298 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



iDur.sbos. When the land in this part of the State Las been denuderl 

 somewhat of its foiest-covering, and shall be urgently demanded for 

 agricultural purposes, a large portion of this marshy section may, and 

 j)robably will, be rendered suitable for tillage by an extensive system of 

 drainage; but this, to be successful, will require a large expenditure of 

 labor and money, and will only be done when it shall have been deprived 

 of its valuable covering of timber and after the more inviting agricul- 

 tural regions to the west shall have been fully occupied. Notwithstand- 

 ing the somewhat forbi(Uling aspect of this section to the eye of the 

 farmer who is seeking a home in the West, yet it is not impossible that 

 the day may come when this, having been thoroughly drained, will be 

 considered the richest agricultural portion of the State; such, at least, 

 is the opinion of some, even among those who have no personal interest 

 in the matter. Its chief value now is its timber; but this is by no means 

 a snuUl item, the lumbering interest being one of the most imjiortant of 

 the State. The sections drained by the head-waters of the Mississippi 

 and Saint Croix, as well as the regions bordering Lake Superior, are 

 clothed with immense forests, chielly of pine. Although the timber of 

 these Ibrests is very valuable, it must not be supposed that the wliole of 

 this area is uniformly covered with timber that is valuable. As a gen- 

 eral rule, so far as my observations and information extend, tl>e swamps 

 and marshes are generally covered by tamarack, of but little value for 

 any other purpose than fuel or fencing, and wholly untit for lumber. 

 The pine, as a general rule, is conlined to the interwniug low ridges and 

 swells in the marshy sections, the more broken areas around the lake, 

 and the lighter, sandy soils of the valleys of the streams. 



On the west side of the Mississippi there is a tolerably broad and 

 lengthy belt of timber, extending from Crow Wing River southward to 

 within some sixty or seventy-five miles of the southern boundary of the 

 State, consisting of deciduous trees, chielly oak and elm, with an inter- 

 mixture of ash and maple. This forest-strip covers one of the richest 

 bodies of land in the State, the soil being a dark, rich loam, heavily 

 mixed with vegetable mold, and reminding one much of the richest bot- 

 toms in the State of Missouri. This belt of timber is called the " Big 

 Woods," and is about one hundred miles iu length and forty miles 

 wide. 



The following statement of the lumbering operations for 1869 and 

 1870 will give some idea of the extent of this business in Minnesota, to 

 which if we add that of AViscousin, (which is probably e(]ual in amount 

 to that of Minnesota,) we will be able to arrive at an approximate esti- 

 mate of the lumber interests west of Lake Michigan : 



1869. 1870. 



Saint Croix, feet of logs scaled 158, 38:2, '{M IDl , o?7, 776 



Mississipiii, leet of lo^^s scaled S:i, 709, 030 1-21, 4;iS, 040 



Total of these two districts 251,091,484 313,116,416 



Of the total looj-crop of 1870, there were seut to market unruauufactured, 



feet 137,177,431 



Sent to market as manufactured lumber, feet 175, 938, 985 



The western and southwestern portion of the State, as heretofore 

 stated, consists almost wholly of undulating prairies, until we reach the 

 flat and broad valley of Red River. 



In order to convey as correct an idea as possible of the northern and 

 western portions of the State, (I omit the southeastern portion, as it is 

 so well known that any description of it is wholly unnecessary,) so far 



