578 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



December 



proper fire laws ; the state forester 

 should help greatly in disseminating 

 the ideas and principles of forestry 

 and in inducing owners to practice 

 forestry wherever it can be shown to 

 be financially profitable. Finally, the 

 power of the state to accept and ad- 

 minister gifts of forest land as re- 

 serves would bring about the actual 

 practice of forestry by the state, which 

 should afford a good example in for- 

 est management to private owners, as 

 well as eventually being made a source 

 of revenue. 



able. The wood lot is an indispensable 

 adjunct to a well-equipped farm, to 

 furnish the necessary supply of cord- 

 wood, fence posts and rails, bean poles 

 and for a hundred and one other pur- 

 poses, all requiring that there be a 

 woodlot convenient. The farmer's 

 woodlot furnishes one of the best pos- 

 sible opportunities for economic forest 

 management. The farmer has the best 

 chance to bring his woodlot up to the 

 highest possible productive state; the 

 farmer has leisure time during the 

 winter to work in his woodlot and 



Hemlock and Hardwoods, near Bevansville, Garrett County, Maryland. 



III. POSSIBILITIES OF FOREST MANAGE- 

 MENT IN MARYLAND. 



It is proposed under this head to 

 consider the practicability of forest 

 management for the three different 

 regions previously designated : 



i. The Piedmont Plateau. As al- 

 ready stated, this is the most fertile 

 section of Maryland and the forest 

 occurs in small tracts as woodlots 

 connected with farms. Some form of 

 forestry is here almost alwavs advis- 



improve it ; he can usually find use for 

 inferior and defective trees which 

 should be removed for the benefit of 

 the trees remaining. It will, in short, 

 pay him to make improvement cut- 

 tings. The more valuable the land is 

 for agriculture the more intensive 

 should be the forest management in 

 order to realize a reasonable rate of 

 interest on the investment. Where the 

 reproduction and second growth fol- 

 lowing clear cutting is insufficient, the 



