tJO STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The sweeping away of nearly all of our forest area brings in a new set 

 of problems with the agriculturist that require all of his acumen to solve 

 even in a temporary way, and in the matter of home-building we all of us 

 today witness the effect of the scarcity of timber in the wonderfully in- 

 creased expense re<inired for erecting and maintaining the home build- 

 ing and its appointments. In all manufactures in which wood is an 

 important factor, we are today feeling the pinch, and men whose living 

 income depends upon success in this class of enterprise are wondering 

 anxiously where their raw material is soon to come from. The farmers 

 of Michigan see the life of their soils swept away in torrents to the great 

 reservoirs and lost in their depths. Nothing ean he do to stem the tide 

 of this loss except through the good offices of reforestation. The ex- 

 pense of maintaining bridges over our 'streams has been rapidly increas- 

 ing with the removal of our forest, as a result of the floods incident to 

 the loss of protecting timber areas. A loss which appeals more strongly 

 perhaps, to bus'iness interests today is that which connects itself with an 

 irregular movement of streams, reducing thereby the water power which 

 today is a growing factor in the great enterprises of our State. Another 

 thing that has been given ver^^ little thought and which is growing in 

 importance, the blowing sands shifting from one place to another as a 

 result of taking otf the protective earth cover which originally stayed 

 the force of the winds. Our harbors are rapidh' filling up with silt and 

 increased appropriations will be required of the government to maintain 

 them, when if a reasonable portion of the lands tributary to the river 

 courses could remain in forest cover this expense would remain continu- 

 ously at a minimum. 



Among the things that appeal to me very strongly in connection with 

 our raiDid deforestation is the loss of salubrious atmospheric conditions 

 which muet appeal to every one who has experienced the cool moisture 

 accompanying the forest area during the heat of summer. Then there is 

 the beaut}' of landscape which is not mere sentiment, but has a real esti- 

 mable value in any state which seeks to attract settlers within its bor- 

 ders to build up permanent homes. The strongest appeal, however, it 

 seems to me, comes through the reduced resources of the State. There 

 is nothing to take the place of this loss of forest wealth. To be sure 

 our agricultural production has been increasing, but that would have 

 been accomplished with just as great rapidity if a large part of the for- 

 ests had been permanently saved. We offer our prayers of thanks- 

 giving for a thoughtful Providence which has provided so completely 

 for all of our needs. In a sense we have to do with providential methods 

 and we are responsible for maintaining them, and we have no right to 

 impair all of those conditions which support health, wealth and happi- 

 ness, without in some measure leaving behind us some requitement for 

 the loss. 



The importance of reforestation depends very largely upon the inter- 

 ests to be subserved and prominent among these I mention the railroads. 

 The volume of young timber required to furnish ties for the railroads of 

 Michigan is enormous. We are rapidly destroying the forest that has 

 met this requirement and we are doing absolutely nothing to restore 

 conditions by means of which the production shall equal the consump- 

 tion. This is as eminently true of the supplies needed by telephone and 

 telegraph companies and of builders of all structures in which wood is 

 the main factor. It is true, no matter what may be said in magnifying 



