10 



MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



THE WORLD'S TIMBER SUPPLIES. 



The timber resources of Michigan, once 

 greater than those of any like territory of 

 North America east of the Rocky mountains, 

 are nearly exhausted, and in all other timber 

 producing states of the Union it is rapidly 

 disappearing. Prices of lumber have doubled 

 within a quarter of a century, and possible 

 exhaustion of all timber available for common 

 lumber is in sight within the present century, 

 unless timber cultivation and conservation, 

 like that now practiced in Germany, becomes 

 general. 



The most important commercial timbers of 

 the world are obtained from the coniferous 

 trees, which are to be found mostly in the 

 North of Europe and in North America. The 

 great bulk of the imports of all large timber- 

 consuming countries consists of those woods, 

 with the result that the available sources of 

 supply are being steadily narrowed. There 

 may now be said to be only six countries in 

 a position to supply large quantities of mer- 

 chantable timber. viz., Russia (including Fin- 

 land), Austria-Hungary, Norway and Sweden 

 in Europe, and Canada and the United States 

 in America. The resources of Finland are 

 still large, as are also those of Sweden; while 

 Canada now represents the world's greatest 

 reserve. 



It might have been thought that the sub- 

 stitution of iron and steel, stone, cement, and 

 ether like materials for timber in modern con- 

 structional work would have placed a check 

 on timber consumption, but experience has 

 shown that this is not the case. The demand 

 has developed even more rapid and the ratio 

 of increase has been largely in excess of that 

 of the population. Thus, while in the conclud- 

 ing 40 years of last century the population of 

 Great Britain increased by about 42 per cent., 

 the imports of timber were trebled; and in a 

 circular issued by the forestry department of 

 the United States it is stated that the propor- 

 tionate increase of population since 1880 is 

 only half of the proportionate increase in the 

 consumption of timber during the same period. 



The area of forest land still remaining in 

 the United States is estimates at 700,000,000 

 acres, and the amount of standing timber is 

 variously placed at from one trillion to one 

 and a half trillion feet, board measure. Esti- 

 mates of the total value of this timber place 

 it at from $15,000,000,000 to $20,000,000,000. 

 The present yearly cut of timber in the United 

 States is placed at 38,000,000,000 feet, with a 

 tendency to increase. The increase of con- 

 sumptions is very rapid. Between 1880 and 

 1900 the growth of population amounted to 

 52 per cent., but in the same period the output 

 of domestic timber increased by 94 per cent. 

 The output in the first-mentioned year was 

 18,000,000,000 board feet, and since that date 

 the quantity put through the mills of the Unit- 

 ed States totals 800,000,000,000 feet. The ex- 

 ports to Europe are large, but the imports are 

 larger, over 80 per cent of the timber exports 

 from Canada coming to the United States. 

 From these figures it follows that without 

 taking into account the growth of the new 

 forests our available supply of merchantable 

 timber will be exhausted in 40 years, and even 

 taking such growth into consideration 60 years 

 would appear to be the furthest limit of the 

 duration of our timber supplies. This shows 

 the necessity for timber growing and conser- 

 vation. 



Canada's stand of merchantable timber is 

 put at a considerably lower figure than that of 

 the United States, being rather less than half. 

 It is not unlikely, however, that all hitherto 

 accepted estimates will prove to be under rath- 

 er than above the mark. The forests in Brit- 

 ish Columbia are very extensive, the stand 

 being estimated at between 150,000,000,000 feet 

 and 200,000,000,000 feet. Canada's total forest 

 area has been placed at 1,250,000 square miles, 

 or 38 per cent, of the total area. There will 

 be ample rserves in Canada to draw on for 

 many years to come, as there is not the same 

 enormous domestic consumption there as in 



the United States. The largest forest reserve 

 in Europe is now existing in Russia and Fin- 

 land, which have between them over 500,000,- 

 000 acres under timber. Austria-Hungary 

 comes next, but a long way behind, with 

 50,000,000 acres, Sweden following with 48,- 

 000,000 acres. German with 34,000,000 acres, 

 France with 23,000,000 acres, Spain with 20,- 

 000,000 acres, Norway with 17,000,000 acres, 

 and Italy and Bulgaria each with 10,000,000 

 acres. Those represent widely varying per- 

 centages of area under forest, ranging from 

 44 per cent in the case of Sweden and 40 per 

 cent in the case cf Russia to 14 per cent in 

 Italy. But even the least of those figures is 

 large when compared with Britain's very mod- 

 est 4 per cent. The proportions of area under 

 state ownership also afford an interesting com- 

 parison, being as high as 84 per cent, in the 

 case of Spain, and as low as 7 per cent in 

 Austria, the figures for the ether principal 

 countries being as follows: Russia, 61 per 

 cent; Bosnia and Herzegovina, 70 per cent; 

 Germany, 33 per cent; Sweden, 27 per cent; 

 Hungary, 16 per cent, and Norway and France 

 each 12 per cent. 



Great Britain is the largest timber and lum- 

 ber importing country, the value of' its im- 

 ports in 1909 having been $115,000,000. The 

 largest amount came from Russia, $35,000,000; 

 the second largest from Canada, $16,000,000; 

 and the third largest from the United States 

 $13,000,000. 



All the world wants lumber and more of it 

 from year to year, and only its increasing 

 scarcity and higher cost can bring about re- 

 duction of consumption. 



