STATE NEWS 



811 



ton Chamber of Commerce and Massachu- 

 setts Forestry Association, working jointly 

 in urging upon the voters of the State the 

 importance of the proposed amendment as a 

 means of encouraging forestry in Massachu- 

 setts, it was adopted at the recent election by 

 an overwhelming majority. The personnel of 

 the committee referred to is : Chairman, Har- 

 old Parker, ex-chairman of the Massachu- 

 setts Highway Commission ; F. W. Rane, 

 Massachusetts State Forester; Prof. Spen- 

 cer Baldwin, professor of economics, Bos- 

 ton University; F. E. Olmstead, of the for- 

 estry firm of Fisher, Bryant & Olmstead; 

 Allen Chamberlain, president of the Appa- 

 lachian Mountain Club, and Mr. Harris A. 

 Reynolds, secretary of the Massachusetts 

 Forestry Association. This committee meets 

 semi-monthly, and is now engaged in the 

 rather difficult task of preparing a bill to 

 present to the next session of the Legislature, 

 which if enacted into law, it is hoped will 

 eliminate many of the objectionable features 

 of the present methods of taxing wild and 

 forest lands, and become an important factor 

 in stimulating the reforestation work in 

 Massachusetts, as well as conserving the 

 present wooded areas. 



In order to obtain definite information 

 with regard to the general practice of Mas- 

 sachusetts assessors in appraising values on 

 such lands, as well as to determine, if pos- 

 sible, what effect any change in the present 

 methods of taxation would have upon the 

 revenues of cities and towns of the State, 

 Mr Harold O. Cook and Mr. Harry F. 

 Gould, of the State Forester's office, have, at 

 the request of the committee, selected five 

 towns located in widely separated parts of 

 the State in which they will make very care- 

 ful estimates of the true values of the 

 wooded areas, as compared with the val- 

 uation placed upon them by the assessors 

 and get such other information as may aid 

 the committee in their work. 



The United States Bureau of Plant Indus- 

 try is co-operating with the State of Mas- 

 sachusetts in its efforts to check the chest- 

 nut bark disease. At present a bulletin is 

 being prepared, which, it is hoped, will lead 

 to increased demands for assistance on the 

 part of the Massachusetts public. A number 

 of examinations have been made during the 

 past year for owners of chestnut woodland 

 who suspect the presence of the disease, 

 to date, while the State Forester has paid 

 the salary of the examiner, his traveling e> 

 penses have been charged to the applet. 

 Throueh the co-operative agreement now 

 entered into these expenses will also be paid, 

 and the owner will thus obtain h s advice 

 absolutely free. It is intended to dertak e 

 certain experiments with respect to the 

 SI some P s e c r outing will be done independent 

 of applications for inspection an d st eps may 

 be taken toward the -radif me o the^ 

 '" if more hopeful 



by no means to the extent that was expected. 

 It seems reasonable to suppose that vigorous 

 efforts on the part of woodland owners may 

 be able to preserve their chestnut almost in- 

 definitely, at least in the eastern portion of 

 the State, where the attack is least severe. 



Alabama 



At the next session of the Alabama Legis- 

 lature Game and Fish Commissioner John H. 

 Wallace, Jr., will present a bill looking to 

 converting all State lands, whether held in 

 fee or in trust, by the State of Alabama, 

 into game refuges and forest preserves. In- 

 cluded in these lands are the Sixteenth Sec- 

 tion School Lands, the Tax Redemption 

 Lands and the Swamp and Overflowed 

 Lands, amounting to hundreds of thousands 

 of acres. Since these lands belong to the 

 State they have been regarded generally as 

 being public property, the depredation on 

 them in the way of the stealing of timber, 

 firing of forests and slaughtering of game 

 has been horrible in the past. 



Mr. Wallace contemplated having a paid 

 game' and forest warden service to guard 

 these lands. The movement has met with 

 universal approval in Alabama, and the plan 

 will undoubtedly be enacted into a law as 

 soon as the Legislature shall meet. 



North Carolina. 



The third annual convention of the North 

 Carolina Forestry Association will meet in 

 Raleigh on January 15, 1913. Its discussions 

 will be largely devoted to showing the imme- 

 diate need for the passage of legislation for 

 the protection of the forests of the 

 There is a strong and growing fee 

 throughout the State that the time has ar- 

 rived for action, and this Legislature is 

 pected to make at least a small appropriate 

 for inaugurating such protective work. 



At the last meeting of the North Caro 

 Forestry Association a legislation commiti 

 was appointed to draw up a forest law 

 the State, to be presented to, an.l it possibl 

 passed by, the next Legislature, which con- 

 vines early in January. This committee is 

 called to meet some time ^December to |.u 

 the bill which they have been working !>" 

 in final shape so that it may be introduced 

 during the early days of the session. 

 law will probably provide for some kind of 

 firewarden system, and mil !*> attemp to 

 assist the railroads in the prevention 0\ ra>! 



r At accent meeting of ths Southern Fur- 

 niture Manufacturers' Ration, lu-M in 

 High Point. N. C, at. was m:i.lr by 

 the Secretary of the North ' 11 "' . For- 

 estry Association, wh- .r 1-v mv.ta- 

 tion for the co-operati( 



A furniture manufacti the o:m.,.:iu-n 



to procure adequat protective laws 



the State A resolution I <;' com- 

 ending the work of Ov Forestry Atoc, 



