SUMMER MEETING. 289 



devise a plan acceptable to all classes, of lumber men especial Ij- when 

 it conies to a Hnality, and then you will see Minnesota will be up 

 and dressed before breakfast. 

 I thank you. 



Pres. J. M. Underwood: This subject is open for discussion, 

 and we shall be glad to hear from any one who has a thought 

 to offer upon the subject. We have wirh us today a gentleman 

 who is, no doubt, interested in this forest question. A gentle- 

 man interested in the educational interests of our states, and 

 who is suffering, no doubt, from the lack of a proper amount of 

 trees on our prairies I do not know, however, that we can 

 enter into the interest of this question as an educational fea- 

 ture of our state, but if Prof. Pendergast has a word to say, 

 we shall be pleased to hear it. 



REMARKS BY PROF. W. W. PE.VDERGAST. 



Mr. President, I did not realize for a lonof time what j'ou were tr}'- 

 ing to g'et at. In the first part of this meeting' I was in hopes that 

 no one would see me, but after this bill, these resolutions, were read, 

 I was rather in hopes you would, for I wanted to say a few words on 

 the subject. It will not do to say that Minnesota must preserve all 

 of her state lands, all the timber lands and keep them out of the 

 market. It is of vast importance that we should have a forest reser- 

 vation, but this little boy and that little girl over there, and that 

 older one, and that one there, are not to pay all of these bills. It has 

 been suggested here that the state should never sell any of her bad 

 lands, but save them all for a forest park. There is some other way 

 to do this — there must be some other way. Everj- sixteenth and 

 thirtj'-sixth section in this state must be saved for the boj'S and 

 girls growing up. If there is something different, something 

 that has a prospect of turning out well, something that promises 

 results, I am heartily in favor of it; and it seems to me that 

 if the lumbermen in this state, who cut ofiF timber on thousands 

 and millions of acres of land, are willing to let the land go back to 

 the state, if they are willing to do something of this kind, the state 

 should be ready to meet them in a proper spirit, and accept the lands 

 and do just about what has been suggested here, if that will be 

 acceptable to them. 



Now, a great deal of stress has been laid upon the influence of 

 trees on the climate, of pine trees upon the climate. That is all 

 very true, no doubt. I have not had as great an experience with 

 the pine as a source of warmth as I have had with the birch. I can 

 tell j-ou something of the warmth there is in the birch; it is really 

 affecting. Take one four feet in height, and it is enough to keep one 

 warm for a long time; I have known the warmth of such a one 

 many and many a time. I think that we ought to have the tall pine. 

 But I must get through— only a minute more, it will only take a 

 minute — it seems to me just as soon as we can get hold of some- 

 thing really practical, something that is specific, something that 



