39 



//. For Examinations of Woodlands Concluded. 



1 No expense. 



2 Paid by owner. 



WHAT THE GENERAL COURT is ASKED TO CONSIDER AT 



PRESENT. 



/. Exemption from Taxation on Forest Land. 

 At present we have a law in our statutes (Revised Laws, chap- 

 ter 12, section 6) that is ineffective, as it requires that 2,000 trees 

 must be set on an acre of land to exempt it from taxation, while 

 as a matter of fact 1,210 trees are all that are at present recom- 

 mended for such purposes. The species of trees for planting are 

 also too small, and the time for exemption I believe could well be 

 extended to twenty years. In Wisconsin similar planting is ex- 

 empt for thirty years. This law should be amended and modern- 

 ized to meet our needs. 



II. Forest Reserves. 



It is time that some State forest reserve policy should be estab- 

 lished in Massachusetts. The national government is doing 

 much in this direction, and various States have State forest 

 reserves. I would not recommend that this State go into an 



