Author. 1 * o o ■z. Title ■=^ Imprint. IB— 47375MJ a NEW YORK (Central) ^. LINES y. Souvenir >{ th« Better Farming Special BOSTON & ALBANY RAILROAD March 30, 31, April 1, 2 1910 Froiitis/'ifce 'NEWYORK^ ;(entralj Souvenir jf th« Better Farming Special BOSTON ^ ALBANY RAILROAD March 30, 31, April 1, 2 1910 G-'^y .\^\ K AUG ^9 Q\' TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Roster 7 Itinerary 8 Exhibits 9-i i Program 12 Note of Explanation 12 The Massachusetts Agricultural College 13-18 The State Board of Agriculture 19-21 Agriculture in Massachusetts 22-25 Forestry Work in Massachusetts 26-28 Illustrations: Chapel, North and South Dormitories, Massachusetts Agricultural College 2 East Experiment Station, Massachusetts Agricultural College 14 West Experiment Station, Massachusetts Agricultural College 16 Forest Fire Wagon 27 ROSTER The following named representatives of the State of Massachusetts will be on the train: From the Massachusetts Agricultural College Kenyon L. BUTTERFIELD . . President of tJic College William P. Brooks . . Director of Experiment Station William D. Hurd . . Director of Short Courses James A. Foord . Professor of Farm Administration George E. Stone .... Professor of Botany Fred C. Sears .... Professor of Pomology William P. B. Lockwood Assistant Professor of Dairying Ray L. Gribben . . Instructor in Animal Husbandry Henri D. Haskins . Head of Fertilizer Division of Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station Philip H. Smith . Head of Feed and Dairy Division Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station Sidney B. Haskell . . . Distructor in Agronomy Charles H. White Field Agent From the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture J. Lewis Ellsworth . . Secretary of the Board P. M. Harwood . , . General Agent, Dairy Bureau From the Massachusetts State Forestry Department F. W. Rane State Forester L. H. Worthley .... Assistant Forester H. O. Cook ..... Assistant Forester ITINERARY The "Better Farming Special" will arrive at the cities and towns named below, as follows: — Westfield PiTTSFIELD Cheshire North Adams Wednesday, March 30 9:30 A.M. 12:10 P.M. 2:00 P.M. 4:10 P.M. Chester Springfield Enfield New Salem Athol Thursday, March 31 9:00 a.m. 11:15 a.m. 1:15 P.M. 2:50 P.M. 4:20 P.M. Friday, April 1 Templeton 9:00 A.M. Barre Plains . , 10:30 A.M. Ware 12:15 p.m. Palmer 2:00 p.m. East Brookfield . . . . . . 4:10 p.m. Saturday, April 2 Worcester 9:00 a.m. Westboro 10:20 A.M. South Framingham 12:00 Noon MiLFORD 2:00 P.M. EXHIBITS The following exhibits will be found on the train : General Agriculture Illustrating the results of fertilizer experiments with corn: (a) By means of charts showing relative yield of entire crop in shock. (d) Separate lots of ears showing relative yield on different fer- tilizer combinations. Illustrating the value of corn as a component of the ration for egg production: (a) By means of glass jars showing the composition of different rations. {/}) By boxes showing the different number of eggs. Illustrating the value of lime for clover and alfalfa : (a) By means of photographs. (/}) By means of small bundles or bales showing the quality of product with and without lime. Illustrating the use of fertilizers: {a) High grade and low grade fertilizers. (d) Home-mixed vs. factory-mixed goods. (<:) Type of home-mixed fertilizers. ((/) Types of factory-mixed fertilizers of same composition. Horticulture Spraying apparatus of all kinds. Pruning tools of most approved design. Specimens illustrating the right and wrong way to remove a branch in pruning. Various types of fruit packages. 9 Appliances for the packing room. Apples packed in barrels and boxes. Illustrating the results of orchard experiments with fer- tilizers : ((r) By means of charts showing the size of trees and yields of all variety. (/>) By lots of apples showing relative 3'ields of one variet}- on different fertilizers. Illustrating the dependence of crops belonging to Cruci- ferae (cabbage, cauliflower, turnips) on soluble, phosphoric acid fertilizers: (a) By means of photograi)hs. (d) By model of rape in pots. Riker mounts showing the most important and common insect pests of our fruit trees, garden crops, field crops, etc., together with directions for the control of these pests. Examples of the work of insects. Dairying Utensils of various kinds — separators, coolers, etc. Various materials and charts illustrating the points of feeding or dairying: {a) Collection of low-grade hy-products; value and cost. (/') Types of feed containing low grade by-products. (r) Tj'pes of economical feeds. (d) Types of satisfactory feed mixtures. (e) Relative proportion of different parts of mature and im- mature varieties of corn; also }'ield of digestible matter per acre. {/) Proportion of the ingredients in milk from different breeds of cows. ig) Geiber method of detecting diet in milk. (//) Chart showing cost of milk production. The Dairy Bureau of the State Board of Agriculture will also exhibit sanitary milk pails, absorbent cotton, strainers, coolers, mixing cans, milk bottles, milk cans, etc. Also samples of butter, oleomargarine and renovated butter with demon- strations of practical methods of telling one from another. 