.MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



REFORESTING OF OUR 



STATE LANDS 



The question of reforesting the state lands 

 of Michigan, of which there- are thousands of 

 acres of pine plains from which the original 

 timber has all been taken, is receiving consid- 

 erable attention, and will soon become a mat- 

 ter of vital importance. 



It is very evident that something must be 

 done to make these lands produce something of 

 value. There are thousands of acres that are 

 absolutely valueless for farming purposes, that 

 could be made of value in the growing of trees, 

 and the question is, what kind of trees that are 

 valuable for commercial uses can be grown up- 

 on this sandy soil that will soonest reach a size 

 sufficient to be made available. 



The writer has recently made considerable 

 study and examination of the question and it 

 thoroughly convinced that the Gleditsia Tria- 

 canthos, commonly known by the several 

 names of black locust, honey locust and sweet 

 locust, is just suited for this purpose. 



Grows Rapidly on Sandy Plains. 

 It is not particular as to the quality of soil 

 and grows 'rapidly on our sandy plains. While 

 there are some varieties of this timber that are 

 subject to atack by insects and disease this 

 variety is hardy and entirely free from insect 

 attacks and disease. It is hard and solid tim- 

 ber and is especially well adapted for use for 

 railroad ties and fence posts, as it is more last- 

 ing in the ground than either white or yellow 

 cedar, and being much harder will outlast oak 

 or any other timber that we know of for ties. 

 When dry its specific gravity is 0.6740, and a 

 cubic foot of it weighs 42 pounds. It is also 

 a valuable timber for the manufacture of furni- 

 ture, as it is capable of receiving a high polish, 

 and being a rapid grower has large grains, 

 making it a most beautiful wood. 



Rapid Growth. 



As we have said, our light, sandy soil is well 

 adapted to its propagation and growth. As 

 showing how rapid a grower it is, we will state 

 that the writer has a locust tree in his yard at 

 Traverse City, which was started from a sprout 

 of one season's growth eighteen years ago and 

 today it measures 14 inches in dameter. There 

 is also a grove of black locusts in Traverse City 

 that started from sprouts from the roots of 

 other trees, that have since been removed, 

 about fourteen -years ago. Some of these trees 

 have been taken out, but there are now stand- 

 ing upon a piece of light sandy ground forty 

 of these trees, growing within a space of land 

 6x8 rods. These trees vary in size from 4 to 

 12 inches in diameter. Several of 'them are 

 large enough for railroad ties and fence posts. 



An Ornamental Tree. 



We are surprised that the railroad com- 

 panies, especially those operating in Michigan, 

 have not long before this made use of a part of 

 their right of way for growing black locust for 

 ties. It strikes us that at least twenty-five feet 

 of the outer edge of their right of way might 

 be profitably used for this purpose. Besides, a 

 grove of locusts upon either side of the roads 

 would add greatly to the beauty of the land- 

 scape through which the roads pass. It is a 

 fine, ornamental tree, with prolific, sweet smell- 

 ing blossoms. The only objection to it is that 

 its foliage comes out rather late in the spring, 

 but when it does get out in full leaf and bloom 

 its beauty and the sweet perfume with which it 

 filss the air is unsurpassed E. L. Sprague be- 

 fore Northern Michigan Press Association. 



MICHIGAN'S CEDAR INDUSTRY. 



For many years the cedar industry has been 

 conducted at Bay City and all towns on the 

 Lake Huron shore, north and along the lines 

 of the Detroit & Mackinac and Mackinaw 

 division of the Michigan Central, says E. D. 

 Cowles, the lumber statistician of the Sag- 

 inaw valley. Somewhere near a score of firms 



arc engaged in this business. The large firms 

 generally buy the timber and operate camps 

 as well as buying all the cedar they can get 

 hold of from farmers and jobbers. Cedar 

 products include ties, posts and telephone and 

 'ele.nraph poles. During the last year there 

 has been a sharp advance in cedar products. 

 Posts do not appear to have been as active 

 as ties and poles. 



The railroads make large contracts for ties 

 which range from 45 to 48 cents each and 

 poles range from $3 to $4.5 each accodring to 

 dimension. Then, too, nearly all the shingles 

 now produced in Michigan are manufactured 

 from cedar. In 1905 the shingle product in 

 Michigan was 900,917,000 pieces, ninety per 

 cent of which was cedar. In 1906 the shingle 

 product in the state approximated 1,100,000,- 

 000. Just how many ties are produced is not 

 known but the output in the state will aggre- 

 gate several million and probably 2,000,000 

 poles of all sizes are produced. 



The demand for poles has been brisk, prices 

 are firm and there has been a ready sale for 

 all the manufacturers could produce. Cedar 

 operations are conducted the year through. 

 Nearly every lumber firm operating up north 

 owns more or less cedar timber mixed up with 

 other timber, and there are other firms who 

 make a specialty of cedar. A score of large 

 operators have been getting out poles all win- 

 ter and will operate camps all summer in the 

 lower and upper peninsulas. There are single 

 firms that will handle more than 500,000 pieces 

 this season. Poles are moved .by fail and 

 water. Most of the poles cut near water 

 transportation are manufactured during the 

 winter and moved by water during the season 

 of navigation, Chicago securing the larger 

 share, while from interior points they are 

 moved all the year by rail. Thousands of car- 

 loads of cedar are moved down from the line 

 nf the Detroit & Mackinaw railroad, Pere 

 Marquette and Mackinaw division of the 

 Michigan Central, arid long lines of cars load- 

 ed with them are an every-day spectacle. 

 Poles have greatly appreciated in value, as 

 cedar, like white pine, is diminishing rapidly, 

 and the question where they will come from 

 when the northwest shall have become denud- 

 ed is calculated to set one thinking. The Ster- 

 ling Lumber & Cedar Company and W. C. 

