MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS- 



say that Professor Roth's lecture was full 

 of interest and well received; indeed, so much 

 enthusiasm was created that lie was urged to 

 remain in Alma a day and lecture to the stu- 

 dents in the college chapel, which the pro- 

 fessor did in his characteristic, forceful and 

 felicitous manner. The committee lias been 

 fortunate in securing two sustaining members 

 for the association in Alma and two in Sagi- 

 na\v. Another way in which the committee 

 has worked has been by the publication of 

 extracts from forestry bulletins in the local 

 press of the county. 



Through one of its members, Mrs. Francis 

 .King, your committee presented the subject 

 of forestry to the Bay City Board of Trade, 

 and secured the promise of Hon. S. O. Fisher, 

 president of the board, to send a committee 

 of five, headed by Mr. Parker as chairman, 

 to attend the annual meeting of the Michigan 

 Forestry Association in Saginaw. 



The subject of forestry was also agitated 

 by Mrs. King at the recent meeting of the 

 Federation of Women's Clubs, at Flint. Fully 

 thirty of the women present were personally 

 spoken (o with a view to interesting their 

 clubs; quantities of forestry literature were 

 distributed and much more has since been 

 mailed to those whose clubs wished it for use. 



It should he mentioned also that Mrs. 

 King has been -elected chairman of the For- 

 estry Committee of the State Federation of 

 Women's Clubs, which insures vigorous ac- 

 tivity in forestry among the women's clubs. 



Just now we are planning a large meet- 

 ing to be held in Alma November li>, to be 

 addressed by Dr. Thomas E. Will, of Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 



Forestry Catechism. 



In October, 190G, at a Women's Club meet- 

 ing in Alma. Dr. Roth's lecture, "Wliat Is 

 Forestry and What Does It Mean to the 

 People of Michigan?" was used as an exercise, 

 questions and answers, all the members of 

 the club taking part. This form of presenting 

 the subject engaged interest at once; it was 

 therefore decided to print the lecture as ^a 

 Catechism of Forestry for use in women's 

 clubs. A copy was sent as a sample to each 

 county school commissioner of the state, with 

 the result that hundreds were asked for, to 

 be used on Arbor Day in the schools. The 

 State Grange was given 800 copies on request. 

 In all nearly 5,000 copies of the Forestry 'Cate- 

 chism have been printed and distributed 

 throughout the state of Michigan by this com- 

 mittee, and there is constant inquiry for it 

 today. The distribution of all literature pub- 

 lished by the association has been going on 

 during the past year. 



Your committee believes that the prospects 

 for an enlarged membership in this associa- 

 tion are bright, and most earnestly assures 

 the association of its purpose to work even 

 more energetically during the coming ye^ir 

 than it has during that which is" past. 



The report was listened to with great in- 

 terest, and at its conclusion was warmly ap- 

 plauded. Upon motion it was received and 

 placed on file and the thanks of the asso- 

 ciation extended to the committee and its 

 chairman. 



Professor Roth: Will you permit me to say 

 one word in regard to, the work that h.is 

 been done by the Committee on Publicity and 

 Membership? It is just that we should give 

 thanks to Mrs. King for her work, but, at the 

 same time, I want to call attention to the 

 fact that this catechism which Mrs. King in 

 her modesty attributes to me is Mrs. King's 

 work. I consider it the best piece of litera- 

 ture that has been circulated in the state in 

 relation to forestry work. 



Committee on Legislation. 



The next order of business was the prc_scn- 



tation of the report of the Standing Committee 



on Legislation. The report was presented by 



II. N. Loud, who prefaced it by stating that 



i: ' for ; t be!o ' largely to membci.> 



of the association, members, of the Board of 

 Commerce of the city of Detroit, members of 

 the clubs in Grand Rapids, the ladies' clubs, 

 and friends of forestry generally. 



The report was as follows: 



Your Standing Committee on Legislation 

 respectfully submits this, its annual report, cov- 

 ering the year ending Xovember 1, 1907. 



No formal meetings of your committee were 

 held during the year, as it seemed unneces- 

 sary after the very full discussions had at the 

 last annual meeting in Grand Rapids. Itj 

 members, however, conferred with other offi- 

 cers of the association from time to time, anil 

 were advised regarding the bills prepared to; 

 presentation to the legislature. The chairman 

 made several trips to Lansing during the set, 

 sion to urge action on the bills not specially 

 advocated by others. 



Five Bills Passed by Legislature. 



The legislature of Michigan, in tiie session 

 of 1907, passed five bills bearing upon forest 

 matters. They are as follows: 



1. Act No. 93, passed May 16, 1907 (page 

 114, Public Acts, 1907). This act withdrew 

 from sale the Agricultural College lands in 

 losco and Alcona counties until July 1, 1907. 

 The act was given immediate effect. Its pm- 

 pose was to withdraw immediately from en- 

 try and sale the Agricultural College lands in 

 those counties, pending action upon the law 

 referred to below. 



