10 
respective county treasurers or the county commissioners for nonpayment of 
taxes, it shall be the duty of such treasurers and commissioners to publish a 
notice once a week for six successive weeks in at least two newspapers of general 
circulation within the county in which the lands lie, and if two newspapers be 
not published in said county, then in one newspaper in or nearest to the same, 
which notice shall contain the names of the owners when known, the warrant, 
numbers, names of warrantees when known, the number of acres contained in 
each tract, the township in which the same is located, and the sums due upon 
each tract for taxes, and, further, to mail to the secretary of agriculture and the 
commissioner of forestry each ten copies of such printed advertisement imme- 
diately upon the publication thereof. 
SEc. 2. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of forestry to inquire into and 
examine the location and character of the lands so advertised, and if in his 
judgment the same are so located and are of such a character as to make them 
desirable to the Commonwealth for the purpose of creating and maintaining a 
forestry reservation, he shall have power, at his discretion, to purchase any such 
lands for and in behalf of the Commonwealth at such tax sales, subject to the 
right of redemption under existing laws: Provided, however, That the bid made,. 
and the price paid for said lands, shall in no case exceed the amount of taxes for 
the nonpayment of which the same are being sold, and the costs. For all pur- 
chases so made in behalf of the Commonwealth, the auditor general shall draw 
his warrant upon the State treasurer to the order of the county treasurer, upon 
certificate filed by the commissioner of forestry with the said auditor general. 
Sec. 3. In the event of redemption of said lands, the redemption money paid 
shall be remitted to the State treasurer by the county treasurer, with a statement 
describing the tract of land so redeemed. 
Sec. 4. The title to all lands so purchased, and not redeemed after the expira- 
tion of the time limited for redemption, shall be taken as vested in the Common- 
wealth to the same extent and with like effect as though such purchase had 
been made by an individual at such sale, and the county treasurer shall certify 
to the secretary of agriculture lists of all lands purchased in behalf of the Com- 
monwealth and not redeemed within the time limited for such redemption, with 
a description of each tract as required by section one of this act, and thereafter 
such lands shall not be subject to further taxation while the same are owned by 
the Commonwealth. It shall be the duty of the secretary of agriculture to keep 
a record in a book, to be especially provided for that purpose, of all the lands so 
acquired by the Commonwealth, with full description of each tract, the character 
of the same, the date of purchase, the price paid, when the title became absolute, 
or, if redeemed, the date of redemption. 
Sec. 5. The lands so acquired by the Commonwealth shall be under the control 
and management of the department of agriculture, but assigned to the care of 
the division of forestry, and shall become part of a forestry reservation system, 
having in view the preservation of the water supply at the sources of the rivers 
of the State, and for the protection of the people of the Commonwealth and 
their property from destructive floods. 
Sec. 6. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. 
Approved the 30th day of March, A. D. 1897. 
AN ACT to secure State forestry reservations, and providing for the expenses thereof. 
Be it enacted, ete.: 
SECTION 1. That a commission, to be composed of the commissioner of forestry, 
the chairman of the State board of health, the deputy secretary of internal 
affairs, and two other persons, one of whom shall be a lawyer or conveyancer of 
at least ten years’ professional experience and the other one a practical surveyor, 
to be appointed by the governor, be hereby created. 
Sec. 2. The said commission shall, after examination, locate and report to the 
governor, or to the legislature if it be in session, the following forestry reserva- 
tions: 
(1) One of not less than forty thousand acres upon waters which drain mainly 
into the Delaware River. 
(2) One of not less than forty thousand acres upon waters which drain mainly 
into the Susquehanna River. 
(3) One of not less than forty thousand acres upon waters which drain mainly 
into the Ohio River. 
Provided, That each of these reservations shall be in one continuous area so 
far as the same is practicable. 
