xx a FOREWORD 
ee, 
Through education and publicity we have made great progress 
for fire prevention. Not only our fire signs distributed through 
the forests help mould public sentiment toward protective prac- 
tices, but there are other agencies that render great assistance. 
Our wardens and other employees in the woods naturally talk fire 
protection most of the time and make good missionaries for pre- 
vention. Our lookout towers from their high elevation easily be- 
come landmarks and serve as constant reminders of the danger of 
fire and the need for prevention. Practically all the publications 
issued from this Department deal with forest protection and most 
of them relate particularly to fire protection, and these publications 
are given a wide circulation in our State. And finally, but not 
least, the aid freely given by a friendly press, through the publica- 
tion as news items of matter relating to the activities of the de- 
partment, helps constantly to keep fire protection before the public. 
All these agencies serve as means of publicity and have an im- 
portant bearing on fire prevention and the protection of our tim- 
berlands. | 
Reforestation 
“Few that fell trees plant them’, is the terse statement made 
a number of years ago by a keen observer of forest conditions. 
But the present depleted condition of our forests leads us to believe 
that those who fell trees must begin to plant them, if they would 
have trees to fell in the future. 
Maintenance of a timber supply in Maine is of the utmost im- 
portance. With millions of dollars invested in wood-using plants, 
such as our pulp and paper mills, if these mills are to continue in 
business we must endeavor to establish a future supply on a per- 
manent basis. Fortunately some of our manufacturing interests 
own or control considerable tracts of timberland and of cut-over 
lands on which young trees are growing, and for these fortunate 
ones the crisis in raw material may be delayed for twenty-five or 
even fifty years. But any large consumer of wood not backed by 
a considerable reserve of timber land may well view the future 
with uncertainty, unless he is content eventually to scrap his plant 
or turn it to some other line of production. 
If we sought to follow out the instructions of authorities on 
forestry matters, before attempting reforestation we must needs 
make a classification of our lands. Certainly it might be considered 
poor policy to plant with trees areas well suited and needed for 
agricultural purposes. Doubtless if such a classification were 
