248 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



can get the most money for what he produces. I can make more 

 money out of the WeaUhy, and I do not have to start out with ten 

 acres. If one man can take care of ten acres, two men can take care 

 of twenty, and three can take care of more still, and I think we have 

 got to that point in commercial orcharding where we no longer have 

 to experiment with it for a lifetime, but if gone at intelligently there 

 will not be much danger of failure. 



A LUMBERMAN'S VIEW OF THE FORESTRY 

 SITUATION. 



CGI,. W. B. ALLEN, ST. PAUL. 



I rather surmised when the secretary requested me to give a 

 lumberman's view of the situation that it was to be a confession of 

 past misdeeds. For most of my life I have devoted the great part 

 of my time to the destruction of forests, and for that course I do not 

 have any particular apology to offer. I place myself with that vast 

 multitude of people, whether they are called lumbermen, woods- 

 men or farmers, that for the last two hundred years have been de- 

 voting themselves to the destruction of forests. The pioneers of our 

 country who commenced on the Atlantic coast and advanced 

 through the dense forests up to the Mississippi Valley axe in hand 

 would have very little sympathy with anything that looked on the 

 sentimental side of forestry. They were absolutely bent upon de- 

 stroying forests so far as they could, and that destruction has had 

 in view the removal of trees. They were obstacles to be gotten out 

 of the way. They were obstacles they considered as one of their 

 worst enemies, and the woodsman, for two hundred years past, has 

 been employed in destroying the forests of America. So far as that 

 destruction has inured to the benefit of the people, these axemen 

 have been doing a good work for this country. They have opened 

 up the forest, planted their crops, built their towns, planted orchards 

 and put in place other trees, as this horticultural society has been 

 doing, that are more beneficial than those that have been destroyed. 

 I regret the destruction of many trees in the middle states, especial- 

 ly, that would now be valuable for timber. The same thing can be 

 said in regard to the destruction of pine trees to a large extent. 

 Every pine tree that has gone into the building of a house, the im- 

 provement of a farm or otherwise in this great country has con- 

 tributed its share to the progress of civilization ; therefore, I do not 

 hold anything against the lumbermen, and I do not appear to de- 

 fend them at this time. I still claim I have nothing to apologize for, 

 having been a lumberman most of my life. 



The general view of most of our people is still that the tree that 

 stands in the way of anything else, that a tree growing where a hill 



