December 28, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



979 



devote their entire time to the duties of 

 their office, has given way to the more 

 economical and productive policy of em- 

 ploj'ing and paying men of trained efficiency 

 in the administration of this branch of the 

 public service. In still other particulars it 

 has been found desirable to amend and ex- 

 tend the forestry law of 1885, as will appear 

 in what follows. 



Taxation, Sale and Purchase of State Lands. 



At an early date the difficult problems 

 connected with taxation, sale and purchase 

 of State lands for forestry were taken up. 

 The laws of 1886 provided that forest lands 

 belonging to the State in the counties of the 

 forest reserve should be taxed at the same 

 rate as other lands, and that the tax should 

 be paid by crediting the sum on the taxes 

 due from each county in which they are 

 located as State taxes. 



In 1887 an Act was passed providing for 

 the sale of detached portions of lands be- 

 longing to the State or their exchange for 

 lands adjacent to land belonging to the 

 State, and in 1890 the forest commission 

 was authorized to purchase land within the 

 counties including the forest preserve, for 

 purposes of a State park, at a price not to 

 exceed $1.50 per acre. During this time 

 and for a period of several years thereafter 

 the right, of the State to much of the land 

 belonging to the forest preserve was con- 

 tested by parties having real or supposed 

 claims, but the final decision of the highest 

 court of appeal has left the State in posses- 

 sion with a title no longer open to question. 



Parks. 

 In 1887 an Act was passed to establish 

 parks for the propagation of deer and other 

 game upon lands belonging to the State 

 situated in the Catskill region, the forestry 

 commission being authorized to set apart 

 three tracts there for the purpose named, 

 and by an Act of 1892 the Adirondack Park 

 was established within the counties of the 



forest preserve lying in that part of the 

 State, which it was provided ' should be for- 

 ever reserved, * * * and cared for as ground 

 open for the free use of all the people for 

 their health or pleasure, and as forest lands 

 necessary to the preservation of the head- 

 waters of the chief rivers of the State and a 

 future timber supply.' In both cases ap- 

 propriations were made for the provisions 

 of these acts, and the policy of State owner- 

 ship and control of land for public parks, 

 for sanitary purposes and water supply, and 

 for raising timber as a function of the com.- 

 monwealth was thus emphasized and con- 

 firmed. 



Constitution and Duties of the Commission. Changes. 



By an Act of 1893 the number of members 

 of the Forest Commission, previously three, 

 was changed to five. The commission was 

 still unpaid, but was now empowered to 

 employ a paid superintendent, two inspect- 

 ors of forests, a secretary and clerks. 

 Something further was now attempted in 

 the way of fixing responsibility for the con- 

 trol of forest fires. The supervisors, besides 

 being made town protectors of lands and 

 ex-officio fire wardens, were required to re- 

 port fires. But the uncertainty of promptly 

 locating and extinguishing fires by means 

 of untrained helpers, with other inherent 

 difficulties that have been felt until the 

 present time, prevented this system from 

 accomplishing all the good for which it was 

 intended. 



In 1895 a change of considerable moment 

 was made, the former commission being 

 superseded by a Fisheries, Game and For- 

 est Commission, consisting of five commis- 

 sioners appointed by the Governor, their 

 term of office being five years. The duties 

 of the commission were now of far wider 

 scope, and it was, of course, impossible for 

 any member of it to be an expert in all 

 of the various interests committed to its 

 charge. A division of responsibility and 



