FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
109 
to the Legislature such legislation as 
they deemed necessary. 
A commission of this nature, which 
would involve but moderate expense, 
would be very advantageous to Florida. 
One of the most important things in 
this matter is to arouse public attention 
to the necessity of considering the value 
of our forest growth, and the great im¬ 
portance of taking measures to prevent 
improvident waste and destruction. 
Fortunately, in Florida the pine tree re¬ 
plants and reproduces itself if protected 
while young from fire. Legislation is 
needed to prevent the general firing of 
the woods, destroying young growth as 
well as valuable timber and oftentimes 
fences and houses and groves. 
Yale College has a school of forestry 
devoted to the instruction of students 
in this branch of knowledge. The State 
of New York has a similar school at Cor¬ 
nell. A school of forestry is in operation 
at Asheville, N. C., and there are proba¬ 
bly some others; such a department 
should be established in the Florida Ag¬ 
ricultural College. 
The Agricultural and Horticultural 
Societies have given special attention to 
this subject and have promoted all the 
existing legislation on this subject. To 
this Society naturally belongs an interest 
so important to the future welfare and 
prosperity of the State No part of the 
United States possesses such varied and 
useful timber. We exhibit with pride, 
at the great industrial expositions, spec¬ 
imens of our forest products, and they 
excite the admiration of the public for 
their variety and beauty, but we ought 
to do much more than this. We need 
a forestry commission to investigate the 
whole subject and recommend suitable 
legislation for the preservation of our 
forests from fire and reckless destruc¬ 
tion. To encourage the preservation of 
young trees and to promote the renova¬ 
tion of districts from which the timber 
has been denuded, to promote the prop¬ 
agation of valuable species, to ascertain 
and take measures to guard against the 
effects of the removal of timber upon 
water supply and sudden overflows. 
These and many other subjects may be 
profitably considered by a forestry com¬ 
mission. 
DISCUSSION. 
Mr. Waite—It would seem to me that 
there should be some law in regard to 
preservation of shade trees along our 
roads. I noticed last year in Massachu¬ 
setts that the commissioners had caused 
zinc tags to be nailed to certain trees and 
there was a heavy fine attached to the 
cutting of any of those trees; and it 
seems to me that possibly we should 
preserve the palmettoes in our section 
of the country which are cut for the cat¬ 
tle. In the city of Jacksonville and the 
city of St. Augustine they are transplant¬ 
ed at great expense to beautify the 
streets. There they grow naturally and 
if preserved would be a beautifying fea¬ 
ture to the country. 
Mr. Hart—It strikes me that it would 
be a splendid move if we could in any 
way preserve the natural growth. I live 
about two miles and a half south of 
New Smyrna. A few years ago we got 
a road through there along the front 
next to the river and shelled it. On one 
side were natural trees. There was a 
little strip between the road and New 
Smyrna. Two years ago we had a nice 
lot of beautiful cedars a part of the way 
that were perhaps a foot through the 