10 Forestry Pine seedlings, varying in age from one to three years. Photographs showing forestry management and re-forest- ation work. Photographs showing forest hres and damage done b}^ same. Complete equipment for forest fire fighting. Living gypsy moth caterpillars. Living brown-tail caterpillars. Mounted specimens of the gypsy and brown-tail moths life history. Several cases of parasites, such as have been imported from abroad. Living Calosoma beetles. Predaceous beetles of the gypsy moth. Photographs showing different methods used in moth suppresion work. Photographs of apparatus used in moth suppression work. Small section of trees showing proper tin patching. Gj'psy moth egg clusters as they are deposited naturally. Small oak tree showing brown-tail moth webs in their winter stage. Living egg parasites. Mounted specimens of some insects of economic im- portance. 11 PROGRAM The program at each of the cities and towns visited by the "Better Farming Special" will include lectures and de- monstrations in all of the five cars comprising the train, on Corn Judging and Improvement; Potato Growing; Grass, Clover and Alfalfa Production; Fertilizers; Feeding and Breed- ing of Animals; Production and Care of Milk; Testing Milk; Marketing of Milk; New England Meat Production; Scoring and Judging Dairy Animals; Care and Management of Orchards; Spraying, Pruning, Packing and Marketing Fruit; Forestry; Extermination of Insect Pests; Forest Fire Fighting. Note of Explanation The following articles on "The Massachusetts Agricultural College" and "Agriculture in Massachusetts" were prepared under the direction of the Faculty of the Massachusetts Agri- cultural College. The article on "The State Board of Agriculture" was prepared under the direction of the Secretary of the Board. The article on "Forestry Work in Massachusetts" was prepared under the direction of the Massachusetts State Forester. 12 The Massachusetts A^ricuhural College ALL the agricultural colleges of the United States are an outgrowth of a persistent agitation on the part of the people of the country for a national system, of agricultural education; this movement culminated in 1862 in the passage by Congress of a bill known as the Morrill Act which provided that in each state and territory of the Union there might be established a college of agriculture and mechanic arts. In 1863 the state of Massachusetts accepted the federal grant and appropriated the money necessary to receive its benefits. The United States' gift to the various states was in the form of public lands located in the unsettled and unexplored regions of our Northwest. Massachusetts received as her apportionment 360,000 acres. At that time such virgin land was valued at about $1.00 per acre, and accordingly the amount of $360,000 realized from the sale of these lands, rep- resents the original endowment for the schools of agriculture and mechanic arts of this state. Of the income from this en- dowment, amounting to approximate!}' $10,000 annually, one- third is assigned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology which supplies the institution in the mechanic arts, and two- thirds to the agricultural college at Amherst. In 1890 and 1907 respectively, acts were passed by the United States Con- gress making further annual appropriations to the land-grant institutions of the country, so that in the present year (1910) the Massachusetts Agricultural College receives a total of $35i355-55 from the federal government for instruction and general support. The state supplements this maintenance by annual gifts of about $94,000 in addition to liberal appropria- r D 14 tions for special purposes such as buildings, repairs, and addi- tional equipment. Altho the State of Massachusetts accepted the federal grant in 1863, and the college incorporated that year, the first class of students did not enter until October, 1867. At that date Amherst had been selected as the site for the institution, and a large tract of land had been purchased in that and the adjoining town of Hadley. It was necessary for the town se- curing the location of the college to contribute $75,000 for the erection of the college buildings; this sum the residents of Amherst subscribed, and the college opened its doors with an equipment of four buildings, and an entering class of about tift}' students. Four instructors comprised the original teaching staff. These were: Col. William S. Clark, president and professor of botany and horticulture; Levi Stockbridge, farm superin- tendent and instructor in agriculture; Henr}' H. Goodell, pro- fessor of modern languages and instructor in gymnastics and military tactics; and EbenezerSnell, professor of mathematics. Of this group Col. Clark remained president until 1879; Levi Stockbridge continued to serve the college as instructor and for a short time as president, until recent years; Professor Goodell in 1886 became president, which office he held until his death in 1905; Professor Snell was onl}^ temporaril}' em- ployed b}' the college as he held a permanent position in a nearby institution. Shortly after the college was opened, Dr. Charles A. Goessmann became a member of the faculty as pro- fessor of chemistry, and continued to hold that position until his retirement from active service in 1907. Once well established and under the efficient leadership of its trustees and faculty, the institution was destined to grow. For thirty years its growth was apparently slow and at times fluctuating. During this period however, a firm foundation for subsequent rapid development