322 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



planted to white pine, which is to be cut fifty years from 

 now. As soon as that pine has reached a size at which it 

 adds any value to the land, the property is assessed accord- 

 ingly until it is cut, when it is again put back to the value of 

 the land without the crop. In other words, the present sys- 

 tem provides for the taxation of raw material, not only once, 

 ]jut many times. When this raw material is universally 

 used in our manufactures, such heavy taxation is of doubtful 

 expediency, granting it to ])e fair, which it is not. It hinders 

 the increase of wealth by taxing it at its source. 



So there is dissatisfaction for two reasons : first, the crop 

 as well as the land is taxed, which is not the case with ordi- 

 nary agricultural crops ; and, second, the crop is taxed while 

 it is not bringing in anything, and therefore the owner is not 

 in a condition to pay taxes on it. 



The committee appointed in 1905 to investigate the taxa- 

 tion of woodlands reported to the General Comi; of 1906. 

 The report was printed as House Document, No. 134, which 

 was referred to the General Court of 1907 for action. A 

 further consideration of this report is recommended, as it is 

 the result of the most thorough investigation of this question 

 ever made in America. 



The need of reform along this line is emphasized by the 

 fact that most of the woodlands of the Commonwealth are in 

 the hands of private owners, and the private owner's actions 

 are influenced largely by self-interest. Although the State 

 may acquire certain lands for State forests, still, the great 

 body of woodlands will always remain in the hands of indi- 

 viduals. Now, it is to the communities' interest that private 

 holdings should continue to produce, generation after genera- 

 tion, the greatest possible amount of useful material ; and the 

 individual owner should be given every reasonable chance 

 to harmonize his interests with those of the community. A 

 reform in our tax laws as applied to woodlands would be a 

 step towards bringing private and public interest together. 



State Forests. 

 The Commonwealth ought to extend its policy of park 

 reservation to include genuine State forests. The reseiwa- 

 tions that have been made so far are distinctly for park 



