No. 4.] REPORT OF STATE FORESTER. 339 



On account of the obvious necessity of getting this work 

 started as rapidly as possible, we did not await the usual course 

 of events and have the owners come in to us for advice and 

 assistance, but rather went out after the owners and proffered 

 our services. ^Yith the aid of the district and local moth super- 

 intendents a list was made of the owners of the infested wood- 

 land of the State, and to each owner was sent a letter offering 

 our advice and help, and enclosing a blank to be signed if an 

 examination of the property was desired. Over 2,000 such 

 letters were sent out, and about 340 have returned the signed 

 examination application to date. Up to December 1 we have 

 been able to make 174 of these examinations, covering an area 

 of about 9,628 acres. About 25 owners up to the present time 

 have started this work, either under « our supervision or with 

 our assistance, and by these operations about 1,000 acres will 

 have been put into condition. This does not include the 

 thinnings done by the local or district moth superintendents, 

 which will cover a large aggregate area. 



In many towns all the roadsides and considerable private 

 property have been thinned out by the local men, and in the 

 town of Dover and on the North Shore considerable work has 

 been done under special funds. 



The aid offered to owners of infested woodland, outside of 

 free advice, has been the marking of trees, the marketing of 

 the wood, the furnishing of labor, and the actual supervision 

 and management of the thinnings. In several cases we have 

 found contractors who would cut the wood under our specifica- 

 tions and inspection and pay the owner for it. We have now 

 three trained crews who will do the work under our direction 

 for any owner who desires them, and will pay the actual cost. 

 We have in other places furnished woodchoppers who cut by 

 the cord under the supervision of a trained foreman. We 

 expect to start out several new crews shortly. 



A list of the areas cut or being cut under our direction and 

 supervision follows: — 



