Conservation Commission. 103 



Last September a circular letter was sent to such people a3 

 might be interested in our reforesting work, and they were ad- 

 vised that a forester would be at our nurseries in the Adirondack^ 

 and would spend two days showing them all of our reforesting 

 operations. A large number of people took advantage of this 

 chance to see the work. 



STATE WIDE FIRE LAW. 



The recommendation was made last year that a suitable fire 

 law be enacted to give proper protection to the extensive and 

 valuable forests outside of the present " Forest Preserve." A 

 similar law is in effect in the other Northeastern States and as 

 our forests are equally important this law should be enacted and 

 be so flexible that efficient protection will be secured in those 

 towns where the forest interests are of sufficient importance. We 

 are expending effort to get people to reforest and adopt better 

 forest management but the results of this work all depend upon 

 reasonable fire protection, and without it nothing definite will be 

 accomplished. 



The need is readily observed when one travels over the various 

 parts of the State. 



CONFERENCE OF STATE DEPARTMENTS. 



The fact that there were several different commissions and 

 State institutions engaged in forestry and kindred problems, all 

 of which were working independently, made it seem desirable to 

 call a conference of those interested. 



A meeting was held in the office of this commission April 10, 

 1912. and was attended by representatives from the State College 

 of Forestry at Syracuse, State College of Agriculture at Cornell 

 University, Ithaca, State Education Department, State Agri- 

 cultural Department, State Agricultural School at Alfred Uni- 

 versity, U. S. Forest Service, and by the State Entomologist, 

 State Botanist, the Director of the Agricultural Experiment 

 Station at Geneva, 1ST. Y., and this commission. As a result a 

 permanent organization was effected, an outline of work which 

 should be conducted was prepared, and committees on forest in- 

 vestigation, forest mapping, standards, forest extension, tree dis- 



