146 Mississijypi Valley HortiGultural Society. 



this paramount interest of forestry. I am glad that so able a man 

 as Governor Furnas, of Nebraska, has undertaken to discuss this 

 subject here, and am very sorry ihat Dr. Warder was not able to 

 get here to present his paper upon this question in person. 



Before introducing Governor Furnas, allow me to say that I hold 

 in my hand this handsome gavel — A beautiful emblem of my office — 

 which was, at the beginning of this meeting, presented to me by my 

 esteemed friend, the Governor. It is made of three varieties of na- 

 tive timber from trees planted and grown by the Governor on the 

 great plains of Nebraska, once known as the Great American Des- 

 ert. And a very suggestive commentary it is upon the old theories- 

 concerning the sterility of these magnificent plains of the North- 

 west. 



Ladies and gentlemen, the Hon. Robert W. Furnas, of Ne- 

 braska. 



FORESTRY ON THP] PLAINS. 



BY R. W. FURNAS, OF NEBRASKA. 



" With every successive year the depletion of the kiniber forests is deplored;, 

 and the cry raised that only a short time will intervene before the vast tim- 

 bered districts will be barren areas. Owners of pine lands materially differ 

 as to when this famine will occur, some placing the limit at seven years and 

 others as far off as twenty-five years. It is a subject, although closely studied^ 

 still not demonstrable as an absolute certainty. No one knows just how 

 much timber there is in the Northwest, though perhaps a pretty fair ap- 

 proximate can be arrived at, and from such an estimate is based the reason- 

 able deduction that in about seven years, at the rate timber is now being cut, 

 the market here will have to seek new fields of supply. 



" Michigan forests are being thinned out more rapidly than those of Wis- 

 consin and Minnesota, chiefly because the timber is more plentiful and at- 

 tracts more dealers. It was estimated by lumber dealers and owners of pine 

 lands that the main lumber region of Michigan, that is, the main peninsula, 

 contained in 1880 about 2'. 1,000,000,000 of feet. Since then an average of 

 4,000,000,000 feet a year have been cut, thus making 12,000,000,000 feet sub- 

 tracted from the 29,000,000,000, leaving 17,000,000,000 standing. The upper 

 peninsula was estimated at the same time to contain about 6,000,000,000 feet;^ 

 of which something like 1 ,-300,000,000 have been cut. Thus, in the two dis- 

 tricts or peninsulas of Michigan, the standing timber at present is estimated 

 at 21,500,000,000 feet of lumber. 



" In 1881 Michigan contributed 4,500,000,000 feet, and 1882 about 6,000,000,- 

 000 feet. The total amount ofjfeet of lumber cut in Michigan, Wisconsin and 

 Minnesota in 18S1 was 6,768,886,749 feet. The figures for the year 1882 have 



