TOWN FORESTS 141' 



estry association offered to plant free of charge five; 

 thousand trees, or approximately five acres, for any 

 city or town which would legally establish a forest 

 of one hundred acres or more during the calendar 

 year 1922. Planting may usually be carried on at a 

 cost per acre of from five dollars upwards, depend- 

 ing upon the cheapness of labor available. 



Once properly set out the seedlings will grow for 

 any desired period with little attention other than 

 fire protection and occasional cooperation with the 

 state or federal government for the suppression of 

 blights and insect pests, but generally speaking, the 

 community will select trees of such species as are 

 least susceptible to damage from this source. Al- 

 though no forest started by tree planting can yield 

 immediate returns, municipal ownership offers the 

 advantage of tax exemption or partial assessment 

 during the period of waiting. In the meantime, 

 too, the community gains through gradual beauti- 

 fication of the land and protection from soil erosion 

 during heavy rains. 



The age of maturity varies for different species. 

 Some of the pines begin to yield commercially 

 valuable lumber In twenty-five to thirty years, while 

 pulpwood may be obtained in the south a little 

 earlier. Except for thinnings made to promote 

 good growth the hardwood forests of Europe are 