was securely laid. In 1900 the faculty had grown from four to twenty-two members, and the courses of study had been correspondingly amplified; the 15 16 physical equipment had also been materiall}' increased; and the number of reg^ular students in attendance had reached one hundred and fifty. The last ten 3'ears represent for the colleji^e an era of marked and almost phenomenal development along various lines. The value of the college equipment including land, buildings, and movable equipment, has more than doubled in this time; a like increase has occurred in the teaching force; and the number of regular students in attendance has increas- ed more than 135%. The buildings which have been erected in this decade are: A dining hall, horticultural building, botanical laboratory, floricultural building with attached glass houses, entomological laboratory (not completed at present), and two sets of farm buildings to replace those destro3^ed by fire. New departments have been established along the lines of pomology, floriculture, landscape gardening, market garden- ing, animal husbandry, dairying, farm administration, rural sociology, English, Spanish, agricultural education, agricul- tural economics, and physical education. A graduate school of agriculture, horticulture and allied sciences has been estab- lished during this decade, and the work of short courses and extension has been put on a permanent basis. This latter field of work is the one in which the agricul- tural college may be expected to make its greatest advance- ment in the next few years because it represents the third function of the agricultural college to be developed. The work of extension means the disseminating, in modified forms, the agricultural knowledge taught at the college, and the new knowledge discovered in the experiment station work, to every tiller of the soil throughout the state who does not in any other way derive a direct benefit from the college; this work will supply the much needed instruction to the great farming class of people, who can obtain such information in no way except through this department of the college. In 1887 the federal government founded a system of ex- 17 periment stations all over the country, and made provision for their liberal support, which in this state is supplemented by further state grants. In Massachusetts the experiment station was established at Amherst and became an organic part of the agricultural college. The work of the experiment stations is primarily that of research and experimentation, and of con- trol through inspection of fertilizers and feeds. The importance of the agricultural industry has never as now been so keenly realized by the masses of people. The United States Department of Agriculture, the state board of agriculture, and the agricultural college are the logical and only properly equipped institutions to promote this industry in Massachusetts, and to exercise the necessary leadership along all lines of rural betterment. 18 The State Board of Agriculture THE Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture was organ- ized in 1852, with Governor Boutwell as a member ex- officio. It is a representative Board, being made up in the imain, of members elected by the various agricultural societies ; throughout the State, with three members appointed by the Qovernor, and eight members ex-officio. There are at pres- ent. thirt3^-one societies electing members to the Board, each of whom serves for three years, retiring in approximately equ?.],! numbers each 3'ear. The Board is organized into com- mitteeg, ;and through its members, in all parts of the State, keeps in close touch with the farmers and farm conditions. Its duties are both supervisory and educational. It is charged with the oversight of the various agricultural societies, includ- ing the dut}^ of inspecting their fairs and reporting whether they are properly conducted and whether the money received from tlifi; Commonwealth as bount}' is properly expended. It has various other administrative duties which it discharges through; ils committees and agents, chief among which are the work of the Dairy Bureau in preventing and prosecuting violations of the laws against imitation dair}- products and the work of the State Nursery Inspector against the San Jose scale. The Board holds several business meetings during the year, a public winter meeting for lectures and discussions, and at least one summer field meeting, usually with demonstrations of new and improved methods in agriculture. It prints an annual report, known as "Agriculture of Massachusetts," which contains the lectures and discussions at the winter meeting, the annual report of various officers charged with work for the improvement of agriculture, and is bound with the annual report of the Massachusetts Experiment Station. An 19 edition of 15,000 copies of this report is printed, one-half of which is distributed by the members of the legislature, and the other half by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the State Board of Agriculture. The Board sends copies of this report to the agricultural societies, granges, farmers' clubs and other organizations which ask for it. In this report is gathered together the agricultural information of public value distributed during the year by the agencies which the State has set up for the improvement of this industry. In its