324 ARBOR DAY 



less about them. Billions of feet of good timber 

 were deliberately burned to ashes to get it out of the 

 way. There was great waste, wanton waste, because 

 much timber was taken from lands that could never 

 be used for tillage. 



An examination of the early colonial laws, the 

 acts of Parliament to the mother country, shows that 

 as far back as 1640 there was a very correct idea of 

 the value of the splendid pine forest that covered the 

 lands of the new world. Yet nothing practical was 

 done until 1885, when a commission was appointed 

 in this state, which commenced the work now carried 

 on by the department which I have the honor 

 to represent. A hundred years previously, however, 

 a commission had been appointed to investigate 

 and report upon the forests of the state and devise 

 some plan to acquire and save some of the forest 

 lands. But nothing came of it and no legislation 

 followed. Surely in this case the Legislature can- 

 not be accused of hasty legislation. 



If our forests were converted into lumber they 

 would be worth many millions of dollars, but they 

 are worth many millions more if left standing, and 

 managed according to forestry principles. Not only 

 will they then continue to grow, but they will protect 

 the headwaters of our streams, regulate temperature, 

 protect from hot and cold winds, serve as a health 

 and pleasure resort, and furnish a home for game, 

 fish, and song birds. 



