62 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



WHAT THE STATE CAN DO. 



BY HON. E. A. WILDEY, STATE LAND COMMISSIONER^ LANSING. 



The forest has always been the friend of man. It furnished him the 

 first material that sheltered him in his upward march toward civiliza- 

 tion when he left his cave in the hills. From it he obtained the heat 

 that warmed his rude hut and made of it the semblance of a home. 

 With it his food was cooked and this placed him still another milestone 

 on his upward way. Its groves were ''God's first temples," and there 

 were planted the religious beliefs that were in time to elevate man 

 above his savage instincts. The wilderness was his refuge from ene- 

 mies. Its deep recesses furnished him a safe abiding place until the 

 time of danger had passed. With these traditions to remember it is but 

 little wonder that a sentimental affection has sprung up to characterize 

 man's feeling toward the forest. 



The commercial value of forests has been recognized for many years; 

 but, even among the older countries of Europe, until very recently no 

 thought has been given their preservation with a view of establishing a 

 permanent forest. Until lately the question of forestry has never been 

 considered by the people of the United States from any other stand- 

 point than how to get the most value from whatever timber might be 

 standing on a given area. The splendid forest growth that covered a 

 large portion of this continent when immigration began seemed an in- 

 exhaustible resource, and the settler and homebuilder deemed it an in- 

 cumbrance to be gotten rid of the easiest way. With fire and axe' the 

 onslaught was made; and what would have been under the proper man- 

 agement a perpetual source of wealth, in all of the older states was de- 

 stroyed. 



The first steps taken to preserve the trees were of a sentimental char- 

 acter, and one who advocated the preservation of the forests was looked 

 upon as a dreamer and enthusiast and one not capable to grapple with 

 practical questions. Consequently his words of warning had little 

 weight with men of affairs and legislation that has for its object an 

 economic disposition of our forest products has been of slow growth. 

 Froin the earliest history of the race in all sparsely settled countries 

 the enactment of laws has had for its fundamental principle the protec- 

 tion of individual interests as against those of the government. This 

 state of affairs is entirely proper where the sparsely settled community 

 has natural resources apparently without limit; but the steady increase 

 of population of countries rich in natural wealth is greatly augmented 

 by immigration. In time they become densely populated; and if such 

 countries are to maintain their rank, legislation must be enacted that 

 will conserve the natural resources so that no one class shall control as 

 against the whole. 



No state in the Union had greater natural wealth than Michigan. Its 

 lakes and rivers, forests and mines contained greater wealth than any- 

 one could comprehend. State policies were early adopted that had for 



