MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



11 



the development of a crooked stem in the 

 young white pines. The wood of a Norway 

 pine is somewhat stronger than that of white 

 pine, and is useful for many purposes. 



Norway spruce will do well ovef a large por- 

 tion of Michigan. It grows more rapidly than 

 the native spruce, and the wood may be sub- 

 stituted for white pine for many purposes. It 

 is also particularly suited for the manufacture 

 bf pulp. 



Thinning Is Requisite. 



A plantation of forest trees, if it is to be 

 maintained for a considerable length of time, 

 will require thinning as much as a dense stand 

 of young natural timber. The principles 

 which must be considered in thinning a stand 

 of timber, mentioned in the discussion of 

 natural woodlots, apply equally as well to 

 forest plantations. 



By the choice of species and by correctly 

 spacing and thinning a forest plantation the 

 owner can. within certain limits, produce any 

 class of material he desires. With a knowledge 

 of local requirements, the selection of proper 

 species and the determination of spacing 

 should not be difficult. Thinning, however, 

 is much more complicated and should not be 

 undertaken without a clear idea of its objects 

 and of the methods by which it can be best 

 done. 



A plantation composed of rapid-growing 

 species will, when from 10 to 20 years old, 

 contain three distinct classes of trees: (l) Sup- 

 pressed trees, those which have been out- 

 grown by competitors and whose tops are 

 completely overshadowed; (2) intermediate 

 trees, whose tops are more or less exposed to 

 the sunlight, but the sides of whose crowns 

 are shaded by neighboring trees, and (3) dom- 

 inant trees, those which have been the most 

 successful in the struggle for existence and 

 whose crowns are fully exposed to sunlight. 



Left to themselves the dominant trees are 

 the only ones capable of good future develop- 

 ment. The intermediate trees will gradually 

 become suppressed, and the suppressed trees 

 will eventually die. This method of nature, 

 however, is wasteful. It produces good timber 

 with part of the trees, but allows the others 

 to decay and die. Thinning at the proper time 

 produces better trees with a larger per cent of 

 the stand, and. in addition, utilizes the timber 

 which is removed. 



The frequency and extent of thinnings 

 should depend upon the kinds of soil, the age 

 of the plantation, and the class of material 

 desired. Theoretically, frequent but light 

 thinnings will give the best results. In prac- 

 tice, however, it is best to thin only at stated 

 periods, when enough material may be taken 

 out to compensate for the cost. 



'With regard to the manner of removal, thin- 

 nings maj' be designated as regular and irregu- 

 lar. In regular thinnings a certain definite 

 proportion of the stand is removed, as one- 

 half, one-third, etc.. without regard to the con- 

 dition of the individual trees. In irregular 

 . thinnings the number of trees to be removed is 

 determined by inspection and consideration of 

 the needs of the plantation. To make an ir- 

 regular thinning requires a much better knowl- 

 edge of the laws of tree growth than is neces- 

 sary for a regular thinning, but if well exe- 

 cuted it will result in the production of better 

 material. 



Whether the woodlot consist of natural or 

 planted timber, the effort should be made to 

 bring the land covered to its highest timber 

 producing capacity, just as with other farm 

 land the effort is made to obtain the greatest 

 possible yields of wheat or corn or hay. To 

 do this it is necessary that the species should 

 . be carefully selected, having their ultimate 

 value in view, that their rates of growth be 

 known, that the method of treatment or plant- 

 ing be such as to bring about the best devel- 

 opment, and that they be cut at the time when 

 the most profitable stage is reached, and that 

 this cutting be made in such a manner that it 

 may be followed by a second crop of timber 



as good or even better than the first. The 

 timber which is being cut in the United States 

 today is that which nature alone has pro- 

 duced, in the face of the most serious obstacles 

 interposed by man. Our future timber supply 

 must come through the intelligent application 

 of scientific principles to its production. The 

 farmer's woodlot will occupy a most impor- 

 tant place in the filling of local needs. 



SPREADING THE DOCTRINE. 



Prof. J. Fred Baker, head of the forestry 

 department of the Michigan Agricultural Col- 

 lege, has- arranged with the West Michigan 

 Fair Association at Grand Rapids to estab- 

 lish a forestry reserve on the association's 

 grounds at Comstock Park. The reserve will 

 be utilized as a practical illustration of the 

 benefits of forestry. A space of three acres 

 will be devoted to the reserve. 



The intention is to plant 3,000 trees, ranging 

 in height from three to six feet and compris- 

 ing every variety of forest growth which is 

 native to Michigan. They will be set five feet 

 apart, and as they grow will be thinned out so 

 that the most perfect forestry results may 

 be obtained. Practically facing this forest will 

 be a nursery which Professor Baker will also 

 institute. This will cover a tract about 250x400 

 feet. 



In this the various varieties of Michigan 

 trees will be planted in seed and in beds. 

 These will be labeled, that visitors may know 

 the different growths. The plan is to dis- 

 tribute these after they have become of suf- 

 ficient size for settings to farmers and others 

 who desire to plant, although whether this 

 distribution tvill be free or at a nominal 

 charge has not yet been determined. 



The work of planting is being done by Pro- 

 fessor Baker and a number of his class from 

 the agricultural college. After the planting 

 has been done the fair association will care 

 for the growing. 



