No. 4.] REPORT OF STATE FORESTER. 293 



provision for fire protection, were made, followed by specific 

 treatment for each type. A table was included giving instruc- 

 tions for handling a given portion of the tract each year, so that 

 after a certain period has elapsed the whole area w411 be under 

 management. 



The city has begun to follow out the recommendations made in 

 the report, and last spring started a nursery under the direction 

 of this office. 



Reforestation. 



The reforestation policy of this office has been gaining strength 

 throughout the Commonwealth by the awakening of the interest 

 of private land o^\^lers in this kind of work. The fact that New 

 Hampshire is also endeavoring to pass a similar law shows our 

 reforestation law to be one of merit. 



The work done during the past four years under the provisions 

 of the reforestation act is beginning to show the practicability of 

 planting forest trees on our waste lands. The plantations set in 

 1909 and 1910 are now large enough to attract the attention of 

 people passing b}'. 



This office has, up to the present time, planted about 80 lots 

 of land in different sections of the State. During the past sum- 

 mer all these plantations were inspected, and reports made on 

 the conditions of each lot. Where a considerable number of trees 

 had died from the severe drought of the summer of 1911, or from 

 other causes, it was decided to fill in the blanks so caused with 

 new trees. This part of the work has been pushed with vigor 

 during this fall, so that now nearly all of the 1909 and 1910 plan- 

 tations are in good condition, and need no further attention beyond 

 the cutting of brush and protection from fire. 



A few of the plantations set late in the spring of 1912 were 

 somewhat affected by the drought of this past summer, and 

 will require some filling in another year. 



Twenty-nine plantations, comprising a total acreage of 810 

 acres, were set out this past year with three and four year old 

 transplant stock, all raised in our own nursery at Amherst. The 

 number of trees set amounted to more than a million. 



We also cleared and burnt over an 87-acre tract of cut-over 

 pine land upon which the slash was very dense. A fire line was 

 built along the entire length of the west side of the lot where it 



