MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



MICHIGAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



The Michigan Forestry Association was organized in Grand Rapids August 30, 1905,fraving for its object the promotion of a ra- 

 tional system of forestry in Michigan. The society is managed by the following roster of officers: President, Hon. Chas. W. Garfield, of Grand 

 Rapids; Vice-President, John H. Bissell, of Detroit; Secretary i Filibert Roth, of Ann Arbor; Assistant Secretary, Henry G. Stevens, Detroit; 

 Treasurer, W. B. Mershon, Saginaw, W. S. Board of Directors Hon. J. E. Beal, Ann Arbor; J. J. Hubbell, Manistee; Mrs. Lena E. Mautner, 

 Saginaw; Prof. James Satteriee, Lansing; Fremont E. Skeels, Cadillac; W. E. Williams, Pittsford; Dr. Lucius L. Hubbard, Houghton ; Mrs. 

 John C. Sharp, Jackson. \ 



THE SECRETARY'S CORNER. 



Editor Roads and Forests: 



Sir I have a cedar swamp of several acres 

 en a farm I have purchased. The merchant- 

 able cedar has all been removed, but there is 

 a fine young growth of cedar from two to 

 eight feet high. How can I make this piece 

 of land most profitable and practice a little 

 forestry? Kindly advise me in- your next 

 number. E. T. 



Antrim Co., Mich. 



Keep out fire, clean out any useless brush 

 so that all land is covered by cedar, and in 

 a few years, or whenever it appears neces- 

 sary, thin out the cedar; that is, cut out the 

 poorest, enough to give the good trees a 

 chance to grow rapidly. Never trim the cedar. 

 If there are open spots, and you care to, it 

 might please you to put in a few seedlings 

 of Norway spruce, which you could get by 

 writing to the Public Domain Commission at 

 Lansing. 



Editor Roads and Forests: 



Sir Are there two kinds of cottonwcod? 

 I am a lumber buyer, and in ordering cotton- 

 wood I find radical differences in the char- 

 acter of the lumber furnished. It seems to 

 run in two distinct types, and 1 have won- 

 dered if it came from different species of 

 trees. The product from the lower Mississippi 

 river seems to be from much larger trees and 

 yellow in tint. Can ycu give me information 

 in this matter? DEALER. 



Allegan County. 



Y</-, there are several kinds of cottonwood 

 sufficiently distinct so that they can be told 

 apart by the botanist and others. But, even 

 the same kind of cottonwcod differs in appear- 

 ance and in its wood within wide limits. Our 

 ordinary cottonwood for years has been 

 propagated by cuttings, and thus we are get- 

 ting varieties in abundance. But I doubt if 

 there is any reliable distinction, such as could 

 be maintained in court, between the different 

 grades or varieties of timber, when once con- 

 verted into lumber, etc. In fact, it is more 

 than doubtful if any of the many poplars and 

 aspens can be distinguished in the wcod. 



Editor Roads and Forests: 



Sir I have a cat hole on my farm covering 

 about two acres. It is filled with worthless 

 brush with a few soft maples and basswoods 

 en the margin, but there is growth of some 

 kind all over it. Can I plant something that 

 will grow into value, either for posts, fuel or 

 lumber, and "how shall I go at 



H. C. 



Austerlitz. Mich. 



In some cases, merely the digging of a few 

 large holes four or five feet down and filling 

 with brush allows the water to gather and 

 seep down enough to serve the purpose. Sug- 



gest planting elm, soft maple, poplar, black 

 ash and bassw,ood. You might also try some 

 spruce. This latter you can get by writing 

 to the Public Domain Commission, Lansing, 

 Mich.; the other trees you can find out about 

 by writing to D. Hill, Dundee, 111., for price 

 Set the trees among the brush, cut the 

 latter sufficiently so that your young trees 

 are not choked out. Buy good seedling or 

 transplant stock, and beware of "fancy" prices. 



Editor Roads and Forests: : 



Sir I have some boys who want to prac- 

 tice forestry on the farm. They are eight, 

 nine and twelve years old and would like to 

 grow trees of some kind from the seed and 

 plant out a little woodlot on the farm. I 

 will be glad to furnish them the land. Will 

 you advise what to grow and hew to go at it? 

 My own preference would be to have them 

 put a sprinkling of nut trees and perhaps 

 white ash, maple and basswood, but we do not 

 know a thing about it, not even how to get 

 the seeds. Will you please help the boys out? 



DADDY. 



Muskegorr, Mich. 



