STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 261 



Faribault, Dec. 26, 1887. 

 Mr. Auditor: 



Dear Sir .- I have been appointed by the State Horticultural Soci- 

 ety chairman of a committee to ascertain the quantity of land in this 

 State from which the pine has been cut and the land bid in by the 

 State for taxes. Will you kindly inform me of the quantity of such 

 land in your county, together with such information of its character 

 as you may possess. The object of obtaining such information is to 

 enable us to make recommendations as to what disposition had better 

 be made of it. Whether it would be best for the State to undertake 

 to rehabilitate said lauds with piue or other forest trees under a com- 

 prehensive system of State forestry, or to let them remain as they 

 are or sell them for what they will bring. 



Your figures and advice in the premises will be thankfully received. 



Very truly yours, 



0. F. Brakb, 



Chn. of Com. 



In respose to this letter I received answers from a few counties 

 where no such land existed, but with the exception of one county no 

 answer has been received from counties in which it was supposed the 

 most of these lands were located, aud the answer received gave no in- 

 formation as to the location of the lands, whether in forty acre tracts 

 or otherwise. It is useless, in my opinion, to expect to get informa- 

 tion from county officials outside of the regulaV duties of their office. 



It is evident the information sought cannot be obtained without a 

 visit to at least one of the counties where these lands are located, and 

 we would recommend that one of our committee be directed to make 

 a visit to the nearest county (sa}^ Pine countj') to make a thorough 

 examination of the nature and character of the lands in question, and 

 report at our next annual meeting. The expense would be but little, and 

 the object sought is of grave importance to the State. It might be well 

 to extend the scope of the ground sought to be covered to include 

 recommendations of a general character on forestry. 



That some measures should be adopted at once to stop the ruthless 

 destruction of our remaining forests, as well as to measure the pres- 

 ent area, is a point on which all intelligent persons who consider not 

 only the present, but the future welfare of the country, are agreed. 



When the white men first began the settlement of our State, forty 

 per cent of its total area was covered with timber. In 1880 it was es- 

 timated that one-half of the original area covered with- timber had 

 been cut off, and still the havoc goes on. We should take warning by 



