STATE NEWS 



Massachusetts 



Secretary Charles M. Bailey, of the State 

 Forestry Division of Massachusetts, speak- 

 ing on Forestry Development in New Eng- 

 land at Boston recently, said : "No ques- 

 tion is of greater economic importance in 

 its relation to the future development of 

 New England than forestry. There is no 

 enterprise which offers greater possibilites of 

 establishing permanent prosperity than the 

 clothing of our non-agricultural lands with 

 commercial trees, and the proper conserva- 

 tion of the forests now left to us. 



"There are in Massachusetts today ap- 

 proximately one million acres of barren, 

 desolate land now absolutely idle. These 

 acres may again be made to produce timber 

 to the value of millions of dollars. .Not 

 only is this true of Massachusetts, but 

 similar conditions exist in the other New 

 England states." 



State Forester Rane, working under the 

 provisions of the reforestation law, has now 

 set out more than 40 separate plantations 

 of white pine, covering several thousand 

 acres, at an average cost of less than $10 

 per acre. He has on hand now several 

 hundred acres of land ready for planting 

 next spring. The nurseries maintained by 

 the Forestry Department at Amherst will 

 supply the seedlings for this work. 



Arkansas 



In connection with the administration of 

 the Ozark National Forest, the United 

 States forest service has recently granted re- 

 wards amounting to $250 for evidence fur- 

 nished leading to convictions for setting fire 

 to the woods. Payments of $125 each have 

 been made to Joseph A. Bost and John W. 

 Bost, both of Rex, Van Buren Coumty, 

 Arkansas. These _ rewards are the result of 

 Congressional action taken in the hope of 

 encouraging the conviction of fire trespass 

 cases on the National Forests. 



In discussing the case Supervisor Kiefer, 

 of the Ozark National Forest, said: "I am 

 very much gratified with the outcome of this 

 case since it stands as an excellent object 

 lesson to those who are bent upon indis- 

 criminate woods burning The conviction 

 shows that burning the National Forest is 

 unlawful, and further that this law, which 

 is state as well as federal, can be very 

 rigidly enforced. 



land recommended by inspectors of the Bu- 

 reau of Forestry as suitable tracts for the 

 institution of forest preserves. 



"West Virginia is vitally concerned in these 

 hearings, as a half dozen inspectors spent 

 a goodly portion of the past summer exam- 

 ining land in proximity to the watersheds of 

 the State that appeared to be suitable sites 

 for the establishment of forest preserves. 



"Under the Weeks law, which provides for 

 the Appalachian forest reserve, the govern- 

 ment has the right to purchase several thou- 

 sand acres of West Virginia land conducive 

 to the establishment of reserves. 



"Pendleton, Randolph, Pocahontas, Web- 

 ster, Tucker, Preston, Greenbrier counties, 

 are interested in the hearings; and, as the 

 time for the consideration of opinion on 

 tracts of land in these counties, whose pur- 

 chase is contemplated by the government, 

 draws near, an influx of lobbyists from the 

 counties named is expected." 



Connecticut 



The General Assembly of Connecticut, in 

 session in 1911, passed the following act: 

 The state forester and the tax commissioner, 

 with three other persons whom the gover- 

 nor shall appoint, shall constitute a com- 

 mission, serving without compensation, to 

 examine and consider the laws of this state 

 and of other states and countries concern- 

 ing the taxation of forest lands. Said com- 

 mission shall report to the next general 

 assembly the result of its investigations, 1 

 with its recommendations thereon. 



The members of the commission are as' 

 follows : State Forester S. N. Spring, New 

 Haven, Conn. ; State Tax Commissioner Wm. 

 H. Corbin, Hartford, Conn. ; Ex-Governor 

 Rollin S. Woodruff, New Haven, Conn.; 

 Mr. F. H. Stadtmueller, Secretary of the 

 Connecticut Forestry Association, Elmwood, 

 Conn.; Prof. Herman H. Chapman, Yale 

 Forest School, New Haven Conn. The State 

 Forester called the first meeting of the com- 

 mission on December 29. Ex-Governor 

 Woodruff was elected chairman and S. N. 

 Spring, secretary of the commission. The 

 first meeting included organizing, a discus- 

 sion of the problems before the commission, 

 and the preparing of preliminary plans for 

 work. 



West Virginia 



A dispatch from Wheeling, West Va., says 



'Shortly after the reconvening of Congress 



the National Forest Reservation Commission 



will receive estimates on those tracts of 



Colorado 



A meeting of forest supervisors of Colo- 

 rado will be held in Denver early in Feb- 

 ruary for the purpose of discussing some 

 of the problems of active forestry work. 

 It is expected that Forester Henry S. Graves 

 will attend the meeting, but this has not 



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