EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS 129 



moisture, and we usually find here standing the Norway pine, or traces of its having 

 been here; but there are hundreds of thousands of acres of good, fertile stump 

 lands that will have ample time to grow another forest before they are wanted for 

 agricultural purposes, and let us put our efforts here where we can show results. 

 It is possible that the time may come when these plains may be utilized for other 

 than grazing purposes, but it will be when our population has increased to such 

 an extent that proper fertilization and irrigation can be brought with the people 

 and not until then. 



The legislation suggested for the maintenance of the present forest areas is also 

 applicable to the stump lands in every feature, but there is need of more study and 

 more clearly defined legislation along this line than the former. Most of these 

 stump lands are or were at one time owned by some one of the wealthy lumber 

 firms which have helped to build our State. In so far as possible, these men and 

 firms should be induced to deed back to the State the lands for which they have no 

 further use. and upon which most of them have ceased to pay taxes, thus again 

 placing the lands under State control. Our present tax law introduces one of the 

 most vexatious problems that we have to solve. If the State cannot give a good 

 title to all tax lands, then there is no use of forestry legislation regarding these 

 vast areas, for if she cannot give title, she has none herself, and we would not 

 advocate the use of public money on the lands of men who only sit back and wait 

 for them to become valuable before again claiming title and taking possession. The 

 State cannot afford to carry on forestry experiments upon lands which she thinks 

 she owns. The State of Michigan should never plant a tree upon lands over which 

 the public has not absolute control and to which she has not a clear title, and under 

 the present tax law and the supreme court decisions regarding the same it would be 

 folly to try to re-forest the larger portion of the stump lands of this State. But 

 once get the lands under the ownership of the Commonwealth and we can, by keep- 

 ing out fires, reproduce a forest at little expense, of as much or more value than 

 the original, and this by letting Nature do her own sweet will, aiding by a little 

 judicious planting and pruning. 



To summarize:— We must then have legislation whereby we can have wardens to 

 protect forests, stump lands and game from fires and thieves. These wardens 

 should have authority to arrest and commence suit, thereby lessening cost of long 

 journeys of officers in making arrest and expensive and tedious waiting for prose- 

 cuting attorneys. It should be the duty of the Attorney General to prosecute all 

 cases when called upon to do so. There should be such a modification of the tax 

 laws as will do away with evasion of tax payment, through error or incompetency 

 of township or county officials; there should be such provision made that finally all 

 lands taken back by the State should be held in the same manner as those to which 

 original titles can now be given. 



Influence owners of stump lands to deed back to the State instead of letting lands 

 go back for nonpayment of taxes. When the State has^thus acquired absolute title 

 to large tracts of stump lands, put them under the charge of competent wardens, 

 help along by planting, pruning and keeping out stock, and we will soon have 

 another forest. 



METHODS OF REFORESTING PINE STUMP LANDS. 



W. J. BEAL. 



"The vandalism which hews down vast stretches of woodland for gain, without 

 thought or care for the future, has too long gone on unchecked. The injury done by 

 it has often been described and can hardly be exaggerated."— (The Providence 

 Journal.) 



Fortunately for the people of Michigan, the conditions are still such that, if the 

 annual or perennial fires, browsing animals and timber thieves are kept out, the 

 land surface will very soon be clothed with a woody growth. This would come 

 about through the agency of sprouts from living stumps, roots, or grubs of a con- 

 siderable number of Kinds of trees and shrubs that were not completely killed by a 



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