332 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



July- 



harvest it. In exactly the same way 

 it is poor business policy for the state 

 of New York to expend large sums 

 annually for the protection of its for- 

 ests and to let the trees reach matur- 

 ity, fall, and decay for lack of use. 

 The failure to utilize the product of 

 the Adirondack Preserve is in no sense 

 laying up a store of timber for future 

 erenerations, for it is a well established 



o 



fact that production in an untouched 

 forest is practically at a standstill. 

 What is gained by the growth of the 

 thrifty trees is offset by the decay of 

 others, and the total amount of stand- 

 ing timber remains practically the 

 same. 



I take the point of view that it is the 

 duty and province of the state, just 

 as it is the duty and province of the 

 individual, to make the most that it 

 legitimately can out of what it has. 

 I am unable to see why timber whose 

 actual growth represents a return of 

 many thousand dollars a year should 

 be wasted, and it should be urged upon 

 every business man, as men of affairs, 

 to give force and direction to the 

 movement to repeal the constitutional 

 amendment which prohibits the con- 

 servative removal of any timber for 

 any reason from the state forest. 



The state may well follow the ex- 

 ample of the Federal government 

 which, upon its sixty-odd million acres 

 of forest reserves is now under the di- 

 rection of the Forest Service, putting 

 into effect the sale of mature timber, 

 to be removed under conservative reg- 

 ulations. 



The average New York citizen has 

 had neither the time nor the oppor- 

 tunity to look up the matter of state 

 forests sufficiently to satisfy himself 

 as to the best policy to pursue. He is 

 chiefly desirous that the state forests 

 be protected and maintained as a per- 

 petual health and pleasure resort, and 

 as a protection for the headwaters of 

 the rivers. He would be pleased to 

 have some system of forest manage- 

 ment put in operation which would 

 produce a revenue and make the for- 

 ests of the state, in a measure, self- 



supporting, continue the lumber in- 

 dustry, and furnish employment to a. 

 large number of citizens of the state, 

 provided always that the system inau- 

 gurated should not impair the chief 

 use and beauty of the forests. 



To bring about these desirable re- 

 sults, the officials in charge of the state 

 forests must be invested with power 

 and authority to decide what method 

 of treatment will best serve the re- 

 quirements of each particular tract. 

 They should possess a sufficient knowl- 

 edge of practical forestry to know 

 that the results will justify the course 

 decided upon. They should have the 

 authority, executive ability, financial 

 backing, and the requisite business 

 qualifications to carry out carefully 

 and thoroughly the plans formulated 

 to be pursued upon the different tracts, 

 regardless of the criticisms of theo- 

 rists who disagree with them, and have 

 the stamina to continue such treatment, 

 as a careful study of each tract should 

 cause to appear advisable. 



Wise management of the state for- 

 ests must include as a requisite busi- 

 ness qualification, and a very necessa- 

 ry one, the ability to determine accu- 

 rately the value of the timber stump- 

 age on the different tracts according 

 to their locality, and no timber should 

 be disposed of on any state land until 

 a just minimum price has been fixed 

 upon the stumpage to be' sold. All 

 timber sales should be thoroughly ad- 

 vertised prior to the sale, in the lead- 

 ing newspapers, then sold to the high- 

 est responsible bidder sealed bids in 

 every case with the right reserved to 

 reject any or all bids, which should 

 be done in every case if no bids ex- 

 ' ceed the minimum value placed on the 

 stumpage ; a bond to be required to 

 insure payment for the stumpage, and 

 the faithful carrying out of the rules 

 and regulations prescribed to govern 

 the cutting and removal of the timber 

 sold. 



Judicious management of the state 

 forests would in many instances re- 

 quire the application of several differ- 

 ent methods of treatment on one town- 



