FORESTRY IN MASSACHUSETTS 15 



long for a drive along a shady woodland road, or a tramp 

 through the woods. It is sometimes a relief to escape from 

 the ' * keep-off-the-grass " signs, to walk on the soft forest 

 floor, to sit down on a stone that is not dressed and set in 

 masonry. This relief is furnished by a timber-producing 

 forest better than by any other form of park. 



Lands for forest reservations can very often be acquired 

 at a comparatively small cost. A few years ago Connecticut 

 bought 900 acres, at an average cost of $1.64 per acre. 

 When once well stocked, the sale of mature timber should 

 not only provide for the maintenance of such reservations, 

 but should return a net revenue to the treasury of the State. 

 The kingdom of Prussia owns 6,000,000 acres of forest land, 

 from which the government derives a net annual revenue of 

 $9,000,000; and the republic of France owns 2,100,000 

 acres of forest land, from which it derives a net annual 

 revenue of $1.91 per acre. 



City and Town Forests 



There are many reasons why cities and towns would do 

 well to own and manage woodlands, when suitable cheap 

 lands are to be found within their boundaries. This could 

 be done in many instances at a small initial cost ; and, as 

 said above in connection with State forests, such holdings 

 should in time provide for their own maintenance, and even 

 return a net annual revenue to the city or town that owns 

 them. There is a provision for the purchase and mainte- 

 nance of such city and town forests already on the statute 

 books (chapter 28, section 23, Revised Statutes), but so far 

 no city or town has availed itself of its privileges under the 

 law. The law is so framed, however, as to be a positive 

 deterrent rather than an incentive to the acquisition of wood- 

 lands by cities and towns. 



The Relation of State, City, and Town Forests to Taxes 



We hear a great deal about the tax problem nowadays. 



The tax rate seems to be going up constantly, and yet we 



know that changing conditions, within the State, the cities 



and the towns, make it probable that the expenses of govern- 



