WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



341 



The state owns about 600 acres of woodland used for parks 

 and 1,000 acres of forest land is owned by state institutions. 

 There has been no planting of forest trees except by individ- 

 uals. Many small areas of waste land have been planted by 

 land ovmers and private planting is increasing rapidly through- 

 out the state. The state owns no forest tree nursery at present 

 but an appropriation for this purpose will be made in the near 

 future. The Forest Commission and State Forester have 

 started a private nursery on a small scale. Two commercial 

 forest nurseries are being operated in the state. 



In answer to an inquiry concerning forest fires in New 

 Hampshire Mr. E. C. Hirst, State Forester, replied in part as 

 follows : 



''Our law providing for local fire wardens is working 

 admirably in most towns. In the mountain towns we generally 

 appoint an employe of some lumber company. 



*'I am sending you an account of a meeting we had with 

 the lumbermen in New Hampshire. At this meeting they sub- 

 scribed $4,000 to be used in establishing lookout stations* for 

 the control of forest fires." 



NEW JERSEY. 



The state of New Jersey has 2,000,000 acres, or 46 per cent, 

 of its whole area in woodland. This comprises a large body of 

 pine land of approximately 1,500,000 acres in the southern part 

 of the state, smaller bodies of rough mountain land covered 

 chiefly with hardwoods in the northwestern part, and scattered 

 woodlands between. 



As a result of forest fires and reckless exploitation by lum- 

 bermen the forest growth is inferior but has been slowly im- 

 proving since about 1890 when it was in its lowest condition. 



At various times between 1794 and 1902 laws were passed 

 looking to the prevention of forest fires, but owing to the 

 defects common to most laws of that character nothing practi- 

 cal came of them. 



For the last 20 years the State Geological Survey has 



*See discussion of forestry in Maine, page 334. 



