FORESTRY IN MASSACHUSETTS 



Importance of Forestry in Massachusetts 



Improved management of woodlands in this Common- 

 wealth is of great importance. The United States Geo- 

 logical Survey estimates that 2,688,000 acres, or 50 per 

 cent., of the area of the Commonwealth is in woodlands, the 

 total area being 5,321,600 acres. As there is a considerable 

 area of waste land, old fields, abandoned pastures and the 

 like, a part of which is capable of bearing forest growth, and 

 which was not included in the above classification, the amount 

 of land available for forest purposes must be in the neighbor- 

 hood of 3,000,000 acres. At present much of this area is 

 occupied with scattering and decrepit growth, and much of 

 it has been burned over and otherwise abused until its pro- 

 ductive capacity has been greatly reduced. The United 

 States census for 1900 gave $3,626,515 as the annual output 

 of woodlands in Massachusetts. This is not the net produc- 

 tion : it is the value of logs, ties, posts, firewood, etc., 

 delivered. The 3,000,000 acres available could with proper 

 management produce, and produce continuously, several 

 times the present output. By neglecting to practise fores- 

 try, the owners of woodlands are allowing a great resource 

 of raw material to go to waste. 



In the mean time, our manufacturers are going to Canada, 

 to the south, the middle west, and even to the Pacific coast, 

 to get their supplies. And they are sending money with 

 their orders, that might go to owners in Massachusetts and 

 be spent here. 



Wood is always needed. In spite of the many substitutes 

 that have been found for it, wood is more in demand to-day 

 than ever before. The amount of wood annually consumed 

 is constantly increasing, although the amount relative to 

 other raw materials has decreased. And the prices paid for 

 wood supplies are constantly increasing. 



So, aside from other considerations, forestry, from an 

 economic point of view, is of great importance to land 

 owners, to manufacturers, and to the public. 



