390 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



duce forest fires to a miniinum. He advocated radical and deter- 

 mined action. He sig-nificantlj^ stated that paper legislation would 

 do no good; there must be a well organized forestr}- department and 

 monej' to paj^ for it. The railroads and lumbertnen should co-oper- 

 ate, being equallj' interested with the government and the state at 

 large. 



Gen C. C. Andrews in a valuable paper called attention to the 

 appalling calamity caused by the forest fires in our state, urging 

 some wise ineasure to prevent the recurrence of anything so awful. 



" Minnesota itself owns l,26!t,000 acres of timber land, granted by congress for 

 educational purposes. Although only 20 per cent, probably, of the original pine 

 remains, it is, nevertheless, a vast property, and shows the great direct pecuniary 

 interest our state has in this subject. About 25,0(X),(HX) acres of the surface of Min- 

 nesota is natural forest land. The greater part of this is pine, or only suited for 

 pine, and, although the best of the original trees have been cut— trees, manj' of 

 them, which were 20() years in maturing — yet, if what is left can be cared for from 

 now on under regular forestrj' management, it will be a rich and permanent re- 

 source, affording remunerative labor for many thousands of people.'' 



Quoting various authorities as to the extent of Minnesota forest 

 fires, the speaker went on to score the general government in selling 

 timber lands at a nominal rate, and contrary to all business or 

 moral ideas. He gave a suminary of European forestr}", from which 

 most of our ideas are borrowed. The forestry systems of New York^ 

 New Hampshire and Maine were then briefly reviewed, and those 

 states coinplimented upon the work accomplished. Said the gen- 

 eral : 



" Those three states should be honored for their enlightened action in respect 

 to forestry. Minnesota has far greater forest interests than either of them, and 

 would derive credit before the country, if she could improve upon their plan, es- 

 pecially as to the prevention of fires. Let the subject be agitated by commercial 

 organizations and by literary societies in institutions ot learning. Let all the 

 light be obtained that is possible. Also, as the general government still holds 

 about 5,000,0(K) acres of timber land within our state, an intelligent public senti- 

 ment should strongly support our Minnesota senators and representatives in 

 their efforts to have congress adopt an efficient forestry system to operate in 

 harmony with the plan that may be devised by our own legislature." 



J. O. Barrett, Sec'y of Forestry Association, set forth the impor- 

 tance to the state of preserving the forests, and submitted the bill 

 introduced by Senator Allen two years ago. This bill provides for 

 a forestry commission, especially equipped to prevent fires by 

 means of patrols; indemnities, fire wardens, etc. It fixes the respon- 

 sibilities of railroads, compelling them to use spark arresters, clear 

 their rights of way from inflammable material, and holds them liable 

 for damages arising from neglect of law. Provisions are made cov- 

 ering danger from camps of lumbermen and hunters, compelling 

 all such to clear a space of twenty feet radius. Cigars and pipes 

 are forbidden in the woods during the danger season, and hunters 

 are compelled to use non-combustable wads. Stringent provisions 

 are also made against firing felled pieces, meadows and grassy 

 spots during the season when danger may be apprehended. In con- 

 clusion, Mr. Barrett advocated the following : 



" More resorvoirs in our state to economize our surplus water, which in the 

 spring runs to waste in the form of devastating floods, to be used for irrigation 

 and navigation by a canal system. 



"More encouragement for tree-raising on our open prairies, and especially along 

 our river shores and bluffs. 



"Congressional and state legislation to develop and preserve dense and vast 

 tracts ot forests at the sources of our principal rivers, on all non-agricultural and 

 non-mineral lands in our northern woods, but open for railroads and for sales of 

 matured and surplus timber of any sort to lumbermen and manufacturers under 

 wise and economic numagement. 



"The e.xtention of our tree bounty law in such a way for forest culture on our 

 prairies or oti all needful places in our woodlands, that the acreage may be safely 

 increased, that all parties receiving bounty money for such planting or saving of 



