550 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



1 



STATE FORESTER COX, "TOCO" AND THE SLED ON THE ARM OF BELTRAMI PRAIRIE. 



three years so that they can be plowed 

 out. Some of the settlers have fields 

 of 40 to 100 acres under cultivation. 

 The haul to Kelliher on the M & I. 

 Railroad is from 5 to 12 miles, and there 

 are several points along this shore of 

 the lake where steamers call and prod- 

 uce may be shipped to Redby, the 

 terminus of the MR L & W. Railroad. 

 This hardwood district east of Upper 

 and Lower Red Lake would be an ex- 

 cellent place for stave mills, box fac- 

 tories, spool factories, excelsior plants, 

 etc. The supply of material is ample, 

 cheap and of the best quality. Manu- 

 facturing concerns like these would be 

 of great benefit to the settlers and 

 w^ould bring about a more rapid devel- 

 opment of farming and especially 

 dairying, for which the district is ad- 

 mirably adapted. Within five or six 

 miles of the lake there is an entire ab- 

 sence of summer and early fall frosts, 

 due to the influence of such a large 

 body of water. On this account there 

 is a probability that fruit raising may 

 become profitable here. 



The Peninsular, between Upper and 

 Lower Red Lake, in area about seventy 

 square miles, is a sandy and gravelly 

 ridge, covered with a beautiful Nor- 

 way pine forest, and should be made 

 a national forest or park. 



Red Lake deserves to be much better 

 known than it is. With the exception 

 of Lake Michigan, it is the largest 

 body of fresh water wholly within the 

 United States. It covers an area of 

 nearly 400 square miles. 



Red Lake is remarkable in that de- 

 spite its immense size, it contains no 

 islands and that its shore is practically 

 a continuous sand beach. The deepest 

 portions of the lake are only about 

 thirty-five to forty feet, but the bot- 

 to n is so uniform that a sailboat or 

 steamer can take a straight course 

 without danger of striking reefs or 

 sand bars. The surrounding country is 

 even in topography and breezes on the 

 lake are dependable so that this splen- 

 did body of water offers perhaps the 

 best opportunity in the w^orld for yacht 

 racing, ice-l)oat racing and similar 

 sports. 



