212 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



GENERAL FORESTRY. 



Examination of Woodlands and Peactical Assistance 



GIVEN Owners. 



This department of our forestr}' work is the largest estab- 

 lishment of all our lines, yet it is not as familiar to the people 

 of the State as it should be. If it were, we believe that there 

 would be many more calls for advice than we receive at present. 

 By examinations we refer briefly to this, that owners of wood- 

 land in the State may, by applying to this oflice on a special 

 blank, have a trained forester come and look over their wood- 

 land, and he will point out to them how it can be improved, 

 and furnish any other information which it is in his power to 

 give. Where it is a case of thinning, he may, if he sees fit, 

 mark a portion of the trees to be cut. The only expense to the 

 owner for this advice is the travelling expenses of the visiting 

 forester. This offer applies equally to land owners who want 

 advice on the planting of barren laud. Counsel given on the 

 ground, where all the conditions can be seen and met, is far 

 superior to any given by correspondence or to the general ad- 

 vice contained in pamphlets. 



The following table shows the number of examinations made 

 in this and past years, together with the combined area of the 

 various wood lots. It will be noticed that there is a slight 

 falling off since last year; but this fact does not discourage us, 

 because in 1908 we made a special effort to advertise this part 

 of our work, first by sending out a large number of examination 

 application blanks to those on our mailing list, and second, by 

 sending a special circular letter to all the water boards in the 

 State. The result was, of course, that quite a number of re- 

 quests for assistance were received which otherwise would not 

 have been made, including some of our largest. Holding that 

 the figures of last year were abnormal, we consider those of this 



