No. 4.] MASSACHUSETTS FORESTRY. 325 



private holdings, and until these conditions are changed 

 nothing of moment can be accomplished in conserving the 

 forests for the public good, for in this country private 

 owners will not submit to such strenuous rules as are in 

 force in European countries. One condition is in a large 

 degree favorable. The face of the country in this State is 

 so broken and uneven that an abundant portion of the 

 surface has been left without clearing, and thousands of 

 acres that were cleared by our fathers are of so little value 

 as cleared land that they may be cheaply bought and added 

 to the forested area. According to our last census, about 

 35 per cent of the surface of the State is classed as wood- 

 land, and in addition there are many thousands of acres of 

 poor bushy pasture that might well be bearing trees. If all 

 this land was covered with mature forest growth instead of 

 the brush and sprouts that now occupy so large a portion 

 of it, the future of the water supply of the State would be 

 assured so far as the presence of abundant forest areas 

 could assure it. 



It has been urged that the forest problem, so far as 

 regards the propagation of commercial timber, should be 

 left to private enterprise ; with the suggestion that outside 

 capital would eventually be invested in large areas, which, 

 while acquired primarily for game preserves or private 

 parks, would be likely to be managed by their owners in 

 a way to promote the growth of commercial timber and in- 

 cidentally help to conserve the water supply. Front my 

 point of view, while this outcome would be an improvement 

 on the present condition of our forests, it is objectionable in 

 that it would tend toward the establishment of a landed 

 aristocracy, which is not in accord with the traditions of 

 our Commonwealth. It is also directly contrary to the 

 growing idea that the land is God's gift to the people. To 

 my mind it would be far better if a large part of the great 

 area of wooded land, waste land and semi-waste land in 

 our State was owned by the State, and that whatever of 

 financial return could be realized therefrom in the future 

 should benefit the inhabitants as a whole. 



At first thought this may seem impracticable if not im- 



