180 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



that the burden of holding forest reserves shall fall upon the whole State, and not 

 ui>on a few counties and townships, as it otherwise would. 



Sixth, That laws shall be passed with penalty severe enougli so that it will not 

 take an army of fire wardens or special officers to keep trespassers and others from 

 injuring these reserves. It should be five years' imprisonment for trespassing and 

 cuttinc: timber on th(>«e lands, with a bounty paid to the informant, and the 

 township and county officials, with the game wardens, would be sufficient to 

 enforce Uie law, and any parties buying stolon timber from these lands should be 

 subject to a heavy fine and imprisonment. 



And we would strive to impress upon the farmers the urgent need of setting aside 

 a portion of their farms for a wood lot with no stock allowed to run. Stock of all 

 kinds destroy the young trees just as they make the first two leaves in starting, 

 and I know of many old cuttings where farmers tell me that a second growth of 

 timber never started, but in every case it was where stock was roaming over the 

 lands. When you get back so far from the settlements that no stock runs, timber 

 always starts in a few years, even in old and hard-beaten tote roads. Very little if 

 any seeding will ever need t© be done in Michigan to get a forest growth. 



The great danger at present is that our stump lands are fast passing Into the 

 hands of owners outside of the State, much of it being sold in large groups at 

 from 10 to 30 cents per acre. There is no chance to save any of the old forests, 

 for they have passed into the hands of parties who will cut the timber very soon. 

 In fact the old forests of northern Michigan will disappear so quickly and so com- 

 pletely as to startle those people who believe that forests have a climatic in- 

 fluence. 



THE POETRY OF FARM LIFE. 

 MRS. SUSIE HAYES, Biggs, aL WOMEN'S SECTION, OSCODA COUNTY Institute, Mlo. 



Did you ever pause and think how much real poetry goes to waste in home life 

 for lack of appreciation? And how liard it seems for the busy housewife to stop 

 planning to enjoy the blessings God has placed within her reach? How much 

 happier our lives might be if we could stop long enough to draw one long, deep 

 breath of rapture over a bit of briglit green landscape, a nosegay of flowers, or a 

 beautiful sunrise or sunset. It would brighten a whole day and might help to drive 

 away the wrinkles of care that all too soon mar our faces. We are too apt to for- 

 get all the beautiful possibilities of life and to remember only the hard, grinding 

 necessities of our lot, and plod on no better for all the bright, beautiful things 

 God has given us to enjoy. 



We should teach our chilldreu to appreciate all the beauties of farm life, to love 

 nature and keep themselves pure; teach them the true nobility of life. That our 

 daughters may be 



"Not beautiful In curve and line, 



But something more and better; 

 The secret charm eluding art, 



Its spirit, not its letter. 

 An inborn grace that nothing lacks 



Of culture or appliance; 

 The warmth of genial courtesy, 



The calm of self-reliance." 



And tliat oui' .voung men may be described bj* these Avords fmni rlie same poet: 



"Framed in its damp, dark locks, his face 

 Had nothing mean or common; 

 Strong, manly, true, the tenderness 

 And pride beloved of woman." 



Let us teach our boys in all things to be honest, honorable and just; not to 

 tlespise the little courtesies that make the poetry of everyday life. The lack of 

 courtesy is the crying evil of the farmer's life. Let us make an effort to rectify this 

 evil. 



Much of this love of the beautiful is acquired by education. But some are born 

 with their souls full of poetry. There are some who seem afraid to give voice to 

 their beautiful thoughts for fear of being misunderstood or laughed at. We must 

 n\l learn to appreciate these thoughts. Our Father gave them to us that we may 



