inevitable, sooner or later, if nothing be done to avert it. Can it be averted? That it can, there is no reasonable doubt. Will it be? To this question we are unwilling to give a negative answer, and we do not dare to give an affirmative one. As before remarked, the destiny of our wood and timber lands is in the hands of two parties; the state being one of them and their private owners the other. Of the duties of each of these it is our purpose to speak.

Its forests are one of every state's important resources, and it is as much in duty bound to protect this as any other. The evils to which they are exposed are various, and most of them serious.

One of the greatest of these is fire. In 1880, forest fires swept over 10,274,089 acres in the United States, causing a loss of $25,462,250. Two hundred and sixty-six of these were caused by the burning over of land to improve its pasturage; fifteen hundred and fifty-two by the clearing of land; five hundred and eight by locomotives; six hundred and twenty-eight by hunters; seventy-two by campers; thirtyfive by smokers, and two hundred and sixty-two by persons instigated by malice. At a single dollar per acre this loss amounts to more than ten millions of dollars. As very few of this whole number of over three thousand (3,323) fires can be considered as unavoidable accidents, the loss entailed thereby most be regarded as unjustifiable and wicked.

That such accidents occur, to a greater or less extent, every year, is largely due to the fact that no sufficient means are instituted to prevent them, or indeed can be, without stringent legislation by the state. The individual owner may be ever so careful, yet, if his woods are exposed to the dangerous practices of careless neighbors, hunters, campers, and others who do as they like, with little or no restraint, he is helpless, and liable to suffer serious loss at any moment.

Prevention is to be found in the enactment and enforcement of wise laws upon the subject by state authorities. If such, when they already exist, are found ineffective, it is

quite often due to the inefficiency of the penalties which they provide, and to a public indifference to the injury or destruction of wooded property by fire.

This indifference will prove surprising to any one who shall give to it a little attention. He will find that, while the burning of an isolated structure worth five hundred dollars, or even less, will draw together a large collection of people, the conflagration of a timber-lot, worth five thousand dollars, or much more, on the confines of the town, will be of but little interest to any one but its owner, or to the proprietors of adjoining lots endangered thereby.

This remark, so universally true, has been suggested by a recent experience of the speaker. A fire broke out in the edge of a wood-lot belonging to him, endangering a small cottage and barn near by. An alarm was given, and one or two fire companies responded. When they had extinguished all fire near the buildings and so wet the ground as to avert further danger, they considered that they had done all required of them, and made preparations to leave the scene; although the fire was still raging in the woods close at hand, and liable, if not extinguished, to run over a thousand adjoining acres.

When a remonstrance was made, and a detail asked for to aid in the fire's arrest, the foreman replied that he was unaware that he was authorized to fight a fire in the woods. Pretty urgent language, accompanied by an explicit demand. for help, on the ground that the property then burning was taxed toward the support of the department which he represented, was required to secure the aid asked for. But this foreman could hardly be blamed, inasmuch as he faithfully represented the prevailing indifference of the public opinion around him.

Since this occurrence, the attention of the general court has been called to the subject, and a statute enacted, in which provision is made for the better protection of forest property, in these words:

The selectmen of towns in this state are hereby constituted fire wardens of their several towns, whose duty it shall be to watch the forests, and whenever a fire is observed therein to immediately summon such assistance as they may deem necessary, go at once to the scene of it, and, if possible, extinguish it. In regions where no town organizations exist, the county commissioners are empowered to appoint such fire wardens. Fire wardens and such persons as they may employ shall be paid for their services by the towns in which such fires occur, and, in the absence of town organizations, by the county.

If it be objected that the wooded sections of a state are generally sparsely populated, and that the execution of such a provision may prove difficult, it can be said in answer that the ægis of a state is commensurate with its utmost limits, and that it is no more difficult for a fire warden to discharge his duties in such localities, than it is for a county commissioner or deputy sheriff to execute his.

Inasmuch as the act just referred to shows in part the present status of the forest question in New Hampshire, where it has been much discussed since 1885, I have ventured to present it entire, for your information and consideration.

