The work was divided according to the State water sheds, more attention being paid to the four great river systems, the St. John, Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin, than to the minor systems near the coast. Certain territory was assigned to each explorer. The explorers travelled many miles, personally looked over some of the townships and interviewed surveyors who had made actual surveys, and obtained figures from the owners of the land. With the understanding that the estimates furnished were to be used in getting at an aggregate of the stand ing timber in the State and not separate townships, the owners of the land have invariably assisted in the search for information on the subject. To them and to all others who have aided in this work I feel greatly indebted.
In many cases the estimates of the growth on townships have been verified by obtaining figures from more than one explorer familiar with the territory, and then perhaps getting the owner's figures to aid in basing the actual stand. This method meant a much more accurate estimate than could otherwise be obtained. As it is well understood it would be an almost endless under taking and mean an outlay of many thousands of dollars to get an actual survey and exploration of the whole State, but by the method employed I believe the estimates obtained to be as nearly correct as it is possible by any means outside of an actual survey, and much nearer than any estimate ever obtained in the past.
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