educational work the Board supplies speakers for farmers' institutes, held b}' the agricultural societies and by other organizations covering sections beyond the jurisdic- tion of those societies, prints crop reports, bulletins, nature leaflets and circulars. In the institute work there is a great and growing interest, as shown by the increased attendance at the meetings. In 1908 Massachusetts was surpassed by but one or two States in the matter of attendance per dollar ex- pended, and was well up towards the front in attendance per meeting, being surpassed only by the great agricultural States of the country. These meetings are free to the public and are always advertised as widely as possible. A new feature of these public meetings has been the demonstration work which has been added to the general work of the Board during the past few years. This has been found to be remarkably valu- able and interesting and will be extended as far as funds available will permit. The Board publishes a crop report through the growing season, from May to October of each year, which is sent to any one requesting it. These reports contain descriptions of crop conditions, both in Massachusetts and elsewhere, and each number has an article on some timely and important agricultural problem, by some authorit}' on the subject. In addition to these crop reports the Board publishes bulletins and nature leaflets. Its Bulletin, No. 2, on Orcharding, has been commented on very favorably as being as fine a collec- tion of information on this timely and important subject, as 20 is now available. The Nature Leaflets, numbered from i to 46, treat on a variety of subjects, including insects, fungus diseases, birds, school gardens, production and care of milk, care and treatment of trees, how to plant, cold frames and hotbeds, etc. All of these bulletins and leaflets will be sent free on application to the Secretary of the Board, J. Lewis Ellsworth, State House, Boston. A recent phase of the Board's activit}' has been the cam- paign against the San Jose scale which it has inaugurated and is now carry on. This insect is a terrible pest in our orchards, because of its concealed approach, its rapid multiplication and its deadly effects on the trees. The Board is doing all in its power to inform the farmers of the State in regard to this insect, by demonstration meetings, leaflets, circulars, etc. Its latest publication is a circular quoting the law in relation to this pest, whereby the State Nursery Inspector, an officer elected by the Board, can enter upon private property, upon complaint, and compel the owners at their own expense to clean up their trees or destroy' them. In this wsLy a careful propert}^ owner can be protected against the carelessness, or worse, of his neighbors. The State Dairy Bureau consists of three members of the Board, appointed b}^ the Governor, and having under them a General Agent, elected by the Board, and other agents em- ployed on a per diem basis. They are charged with the enforcement of the laws in regard to dairy products and their imitations, particularly in regard to oleomargarine and reno- vated butter. Their work has been exceedingly efficient, there having been 202 prosecutions by the Bureau in 1908, all of which resulted in convictions. They also carry on educa- tional work, hold public meetings and issue circulars of information. 21 Agriculture in Massachusetts THE greatest asset of our Massachusetts agriculture is our market. In the many mills and factories lying along our water courses, are employed thousands of operatives. These must be fed; they demand all kinds of farm produce, and in constantly increasing amounts. This market is at the farmer's door, waiting only to be developed; and we are negligent if we allow the opportunity to pass by without improvement. Also, the wide range in soils and variations in climate conditions, fit the state peculiarly for development of those agricultural specialties in which the greatest financial success may be found. Thus, in the region around Boston the market gar- dening industry has of late j^ears been extensively developed. A part of this is really farming under glass — the most inten- sive form of agriculture, and the one in which conditions of growth of the product may be most perfectl}^ controlled. Whole towns have been given up to it — Arlington, Belmont, and Concord, each with its own specialty as regards the crop. It is not too much to prophesy that very soon the lighter soils lying to the south and west of Boston will themselves come to be occupied and tilled as truck farms, furnishing fruits and vegetables for all of our great cities. With our well-de- veloped transportation systems distance from market is not now the handicap that it once was; and consequently lands in Pl3'mouth and Bristol counties which have not been cultivated for sixty years, or since the time that grain farming became unprofitable, are being again put to the plow, and by the aid of modern tillage methods made to produce bountifully, and to yield handsome profits to the operators. In other parts of the state, areas of different character must be accorded different treatment. The immense rise in 22 land values which came to Cape Cod, co-incident with the introduction of cranberry culture, is now a matter of history. Swamp lands having no worth to agriculture were converted into bogs highl}' and permanent!