472 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



October 



loss by fire is so slight as to be practi- 

 cally eliminated, and, as a rule, the 

 large tracts pay the taxes from the sale 

 of cordwood in thinnings or in clear- 

 ing small areas. There is a market 

 for almost everything down to 2 

 inches, so that clean cutting can be 

 practiced profitably, followed by clear- 

 ing and 8 or 10 years of cultivation. 

 At the end of that period the fertility 

 stored up by the forest will have be- 

 come exhausted and the field may be 

 abandoned to another crop of pine. 

 The best stands of pine invariably 

 come up in the abondoned fields. On 

 some of these cut-over lands the pine 

 will succeed itself naturally, while on 

 others seeding, planting, or some prep- 

 aration of the soil is necessary to in- 

 sure renewal of the pine. Mr. Besley 

 also made a hurried trip through the 

 western part of the State. In Garrett 

 County, he visited the tract, aggregat- 

 ing about 4,000 acres, which Mr. Gar- 

 rett will present to the State for forest 

 reserve purposes. A good opportun- 

 ity is here offered for examples of for- 

 est management, for the region is fre- 

 quented by tourists and sportsmen, 

 and one tract of 400 acres is only 2 

 miles from Oakland, the county seat. 

 Part of the forest has been burned 

 over, other portions cut over recently, 

 and other portions in heavy forest, so 

 that different forms of management 

 can be well shown. 



There is in the western part of Gar- 

 rett County one of the few virgin 

 stands of hemlock. This tract con- 

 tains about 75 acres, mostly hemlock, 

 and will run about 25,000 board feet 

 per acre. The associated species are 

 white and red oak, of which there are 

 some fine specimens. The greatest 

 service forestry can do in the moun- 

 tains of Maryland is to provide protec- 

 tion from fire. There are ample for- 

 est fire laws, and it is hoped that a 

 good, healthy sentiment will be cre- 

 ated for their enforcement. 



The establishment of seed beds at 

 the Maryland Agricultural College is 

 contemplated, both for illustration of 

 the best forest nursery practice in con- 

 nection with the course of lectures be- 

 fore the students, and to obtain stock 

 for planting on open places on the re- 

 serve. 



Mr. Besley stopped at Rockville to 

 inspect the grounds of the prospective 

 plantation of Mr. Earle. Mr. Earle 

 has about 5,000 white pine seedlings 

 in nursery rows, which he intends 

 transplanting to a permanent site next 

 spring or the spring following. This 

 experiment will be watched with in- 

 terest to determine the adaptability of 

 white pine for commercial planting 

 outside the mountain counties of the 

 State. 



