Till-: STATI-: KIIYIKU". 



Michigan Forestry Association Annual Convention 



The second annual convention of UK- Michi- 

 gan forestry Association met in Grand Rapids 

 November :'.7 for a two days' session. Meet- 

 ' ings were held in the Hoard of Trade building. 

 which had been kindly placed at the disposal 

 of the association. Hoard of trade officials 

 were present and assisted materially in pro- 

 moling the interest^ of this body of earnest 

 men and women. 



Large specimens of Michigan lumber, in- 

 cluding sugar maple, black ash, black cherry, 

 arbor vitae, cherry birch, red oak, bass wood 

 and while, taken from the forestry exhibit at 

 the Kent Scientific .Museum, were shown in 

 the vestibule of the building by H. F. Sargent, 

 curator of the local museum. 



I'a.-siiig into the auditorium, where the ses- 

 sions were held, the eye was greeted with the 

 following gospel messages of forestry on the 

 Us: 



"The forest protects the sloping soil. Where 

 the earth is in danger from the waters, plant 

 a sapling." 



"Plant some wood in front of your field if 

 you wish to shelter it from the wind." 



"\\ e should never sacrifice the woods to the 

 sheep unless we wish to be at our wit's ends 

 m the plains." 



the tree of the field is man's life."- 

 Deut \. ,<>. 



"The woods hold the water, the water m 

 the meadows, the meadows the flocks, the 

 Hocks the manure, the manure the grain." 



"A country without woods is a house with- 

 out a roof '' 



The Opening Session. 



The opening session began promptly at in 

 o'clock, President John H. Bisscll, of Detroit, 

 presiding, and while the room was not filled 

 with people, nearly every section of the great 

 was represented, and the attendance was 

 really gratifying. 



The opening session, and those following, 

 were clean-cut and business-like in procedure, 

 with no long papers or speeches, neither v/crc 

 the discussions wandering and tedious. It was 

 very evident, even to the casual listener, hav- 

 ing no knowledge of the subject under treat- 

 ment, that here was a body of people in earn- 

 est about something that was worth while, 

 who ppling with a difficulty that they 



wan' t at the heart of as soon as pos- 



-ible. 



It was fitting that the Rev. F. P. Arthur, 

 pastor of one of the (irand Rapids churches 

 nany years, should give the invocation, lie 

 has greater interest in forestry than 



perhaps any other minister of the gospel in 

 Michigan, and loves intensely nature and out- 

 door life, spending his vacations with his fam- 

 ily e ar in a section of the thin, cut- 

 if northern Michigan. 



Mr. Arthur's words were apposite and in- 

 -piring. and were pronounced with the mem- 

 bers of the convention stands 



Introductory remarks of a. pleasing and im- 

 iiature were made by George G. Whit- 

 worth. president of the Grand Rapids Hoard 

 of Trade. Mr. Whitworth is an officer of one 

 of the leading furniture manufacturing con- 

 cern- of tlie city. The speaker -aid in part: 



Mr. Whitworth's Address. 



"It gives me great pleasure to welcome you 

 at this time. A year ago. when yon met with 

 us. you found a splendid spirit here, and we 

 expect and hope that it will be found to con- 

 tinue here, only in intensified form. 1 trust 

 your meeting will be a great pleasure and 

 benefit to you. and that you will go away im- 

 pressed with the fact that (irand Rapids is 

 with you heartily in this great movement \ 

 song that I learned in my early childhod be- 

 gan, 'Woodman, spare that tree.' and I hope 

 that these verses will go on ringing and ring- 

 ing to the end of time. God's lirst temples, the 

 trees, must be saved from destruction." 



Stanley Jackowski, the private secretary of 

 Mayor Ellis, extended hearty welcome to the 

 members of the convention in the unavoidable 



sciic" i*\ the city's ch'-i executive. 



C. S. UDELL, 



Vice-President Michigan Forestry 

 Association. . 



