10 



MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



SPECIAL LEGISLATION 



NEEDED FOR FORESTS 



In legislation or state action the peculiari- 

 ties of a business are necessarily of special 

 consideration. Our attempts at railway legis- 

 lation illustrate this perfectly. The Forest, 

 and with it the care of the Forest cr Forestry 

 have their peculiarities and some of these are 

 so very conspicuous and important that Dr. 

 B. E. Fernow in his excellent book, "Econo- 

 mies of Forestry," emphatically speaks of the 

 Forest as a property "suigeneris" cr peculiar 

 enough to go into a class by itself. This same 

 idea, undoubtedly, has served as basis in the 

 matter of regulation and legislation in Eu- 

 rope for centuries past. 



The following; are probably the most im- 

 portant and most selfevident cf these pecu- 

 liarities: 



1. The time element in forestry; it takes 

 many years to produce a finished crop. Tim- 

 ber in Germany today is cut at an average 

 age of about 90 years. 



2. The growth of each successive year, on 

 anyone acre, i. e. the part which corresponds 

 to the farmer's crop cf the same year, is held 

 for years, and thus remains on the land as 

 visible and taxable property. To illustrate: 

 Suppose a farmer plants 20 acres with corn 

 and 20 acres with pine in 1908. In Oct. 1208 

 the corn crop is ripe, is harvested, sold, fed 

 or eaten, probably before April, 1909. This 

 crop is not taxed at all. The field is assessed 

 as land and as land only. In October, 1908, the 

 little forest trees, too, have ripened a crop, 

 a crop of wood. It is a small crop, but it is 

 a crop, and it stays on the land. 



By the year 1940, the cornfield has been 

 planted 32 times and has furnished 32 crops 

 and the crop has never been assessed or taxed. 

 By the year 1940 the pine trees have also 

 made 32 crcps and all 32 crops are still in 

 this plantation of pine trees. But now the 

 assessor, according to our law, must assess 

 this plantation at cash value, or as much as a 

 box maker or wood dealer could and would 

 give for the pine. In 1950 the pines are still 

 there and each year's growth or crop is added 

 and the assessment raised accordingly. If 

 the two fields are alike in quality the corn 

 field continues to be assessed at say $50 per 

 acre, but the pine field is assessed $50 for 

 land and $50 or even $100 for the pine. This 

 continues up to the time when the pine is cut 

 or harvested, say at 80 years. When that crop 

 of pine is 75 years old the farmer is really 

 assessed on the land and also on 75 succes- 

 sive crcps, i. e. the growth of 75 successive 

 years, on all of which he has paid taxes be- 

 .fore and on a large part has been taxed re- 

 peatedly. But this method of taxation is pres- 

 cribed by law in practically all states of the 

 Union. 



3. A large part of the timber crop may ac- 

 tually be used (cut and sold) long before the 

 forester declares the crop ripe, i. e. long be- 

 fore it is good business to cut it. 



As pointed out above, the pine could be 

 cut for wood at 20, for pulp at 30, for box 

 material at 40, and yet it is really best for the 

 owner and indirectly for the people and the 

 State that it remain and grow into saw timber 

 or to an age of 100 years. 



4. The size of the woods has much to do 

 with the value of a forest property and Euro- 

 pean people have found long ago that it is bad 

 policy to allow timber lands to be cut into 

 too small areas or parcels. The reasons for 

 this are many. The woods, the trees do bet- 

 ter in the interior of a 100-acre lot than a 

 small 5 or 10-acre lot where wind and sun 

 can dry out the ground. In case of fire or 

 storm the man who owns only 10 acres of 

 woods may lose everything, the man who 

 owns five tracts of 600 acres each is not likely 

 to lose more than a small part of what he 

 owns. The man who has only 1 or 2 logs 



of oak to sell in our town has to give 

 them away or even hire man to take them 

 away or cut them into firewood; the man who 

 has 200 oak logs to sell can readily, find a 

 buyer at $15 per 1,000 feet. The experience 

 of Eurcpe and our own country as well, 

 clearly shows that as soon as a forest is cut 

 into small tracts it is apt to be cleared, the 

 forest removed or devastated. 



5. The long period between sowing and 

 reaping, necessitates in forestry that there 

 should be continuity of action and purpose. 

 For this reason the forests belonging to 

 States, Cities 'and Towns, or all large woods 

 under direct State control have fared well, 

 while most private forests, especially the 

 smaller holdings fare poorly. This feature, 

 centuries ago, led to more or less State inter- 

 ference and control of private forests, a con- 

 trol which even at the present day is rather 

 on the increase than decrease among Euro- 

 pean people. The case generally resolves 

 into the form so often met in this country. 

 The father takes care cf the woodlot, saves 

 the large oak, ash and other valuable trees, 

 uses the inferior material, and in this way 

 stores up values fully as good as bank depos- 

 its. The son who has early learned "better" 

 (?) living has a pcor crop, he needs money and 

 cuts the small forest. Then for a while it 

 does not bring in any income, he tires of hold- 

 ing and waiting and clears it irrespective of 

 the future value of the farm. This case is 

 thoroughly human, it will always be so, and 

 only the strong hand of law can compel the 

 sen to regard the wood lot as property of a 

 peculiar kind, from which he may never use 

 more the growth or real crop and which, 

 owing to its relation to the rest of the people, 

 he may not clear or devastate without special 

 permit. 



