FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 63 



You see deserted homes, dilapidated fences and forgotten graveyards. 

 Of course, some years the land is all right when there is plenty of 

 moisture, but in a series of years much of it cannot be farmed properly. 

 My argument is that the State has a duty to take such land out of the 

 market for homestead purposes. So too, these lands present a picture 

 of a shiftless State. If we knew a farmer who let one-sixth of his farm 

 be idle and grow up to weeds and thistles we should consider him a poor 

 business man. Can we regard the State any difiL'erently? 



The first problem is to get something to work on. We must have this 

 reserve under control of the commiission and we can then go ahead. 



Hon. Charles W. Garfield, Grand Rapids: 



Some years ago I remember that our friend S. L. Fuller, the horticult- 

 urist, told at a meeting of the horticultural society of what Mr. Gregory, 

 of Pine Grove, had done in nine years. He went into one of those sections 

 where the pine timber had been cut off and in nine years he was able to 

 exhibit at the horticultural society a lot of fruit grown on that same 

 land that would do credit to any region in the State. This suggests the 

 desirability of transforming these pine slashings into something better. 



The question is often asked me, how long does it take to turn tree seeds 

 into money? I have near my house a pine tree planted in 1878, a mere 

 shoot then eight inches long. • This year, I saw saw-logs going down the 

 Muskegon river which were smaller in size than can be made from that 

 pine tree. I have another tree, an elm, also started in 1878 and started 

 from the seed. Today that elm will cut two ties and two fence posts. 

 Eleven years ago I planted locust seeds that I might have a locust tree 

 wind-break for protection. Out of each of these trees today I can get one 

 fence post and two sticks, good solid fence posts too. 



Seven miles from Grand Kapids there is a tract of eighty acres. Fifty- 

 eight years ago a man bought this land. It was worthless then, poor 

 sandy land with a few scraggly trees consisting mostly of little pines 

 about the size of my arm. This man's friends and neighbors guyed him 

 so about having purchased such a worthless piece of land that he sold it 

 to a friend of mine for a yoke of cattle. That was 52 years ago. One 

 year ago I saw a check which went through a Grand Rapids bank for 

 $8,000 which had been given in payment for the timber alone on this 

 eighty. 



Down in Connecticut a short time ago on the poorest of New England 

 soil, I saw chestnut groves that I supposed were second growth timber, 

 but the friend who was with me said it was probably fourth, fifth or 

 sixth growth, that a crop of chestnut telephone poles could be cut from 

 these groves once in 25 years. 



Now I submit is it not worth while to see if there is not money in 

 growing timber on poor lands. These examples would seem to indicate 

 that it is worth while, and our commission is trying to set an example 

 by having a reserve given us. We want to see how even poor land can do 

 in growing crops of trees. The State has responsibility in this matter, 

 for it is taxing timber holders very high up north, and they cannot afford 

 to keep the timber. This thing must be changed. We must take care of 

 the forests and we must have legislation that will make it an object for 



