8 



be set in the open air between the first day of April and the first day 

 of December, except by the written permission of the forest warden : 

 provided, that debris from fields, gardens and orchards, or leaves and 

 brush from yards may be burned on ploughed fields by the owners 

 thereof, their agents or lessees, but in every case such fire shall be at 

 least two hundred feet distant from any forest or sprout lands, and 

 shall be properly attended until it is extinguished. The forest warden 

 shall cause public notice to be given of the provisions of this section, 

 and shall enforce the same. Whoever violates the provisions of this 

 section shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred 

 dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than one month, or by both 

 such fine and imprisonment. 



SECTION 2. The provisions of the preceding section shall not apply 

 to fires which may be set in accordance with regulations and methods 

 approved by the superintendent for suppressing the gypsy and brown 

 tail moths. 



SECTION 3. The state forester shall notify every town in the com- 

 monwealth of the passage of this act by sending at least three 

 printed copies thereof to the town clerk, who shall post the same in 

 conspicuous places. 



SECTION 4. The state forester and forest warden may arrest with- 

 out a warrant any persons found in the act of setting a fire in viola- 

 tion of any provision of this act. 



SECTION 5. The selectmen of every town shall cause this act to be 

 submitted to the voters for their acceptance at the next annual meet- 

 ing of the town after the passage of this act. The vote shall be 

 taken by separate ballot, and shall be " Yes " or " No " in answer 

 to the following question printed upon the ballot : " Shall an act 

 passed by the general court in the year nineteen hundred and eight, 

 entitled ' An Act to provide for the protection of forest or sprout 

 lands from fire ' be accepted by this town? " A majority vote of the 

 legal voters present and voting at such meeting shall be required for 

 the acceptance of this act ; and upon such acceptance the provisions 

 of section twenty-four of chapter thirty-two of the Revised Laws 

 shall cease to apply to any town which has previously accepted that 

 section. [Approved March 14, 1908. 



III. THE REVISED LAWS ON EXEMPTION OF REFORESTED 



LANDS FROM TAXATION. 



The old law (R. L., c. 12, 6) required that in order to 

 get planted lands exempt from taxation at least 2,000 trees 

 x must be set to the acre. As 1,200 trees is the number com- 

 monly recommended, or 6 by 6 feet, this revision was neces- 

 sary. The new revision also allows the filling out of natu- 

 rally stocked lands, so that they may receive similar exemp- 