SUMMER FORESTRY SCHOOL. 



President Snyder, Secretary Brown and 

 Professor Baker of the Michigan Agricultural 

 College have returned from a .trip to the col- 

 lege forest reserve. They have completed the 

 plans for a summer school in forestry. 



The school is to be located at Bryant, on 

 the head waters of Pine river. The reserve 

 includes 42,000 acres of land covered with 

 various kinds of trees. The school will open 

 about July 6, with about forty of the senior 

 and junior forestry students of the Michigan 

 Agricultural College in attendance. It is ex- 

 pected that the work will be entirely practical 

 and the boys will live in tents. 



White pine seed sufficient to produce 

 1,000.000 seedlings will be sown. Fire lanes 

 will be built around the entire area by plow- 

 ing strips four and one-half feet wide and six- 

 teen feet apart around the plot and burning 

 space. 



The school will be watched with much in- 

 terest. It is the first of its kind undertaken 

 in Michigan. 



FEDERAL RESERVE IN MICHIGAN. 



That the government might establish a na- 

 tional reserve of the lands it owns in Michi- 

 gan, let the state forestry commission or the 

 Michigan Agricultural College have charge of 

 this reserve, the government providing money 

 for its care, is a suggestion by R. D. Graham, 

 head of the forestry commission of inquiry 

 of Michigan. Mr. Graham says that the gov- 

 ernment has a large amount of land in this 

 state, poor land now, but which could be 

 made into a reserve, protected from fire and 

 trespass, and planted and cared for along with 

 the state reserve work. 



This is a proposition which might be 

 brought to attention at the conference in May. 

 called by President Roosevelt for the consid- 

 eration of the protection of natural resources 



and to which conference Charles B. Blair has 

 been recommended as a delegate by the board 

 of trade of Grand Rapids. Mr. Graham, who 

 brought the matter of recommending Mr. 

 Blair to the attention of the board, said that 

 Mr. Blair had gathered a large amount of 

 information on the forestry and land ques- 

 tions in this state. 



TAXES AND TIMBER LANDS. 



The American Paper and Pulp Association 

 at its recent New York meeting gave the mat- 

 ter of forest preservation its encouragement. 

 In a series of resolutions it expressed the 

 opinion that reasonable taxation of timber 

 lands would do much to this end. When 

 taxes on standing timber are high necessarily 

 the owners are impelled to lighten the burden 

 by cutting and selling the trees. This accounts 

 in large measure for what is called "the ruth- 

 less stripping of timber lands" by the lumber- 

 men. The resolution expressing the associa- 

 tion's attitude as follows: 



Resolved, That it is the sense of this asso- 

 ciation that the public should encourage the 

 owners to preserve the forests by sharing with 

 them the burden entailed thereby, more par- 

 ticularly in the following manner: (1) by 

 reducing taxation to a minimum so as to en- 

 courage conservative cutting; (2) by applying 

 the taxes received from wild lands to their 

 protection from fire and to reforestration of 

 burned or already denuded districts. 



There is a practical element in this stand, as 

 will be readily seen, and it applies as well to 

 Michigan as to the country at large. A con- 

 dition confronts us on tlje timber supply prob- 

 lem. The theory that the owners of state 

 timber lands can be estopped from cutting and 

 marketing their property, when to hold it 

 involves them in heavy taxation and protec- 

 tion expenses, is absurd. If these expenses 

 are reduced to a reasonable minimum timber 

 owners will be more naturally disposed to 

 conserve their resources, to cut their trees 

 with reference to continual supply. The gen- 

 eral public benefits by the preservation of the 

 forests, by the growth of new forests. Why 

 should it not therefore share part of the bur- 

 den that now falls wholly upon timber land 

 owners? 



U. P. LOGGING SEASON CLOSING. 



According to Thomas Connors, one of the 

 largest timber dealers in the upper peninsula, 

 there is in the neighborhood of 3,000,000 feet 

 of timber ready for shipment in the terri- 

 tory on the Chicago & Northwestern line 

 between Negaunee and Escanaba. Mr. Con- 

 nors either owns or controls about 800,000 

 feet of the total amount. The operators have 

 finished cutting. The weather the past month 

 or more has been favorable, and the woods- 

 men, many of whom were discouraged earlier 

 in the season, have taken full advantage of 

 it. Most of the operators will make a little 

 money, but some will not any more than 

 pay their expenses. Prices have been consid- 

 erably under those of last season. The aver- 

 age decline, Mr. Connors says, is about 25 

 per cent. 



Mr. Connors does not look for a particu- 

 larly active season next fall and winter, un- 

 less there is a big improvement in the timber 

 business. It will take some time to work off 

 the superfluous stock. The trade has improved 

 during the past few weeks, but it is still 

 quiet. 



The movement of mining timber is about 

 over, but a few hundred carloads, ordered 

 some weeks ago, will be delivered to the 

 mines .of the Marquete range. The mining 

 companies are well stocked, and it is not 

 thought that they will make as large con- 

 tracts as uStial for next season. The greater 

 part of the timber for the Negaunee _and Ish- 

 peming mines came from the district along 

 the Northwestern line, but a fairly large quan- 

 tity was received from Baraga county, Clow- 

 ery and points east of Marquette. 



