THE SPRUCE REGION 253 



uncommon arrangement in the region, although of frequent 

 occurrence in some other forest regions. It is true that a timber- 

 land owner will frequently make a sale of a certain amount of 

 stumpage or the stumpage on a given tract. This sale ordi- 

 narily is for immediate cutting, usually the same year as made, 

 and is not comparable with the condition where for a long series 

 of years the ownership of the land and of the timber is vested 

 in two different parties. 



There is practically no reversion of land to the state for non- 

 payment of taxes, which is so common in certain parts of the 

 country. This condition occurs usually on lands which are 

 heavily lumbered and stripped of all valuable growth. It is 

 uncommon in a forest of a selection type. In the forests of the 

 spruce region, unless repeatedly burned, there is either something 

 of value left on the land, or reproduction will start there. Thus 

 the productive power of the land remains even after heavy lum- 

 bering, lessened, to be sure, by improper methods of cutting, but 

 still there. 



Another reason that no land is abandoned is that taxation on 

 cut-over lands and timberlands is not so excessive as, for example, 

 in the Lake States, and the owner is therefore not forced to strip 

 his land. 



The individual states own an insignificant amount of land in 

 the spruce region as is shown in a later chapter. As a result of the 

 passage, in 191 1, of the law permitting the creation of National 

 Forests in the Appalachians and White Mountains, it is probable 

 that the Federal Government will become an owner of land here. 



These national forests will be largely in the White Mountains 

 and presumably will be handled so as to produce timber, but 

 with special care to maintain the protective function and aesthetic 

 value of the forest. 



Forest Protection. 



The principal agencies damaging forests and against which 

 protective measures are often necessary are forest fires, grazing 

 animals, insects, and fungi. Each of the four will be discussed 

 here in their relation to the forest of the spruce region. 



