1908 



l-i (REST SKk\ [i 



the other hand, a hill ha> heen intro- 

 duced which would tax timberlands no 

 higher than harren. unproductive land, 

 provided the tiuiherland is managed in 

 a way to meet the approval of the For- 

 est, Fish and Game Commission. The 

 hill provides an additional tax on the 

 stumpage value of the timber when 

 cut. The Xe\v York bill seeks to en- 

 courage forestry as a means of in- 

 creasing the wealth of the State; the 

 Maine plan, if carried through, will 

 powerfully discourage forestry. 



The Xew Hampshire study has been 

 undertaken in the belief that it will 

 help solve what is undeniably a knotty 

 problem. \ forest taxation law which 

 is both wise and practicable is by no 

 means easy to draw. In Pennsylvania, 

 a State which appreciates the value of 

 its forests and the importance of fore- 

 sighted action to prevent non-agricul- 

 tural lands from becoming worthless 

 wastes, a law passed in 1905 provid- 

 ing for a rebate of taxes levied upon 

 forested lands was pronounced uncon- 

 stitutional by the courts because it des- 

 troyed uniformity of taxation. On the 

 other hand, the State of Michigan has 

 < 'tie-sixth of its area on the delinquent 

 tax list because the land i- worthless 

 for any purpose but growing forests 

 and is taxed too high to be held by the 

 owners for this purpose. 



Lumber The Forest Service has 



Prices Year j nst j ?siie d a sheet show- 

 by Year , , 



ing the wholesale prices 



of lumber year by year from 1886 to 

 1908. The prices on July T. 1886. and 

 January I of every year thereafter are 

 given on twelve different kinds of 

 lumber in the New York market, and 

 selected kinds in Baltimore, San 

 Francisco and Buffalo : also the mar- 

 ket reports of the Yellow Pine Manu- 

 facturers' Association. 



Luquillo Fcr- The Luquillo National 



est to Be Ad- Forest is the nnlv one in 

 ministered ,, , 



the insular possessions 



of the United States, and while it was 

 created in 1003. provisions for its ad- 

 ministration were not made until earlv 



in January "i~ thi r, wlu-n the 



Comptroller of 'h'- Treasury aftini 

 thr jurisdiction of the Department 

 Agriculture over the [ Mr. M. 



Rothkugel, of the i 



Bailed i"or Tort" l\io> \< , ii ate 



conditions and prepare, plans. On 

 reaching IWto Rico he will c .m'er 

 with Governor Post, who ha- h. en 

 cecdingly anxious that the forest be 

 early put under administration. 



While in Porto Rico Mr. Uothkugel 

 will select and appoint native rai 

 picking men who have a thorough 

 knowledge of forest conditions in 1'or- 

 to Rico. This is in keeping with the 

 Government's policy of putting all Na- 

 tional Forests under administration of 

 local officers. 



Many of the laws governing the reg- 

 ulation of the National Forests in this 

 country will not apply to Porto Rico 

 forests, because of the different con- 

 ditions. It is expected that the Lu- 

 quillo National Forest will not he put 

 under actual administration until next 

 fall, by which time the details of the 

 plans will have heen worked out. 



The Luquillo National Foresl ta 

 in nearly 66,000 acres in the north- 

 eastern part of Porto Rico. 



Chief There ai inspection 



Inspectors' districts in the National 

 Meeting Forest gystem Q| the 



United Slat. The chief inS] 

 i if these districts meet annually for 

 consultation with each other and 'he 

 higher offu-ers of the Service and to 

 make estimates for the :'or 



their respective districts, that the 

 funds may he properly distributed. 

 This meeting has \\^{ taken place i:i 

 Washin-tou. The reports -how that 

 the affairs of the forests are in 

 lent c.'iidition. and no changes in ]- 

 icv are found to hi- < try. 



The Forest Service has 

 mended that '.he 

 number of sheep allowed 



to graze 'ii the P; I National ! 

 e-t in the Territory of Arizona, dnr- 



Thirty-Six 



Thousand 



Sheep 