}' profitable. May we not expect the same thing to happen on the hill farms of Wor- cester and Berkshire counties.-' The New England Fruit Show, held last fall in Boston, showed that quality is inherent in our Massachusetts fruits; and that our western brothers have taken the market onl}^ because we have been asleep, and not alive to our opportunities. The awakening has come, however; and this very spring apples are being largely planted. In some cases pasture lands, worth, perhaps, fifteen dollars per acre, are being transformed into orchards which within a few years will have an increased value of several hundred per cent; run-down mowings are being broken up for the same purpose, as well as lands naturally more valuable. The men who are willing to mix brains with their fertilizers, and who will not spare elbow grease in their tillage operations, are the ones who are to succeed in this new-old undertaking. Meat is higher than it has been for a generation. Proba- bly it will remain high, for its price is closel}- correlated with that of corn, and the farmers in the corn belt are finding pro- duction more and more expensive. Why shouldn't we raise some of our own meat, instead of depending on what is doled out to us from the middle west ? All over the state, but especially in the western half, are back pastures which are growing up to weeds and brush; and these can be turned to good account in beef and mutton production. Here again, is where we have advantage from our location. It is easily possible for the stock raiser to do his own marketing, and save middlemen's fees. This is perhaps the most hopeful outlook for agriculture in our more remote towns. Kill the dogs, and let us keep sheep ! Another line of farm industry which is especially promis- ing is poultry production. Our rougher soil is ideal for this business, and can be bought at prices, ridiculously low, which 23 will allow of large ranges — always desirable in poultry plants. Poultry products are concentrated; they may be transported long distances at low costs; nearness to market is not essen- tial. While experience in the business is necessary, yet the beginner without capital has more chance in this than in any other line of agricultural work. At present the market is almost entirely supplied from outside the state; and there are few large towns but what would welcome the coming of an energetic poultry man. If we are to be rid of dependence on cold storage, we must enter this field. The market waits for it, demands it — and still we let the opportunity slip. In the Connecticut valley we find two specialized forms of farming, onion and tobacco raising. Both are well devel- oped; and the farmers among the most prosperous of any in the state. Their success is deserved, however, for it has come only by fearless use of capital, and intelligent application of scientific principles to this business. What they have done may be done by others, in the different departments of agri- culture. Opportunities lie in the development of better farming methods as well as in the introduction of new farm industries. We take a great deal of justifiable pride in our Massachusetts farms; but still, figures show that they are not realizing a tithe of the possibilities which are theirs. The average acre yield of corn in this state, during the decade ending 1908, was the second largest in the country, nearly thirty-six bushels to the acre. Yet this last season a Massachusetts man produced 132 bushels shelled grain on a measured acre, and last year there was harvested in Connecti- cut a crop which measured up to 133 bushels. What opportunities for improvement ! And think of the possibilities of a corn and pork farm, with pork at the present prices ! In the ten years ending 1908, our average yield of potatoes was 104 bushels per acre. In the last year of this period Aroostook county, Maine, produced an average of 225 bushels; and the writer knows of a fifty acre patch of potatoes in the 24 highlands of FrankHn count3% this state, which last year total- ed thirteeo thousand bushels — 260 to the acre. Conscientious spraying, scientific fertilization, careful planting and cultiva- tion, mean the difference between one hundred and two hundred bushels per acre. In the light of these figures, is it necessary for us to import our potatoes .'* The Massachusetts Agricultural College, on some of its permanent grass plots, has for fifteen years averaged three tons of hay to the acre. Last year, on a mowing three years down in grass, it harvested five tons to the acre, and hay is worth $15 per ton in the barn. Farmers in other sections of the state have averaged even higher, and one in Worcester county, this last year, secured four and a half tons per acre from his whole farm. Yet the average in the state is but one and a quarter tons ! Are there not possibilities in grass pro- duction .'' No discussion of Massachusetts agriculture would be com- plete without reference to the dairy industr3^ There is in the state no well recognized dairy section, farms in all parts being given up to this kind of farming. It is tending to move away from the vicinity of the cities, however, and is not at present increasing. Competition has been keen and profits not large. Greater attention is now being given to cooperative selling, to the home production of feeds, and to the exact balancing of food production for each individual animal. The outlook is brighter toda}' than for some years past. In conclusion — come to Massachusetts ! The climate is good and the soil strong and lasting — Connecticut valley lands were producing corn at the time they were taken over by the colonists, and yields are higher toda}' than ever before; and the market we firmly believe the best in the country. 