290 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



were established struggled madly to secure their annulment. 

 Instead of abolishing these reservations, the next adminis- 

 tration added others. By that time public opinion had 

 changed, on a better understanding of the subject, and 

 those who had clamored loudest against Mr. Cleveland's act 

 were heard petitioning that 3'et other reserves be estab- 

 lished. This was the beginning of a system of national 

 forests, and the whole people believes in it to-day. 



About the same time the State of New York began pur- 

 chasing vast tracts of timber land in the Adirondacks and 

 Catskills, and Pennsylvania soon after followed suit. This 

 was the beginning of State forests in this country. Massa- 

 chusetts has no such vast forest domains within her borders ; 

 nevertheless, she is doing her share in the application of the 

 science at home, but in part for a different purpose. 



That we may the better understand what we are doing as 

 a nation and as a State in this matter of forestry, let us 

 examine briefly into tlie reason for our doing it. Forestry 

 is a science. So, too, is the practice of electricity. The 

 time was when few believed that anything business-like or 

 commercial would develop from electricity. It was re- 

 garded as a theoretical science pure and simple. To-day 

 vast capital is employed in promoting the many l)ranches of 

 the electrical business. Forestry also is capable of being 

 made a profitable business. This has been sufficiently 

 proven by the experience of European countries and com- 

 munities during the last century, and during recent years 

 by some of our own more progressive lumbermen. 



One of the reasons why we as a nation have not embarked 

 upon this enterprise earlier, is that we have heretofore had 

 an ample stock of virgin timber to draw upon, and many 

 other more pressing problems to consider and dispose of. 

 When our scientific men called attention to the fact that we 

 were using nearly twice as much timber as our forests could 

 possibly produce, provided even that they were well stocked 

 and skilfully managed (which they were not), and that our 

 farming and manufacturinoj interests would soon begin to 

 feel the efiect of a denudation of the hills which sheltered 

 the source of their water powers, then we began to think 

 deeply and to act as well. 