2. Act No. 106, May 22, 1907 (page 124, 

 Public Acts, 1907). This was an act to change 

 the name of the State Game and Fish Warden 

 to ''State Game, Fish and Forest Warden," 

 giving to the warden all the powers of the 

 Commissioner of the State Land Office as "for- 

 est commissioner": and. also, the duties of 

 "chief fire warden," as defined in Act No. 249, 

 of the Laws of 1903. The warden's salary was 

 fixed at $3,000, and the bill was to take effect 

 on July 1. This act is supplemented and com- 

 pleted by No. 5, below., 



3. Act No. 188, June 18, 1907 (pages -J.-.O. 

 257 and 258, Public Acts, 1907). This is the 

 act creating a "commission of Inquiry." It 

 is to investigate, and report a plan "for pro- 

 tection, improvement, utilization, and settle- 

 ment of. and for, better administration of the 

 business of the state connected with the state 

 tax lands and other forest, denuded or waste 

 lands of the state," to the end that "the state 

 may pursue a consistent and complete policy 

 in reference thereto"; and making suitable ap- 

 propriation for the expenses incurred by the 

 commission. This you will all recognize as 

 the bill drawn and advocated by citizens of 

 Grand Rapids interested in forestry. 



While the officers and members of the asso- 

 ciation were somewhat disappointed at not se- 

 curing the enactment of all the bills prepared 

 for introduction at the last session of the leg^s- 

 lature, sober second thought has convinced 

 all of us that this enactment is the most im- 

 portant step yet taken by the state looking 

 to the accomplishment of what all friends of 

 forestry have been working for in the past. 

 Your committee is of the opinion that this 

 statute will do more and better work for for- 

 estry than all the other measures proposed 

 bin not acted upon by the legislature. It will 

 lay a substantial foundation for future intelli- 

 gent legislation on these subjects. While we 

 are .all gratified with the broad scope of this 

 act, we have still further cause for satisfaction 

 that the governor has fully appreciated the 

 importance of the economic problems involved, 

 and of the commission's varied and extended 

 powers and duties, as shown by the selection 

 of able, well equipped and earnest men to 

 compose the commission. 



4. Act No. 299, June 27, 1907 (page 3 !>:), 

 Public .Acts. 1907). This is an act which per- 

 manently withdraws all Agricultural College 

 lands in losco and Alcona counties from sale, 

 and sets apart and declares them to be a forest 

 reserve for improvement by the Board of Ag- 

 riculture, and to constitute a fund, the income 

 of which is to be annlicd to the agricultural 



college of this state. The fee of the land is 

 declared to be vested in the state forever 

 and appropriated to the uses of the agricul- 

 tural college. A part of the design is that the 

 improvement of the property shall be made 

 with the assistance of the students in the forest 

 school of the agricultural college, where they 

 can be perfected in the practice of forestry. 

 The Board of Agriculture is charged with the 

 duty of reforesting this reserve with white 

 and red pine and other valuable timbers to 

 which the soil is especially adapted. This act 

 wa.s given immediate effect. 



An estimate ot the amount of lands in these 

 two counties, set apart as the Agricultural 

 College Forests, is about 40,000 acres. 



5. Act No. 317, June 28, 1907 (pages 447, 

 44S, 449 and 450, Public Acts, 1907). This act 

 amends Sections Xos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 

 17 of Act No. 249, of 1903, which was an act 

 to "Provide, for the preservation of forests of 

 this state, and for the prevention and suppres- 

 sion of forest and prairie fires." The 

 State Game, Fish and Forest Warden is 

 charged with the prevention of fires. He is 

 authorized to appoint ten general deputies, 

 and is to district the state, having one of his 

 general deputies in charge of each district, 

 to be held responsible for protection therein. 

 The amount of money to be used in any one 

 year in fighting tires is limited to $10,000. This 

 act embodies some of the provisions of one 

 of the bills prepared by this association. 



While there are some incongruities in the 

 bill, it is in many respects the best enact- 

 ment of its kind winch we have ever had in 

 Michigan. 



Three Matters of Importance. 



In closing this report your committee calls 

 attention to three matters which it deems of 

 great importance in the forest movement 

 through the enactments above cited. 



First: The appointment of the Commission 

 of Inquiry, which will insure a very thorough 

 study and report upon forest problems by an 

 able, enlightened body of men. Their sole 

 object and interest in the work, they have in 

 hand is to ascertain facts and to recommend 

 the cure for conditions detrimental to the in- 

 terests of the state. 



Second, The joining of game protection with 

 the protection of forests and forest lands, thus 

 avoiding a duplication of state officers and 

 departments. 



Third, The creation of a forest reserve un- 

 der the control and for the benefit of the 

 Agricultural College: securing, in this way, the 

 most efficient training for the forestry school 

 of the Agricultural College and insuring a fu- 

 ture endowment of that institution. 



Your Standing Committee on Legislation 

 will hereafter be charged with but a single 

 duty, that of advocating the measures recom- 

 mended by the Commission of Inquiry. 



U. S." Government Will Help. 



In explanation of the report Mr. Loud pre- 

 sented a map of losco and Alcona counties, 

 in which the different qualities of land were 

 indicated by different colors, the Agricultural 

 College lands being tinted green, the United 

 States government lands in yellow, indicating 

 those that have never been sold; those in 

 red indicated lands which have been turned 

 hack to the state for forestry purposes. 



He also stated that he has the assurance 

 of Gifford Pinchot and others of the forest 

 service at Washington that as soon as Michi- 

 gan puts forth any effort along forestry lines 

 that they will aid in every way possible. He 

 said it would be an excellent thing to get 

 the federal government to locate a forest re- 

 serve south of the An Sable river, exchanging 

 the yellow lands north of the river for the 

 green lands south of it. lie also stated that 

 the United States government holds 38,000 

 acres of land in this territory, and that the 

 United States holds in the State of Michigan 

 upward of 300,000 acres still unsold. These 