AN ACT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FORESTRY COMMISSION.

Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives in general court

convened:

SECTION I. There is hereby established a forestry commission, to consist of the governor, ex-officio, and four other members, two Republicans and two Democrats, who shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice of the council, for their special fitness for service on this commission, and be classified in such manner that the office of one shall become vacant each year. One of said commissioners shall be elected by his associates secretary of the commission, and receive a salary of one thousand dollars per annum. The other members shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be paid their necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, as audited and allowed by the governor and council.

SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the forestry commission to investigate the extent and character of the original and secondary forests of the state, together with the amounts and varieties of the wood and timber growing therein; to ascertain, as near as the means at their command will allow, the annual removals of wood and timber therefrom, and the disposition made of the same by home consumption and manufacture, as well as by exportation in the log; the different methods of lumbering pursued, and the effects thereof upon the timber-supply, waterpower, scenery, and climate of the state; the approximate amount of revenue annually derived from the forests of the state; the damages done to them from time to time by forest fires; and any other important facts relating to forest interests which may come to their knowledge. They shall also hold meetings from time to time in different parts of the state for the discussion of forestry subjects, and make an annual report to the governor and council, embracing such suggestions as to the commission seem important, fifteen hundred copies of which shall be printed by the state.

SEC. 3. The selectmen of towns in this state are hereby constituted fire wardens of their several towns, whose duty it shall be to watch the forests, and whenever a fire is observed therein to immediately summon such assistance as they may deem necessary, go at once to the scene of it, and, if possible, extinguish it. In regions where no town organizations exist, the .county commissioners are empowered to appoint such fire wardens. Fire wardens and such persons as they may employ shall be paid for their services by the towns in which such fires occur, and, in the absence of town organizations, by the county.

SEC. 4. Whenever any person or persons shall supply the necessary funds therefor, so that no cost or expense shall accrue to the state, the forestry commission is hereby authorized to buy any tract of land and devote the same to the purposes of a public park. If they cannot agree with the owners thereof as to the price, they may condemn the same under the powers of eminent domain, and the value shall be determined as in the case of lands taken for highways, with the same rights of appeal and jury trial. On the payment of the value as finally determined, the hand so taken shall be vested in the state, and forever held for the purposes of a public park. The persons furnishing the money to buy said land shall be at liberty to lay out roads and paths on the land, and otherwise improve the same under the direction of the forestry commission, and the tract shall at all times be open to the use of the public. SEC. 5. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

[Approved March 29, 1893.]

Thus far, there has been no such thing as forestry in this country. Until recently, the need of it has been but little felt. The statistics hereinbefore presented, as well as numberless others which might be adduced, show that our primeval timber supplies have not yet been exhausted. Nature, too, has been and is reforesting many sections formerly denuded, wholly or in part. But the time is not distant when a more rational treatment of our woodlands will be an absolute sine qua non to a home supply of wood and timber. The states should be the first to see the fact and provide means to secure it. One or more schools of forestry, like those abroad, should be instituted by each, or special courses for the teaching of its principles and practice, established in existing institutions. This would result, we doubt not, in a speedy improvement of the management of wooded property, and in season, perhaps, to save the country from a timber famine which it is sure to experience, if the present reckless system of forest destruction is continued for another generation.

It is difficult for any party to control the management of property of which he is not the owner, or in which he has no vested interest. Some of the states of this Union have no forest possessions, while others have them in very small holdings. This, doubtless, is one reason why so many have interested themselves but little in the welfare of such property. Were they to acquire it to considerable amounts, by purchase or otherwise, they would be likely to see the importance of so managing it as to conserve the prosperity of the other great interests more or less connected with it, and so as to derive from it a reasonable and regular income.

To do this would require careful study of its condition, capacity, management, and environment. A wise use of such knowledge would doubtless secure the end sought, and, if subsequently scattered by official reports among the people, private owners would be influenced to a more rational management than they have hitherto adopted, forest