THE MINNESOTA 
HORTICULTURIST. 
VOL. 28. DECEMBER, I900. No. 12. 
THE EXPENSE OF THE PROPOSED NATIONAL PARK 
OF MINNESOTA. 
SAMUEL B, GREEN, PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE AND FORESTRY, 
MINN. AGRI. EXPERIMENT STATION. 
It has been proposed that the national government reserve for the 
purposes of a public park the land and water included in the Leech Lake 
Indian Reservation, in Minnesota, except such land as has been allotted to 
the Indians in severalty. Allowing for the land taken by the Indians, which 
no one proposes to interfere with, there would remain to be included in the 
proposed park 489,790 acres of land and 218,470 acres of water surface. Of 
the land 100,000 acres is classed as “timber land,” that is, contains much 
valuable timber. The surface is gently undulating, and is mostly covered 
with trees, although there are some natural meadows. The water surface 
comprises three of the largest lakes in the state besides many smaller lakes 
and many miles of river that is suitable for canoeing. The lake shores are 
broken and picturesque, and the sandy beaches are good bathing places. 
There is also good hunting and fishing. 
This reservation is crossed from east to west by the Great Northern rail- 
way and is reached from the south by a direct railway line from St. Paul. 
These lines of communication make this section easily accessible, which is 
an important point if it is to be set aside for the purposes of a public park. 
There is apparently no good reason why this proposed national park 
should not be carried on as an example of good forestry and serve the 
purposes of a park at the same time. In Europe many of the wood- 
land resorts are thus carried on, so that they afford not only good 
pleasure grounds but a fair return on the money invested. It seems to me 
that this is the only practical way of managing such a park as is proposed. 
The carrying out of such a plan ineans practically the establishment of a 
business which at the outset will result in the employment of several hun- 
dred men for several years in cutting two-thirds of the present stand of pine, 
and will thereafter be continued indefinitely, paying out each year probably 
at least $40,000 for wages and supplies. The data for the estimates of the 
yield per acre here given are obtained from bulletin No. 49 of the experi- 
ment station of the University of Minnesota, published in 1896, together 
with subsequent data which I have collected at various times and from 
several visits made to this reservation. I am very sure that the estimates 
given are conservative and that the balance between income and outlay 