HOPE FOR FORESTS IN PUBLIC 

 SCHOOLS. 



Maintaining that the reforestation of the 

 country and the conservation of the forests 

 throughout the United States are largely to be 

 brought about through the indirect influence 

 of the teaching of forestry in the public 

 schools, Prof. W. N. Clifford, of Philadelphia, 

 gave a stirring address before the students of 

 the summer school 'of the Western State Nor- 

 mal at Kalamazoo. 



Prof. Clifford is a member of the United 

 States Forestry commission who received his 

 commission under Gifford Pmchot and he de- 

 votes the summers to visiung the summer 

 normal schools throughout the United States 

 and bringing before them the great import- 

 ance of the study of forestry in an effort to 

 create a greater interest in forestry through- 

 out the country. 



"Beside the sentiment which attaches to the 

 forests of our country," said the speaker, "there 

 is the actual percentage which they pay us 

 in dollars and cents. They protect your ag- 

 ricultural territory from the sand dunes which 

 would otherwise sweep across the country. 

 The government is doing much to preserve 

 the fcrests and every man and woman may 

 have a part in it. You say it is a matter too 

 far away to demand any of your attention, 

 yet it is a matter which touches every one of 

 iis in our homes. Without the forests this 

 platform upon which I stand and these seats 

 on which you are sitting, would be of cold 

 uncomfortable cement. The government has 

 set aside 200,000.000 acres of land for forests. 

 Three states are leading in the forestratkm and 

 it is hoped that .all the others will follow. 

 New York has a million and a half acres in 

 forest and Pennsylvania 1,000,000 acres. Go 

 out and tell the students in your school that 

 the government will help their fathers and 

 mothers to care for their wood lot. The gov- 

 ernment will help them make the second 

 growth woods bring an annual income and 

 furnish lumber wilh which to build their hous- 

 es. The government does not say 'hands off' 

 from these trees but it does insist that only 

 those trees be cut which will not destroy 

 the forest and that the roots of other 

 trees be not disturbed. The govern- 

 ment's man will also see that seed trees are 



properly placed to replace the trees which 

 have been removed. 



"You who are here in this Normal school 

 today fill yourselves as you have never been 

 filled before with information and inspiration 

 to take back to your school. Be filled like a 

 fountain and then go back to your pupils 

 and just sizz." 



"We are building not alone for ourselves, 

 but for future 'generations. The Americans 

 are not a selfish people when they stop to 

 think and if a man does not care for future 

 generations then the law should step in and 

 take hold of the situation and make him care. 



"There are many ways in which forestry 

 may be taught to the pupils so that they will 

 go home to their parents enthused with the 

 ideas of forestry. The forestry department 

 has in its 'possession many pictures which 

 will be loaned for school libraries. Circulars 

 there are which outline the work to be taught 

 the boys and girls, and then collections of 

 specimens of trees could be made that will 

 make them familiar with trees. Take them on 

 excursions to inspect the trees. 



Throughout his address Prof. Clifford used 

 a map to illustrate his statements and at the 

 close he exhibited a number of pictures which 

 have been prepared for the use of the fores- 

 try commission. 



FORESTERS IN DEMAND. 



At the University of Michigan there is a 

 very flourishing forestry department that has 

 grown by leaps and bounds ever since its cre- 

 ation. Prof. Filibert Roth, who is at the head 

 of the department, each year has applications 

 from private concerns, from state forestry de- 

 partments and from the United States forestry 

 service for men who have had university train- 

 ing. He has a hundred applications where 

 he has not 50 men to send out. Each year 

 the call for young men, with special forestry 

 training far exceeds the number cf men he 

 can furnish. 



This year has been no exception, and while 

 there are 15 men, graduate students this year, 

 who have already signed contracts with the 

 government to go into the United States for- 

 estry service, there are calls for twice that 

 number. 



Besides these 15, who leave the U. of M. 

 this year, there are 39 undergraduates and 

 this year's graduates who have already ac- 

 cepted positions for the summer. 



The forestry school at Michigan is a grad- 

 uate school, and the circumstances must be 

 very unusual that will allow of a student tak- 

 ing all his forestry work while he is still an 

 undergraduate. 



TEN TONS OF TREE SEEDS. 



The United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture is using this year in the national forests 

 over ten tons of tree seed. Most cf this seed 

 has already been planted or sown. The rest 

 will be utilized later in the season as favor- 

 able conditions are presented. 



It takes a great many tree seeds to make 

 ten tons. Jack pine, the most important tree 

 for planting in the Nebraska sandhills by the 

 forest service, will average scmething like 

 125,000 to the pound. Of Western yellow pine, 

 the tree most extensively planted throughout 

 the national forests as a whole, 10,000 seeds 

 will make a pound. Altogether the ten tons 

 of seed to be used this year represent perhaps 

 300,000,000 single seeds. 



If every seed could be depended on to pro- 

 duce a young tree suitable for planting the 

 result would be a supply of nursery stock 

 sufficient to plant 300,000 acres of land, but 

 no such result can be looked for because many 

 seeds do not germinate. Most of the seed 

 will be sewn either broadcast or in seed spots 

 or planted with a corn planter directly in the 

 place where the trees are to stand. 



Even when nursery stock is raised a liberal 

 allowance must be made for loss. In the first 

 place a considerable percentage of the seeds 

 will be found to be infertile. Of those which 



