252 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



state of IMinnesota should favor. Here is another item dated Nov. 

 2ist. It states that 140,000,000 feet of pine timber on Indian reser- 

 vations in Minnesota will be placed on the market ; that means this 

 winter. Xow 140,000,000 feet of pine timber is a great big lot of 

 timber, and placed on the market under such circumstances would 

 utterly ruin that reservation for park purposes. As I have already 

 indicated, the plea is made that the Indians need the money, but such 

 money would be spent in a short time, and the Indians would be no 

 better off than before. The other intimation in regard to the fact 

 that the Indians are pressing for this and that the Indian favors it- 

 show where the influence comes from. That is not all. Here is a 

 slip dated Nov. 27th : "The sale of pine on the ceded portion 

 of the White Earth reservation is 100.000,000 feet, and one-third 

 only is sold." Add that 100,000,000 feet to 140,000,000 feet and 

 you have 240,000,000 feet that has been offered to the lumbermen, 

 and they would be fools if they would not accept the offer, this 

 timber to be cut largely this coming winter and certainly during the 

 next three years. That pine stands almost without exception upon 

 land that is non-agricultural. I claim that the next step of the friends 

 of forestry who desire to keep the forests of this state for genera- 

 tions to come is to bring such pressure to bear upon their members 

 in congress as to influence them to have the destruction of 240,- 

 000,000 feet of timber a year stopped. 



That is a lumberman's view of the forestry situation. It is, 

 of course, not necessary for me to say that this timber in feet rep- 

 resents a large acreage. In many cases that timber is scattering, 

 and although it is mere guesswork to say how much, I would ven- 

 ture to say that with the timber that has been sold by the state added 

 to this, that at least 300,000,000 feet of timber will be placed 

 by the state and national authorities at the mercy of the lumber- 

 man's axe this winter. I don't believe in that. I know that private 

 owners of timber do not sacrifice their timber for fear it will burn 

 next year or the year thereafter. Private owners are buying this 

 timber and letting their own stand, which is just as liable to burn 

 as that of the government. So I say the government ought to keep 

 it until a forestry plan can be formulated in this country ; I do not 

 mean a local plan, but a plan for the entire United States, a plan 

 similar to that adopted by foreign countries, and meanwhile this land 

 should be holden for future generations until a system can be adopted 

 so they can be cut systematically and benefit the people for ages, as 

 the forests of Germany have benefited the people of that country. 



I presume in saying this much, I have not shown myself a very 

 good lumberman, but I claim I have spoken on behalf of forestry, 



