Report of the Forest Commission. 221 



Section 1. Be it enacted, etc., That the governor be authorized to 

 appoint two persons as a commission, one of whom is to be a compe- 

 tent engineer, one a botanist practically acquainted with the forest 

 trees of the commonwealth, whose duty it shall be to examine and 

 report upon the conditions of the slopes and summits of the important 

 watersheds of the state for the purpose of determining how far the 

 presence or absence of the forest cover may be influential in producing 

 high and low water stages in the various river basins; and to report 

 how much timber remains standing of such kinds as have special com- 

 mercial value, how much there is of each kind, as well, also, as to 

 indicate the part or parts of the state where each grows naturally, and 

 what measures, if any, are being taken to secure a supply of timber for 

 the future It shall further be the duty of said commission to sug- 

 gest such measures in this connection as have been found of practical 

 service elsewhere in maintaining a proper timber supply, and to ascer- 

 tain, as nearly as is practicable, what proportion of the state not now 

 recognized as mineral land is unfit for remunerative agriculture and 

 could with advantage be devoted to the growth of trees. 



§ 2. The said commission shall also ascertain what wild lands, if any, 

 now belong to the commonwealth; their extent, character and location, 

 and report the same, together with a statement of what part or parts 

 of such lands would be suitable for a state forest reserve; and, further, 

 should the lands belonging to the commonwealth be insufficient for 

 such purpose, then to ascertain and report what other suitable lands 

 there may be within the state, their extent, character and value. The 

 final report of the said commission shall be presented to the legislature 

 not later than March 15, 1895. 



§ 3. The said commission shall have power to appoint one competent 

 person to act as statistician, whose duties shall be to compile the 

 statistics collected by said commission, under their direction and super- 

 vision, whose salary shall be one thousand dollars per annum, with 

 necessary expenses, to be paid in the same manner as is hereinafter 

 provided for the payment of the forestry commission. 



§ 4. The commissioners appointed hereunder shall be entitled to 

 receive by quarterly payments a compensation as follows: The 

 engineer, twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500) per annum; the botanist, 

 twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500) per annum, with necessary 

 expenses for each; and the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), 

 or so much as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any 

 money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, to be paid by 

 warrant drawn by the auditor-general. 



