MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



13 



only a few hundred are to be grown and the 

 cultivation is to be done entirely by hand, the 

 rows may be made only 18 inches apart For 

 greater quantities, when a hand cultivator is to 

 be used, the rows had better be 2 feet or more 

 apart. 



The general arrangement of the seeds in the 

 rows should be similar to that of peas grown 

 for market. For example, if one square rod of 

 ground is available, it can be marked off intn 

 11 rows 18 inches apart, and each row will be 1 

 rod long and sufficient to produce about 50 

 seedlings. The capacity of the whole plat wil 1 

 then be about 550 trees. If it is desired, each 

 row may be devoted to growing a single spe- 

 cies of tree. In this case a stake should be 

 driven at the end of each row distinctly labeled 

 with the name of th^ seed planted in that par- 

 ticular row. 

 Treatment of Seeds Preparatory to Planting. 



In order to insure rapid sprouting and growth. 

 ome tree seeds with thick, hard shells need pre- 

 liminary treatment before planting. Seeds with 

 thin coats, such as those of elm, basswood, 

 and catalpa, need no treatment, but seeds like 

 those of walnut and oak will germinate freelv 

 only when they have been buried in sand out ot 

 doors through the winter, as indicated in the 

 paragraph on "Storing the Seeds," and planted 

 in as they are taken from the sand. The 

 seeds of another class of trees, such as locusts 

 and the coffee tree, require soaking in hot water 

 in order to soften them enough to make sprout- 

 ing possible. Immerse a quantity of the seeds 

 in water not quite boiling and stir thoroughly 

 veral minutes. Then allow the seeds to 

 remain in the water as it cools for from 12 to 

 ,4 hours, stirring frequently in the meantime 

 At the end of this period the seeds thus treated 

 should be planted without being allowed to dry 

 out. 



tion with other aviators at the fairs and then 



after its flights will be placed in the Case tent 



with the other machinery that they manufac- 

 ture. 



ENTERPRISING MACHINERY COM- 

 PANY. 



One of the time-honored institutions in the 

 rural life of America is known throughout the 

 length and breadth of this great land as the 

 County Fair. For years and years each 

 county has held its fair. The inhabitants have 

 had their money taken away at the show game, 

 spent it on villainous pink lemonade, seen the 

 lady eat snakes, lost their money on the horse 

 races, gotten liberal doses of dys_pepsia from 

 eating peanuts, won prizes for having the larg- 

 est pumpkin, and, generally the children and 

 grown-ups have had the time of their lives ; 

 but the fair as a business institution has received 

 more consideration and care than the passer-by 

 would ever think. 



The great agricultural machinery corporations 

 have looked upon it much , as the stock broker 

 locks upon the stock exchange or the farmer 

 looks upon market day. It was the day when 

 the large companies came directly in contact 

 with their purchasers. They showed in the old 

 days their primitive plows, wooden agricultural 

 machinery, hand-power machinery, of all kinds, 

 and, as the steam .suoerseded hand-power in all 

 the industries of the world, it did in the agricul- 

 tural industry. 



Today the J. I. Case Threshing Machine 

 Company sends to almost every state fair or 

 exhibition a large, extensive exhibit in which 

 are included their many lines of all-steel thresh- 

 ing machines, steam lift engine gang plows, 

 far mtractors and traction engines for hauling 

 the plows and general farm work, and to dem- 

 onstrate the tremendous pulling power of their 

 engines they have been shipping a steel incline, 

 which is built at an angle or grade of from 30 

 to 50 per cent. Here the crowd would gather 

 around to watch the engine climb the incline. 

 During the climbing of the incline, for the 

 amusement of the crowd another engine con- 

 nected by a steam pipe to a calliope, or steam 

 piano, plays patriotic and popular airs. Among 

 the other exhibits for the last year were the 

 Case automobiles ; and, wishing to keep abreast 

 of the times the Case Company have decided to 

 make an aeroplane and to introduce it to the 

 public wil! exhibit their planes at the fairs this 

 season. The plane will be flown in compeu- 



CONCRETE PAVEMENTS. 



Jackson city has acquired an experience in 

 the various methods of street paving, most of 

 which is expensive, and very -little has been 

 entirely satisfactory. One piece that was laid 

 as an experiment has been allowed to stand 

 as the solitary example of its kind. Four 

 years ago the city paved Cortland street east 

 from Francis to Michigan avenue with con- 

 crete, doing the work itself. The work was 

 done late in the fall, the conditions were as 

 unprcpitious as could be. and evidently the 

 powers of the city that determine such mat- 

 ters were possessed with the feeling that the 

 saving promised by this paving method were 

 not sufficient to warrant adopting it for other 

 streets. 



Inquiries of city officials failed to elicit any 

 definite objections, though the wearing at the 

 expansion joints was mentioned, as were the 

 noise and the dust. But, admitting these, the 

 pavement has shown little wear in its four 

 vears' existence and the Board of Public 

 Works has put in another section of paving 

 similar to this one on Cortland street, modi- 

 fving the treatment of the wearing surface. 

 The alley east of the Jackson Corset Com- 

 pany has just been completed, and it is con- 

 crete, with a tar and sand surrace. This last 

 feature is another new departure, it having 

 been used on the Cortland section last season, 

 where it remedied the noisy effect. 