Mr. Eissell's Response. 



In responding to the word- come 



President John 11. Hi-sell ,of Detroit exti 

 the thanks of the n to the Hoard of 



Trade for having provided >rt:iblc a 



place of meeting and to its officers and the 

 r for their cordial greetings. Me con- 

 tinued as folio 



"There are 



Grand Rapids as our p!. ! n the 



first place. Mr. Gariield li\ ml we all 



<->]' us recognixe in him one of the foremost 

 factors in the gr. -.try movement in 



Michigan. In speaking of the pioneers in 

 estry. I must mer.ti hat patriot of Jack- 



son. F.ditor !'.. W. Harbc.r. and Dr. Heal, of the 

 Michigan Agricultural ' These three 



men looked over the heads of all of Us long 

 and their utterances were prophetic of 

 where Michigan would find herself if the ruth- 

 less destruction of her forests were to con- 

 tinue. Now we are beginning to get our 

 open to the truth. \\ e have a Hoard t>i Com- 

 merce in Detroit that -is similar to your Hoard 



of Trade, and this body of men of strong busi- 

 ense and ability is extending its influence 

 throughout the commonwealth. Forestry is 

 one of the important matters that this body- 

 has taken up, and it is expected that consid- 

 erable progress along legislative lines will be 

 proposed and urged during the coming year. 



What Is Meant By Forestry. 



"I think it well at the opening of this meet- 

 ing that we have a clear, distinct idea of what 

 is meant by Forestry. Forestry is not a mat- 

 ter of sentiment, merely a -yslem of tree-plant- 

 ing along highways or in city parks, with Latin 

 and scientific names tagging the trees. That 

 is u-eful and educational, but is not Fore-try. 

 Fore-try is not a scheme for promoting the 

 -eliish interests of any person or class; but is 

 a great qiicsiio.ii of public concern to the entire 

 slate. Through lack' of foresight our timber 

 is about all gone. Forestry means a re\ 

 of the hitherto pursued wasteful policy. It 

 means the protection of tin remnants 

 and the new growth, from lire and trespa 

 public and private lands; the reform of taxa- 

 tion to encourage private enterprise in I-', 

 try; the utili/ation of all lands, public and 

 private, not sui, ling, in t! 



of timber; the of 1 he im- 



\ alue i" ml all its 



is of maintaining 



iltural count'. on the 



and cut -over lands; and a reasonable, 



ile admin lands. We 



look to Grand Rapids a . < .nd, 



i. in promotin work 



he Mich; 



Mr. Winchester's Joke. 



First on norn- 



ine a paper on "Japan. try," pre- 



pared by Walter C. Winchester, a prominent 

 lumberman of Grand Rapid.-. Mr. Wine! 

 has recently returned from a trip around the 

 world, lie is in .-ympathy with the forestry 

 .lent, but stoutly maintains that nothing 

 can be done until the present tax laws, which 

 in their present operation will soon con! 



inaining timber, are amended. The grim 

 humor of the closing sentence of Mr. Win- 

 r of regret was appreciated by 

 the convention. The letter foil- 

 Grand Rapids. Mich., Xov. :.'!, 1! 

 Mr. T. H. Bissell, 



Pres. Mich. Forestry Assn., 



Detroit, Mich. 

 Dear Sir: 



I regret very much that circumstances are 

 such that it will be impos-ible for me to be. 

 with you at the first annual m. >f the 



Michigan Forestry Association on the :.'Tth 

 and :;sth I have prepared a short article on 

 "Japanese Forestry" along the lines of pre- 

 serving the timber for future generations; and 

 he humorous part of it is. and the only 

 reason why I cannot be with you. is that I am 

 I to make a trip to some of our lands 

 immediately in order to expedite the cutting 

 of our timber, which is not going on fast 

 enough to suit me 



Y< nirs very truly. 

 WALTER C. WINCHESTER. 



