MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



11 



A bit of George B. Morton's woodlot in Lenawee, where large trees were 

 removed, making a clearing of one-eighth of an acre. Nature is performing a 

 work of reforestation. 



Farmer and Timber Growing. 



The approach of Arbor Day is calling re- 



I attention to the subject of forestry. 



need of more tree* the necessity of a 



permanent timber supply has been M> vividly 



nted to every one who lately has found 



i; nece>-ary to purchase a few boards, that the 



,ite- 'if reforestation are not finding the 



ilty they once experienced in gaining a 



ng. and appeals in favor of Arbor Day 



planting this year will at least arouse 



interest. 



The trouble with Arbor Day in Michigan, at 



has been that farmers have paid little 



:on to the injunctions annually given by the 



nor- of the state. The planting of a few 



trees in the cities and villages amounts 



ry little. Most of the trees would be 



planted anyhow. 



What is needed is that farmers and land- 

 owners should become so much interested as 

 'to recognize the commercial the money-mak- 

 ing aspect of forestry as well as the value of 

 the tree as a beautifier. The latter motive 

 lias not resulted so far in planting of many 



in the rural districts. 



The time has come, however, when the love 

 of gain should be . an incentive toward tree 

 planting on a fairly extensive scale. The util- 

 ization of all opportunities by the farmers of 

 this country would almost solve the timber 

 problem. In every township there is not less 

 than seventy-two miles of road. Few farmers, 

 .either for the purpose of beautifying their 

 rty or for the purpose of profit, make 

 :' this frontage for tree culture, yet if only 

 OIK- tree should be planted to every other rod 

 nearly fifty thousand, instead of a few hundred 

 w. would be adding to the wealth and 

 beauty of the land. 



Then there are few farmers who have not 

 a few acres that for one reason or another 

 they are not able to work profitably. With 

 lumber and wood so high these waste corners 

 and unprofitable lots might become a source 



of income in the future, besides adding to the 

 selling value of a farm. Hundreds of acres in 

 every township that are now of little practic- 

 able value might thus be made to play a part 

 in solving the timber supply problem. Muskegon 

 Chronicle. 



Arbor Day. 



President Roosevelt urges a more careful 

 observance of Arbor Day. He says in part: 



"A people without children would face a 

 hopeless future; a country without trees is 

 almost as hopeless; forests which are so used 

 that they cannot renew themselves will soon 

 vanish and with them all their benefits. 



"A true forest is not merely a storehouse 

 full of wood, but a factory of wood, and at the 

 same time a reservoir of water. When you 

 help to preserve our forests or to plant new 

 ones you are acting the part of good citizens. 

 The value of forestry deserves, therefore, to 

 be taught in the schools, which aim to make 

 good citizens of you." 



Michigan's Abandoned Lands. 



A while ago. the last of February, we read 

 the following words, taken from the Cincin- 

 nati Times-Star: "Michigan was seventy years 

 old Saturday, and in many respects promising : 

 for her age. but there are about six million : 

 acre-, or one-fifth of her territory, worth much 

 less than at her birth as a state, owing to the ] 

 voracity of the tree butchers." 



What a commentary this is upon the policy ' 

 of the state, the nation, and of the people, in 

 approving, levying and paying bounties to a 

 ! few millionaires whose money has been made 

 by the destruction of the state's forests, and 

 then abandoning the land and letting it fall i 

 to the state for non-payment of taxes. 



And now these same millionaires, as well as 

 the politicians they have always owned, refuse 

 to aid in reforesting the lands which they have 

 ravished. 



The Michigan Legislature ought to wake up 

 and begin a system of reforestation, that will 

 restore to these millions of acres some of the 

 wealth which forests only can bring to the 

 sandy northern wastes. 



Valuable timber once grew on the soil that 

 is unfit for agriculture, and will grow there 

 again if the proper trees are planted and cared 

 for, thus making the second crop worth more 

 than was the first one. 



The state can make millions of dollars by 

 reforesting these abandoned lands, and system- 

 atic work to that end should be commenced at 

 once. Jackson Patriot. 



They Love Trees. 



They surely do love a tree up in Massachu- 

 setts. Take the case of Salem. There arc 

 persons, outside of the old Bay State, who 

 think they have a right to cut down the trees 

 in front of their own premises. Not so in 

 Salem, as any one can see from the following 

 notice appearing in the daily paper of the 

 town: 



City of Salem. 

 Removal of a Tree. 



The Board of Aldermen will give a public 

 hearing on Tuesday at 8:25 o'clock P. M. on 

 petition of John C. Donovan and others for 

 the removal of three trees on English street, 

 the same being set too close together. 



Attest: J. CLIFFORD EXTWISTLE. 



City Clerk. 



This is only one of several similar notices 

 appearing in the same issue of the paper. 



Clare county supervisors have set aside 

 $2.000 for road purposes in the different town- 

 ships. In addition each township has raised 

 additional funds. Garfield voted $1.200: Sheri- 

 dan $1.300 for highways and bridges, and 

 Grant $1.070 and an amount equal to statute 

 labor. Grant may also decide to build a mile 

 of state reward road. 



