pitch pine ; but through the agency of dis- 
astrous and repeated forest fires the entire 
section has been reduced to a condition 
whereby nothing but small pitch pine and 
scrub oak occupy the land at the present 
time. The land comes about as near being 
absolute waste or non-productive as any 
area in the state can be, and it is safe to 
assume that not as much as $25 worth of 
merchantable timber has been taken from 
10,000 acres of this land in the past twen- 
ty years. It is about time the state took 
a step in the direction of doing something 
with this land and other similar areas, for 
it is sincerely believed that with proper 
management and protection from fire every 
acre can in time be made to produce a 
tree growth of material value. 
The 6,477 acres acquired by the state has 
been officially named the Myles Standish 
State Forest. Its acquisition by the com- 
monwealth was due largely to the efforts 
of Mr. Harold Parker, the late and high- 
ly respected chairman of the state forest 
comrriission. It was Mr. Parker’s desire 
to make this state forest one of 10,000 
acres. Constructive work done on this tract 
since its purchase has consisted of clear- 
ing about 20 miles of road, and as many 
miles of boundary lines, the purchase of 
fire fighting equipment, and a small amount 
of planting. The average per acre cost of 
the Myles Standish Forest was $2.70. 
The third state forest is situated in 
North Reading, North Andover and An- 
dover, and comprises at present 878 acres 
of land at that point where the three town- 
ships came together. It is expected that 
during the coming year sufficient additional 
land will be acquired to make this forest 
one of at least 1,000 acres in area. 
The commission has in view for pur- 
chase during 1917 one tract of land of ap- 
proximately 2,000 acres in the northern 
Berkshire section of the state. It appears 
evident that more land than the commis- 
sion has funds to purchase can be secured 
in various parts of the state at less than 
the average per acre price of $5. Land 
owners in general, when interviewed, have 
shown a notable interest in the state forest 
movement, and in many cases have ex- 
pressed the desire to help it along, be- 
lieving it to be for the best interests of the 
state. 
While the main purpose in view in ac- 
quiring these state forests is the reclama- 
tion of non-productive forest lands, the 
fact that they can and will be of value 
to the people of the commonwealth in other 
ways than solely for timber production is 
obvious. The value of the forests to the 
people of any state as resorts for recrea- 
tion is a very material one, and the pleas- 
ingly evident tendency of more and more 
people each year in using such leisure time 
as their respective positions in life permit 
them to have in getting away from thick- 
ly-populated centers, and out into nature’s 
places is in itself an indication that the 
time is perhaps not far off when state for- 
ests for recreation purposes alone may be 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
considered as much a necessity to the 
welfare of the citizens of a state as good 
roads, by which they may perhaps be 
reached. In fact, the recent action of the 
citizens of our neighboring state of New 
York in voting the splendid sum of $10,- 
O(M),000 with which to purchase additional 
forest lands for that state is an indis- 
putable indication that the time has already 
arrived when state-owned forests are con- 
sidered necessary to the people. 
For the reason that the land compris- 
ing the state forests now being acquired in 
Massachusetts is mainly without a suit- 
able forest growth, the recreative phase of 
the subject is one which cannot be realized 
upon to the extent possible for several 
years to come. However, it may be pos- 
sible to derive a considerable amount of 
good along recreation lines from some of 
the forests without waiting many years. 
For instance, there are within the bound- 
aries of the Myles Standish Forest 13 
ponds and lakes ranging in size from 10 
tp 65 acres in area. These ponds, almost 
without exception, have clean, sandy bot- 
toms and beaches, are excellent for bathing 
and boating, and offer fair fishing. While 
it is true that the section wherein they 
are located lies in a waste and formerly 
burned over belt of country, there is dur- 
ing the summer season sufficient foliage to 
make the area attractive and quite de- 
sirable for camping. It is not unlikely that 
the officials in charge of the state forests 
may in the future formulate rules and 
regulations governing their use, and make 
the areas available to those citizens of the 
commonwealth who may desire to lease 
camp sites. 
Another, and perhaps a more strictly 
economic phase of the state forest propo- 
sition, is the fact that they offer an op- 
portunity for the use of prison labor. 
ASKED AND 
Lawn Grass for Kansas 
Editor Asked and Answered ; I should 
like to be informed about the culture of 
Bermuda grass — whether it should be 
sodded by seed or by root and how it 
should be handled ; if it is recommended 
for lawn purposes in the hot dry soil of 
Kansas? — S. C. Kas. 
We do not believe Bermuda grass will 
succeed in the -.limate of Kansas. Of 
course, your subscriber in Kansas knows 
better than we whether it will succeed or 
not in his district and he must take the 
responsibility of success or failure in con- 
sequence of cold weather. We will add 
that the slightest frost kills it. You refer 
to hot weather in Kansas, and we will add 
that that will not hurt it. 
While it is called Bermuda grass, very 
little seed comes from there, because the 
capsules which contain the seed burst be- 
for they get ripe and scatter it upon the 
ground. Most of the seed, however. 
171 
There is on all of the areas acquired or 
to be acquired a large amount of work to 
be done, such as brush and slash cleaning, 
road and fire line work, planting, etc., that 
can be satisfactorily done by using prison 
labor, providing the same is made avail- 
able for the purpose. The use of such la- 
bor would not constitute a new line of pro- 
cedure, inasmuch as prison labor has been 
similarly used in New York state, and 
also here in Massachusetts on the Mount 
Wachusett reservation. Also, should the 
unfortunate condition of affairs such as 
prevailed during 1913, when so many men 
were out of work, again be present, it 
would be entirely possible and feasible to 
place hundreds of men on the state for- 
ests doing necessary and useful work. 
These state forests also offer an excellent 
opportunity for the work of the fish and 
game commission. This commission has al- 
ready accepted the Myles Standish Forest 
as one upon which to carry on the work 
with which it is charged. 
Now that the state forests have been, 
and are being acquired, it is necessary that 
the legislature should make available over 
a period of years sufficient funds for the 
proper management of these lands. It is 
obvious that little good is accomplished 
in acquiring these forests unless they are 
planted and cared for. Assuming that by 
the end of 1920 the commission has ac- 
quired 20,000 acres, it will cost, figuring on 
a minimum basis, between $150,000 and 
$175,000 to plant and care for this amount 
of Hnd. The bill being introduced this pres- 
ent winter in the legislature asking for 
$20,000 a year for this purpose, should re- 
ceive the serious consideration it deserves 
from all who are interested in seeing some- 
thing worth while done with our waste 
land areas, and this should include all of 
the citizens of the state. 
ANSWERED 
comes from New Zealand, where iit is 
grown in large quantities. 
In the Cotton States the best success 
comes from planting little pieces of sod 
12 by 12 inches apart over the surface of 
the ground to be sodded. If this 'trans- 
plantation be made at the right time, the 
roots of the grafts, as they might be called, 
take possession of the whole surface in 
sixty days. These roots can be obtained 
from various parties in Georgia and Flor- 
ida, and packed in a barrel will carry for 
ten days. Two barrels would probably af- 
ford enough roots for one acre of ground. 
As for some other grass to suit the cli- 
mate of Kansas, we do not see why Ken- 
tucky Blue Grass would not serve, or still 
better a mixture of several grasses, such 
as Landreths’ Lawn Grass Mixture, of 
which 70 to 100 pounds should be sown to 
the acre, according to the nicety of prepa- 
ration of the land. Of course, Kentucky 
Blue Grass does best in limestone soil. 
Bristol, Pa. D. Landreth Seed Co. 
An exchange of experience on practical matters by our readers. You 
are invited to contribute questions and answers to this department. 
