28 



THE STATE REVIEW 



What the forest fires of 1UUO have done to 

 Michigan we shall never know. It is doubt- 

 iul if the estimates of the owners will ever 

 be collected, given out, or compiled with 

 such diligence that we can even feel sure of 

 uemg rigut within 5U per cent 01 uie real 

 loss. And even then it will be only the esti- 

 mate of mercnautable timber and ordinary 

 piopeity sucu as farm buildings, mills, etc. 

 ilie injury to tue forest can not be ascer- 

 tklned at all for at least one or two years. 

 Millions of trees which are green today will 

 not leaf out next spring and thereby snow 

 clearly that the fire hurt even though the 

 injury is not apparent today. With large 

 fires scattered over an area of over ten mil- 

 lion acres, working in at least eight different 

 districts (as reported) and in a country 

 wnich is about y4 par cent unsettled and US 

 per cent unimproved wild lands, it is clear 

 10 anyone that it will be months before we 

 snail know even approximately how much of 

 an area was involved, let alone any further 

 detail. 



As An Example 



How much labor is involved to find out the 

 extent of fire and its damage it is only 

 necessary to remember tnat it requires often 

 a hard day's work to ascertain tnis fact tor 

 only one section or 040 acres of land and 

 that in many cases one day will not suffice 

 to do this work, even of locating the damage, 

 let alone of making an estimate of the tim- 

 ber destroyed, merely injured, or entirely 

 unharmed. And even such a detail estimate 

 will not suffice to tell tne damage to the 

 growing stuff, except wnen this has been 

 entirely destroyed, and no cause for any 

 estimate or forecast exists. 



But until we have information at least of 

 the approximate location and extent of these 

 fire Injured areas, and some notion of tte 

 proportion of dry land and swamp, virgin 

 woods and cut-over lands, until then all esti- 

 mates are almost useless surmisals. 



To obtain a notion of how fast this matter 

 of damage luns into money we muj uoe a 

 few general figures. Allowing about 5,OOU 

 feet per million of timber per acse and a 

 stumpage value of $5 per thousand, the 

 merchantable part of the forest cover is 

 worth about $25 per acre. 



To re-stock an acre of burueu over land 

 as well as nature has done this is worth at 

 least $10 per acre, and since we may well 

 say that the young timber, being of all sizes 

 from the pole size to the seedling are worth 

 twice as much as the plantation of seedlings, 

 the young growth is well worth $20 per acre 

 as forest cover. If a fire actually destroys 

 this acre of timber we have a loss of $25 for 

 mature timber, $20 for young, growing stuff, 

 or a loss of $45 per acre for forest cover on 

 the whole. It will be said: "Yes, but you 

 can not sell it for this mucn." True only in 

 part and true only today; but we are nearing 

 the time of tnese values at railroad speed. 

 A reasonable adjustment of the taxation of 

 forest property alone will almost at one 

 stroke put this value on our forest, even in 

 our speculative market. 



Suppose we only reckon the value of the 

 forest cover at the ordinary market price of 



$i;5 per acre. A fire killing the timber on 

 1,000 acres or about 1.0 section, means a 

 loss of $25,000 and to make the loss of 

 $250,000 put forth as a proper estimate for 

 the losses of the year neds only the destruc- 

 tion of 10,000 acres or a -out 16 sections. If 

 we remember the statement of Commissioner 

 Wells that in a single district 250,000 acres 

 were so thoroughly covered that not a square 

 (mile) escaped, and further remember that 

 the losses were largely in perishable hard- 

 woods, maple, birch, etc., which decay so 

 rapidly that a satisfactory exploitation of 

 these fire-injured woods is almost impossible, 

 if we keep these two facts in mind, it is clear 

 that the figure of $250,000 as tue estimate of 

 the damage is without any formidation or 

 value and that even ten times that amount 

 could not make good to Michigan what she 

 lost, simply in stumpage. 



The Measure Of Damage 



With our timber supplies nearing their 

 end, with the state as a heavy importer of 

 valuable timber, with the Upper Peninsula a 

 cold country in need of much forest cover, 

 these losses appear all the more alarming. 

 To the state and to the Upper Peninsula the 

 stumpage price is not the only, nor even a 

 fair measure of the damage. For every 1,000 

 feet of timber, especially in narawoods and 



One Look 



shows why she likes 



Phon 



Her Elevated- Oven Range 



Gas Company 



Citz 4321 

 Bell Main 637 



THE "ELI" SULKY ROAD MAKER. 



THE MOST EFFECTIVE DEVICE FOR MAKING 

 AND REPAIRING ROADS 



CHEAPLY C?R.ATJ. PUT SO INFECTIVE 



That, with one "ELI" Sulky road maker, a light team driven by one man can work roads better and do more 

 in a day than can be done by any other machine, even those operated by two or more teams and several men. 



IT IS A SCRAPER., GRADER. AND LEVELER 



No other machinery is needed for working or making roads, except that in some cases a plow can be used to 

 good advantage. 



THE DRIVER. RIDES 



And when using the machine as a scraper his weight does the loading by forcing the cutting blade down so as 

 to plane off and gather up the dirt. After a load (about one third of a cubic yard) has been gathered up, it is 

 drawn along on the ground partly balanced by the driver's weight. 



DUMPING AND SPREADING 



Are both accomplished at one operation. The motion of the team, with the weight of the driver thrown back 

 on the seat afier releasing the catch on the dumping lever, causes the jointed tray or scoop to turn out its Lon- 

 tents gradually or quickly at the will of the driver. 



SOLVES THE GOOD ROADS PROBLEM 



It is so cheap in first cost does the work so quickly and economically that GOOD ROADS can be made and kept 

 in perfect repair the year round. Two or three farmers can join in the purchase of a machine and keep the 

 ro^ds fronting their farms passable at all times, thus making the hauls to town quicker and with less team labor. 



Molme Pump Co., Moline 111. 