Concrete pavements are being given a more 

 extensive trial in Mason City, loaw, a city ot 

 about 12.000 population. This city already haf 

 three miles of concrete pavement, and has let 

 contracts for three and one-half miles more 

 next spring. The surface is corrugated, ex- 

 pansion joints are provided at the gutter line, 

 also every twenty-five feet at right angles to 

 the putter line. The price paid by the city 

 was $1.26 per square yard, a saving of 20 per 

 cent over the price this city pays for its brick 

 pavement. 



GRAND TRAVERSE WONT WAIT 



"The farmers of this region, and all others 

 interested in the matter of good roads, are 

 getting the fever," says "Gcod Roads" Frank 

 Hamilton of Traverse City, "and the prospects 

 are for a future that will soon have Grand 

 Traverse county covered with a network of 

 durable turnpikes that will be a credit to the 

 community." 



Mr. Hamilton says that the work of gravel- 

 ing a mile cf road near Kingsley is nearly 

 completed, lacking nothing now but a few 

 final touches before it will be ready for in- 

 spection by the state officials. The storms of 

 the past month have done the turnpikes built 

 under the county road system practically no 

 damage, the cnly effect being to pack them 

 down the mere. 



In direct contrast, the damage done to other 

 roads has run into the thousands of dollars 

 through inadequate culvert facilities, and the 

 improper methods used in grading the roads, 

 s-me townships having lost enough by these 

 means to build many miles of roads. 



In Mayfield a mile of road grading has just 

 been completed, and the process of graveling 

 will soon start. This work is under the direc- 

 (ion of Peter Hansen, who is a most earnest 

 worker in the strife for good roads. 



The townships are taking up the work, many 

 -if them taking special interest, as they should 

 in the road building or they will delay the 

 progress of road building in Grand Traverse- 

 county. The county cannot build roads fast 

 enough, putting the brunt of the wcrk upon 

 the individuals in the townships. If. then, ev- 

 ery township could be co-operated to further 

 the good roads, the matter would be greatly 

 simplified, and the work go on at a much 

 faster rate. 



Many townships in the counties in and 



around Grand Traverse are bonding, it mat- 

 tering little whether tney intend to build un- 

 deer the township or under the county sys- 

 tems. Gilmore township in Benzie county has 

 voted to bond for $5,000. 



"We should not wait for good roads for the 

 next ten years, as long as the state offers $500 

 per mile for every gravel road built under 

 state specifications. The state's purpose is to 

 encourage the building of roads, and they will 

 give full credit to every mile that is built, 

 aiming to co-operate with the counties in the 

 building of good highways throughout the 

 commonwealth. If the road does not come up 

 to specifications on inspection, the man in 

 charge will make certain criticisms which he 

 considers necessary, and when these are com- 

 pled with, the road will be properly passed 

 upon," says Mr. Hamilton. 



STUMP ACREAGE Wf.RTH MONEY. 



The losco Turpentine Co.. organized under the 

 laws of Ohio, is at present securing acreage in 

 losco county with the object of starting a plant 

 there for the manufacture of turpentine and other 

 pine stump products. A representative of the 

 company stated that if 10,000 acres of stump? 

 can he secured, the plant, in all probability, is 

 assured. It s probable that four times that 

 amount can be secured. The proposed plant 

 would start with six retorts and use 114 cords 

 of stumps per week, the plant to be gradually 

 increased to 36 retorts, to use 432 cords per week. 

 The proposed site is at the old race track on 

 both the A. S. & N T . W. and D. & M. railroads. 

 The company would pull the stumps and pay $2 

 per cord for having them hauled on cars, the 

 cord to be reckoned by weight. 



SPECIFICATIONS FOR MACADAM 

 ROADS. 



The state standard specifications for macadam 

 roads require that the bottom shall consist of 

 three and a half inches (compacted) of crushed 

 limestone, cobbles or trap rock, passing over 

 three-quarter inch section and through the three- 

 inch section of the crusher screen. This bottom 

 course after being rolled over two or three 

 times, is covered with one-half to three-fourths 

 inch of stone screenings and re-rolled. The top 

 course consists of two and one-half (compacted 

 measure) of stone passing over the three-quar- 

 ters inch section and through the two-inch sec- 

 tion of the crusher screen. The top course, after 

 being rolled two or three times over, must be 

 covered with three-quarter inch of stone screen- 

 ings. 



SOME RESULTS IN BRIEF. 



Manistee county has built over thirty miles of 

 county roads since the adoption of the county 

 road system. Kent is next, with twenty-five 

 miles. Wexford county has eight and one-half 

 mile= to her credit. Twenty counties in Western 

 Michigan have bu'lt nearly two hundred miles 

 and have received $123,034.90 from the state to- 

 wards paying the expense. 



The counties which have adopted the system 

 are paying no more into the state fund than 

 those that have not, therefore the counties which 

 are building county roads have an advantage 

 over the others, as they are getting good returns 

 for the amount paid into the state fund. Another 

 advantage the townships are relieved from all 

 responsibilities of the county roads, either in the 

 summer or the winter. This in time will come 

 to be quite an item. 



RIGHT MAN FOR THE PLACE. 



William Brown, Bloomfield's (Oakland 

 county) highway commissioner, is the right 

 man for the place. He has finished three 

 pieces of up-to-date road that have been ap- 

 proved by the state officials, who declared the 

 work done to be the best ever. The roads 

 cover half a mile on the Pontiac-Long Lake 

 route, half a mile on the Birmingham-South- 

 field route, and a quarter mile on the Birming- 

 ham-Franklin route. Mr. Brown has also re- 

 paired and built five cement culverts all 30 

 feet long and lour feet in diameter. 