 Sterling & Sons are among the heaviest oper- 

 ators in cedar in Michigan. 



The first named concern was organized last 

 year and began operations in upper Michigan 

 last fall, manufacturing lumber, shingles and 

 all cedar products but Sterling & Sons have 

 handled cedar products many years in this 

 state and claim to be the most extensive con- 

 cern in that line in the world. They have 

 yards at Monroe, Bay City and at different 

 Doints north, and buy hundreds of thousands 

 of pieces of cedar as well as operating several 

 camps. Besides they buy heavily from job- 

 bers. They have operated at Bay City also 

 under the name of the Michigan Cedar Com- 

 pany. The Porter Cedar Company at Sag- 

 inaw has operated a number of years, its field 

 being Missaukee county and other adjoining 

 localities. The Cleveland Cedar Company 

 operated on the Pere Marquette north and 

 west of the Saginaw valley a number of years; 

 the Valentine Cedar Company north of Bay 

 City, and at Alpena there are a number of 

 operators. Probably more than 1.000,000 

 pieces of cedar will be shipped out of Alpena 

 this season by water. H. M. Loud's Sons' 

 Company at Au Sable handles many thousand 

 pieces of cedar cut on the company's lands 

 and also buys from jobbers who own patches 

 of timber. Ross Bros., at Beaverton, manu- 

 facture a lot of cedar, estimated at over 50,000 

 pieces, and this firm as well as the Louds 

 manufacture 10.000.000 to 13.000.00 cedar shin- 

 gles during the year. Aside from the ties, 

 posts and poles manufactured at Alpena, 20,- 

 000,000 to 30,000,000 cedar shingles are pro- 

 duced annually and about 20,000,000 shingles 

 are made at Cheboygan. Tolfree & Co., at 

 West Branch, made 7,00f>,000 cedar shingles 

 last year. Lombard & Rittenhouse are big 



shippers of cedar from Cheboygan. The ship- 

 ments from that point arc made mostly to 

 Chicago. Quay & Sons are extensive manu- 

 facturers of cedar shingles at that point. 

 Last year the cedar shingle product of the 

 mills on the Lake Huron shore was 86,000,000, 

 and 30,000,000 on the Mackinaw division of 

 the Michigan Central. There are scores of tie 

 and cedar shingle mills in the northern por- 

 tion of the lower peninsula and the cedar 

 business in the aggregate has assumed pro- 

 portions of magnitude. 



TRANSPLANTING HUGE TREE. 



Perhaps the most ambitious attempt at trans- 

 plantation on record has just been made at 

 Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, and the re- 

 sults are being eagerly watched by botanists: 

 The oldest yew tree in Germany, perhaps in the 

 world, has been removed from the old botanical 

 garden, which the municipality is about to use 

 for some other purpose, to the new one. The 

 distance traversed was about a mile and a quar- 

 ter. 



The tree was moved, not on account of any 

 special scientific value, but for sentimental rea- 

 sons. Its age is estimated by some authorities 

 at 700 years, and it seemed a sort of sacrilege 

 to cut it down without an effort to save it. 



Preparations for the removal were begun 

 three years ago under direction of expert bot- 

 anists. The principal operation was the clip- 

 ping off of the tendrils of the roots to a radius 

 of about six feet. This was gradually done, a 

 few at a time, so that the tree might accustom 

 itself to their loss. About the end of last May 

 the colossal task of lifting the tree from its bed 

 and placing it on a huge wagon constructed 

 for the purpose was begun. 



A sort of crate was built about the roots with 

 the earth clinging to them as fast as they were 

 laid bare, the tree being kept erect by guy 

 ropes. When this was finished it was slowly 

 pushed along skids to the wain, which was lo- 

 cated in a trench, so that its floor was located 

 about on a level with the bottom of the crate. 



The crate was about 13 feet square and 6 

 deep. The tree is about 66 feet tall and some 

 of the lower branches had to be pruned to keep 

 them from damaging the roofs of houses along 

 the way. The weight of the tree and its pack- 

 ing was estimated at 90,000 pounds and to car- 

 ry it the truck was made of enormous strength. 



It was decided that it would be impracticable 

 to put the wagon on wheels, as each one would 

 have to carry a weight of 25,000 pounds, or 

 more than German locomotive wheels are test- 

 ed for. Besides it was figured that less damage 

 would be done to the road by using rollers of 

 American hickory. In places where sewers 

 or other pipes were underground heavy timber 

 beams were arranged to take the weight of the 

 rollers for fear the conduits would be crushed. 



The mechanical part of the transplantation 

 was carried out triumphantly. The tree is still 

 propped up in its new location lest the wind 

 should blow it over before it gets a solid hold 

 on the earth. It is watched and watered from 

 day to day. It is not certain yet whether it will 

 accustom itself to its new home, but there are 

 great hopes that it will. 



LOGGERS ARE RESTING. 



A timber dealer who has operated camps 

 between Little Lake and F.scanaba for several 

 years past says that there is little work being 

 done in the woods this summer. Most of the 

 operators are taking a rest, and plans are 

 being perfected for opening the fall s< : 

 the latter part of August. Most of the job- 

 bers put in a long season, some of them hav- 

 ing started last August ami having continued 

 their work until the early part of last month. 



The bark industry has flourished in the ter- 

 ritory mentioned. More than 1.000 cords of 

 hemlock bark have already been peeled and 

 shipped to the tanneries at Kenosha, Cheboy- 

 gan Falls and Milwaukee, the first named point 

 getting the greater share of it. During the 

 last few weeks of the season the Kenosha 

 concern advanced the price from $8.25 to $8.75 

 per cord, delivered at the tannery. At this 



