FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONER. 31 



that are so essential to the welfare, health and prosperity of the people of the 

 Empire State. 



The Land Purchasing Board has materially added to the holdings of 

 the State, during the year of 1906 having purchased all told about 80,311 

 acres, making the total amount of land held at this time by the State 

 i,52o,:>99 acres. Of that there are in the Adirondack's 1,415,775 acres, the 

 balance, 104,524 acres, being in the Catskills. 



The prices paid for land so purchased have been in all cases very 

 reasonable, and the purchases have generally been made where the land 

 joined or was in close proximity to other lands held by the State, with the 

 idea of closing up the State holdings so far as possible. Each purchase 

 has been made after very careful inspection of the land, the timber growth 

 thereon, its location, and its general nature and value. The Land Purchas- 

 ing Board has bought all land that has been offered at a reasonable price 

 and to which good titles could be shown. 



Our State tree nurseries and reforested lands, under the supervision and 

 management of the Superintendent of Forests, continue to attract wide- 

 spread attention among persons interested in the work throughout the 

 Lnited States. Many have visited both the nurseries and the plantations 

 during the year just passed. It appears to the Commission that much 

 more money could be expended economically and to great advantage in 

 this branch of the work. The State could well afford to reforest two or 

 more thousand acres of land every year, increasing the amount from }^ear 

 to year until the business of reforesting comprehends planting all denuded 

 lands owned by the State. 



Fire Wardens 



The fire-warden service has been better than any year heretofore, as 

 may be seen by an examination of the report of the Superintendent of 

 Forests herein contained. There were nearly a hundred fires started, all of 

 which were almost immediately extinguished. The fact that there was 

 little or no destruction of timber is not due to unusually favorable weather 

 conditions. In fact, in May the conditions were very bad. The fire- 

 wardens have also been of great service in preventing trespassing on State 

 land, as they now have power in such cases. 



