No. 4.] FARM FORESTRY. 297 



most convenient. In the case of the white pine, an excep- 

 tion might be made by those who consider outward appear- 

 ances somewhat even in the timber lot. A pine trimmed in 

 the spring or early summer will " bleed," and the stem will 

 thereby be badly smeared with pitch. Authorities assert 

 that this " l)leeding" does not injure the tree, l)ut it makes 

 an unsightly forest. From August to March is the best 

 time, therefore, to trim the pines ; and most farmers will 

 find this convenient for them, inasmuch as it is in the fall 

 and winter that their greatest leisure comes. 



A final word should be said concerning one of the most 

 serious hindrances to timber growing, namely, woodland 

 fires. Until this annual evil is checked, it Avould be folly to 

 invest much money or labor in timber lands. That it can 

 be checked has already been proved by the States of Minne- 

 sota and Pennsylvania. Both of these States have been 

 heavy sufferers in the past from forest fires, but the people 

 at length awoke to the need of doing somethins: drastic. 

 Rigid laws were enacted, providing severe penalties for 

 setting fires or for allowing brush fires to escape, and pro- 

 viding ofiicers, who are required under penalty to enforce 

 them. These laws have been enforced, and with marked 

 success. Pennsylvania, for instance, suffered an average 

 animal loss for years of over $1,000,000. Since the passage 

 of their fire law the average has dropped to a few thousand. 

 Massachusetts has laws enough on this subject, but they are 

 not enforced. The woodland of the State is valued at nearly 

 one-third as much as all the farm buildings in the Common- 

 wealth, and yet only a few towns think it wise to enforce 

 the laws which are intended to protect all this property 

 from needless losses. 



The best fire law on the Massachusetts statute books is 

 chapter 254 of the Acts of 1897 ; but, before it can become 

 operative in any town, it must be formally accepted by the 

 voters at a town meeting. This law was passed at the urgent 

 request of some of the Cape Cod towns which had been severe 

 sufl'erers from fires. Those towns adopted the law at once, 

 enforced compliance with its provisions, and the benefits 

 have been marked. That this law is not more widely ac- 

 cepted must be due to one of two reasons, — either the 



