58 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



existence of a responsible officer. Many precautionary meas- 

 ures could be easily and cheaply introduced by an efficient 

 man at the head. of the entire service, besides a feeling of 

 respect for the law, which he could inculcate, and which is 

 really almost the main thing to attain. I must repeat: the 

 first duty of the State is to make property secure ; in coun- 

 tries where property is insecure, barbarism is supposed to 

 prevail. By so much as we have failed to secure that pro- 

 tection, by so much we have failed to have attained the 

 highest civilization, and must acknowledge our disgrace. 

 With an efficient protection against Hres, the whole forestry 

 })roblem takes another aspect, the problem is half solved ; 

 for it is the fire danger which has to a large extent made the 

 holding and caring for forest property in its immature stages 

 undesirable, and it will continue to do so until this danger is 

 removed. 



Whether it would be wisdom to extend the police function 

 of the State beyond this fire service is very doubtful. The 

 experience of Europe has shown that restriction in the use 

 of private property is not only cumbersome and obnoxious, 

 but mostly fails in the expected results. It is far better 

 policy, where a restricted exercise of property rights threatens 

 to injure distant interests of the community at large, to pre- 

 vent this by acquiring such property for the State or the 

 community. There is only one restriction in using forest 

 property that could be equitably imposed when the State has 

 made efficient effort to control forest fires, namely, that the 

 private owners do not recklessly create specially hazardous 

 conditions for conflagration. 



Educational Measures. 



The educational function of the State has been thoroughly 

 acknowledged by our democracy in our public school system 

 and by your State in various other ways. 



This State Board of Agriculture is, I take it, largely an 

 educational institution ; and the bounties which are annually 

 paid to your agricultural and horticultural societies are an 

 expression of the acknoAvledgment of this educational duty 

 beyond the conmion school. 1 see that section 10 of chapter 



