THE PROGRESS OF FORESTRY IN NEW ENGLAND 377 



ture, therefore, and especially those committees having such 

 matters in charge, to carefully consider this question in all its 

 phases before inviting the assistance of the federal government 

 in solving its problems. However, there can be but one alterna- 

 tive. It is inexcusable for any state to decline this splendid 

 offer of assistance unless it is willing to take the necessary 

 measures for the acquisition of state forests on an adequate 

 scale. 



Section 2 of the " Weeks' Bill " providing for a system of fire 

 protection on the watersheds of navigable streams, is perhaps 

 of more general interest in New England than the part of the 

 bill providing for land purchases. This gives the Secretary of 

 Agriculture $200,000, available until expended, for cooperation 

 with the various states in the prevention of forest fires on the 

 watersheds of navigable streams. The law stipulates that no 

 state shall receive from the federal government, in any one year, 

 a sum greater than it spends itself in the sarhe kind of work. 

 The United States Forest Service, which has the administration 

 of this section in charge, under the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 limited the amount to be spent in any state for the fiscal year 

 beginning July i, 191 1, to $10,000. It further decided that this 

 federal money should all be spent in hiring men to prevent forest 

 fires rather than for fire-fighting equipment, or for extinguishing 

 fires. In many states where a more or less adequate system of 

 fire wardens was already in operation, this law marked a new 

 milestone, and made fire patrol possible, which is a long step in 

 advance of mere extinguishing measures. 



One of the most important forestry problems of New Eng- 

 land, as well as of other sections of the country, is the taxa- 

 tion of forest lands. It is now very generally conceded by 

 economists that the general property tax is not a just form of 

 forest taxation. Until recently it can probably be said that quite 

 as many land owners benefited by the lax system of taxation as 

 were injured by it, and since overtaxation largely fell on non- 

 residents the system has persisted. But with the present tend- 

 ency to assess all property at its true value conditions have been 



