322 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



tit^ 



MASSACHUSETTS FOEESTRY. 



BY HON. WM. R. SESSIONS OF SPRINGFIELD. 



This subject was assigned to me, as I understand, not 

 because I .am an expert in forestry, or even a student of 

 the subject, but because at the last annual meeting of the 

 Board I advanced some suggestions for future action by the 

 State that might lead to practical work in the line of for- 

 estry ; work that might help future generations out of the 

 present unfavorable conditions that have been brought upon 

 us by the management of the woodlands of the State by the 

 owners of such property. It was doubtless expected that I 

 would in this paper elaborate a plan for the suggested State 

 action. I am not prepared to do so, but may be able to 

 state facts and present further suggestions that may serve as 

 hints to students of the Massachusetts forest problem, or at 

 least more fully explain the position assumed at the last 

 annual meeting. 



I think it will be agreed that it is folly to expect owners 

 to expend money in planting trees, or in fostering the 

 growth of timber from the spontaneous growth of our 

 woodlands and neglected hillsides. Our people are un- 

 willing to invest money for the benefit of posterity, with no 

 expectation of an annual income or for any return during 

 their lifetime. There are several reasons why this condition 

 prevails. If a man should decide to grow a timber forest, 

 he could have little hope that his children would be owners 

 of the property when it was ready to furnish a financial 

 return for his investment in land and care of forest. The 

 owners of our woodlands and abandoned pasture lands are 

 very largely men of small means, who cannot afford any 

 outlay that does not offer a reasonable prospect of a return 

 in the shape of an income on the investment during their 