Your enterprise depends on the soil. If it 

 is very poor sand, nut trees will need some 

 help, a little clay soil and fertilizer, to grow 

 well. Generally pine and oak will do better 

 on the sand than the hardwoods. You cannot 

 get much seed at this time of the year, though 

 a few walnuts or butternuts could be had at 

 the grocery stores and may do. But you 

 might make a little start by raising some 

 small trees from seed and also by getting a 

 lot of seedlings from nurserymen, and from 

 the Public Domain Commission at Lansing 

 at cost. Better write to the commission, and 

 also get a price list of D. Hill, Dundee, 111., 

 for seeds and for plants. Then also write to 

 the United States Forest Service, Washington, 

 D. C., for Circular Xo. 100, and for planting 

 leaflets for our most common forest trees. 

 TV sending ten cents to the Superintendent of 

 Documents. \Yashington, D. C., you can get 

 Bulletin Xo. 29, The Forest Xursery, which 

 is very helpful. 



in the form of cuttings, which you can get 

 yourself, and the maples, elms, etc., you can 

 probably get in nearby woods free of charge, 

 or else from a nurseryman at about 50 cents 

 per hundred. 



MICHIGAN CLUB BULLETIN. 



This interesting organ of the State Federa- 

 tion of Women's Clubs in its January number 

 is again full of the things that make for a 

 better state. And the efficient chairman on 

 forestry, Mrs. L. L. Mautner, has seen to it 

 that forestry is liberally represented. A 

 timely article on "Waterways," and an excel- 

 lent "Catechism on Civil Service Reform" 

 make this a most interesting number. 



On March 22 the Women's Club, at Con- 

 cord, Mrs. Jas. Tucker, secretary, had Secre- 

 tary Roth address a gathering of people inter- 

 ested in forestry. 



Editor Roads and Forests: 



Sir I have purchased a farm without a tree 

 on it, and I want as quickly as possible to get 

 a wind-break in the form of a grove of trees 

 on the west and south sides of my barns. Will 

 you advise me how to proceed? I could use 

 an acre or more for the purpose, and would 

 like the trees to grow into other values beside 

 protection from the wind. A. S. 



Oceana, Mich. 



A shelter belt about the buildings is very 

 desirable; it is the better or more effective 

 the wider it is. and should be at least thirty 

 yards wide. Suggest plowing the strip and 

 planting it in three strips. The strip next the 

 buildings to be in black locust, the second 

 strip in western yellow pine, and the outer one 

 in cottonwood, elm, ash. maple or any ordi- 

 nary tree native and of good growth. The 

 maple will stand densest and thus make a very 

 effective wind-break. Set the trees about six 

 feet apart. The locust ycu can readily secure 

 from a nurseryman, using small one^year seed- 

 lings, not to cost over 50 cents per hundred; 

 the western yellow pine you can get by apply- 

 in- to the State Land Office at Lansing, where 

 the Public Domain Commission will supply 

 them to you at cost. The cottonwood can be 



On May 21 Hon. Charles W. Garfield is to 

 address the people of Charlotte on forestry. 

 under the auspices of the Women's Club, Mrs. 

 E. W. Evans, president. 



SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



"I want to raise some locust trees from the 

 seed. Will you kindly give me some instruc- 

 tions as to depth of planting, etc.?" A. P., 

 of Pontiac. 



The pods of the black locust, of which we 

 have plenty all over southern Michigan, can 

 be gathered any time from October to spring. 

 The fresh seed will give a good stand by 

 simply broadcasting and raking in. If sewn 

 in drills it should not be covered deeper than 

 one inch. The seedlings require little care, 

 and a rather lean, sandy seedbed has the ad- 

 vantage of giving small seedlings, which are 

 easy to set out. Plant when one year old, 

 in early spring; space about five feet apart. 

 Do not trim the young trees, but cut out the 

 poor ones to make sure that the young trees 

 always have plenty of light to grow. Plant 

 on well-drained land, gravelly, lean knolls will 

 do well enough. Do not exj>ect large timber, 

 but use locuse for fuel and posts. 



Treating the seed to a dip (from two to 

 three minutes) of hot water, nearly boiling, 

 helps germination. Thus, in an experiment 

 on seeds so treated, 80 per cent germinated 

 in thirty days, while seeds from the same lot, 

 treated to lukewarm water for twenty-four 

 hours, only made 39 per cent. Write to the 

 United States Forest Service for leaflet on 

 the Locust. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR FOREST PLANTING 



Under this title appears Circular No. 100 of 

 the United States Forest Service, to be had 

 for the asking. While exceedingly brief, we 

 have here a few excellent hints concerning 

 the choice of trees to set out on different 

 soils, the way of doing it and, lastly, a brief 

 statement concerning several of our common 

 tree species, including white pine, red and 

 Scotch pine, larch and Norway spruce, red 

 oak and maple. Send for it. 



"City Tree Planting" is a bulletin recently 

 issued by the Park Commission of Detroit 

 It is written by T. G. Phillips, landscape 

 architect, and takes up the important phases 

 of street and park tree selection and treat- 

 ment in a very plain and masterlv manner. 

 This little bulletin will prove of value to all 

 who are interested in 'this line of work. 



