508 DEPARTMENTAL BEPOKTS. 



The total area of private lands under the supervision of the Bureau 

 in practical forestry, including those not mentioned above, is 679,194 

 acres; that of public lands, exclusive of forest reserves, is 106,759 

 acres. 



Cooperative State Forest Studies. 



MAINE. 



During the past year a study of forest conditions in Maine was begun 

 in cooperation with the Maine forest commission, which contributed 

 $1,000 toward the expense of the work. Of this sum, $679.12 was 

 actually expended. This study was undertaken as the first step in a 

 thorough investigation of the Maine forests. The field work occupied 

 10 men for about two and a half months. It included a careful study 

 of the Spruce and, so far as possible, of the trees with which it occurs in 

 mixture. Particular attention was given to determining the rate of 

 growth of Spruce in diameter and height in different localities, its dis- 

 tribution, and the conditions necessary for its successful reproduction. 

 In this fl]-st attack upon a very large problem it became evident that 

 the best results could be gained from a thorough study of a typical for- 

 est area. With this in mind. Squaw Mountain Township, which lies 

 in Piscataquis County, immediately south of Moosehead Lake, was 

 selected for the work. This township, as a result of its varied topog- 

 raphy, contains a number of the forest types which are characteristic 

 of the forest growth upon large areas in central Maine, and includes 

 also virgin forest, lands cut over for spruce and pine lumber, lands 

 cut first for logs and then for pulp wood, and lands lumbered for hard- 

 woods. Since logging has been going on continuously for six years 

 just past there was good opportunity for measurements of rate of 

 growth on stumps and felled trees as well as for a study of the effect 

 of present methods of logging upon the forest. 



The results of the work were published as a part of the fourth 

 report of the forest commissioner of the State of Maine. A careful 

 description of the forest is given, with tables showing the stand and 

 the rate of growth of the commercial trees, and a summary of conclu- 

 sions concerning the conservative management of forest lands similar 

 to those of Squaw Mountain Township. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



Toward the close of the past year the Bureau began the field work 

 of a study of the forests of New Hampshire. This was made possible 

 by an appropriation of $5,000 by the State legislature to cover the 

 expenses of the work, whose specific purpose is to ascertain present 

 forest conditions and their causes. It will include the determination 

 of methods by which the forests of the White Mountains and ulti- 

 mately of the whole State may best be preserved. The field work is 

 directed along the following main lines : 



(1) A study of the composition and quality of the forest and an 

 estimate of the present stand. The results obtained will be used 

 partly in the completion of the forest map of New Hampshire pub- 

 lished in 1894. f f 



(2) A study of the characteristics of the more important trees and 

 of the conditions necessary for their successful reproduction. 



(3) A study of the methods and extent of lumbering, of its effect 

 upon the forest, and of practicable modifications to improve the con- 

 dition of cut-over lands. 



