FOREST POLICY. 



The largest reservoir is on the Pecos River, in the south- 

 east of the State near Carlsbad. 



The irrigation works existing in 1889 were constructed at 

 an outlay of $4,100,000 and irrigate 204,000 acres of farm land, 

 producing $2,800,000 worth of crops. 



FORESTRY CONDITIONS OF NEW YORK: 



1. Area: 18,700 square miles, or 39% of the State, are 

 classed as woodlands. 



2. Physiography: Whole State slightly mountainous. 

 Western section more level. Catskills on west bank of Hud- 

 son; Adirotidacks in extreme north, rising in Mount Marcy to 

 an elevation of 5;345 feet (with gneiss and granite for underly- 

 ing rock). A large number of inland lakes in north and west 

 facilitate transportation. 



3. Distribution: The western section is the farming sec- 

 tion of the State. Originally the broad-leafed forest of the Mis- 

 sissippi Basin covered the entire State, excepting: — 



(a) The Adirondacks, where maple, birch and beech pre- 

 vail in irregular mixture with spruce, hemlock, white pine and 

 red pine, the spruce forming pure stands on the poorest soil, 

 whilst wet depressions are occupied by balsam, tamarack and 

 white cedar. 



(b) The low hills bordering the Hudson and extending 

 westward along the Pennsylvania line, in which the coniferous 

 species of the northern pine belt preponderate. 



In 1900, the forests, with the exception of those in parts 

 of the Adirondacks, consist of second growth. Many a so- 

 called "virgin forest" .of the Adiron.dacks has lost its stand of 

 white pine for many a year. 



4. Forest ownership: 276 firms own 648,000 acres, stocked 

 with s,6oo feet b. m. per acre. The State reserves comprise 1,325,- 

 000 acres in the Adirondacks and 82,000 acres in the Catskills. 



5. Use of timber: The stand of conifers in New York was 

 estimated, by Sargent, in 1880, at 8.3 billion feet b. m., and by 

 Fernow, in 1896, at 5.3 billion feet b. m. 



66 



