428 MINNESOTA .STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



to select twenty thousand acres of land for forestry purposes. 

 That was granted, and two years ago, about this time, that 

 twenty thousand acres was patented to the State Forestry 

 Board, selected from land in St. Louis County. It is beautifully 

 situated, with a large amount of water within its borders, con- 

 taining a beautiful body of water called Burntside Lake. Burnt- 

 side Lake is considered one of the most beautiful lakes found in 

 America, a beautiful body of water that is a delight to the eye 

 of every one who sees it. 



You see the State Forestry Board has this twenty thousand 

 acres and one thousand acres. When congress set aside, the 

 twenty thousand acres of land for the forestry board it was 

 expressly stipulated, and the state agreed to it, that it should be 

 used for forestry purposes only, and that the state should take 

 care of it, but the state has not done anything. The forestry 

 board has no money to do any surveying outside. The survey 

 is incomplete, and there is nothing done that should be done. 

 I think one thing the legislature should provide for is a practical 

 survey to bring out a working plan for that twenty thousand 

 acres of land. Governor John S. Pillsbury, shortly before his 

 death, deeded to the state one thousand acres of land about 

 twenty miles north of Brainerd, near Gull Lake. This land is 

 fairly good agricultural land. The Forest Reserve Board took 

 out of the thousand dollars provided by the legislature for its 

 ofifice expenses enough money to establish on this thousand 

 acres a nursery of about one acre, on which it desires to plant a 

 considerable amount of pine and spruce. The last legislature 

 made no provision for properly surveying this reserve. We 

 asked them for an appropriation that would provide for the 

 planting out of these trees grown there — and they ought to 

 have been planted a year ago, and we should have asked the 

 last legislature for an appropriation for that purpose. The 

 young trees are being hurt because they are growing too close 

 together. I think there are about six hundred thousand spruce 

 growing in that nursery, and as beautiful a lot of trees as any 

 one ever saw growing, but they are suffering because they have 

 not been transplanted. 



There is an opportunity for the state to do something with 

 forest trees. What is our opportunity? That is the practical 

 question. We have practically decided that with that reserve 

 we would show what can be done in the wav of raising spruce 