6. The land used in forestry is usually cheap 

 land; and it is the tree growth which makes 

 up the laraer part cf the property. Thus the 

 State forests of Wurttemberg have, for years, 

 brought a net revenue of over $4.50 per ace 

 per year. Capitalizing at 3 per cent, they are 

 worth $150.00 per acre; but the land itself 

 would be dear at $30 per acre and would not 

 be worth $10 for agricultural purposes. Pro- 

 bably half of all the forest land cf Central 

 Europe could not be farmed permanently, but 

 would become waste land in time, if allowed 

 to be cleared. 



7. The capital used in forestry is large and 

 large holdings are desirable. The amount of 

 labor in forestry is small. Thus two dollars 

 per acre a year is a good allowance for ex- 

 penses even in Germany, while in farming 

 even with us $10 per acre is but fair. 



8. The net returns in forestry are quite large 

 and are safe; and, considering the quality of 

 the land for other purposes, these returns are 

 often astonishing. In our country (his is 

 evidenced by the large crops or stands of 

 timber in some of our mountain countries 

 and on the large expanses of sand both north 

 and south. 



In the Old World much more exact data 

 are available. Thus the State forests of Ba- 

 den, Wurttemberg and Saxony, aggregate over 

 a million acres and have for years exceeded 

 $4 per acre a year of net income. When, it is 

 remembered that good farm lands over a large 

 part of the U. S. are unable to produce this 

 as cash rental, the showing surely is extra- 

 ordinary. 



9. The forest unlike any other crop, im- 

 proves the soil, and prevents its wasting. The 

 forest can use poor lands and frosty districts 

 or situations which are otherwise valueless. 

 This with its power to regulate streamflow 

 and water distribution generally, has forced 

 the States of Europe into recognition of the 

 conception of the "protection forest," the for- 

 est which is valuable chiefly because it pro- 

 tects the land and prevents waste and desert 

 and general injury to the people or State. 



This conception is general and is fixed, and 

 its use is extended more and more throughout 

 Europe. Interesting is the fact that it was 

 this conception of the protective value of the 

 forest which decided the Congress of the U. S. 

 to the first really important measure in favor 

 of forestry in the New World, namely, the 

 establishment of the U. S. Forest Reserves. 



10. The forest is generally most extensive 

 where agriculture least succeeds, and where, 

 therefrre, there is the sparsest rural popula- 

 tion. But the forest can not be locked up, it 

 can not be inspected in all its parts at a 

 glance; on the contrary the forest offers seclu- 

 sion and a hiding place for the evil doer, and 

 it is therefore one of the forms of property 

 which, heeds specially rigid legislation- and 

 enforcement of law, for its protection. This 

 fact was recognized quite early in the develop- 

 ment and settlement of Central Europe. As 

 early as the year 1200 the local laws govern- 

 ing the condxict of people in the use of the 

 forest considered this fact, and trespass in 

 timber, changing of boundaries, and setting 

 fire in the forest, etc., etc., were all treated 

 as special offences. And universally it was 

 believed necessary to provide regular guards 

 to protect the forest, a fact entirely overlooked 

 and neglected in our States. 



(To be continued.) 



FOREST FIRE DAMAGE. 



Forest fires did considerable damage in the 

 upper peninsula of Michigan and in Wis- 

 consin and Minnesota this month. Alger, 

 Luce, Baraga,, Houghton and Keweenaw coun- 

 ties suffered most in the upper peninsula. 

 Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties in the 

 lower peninsula were also touched. 



Many villages were threatened with destruc- 

 tion, and it was only by the most heroic ef- 

 forts that they were saved. Following is a 

 type of the dispatches which appeared in the 

 daily papers: 



CALUMET, Mich., May 11. Forest fires at 

 Allston continue unabated and the town seems 

 doomed despite the fact that 300 men as- 

 sisted by fire trains from Marquette, Hough- 

 ton, Calumet and Maas City are assisting sec- 

 tion crews and farmers in fighting the flames. 

 The town is almost surrounded by fire. L'Anse, 

 a village of 1,000 inhabitants, is threatened. 



Bad fires are raging near Pilgrim river and 

 in the vicinity of the Goodwill farm and home 

 for orphans. 



Fire has also broken out at Allouez and 

 Ahmeek and a large amount of timber has 

 been consumed. 



Forest fires have become a menace to the 

 county poor farm and fifty men worked all 

 last night, being relieved today by others/ The 

 inmates of the poorhouse were removed to 

 private homes in the vicinity. 



A dangerous fire is raging at Alstonia, 

 thirty miles south of Houghton, the entire 

 population having turned out to protect life 

 and property. Several buildings are burning 

 on the edge of the town. 



Of course, we shall again hear of all this 

 being "hot air," exaggeration; of the fires do- 

 ing no harm, and, in fact, doing an immense 

 amount of good. In any case we must not 

 "hurt business," whatever the case may be, 

 and our official reports will see to it that these 

 news are properly refuted. To any right- 

 minded person it would seem that any state 

 is barbarian in its first duties, which permits 

 wholesale devastation of its property. 



TIMES HAVE CHANGED. 



Commenting on the circular of the Forest 

 Park Reservation Commission of New Jersey, 

 announcing a civil service examination for the 

 position of assistant forester at a salary of 

 $1,000, Prof. Filibert Roth, secretary of the 

 Michigan Forestry Association, says: This 

 announcement is of interest, as it marks prog- 

 ress in forestry in our country. A few years 

 ago any political favorite could have had such 

 a position as this. Today there is a respon- 

 sible commission, and this asks for trailing 

 and experience. 