25 Forestry Work In Massachusetts WE as Americans are proud of our country, and point with justifiable pride to the lofty position we have attained among- the nations of the earth in what is considered an ex- ceedingly brief time when contrasted with the ages of other countries. Our marvellous growth and prosperity has been the never ceasing wonder of the whole world. We owe this unparalleled development in large part to the wealth of our natural resources which have, to satisfy the inherent greed of man, been drawn upon to such an extent as to render their ultimate extinction only a question of years unless prompt and effective measures are taken to conserve them. Thinking men, leading men, in all parts of the country are awakened to the importance of this great question. True to the trad- itions of her past whenever the public welfare has been con- cerned, Massachusetts is among the first of the states to take action. A State Forestr}- Department has been created for the purpose of applying to Massachusetts the most modern and scientific methods of forestry. No better field for this work exists than in this grand old state of ours. Massachu- setts contains approximately- three million acres of land not suitable for agricultural purposes, once covered with valuable timber that can again be made to yield a rich harvest. Where is there, or where can there be, an object more worthy of our faculties and energies than adding to the wealth and prosperity of our state, not onl}' for ourselves, but for coming generations, by re-clothing these vast areas of now practically worthless lands. Under the authority given him by an act of the Gen- eral Court, the State Forester, F. W. Rane, stands ready at all times to promote the perpetuation, extension, and proper management of the forest lands of the Commonwealth, both 26 public and private. If you have such lands and desire an ex- amination of them, and advice as to their management, you have only to apply to him in person, or in writing at 6 Beacon Street, Boston, Room icxdq. The only expense to you for this examination and advice is cost of subsistence and travel of the State Forester, or his assistants, incurred while doing this work. The work of re-forestation under the direction of the State Forester is being pushed along rapidly. Already several thousand acres of land acquired by the state 'have FOREST FIRE WAGON CONSTRUCTED and EQUIPPED UNDER the DIRECTION of F. W. RANE, MASSACHUSETTS STATE FORESTER been set to white pine and the nurseries maintained by the Department contain 3,500,000 seedlings of which 1,500,000 are to be planted the coming season. We desire at this point to call the attention of the farmers, in fact all owners of non- agricultural lands, that there is no better investment than in planting them to white pine and in some cases other species. If there are those who are financially unable to bear the cost of this work at the present time they may take advantage of the law which permits them to deed land to the state for the purpose of re-forestation, reserving the right to acquire it back 27 again at any time within ten _vears by paying the actual cost of the re-forestation work. The paramount object of the State Forester is by object lessons wherever possible, and by the dissemination of liter- ature to educate the land-owning public to a realization of its opportunities. A bulletin recently issued by him entitled "How to Make Improvement Thinnings" contains information of great value to owners of timber and sprout land, showing as it does how this work properly done increases the amount and quantity of the yield. This bulletin will be sent upon re- quest to any citizen in the state. Another bulletin on "Reforestation and Nursery Work" is in press and will be available shortly. As forest fires have ever been regarded the most for- midable agency in retarding progressive forestry, it has been the problem to which the State Forester has given much thought and study. How to prevent the burning over of thousands of acres of w^oodland yearly, entailing a loss run- ning up into hundreds of thousands of dollars, is a question of supreme importance. It is a question fraught with so much danger to the wealth of Massachusetts that the State For- ester is fully justified in demanding the support and co-opera- tion of the citizens everywhere in the enforcement of the laws and regulations intended to lessen their freciuency. Our observation and experience prompt us to express the opinion that cities and towns with forest area can make no investment which in the end will prove more profitable than procuring proper apparatus for fighting forest fires. The State Forester has had constructed and fully equipped a wagon designed expressly for this work, and it is now on ex- hibition at the Supply Store, 251 Causeway Street, Boston. Town officials contemplating purchasing an outfit are advised to call and examine it. 28 NEW YORK ((entral) ^ LINES y^ R*KD McNally & Co., NeirYork LIBRARY OF CONGRESS llllllllllilllllt 003 006 163 9