could not be used to better advantage 

 than in bringing about an improvement 

 of existing forest conditions. 



Another advantage is location. Some 

 regions, such as western North Carolina 

 and eastern Tennessee , although possess- 

 ing great forest resources, are hampered 

 in their development because of their in- 

 accessibility. On the other hand, New 

 Jersey in many ways has the choicest 

 location in the United States. It lies 

 near a number of the greatest cities 

 in this country ; transportation by rail 

 and water is at hand, and in addition 

 the state possesses many good wagon 

 roads. 



New Jersey contains a large amount 

 of land better suited for raising timber 

 than for any other purpose. This land 

 is diverse in nature mountainous in 

 the north and mainly sand plains in the 

 south but in either case it is land on 

 which a great variety of forest trees can 

 be grown. 



In no state of the Union is the water 

 question of greater importance. Not 

 only are the floods of northern New 

 Jersey frequent and destructive, but 

 vast areas of land are of great value for 

 the purpose of furnishing pure, clear 

 water to the cities within the borders of 

 the state. Wood is needed for home 

 industries, and in all the country there 

 is no more convenient place for the man- 

 ufacture of agricultural implements, 

 wagons, and a host of other useful 

 things. 



A slight precedent has been estab- 

 lished in the line of reservation policy 



