CONCLUDING REMARKS. 323 



page 139, has taken the matter in hand, and is endeavor- 

 ing not only to bring about an enlargement of the State 

 property in the Adirondacks in order to secure the water 

 sheds of our navigable rivers against further wanton 

 wood destruction; but also to introduce a systematic 

 management of the State forests with the view of mak- 

 ing them a source of permanent revenue for the State. 



Now the question arises whether this change of policy 

 by which the State appears as a great landed proprietor 

 and dealer in wood products is desirable in the face of 

 the strongly existing American idea that the Govern- 

 ment never shall compete with private industries and 

 occupations, but must only interfere to secure perfect 

 freedom of labor and facilitate private enterprise. 



And here we may, without resorting to the dangerous 

 expedient of forming new schools of economists for 

 America,* on general grounds as well as by the experience 

 of other countries enjoying the same free institutions 

 which we possess {e. g. Switzerland), answer this question 

 unhesitatingly in the affirmative. 



The Adirondack region as a whole is, with the excep- 

 tion of lands situated along the river valleys and the 

 shores of some of the larger lakes, utterly unfit for agri- 

 cultural purposes. As soon as the timber is taken away 

 the owner of the tract has no more interest in it. Seed- 

 ing and harvesting time are too far apart from each 

 other. The forest-planter will never reap the full bene- 

 fit of his labors, and therefore, the owner does not feel 

 like going on to replant a tract which he has just 

 stripped of its trees to realize the anticipated benefits of 

 his property. To replant his denuded lands a large capi- 



« See " Annual Beport of the Division of Forestry for 1887," p. 47, 

 init. 



