FORESTRY. 393 



Col. J. H. Stevens introduced a resolution memorializing' President 

 Cleveland and urging- him to make some recommendation to con- 

 gress for protection of United States timber. The resolution was 

 passed. 



Col. C. H. Graves introduced a memorial to the legislature calling 

 their attention to the great destruction of forests in this state: that 

 the state holds 1,269,000 acres and the United States 5,000,000 acres of 

 forest likely to be damaged by fire, and 25,000,000 acres of natural 

 forest land which should be protected, and urging that the subject 

 be given careful consideration. The resolution was adopted, as was 

 a resolvition by E. S. Crittenden, calling upon each inember to exert 

 his influence to create a public sentiment in favor of suitable fores- 

 try laws, and the appointment of a committee of one in each county 

 for the saine purpose. Mr. Crittenden also introduced a resolution, 

 adopted unanimously: 



"That the governor of Minnesota be requested to call the attention of the next 

 legislature of this state in his message to tlie great importance of the enactment 

 of a proper law for the prevention and suppression of forest fires, and the protec- 

 tion and preservation of our valuable timber interests." 



Secretary McGinnis, of the St. Paul Commercial Club, spoke on 

 the prevention methods used in India, where the forests are divided 

 into sections, separated by well cleared spaces. He suggested the 

 application of the same methods here. Prof. Hays and others spoke 

 along the same line. 



Mr. C. C. Brown, of Duluth, presented a resolution endorsing the 

 reservoir system of the state and urging the further construction of 

 reservoirs at the headwaters of the Mississipi^i, Red, Minnesota, 

 St. Louis, Cloquet, St. Croix and other streams having their head- 

 waters in the state. 



The chair announced that he desired time to appoint the commit- 

 tee to present the matter to the state legislature, as it was a very 

 important committee. 



FUTURE SUPPLIES OF TIMBER. 



That it is now time to consider the question of future supplies may 

 now be inferred from the following rough estimate, the only kind 

 possible with our present statistical knowledge. We use in the 

 United States, according to estimates based upon census and other 

 figures, ovet 22,000,000,000 cubic feet of wood annually. Of this enor- 

 mous amount (about 350 cubic feet per capita), over 4,000,000,000 cubic 

 feet of the best timber are made into lumber (between 30,000,000,000 

 and 40,000,000,000 feet, board ineasure); railroad construction requires 

 about 500,000,000 cubic feet; and fencing takes an equal amount; but 

 by far the largest consumption is for firewood. An uncertain 

 amount is burnt up every year in forest fires, which range over the 

 western mountain country especially, and which swell the total con- 

 sumption, probably, to beyond 25,000,000,000 cubic feet annually. 

 During the last three decades, an increase of about 30 per cent' in 

 consumption in each decade is indicated. The area covered with 

 wood growth is less than 500,000,000 acres. If all the land area not 

 known to be treeless or in farms, were under forest, the acreage 

 would not exceed 850,000,000 acres, but the lower figure is proba- 

 bly more nearly correct. 



