26 EIGHTH REPORT OF THE 



has undertaken the work of planting the burned and waste areas of the Preserve 

 with seedling trees of merchantable species. That there is a wide field for opera- 

 tions of this kind is evident, in view of the fact that within the Adirondack 

 Park there are 50,592 acres classified as waste, burned or denuded, to say nothing 

 of a similar class of lands in the Forest Preserve which is situated outside the 

 park boundary, or so-called " Blue Line." 



Small plantations had already been made by our foresters on State lands in the 

 Catskills in 1900 and 1901, the comparatively slight expense of which encouraged 

 the Commission to undertake, last spring, the reforesting of a large tract in the 

 Adirondacks. In Franklin County, near Lake Clear Junction, there is a large 

 area of State land that had been closely lumbered, after which it became denuded 

 by repeated fires. The ground, which originally sustained a growth of large White 

 Pine, was covered with ferns and huckleberry bushes, with here and there small 

 areas of swampy land or thickets of young evergreens and poplars. It was mostly 

 an open plain, extending several miles in either direction, its level expanse being 

 broken in places by low hills or long, rolling ridges. The soil is sandy, covered 

 with a thin deposit of ashes left from forest fires. The latter conditions, however, 

 were not unfavorable; for a sandy soil forms the natural habitat of the White 

 Pine, and the small admixture of ashes has some value as a fertilizer. 



The highway from Saranac Inn to Harrietstown skirts the northern boundary 

 of the tract, while a branch of the New York Central Railroad, running from 

 Lake Clear Junction to the village of Saranac Lake, passes through its central 

 portion. The land includes all, or parts, of Lots 105, 106, 93, 63, 62 and 64 

 of Township 21, Macomb's Purchase, Franklin County, as shown on the large 

 Adirondack map published by the Commission. 



Early last spring, as soon as the ground was free from snow, a careful exam- 

 ination of this territory was made by Commissioner Middleton and the Superin- 

 tendent of Forests with reference to the feasibility of undertaking reforesting 

 operations there. The only objection noted at the time was the proximity of the 

 railroad, which would form a constant source of danger from fire. This difficulty 

 was offset to a considerable extent by the fact that a district firewarden resided 

 close by, and that a number of people living in the immediate vicinity were 

 always available as a force for fighting fire. 



Having decided to undertake the planting of about 700 acres of this tract the 

 question naturally arose as to the species which should be used. The White Pine 

 is the most available of our forest trees, and, as it had originally covered this 

 ground with a natural growth, preference was given to this species. The selection 

 was further indicated by the sandy soil which elsewhere throughout the Adiron- 



