MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



down; as 1 it falls it crashes through other 

 smaller trees and leaves a path of destruction. 

 When a barn is on fire the farm bell is rung 

 and every one hurries to .help. Ring the bell 

 for the farm wood lot as well as the barn, call 

 the neighbors if necessary, put it out, it will 

 pay. 



The next thing the farmer must do is to 

 keep the cattle out. Cattle will eat the tender 

 shoots of maple or basswood with as much 

 greed as clover pasture in the month of June. 

 They will destroy more tree growth in one 

 summer forenoon than can be replaced in 

 years. They trample the heavy soil and cause 

 it to puddle. They break and kill the vege- 

 table matt on light soils and the soil is carried 

 away by the next wind. Live stock must not 

 lie allowed on the farm wood lot, and fire must 

 i>e kept out. Fire-breaks should be on every 

 dangerous side. 



It is surprising how quickly the old woods 

 responds to protection. The farmer who has 

 already protected his wood lot is the one who 

 , is most interested in tree growth. He sees 

 what our native species will do when given a 

 chance. 



The second step in the care of the old wood 

 lot is to make improvement cuttings. Cut out 

 the dead trees, utilize the down timber. From 

 time to time cut out the mature trees, never 

 cutting enough to let in too much sunlight or 

 make an opening for wind. Keep the crowns 

 well together, select what trees you want to 

 and then cut the remainder. We soon 

 find the wood lot giving good returns. 

 - So much for the old wood lot. Let us now 

 consider the new. Many farmers have not 

 even a vestige of the old forest with which to 

 start a new one. They are at a disadvantage 

 in that they will have to wait years for results, 

 but they also have the advantage of planning 

 a new wood lot to suit themselves. They can 

 locate it where they desire. The unproductive 

 hills or the soggy ravines may be covered by 

 a wealth of forest growth. The new wood lot 

 may be used as a wind break and afford needed 

 protection to the farm house, garden or or- 

 chard. The species may be chosen at will 

 with a very wide range. Quick results may 

 be obtained by planting locust for posts, pop- 

 lar, willow and green ash for fuel, and the 

 slower growing species, as walnut, maple and 

 oak, for longer periods. 



Should Mimic Nature. 



In forest planting impress upon the woodlot 

 owner to mimic nature, to -observe how she 

 docs things, and when it comes his turn to try 

 he will not he far off. 



Because of the length of time required to 

 harvest a forest crop the individual is very 

 apt to shirk the responsibility. Every tiller of 

 the soil must have faith or he would never 

 drop a kernel or turn a furrow. Farm with 



,\ and stick to it. 



Now, a word as to where the agricultural 

 college comes in. Forestry is only one phase 

 of agriculture tree agriculture. What we 

 want to do is to bring the idea of farm forestry 

 so point blank to the farmers of this state that 

 they cannot get over it, around it, or under it. 

 IIo\\- are we going to do it? The plain facts 

 concerning what can actually be done with our 

 native tree species must be placed before them. 

 Extensive tree growth studies must be made. 

 Model farm woodlots and plantations must be 

 located in every county on different character 

 of soil, using different species. Co-operate 

 with the farmers. Measurements should be 

 taken each year on these models and the data 

 carefully preserved. 



It seems proper and fitting that the State 



'Agricultural College should have been first to 



) inaugurate this woodlot work. 



Dr. W. J. Beal planted an arboretum made 

 up of different species in 1877. A pine planta- 

 tion was also started by him in the spring of 

 1897. The actual cost and the yearly rate of 



i growth is being preserved. Some may say 



I such a study will take years. True; it will. 



(Can you expect anything else It has taken 



years to demolish the forest, it will take more 

 years to replace it. 



The work is under way. We want you as 

 foresters in the State of Michigan to help us. 

 Think forestry, act forestry, talk forestry and 

 keep everlastingly at it. 



The next number on the program was a 

 paper entitled "Some of the Difficulties in For- 

 estry," prepared by B. Wolf, of Grand Rapids. 

 Mr. Wolf being absent, the paper was read by 

 Charles W. Garfield and is as follows: 



DIFFICULTIES IN LUMBERING. 



B. Wolf, of Grand Rapids, Gives the Conven- 

 tion Some Interesting Facts. 



I feel that it is presumptuous on my part to 

 attempt to address this distinguished assem- 

 blage of scientists. I came here to listen and 

 learn. 



Forestry the proper use of wood, the plant- 

 ing and fostering of trees, the prevention of 

 waste is a matter that concerns every citizen. 



Twenty-five years ago, a logger who owed a 

 merchant $1,500 for supplies offered him in set- 

 tlement nine hundred acres of pine timber land, 

 on a very short haul from the Muskegon River. 



The smoothest trees had been cut out that 

 winter. The merchant asked the opinion of a 

 friend of his, an experienced cruiser and log- 

 buyer, as to the advisability of accepting the 

 logger's offer. Knowing that what was termed 

 "the surface clear" had been cut, the log-buyer 

 told his friend not to accept such a settlement 

 and added "there will be plenty of good pine 

 on this river long after we are dead." Not 

 many years after this, .nearly seven million feet 

 of good pine logs were cut from this land by a 

 Muskegon firm. 



But the waste in pine-cutting has ceased. 

 The other extreme has been reached in this 

 one wood at least. A lumber buyer recently 

 received a shipment of pine crating so-called, 

 graded as No. 6. It puzzled him to learn how 

 they had loaded it on cars as he said he un- 

 loaded it with shovels into bushel baskets. 

 Possibly this was somewhat of an exaggera- 

 tion but certainly there is little waste in the 

 handling of white pine at present. Only a few 

 years ago, the bulk of the hard wood culls 

 were burned. The manufacturer paid heavily 

 to destroy them, yet they could have been used 

 then as well as now if we had but thought so; 

 but we were younger then, perhaps sowing our 

 wild oats. Under the patriotic guidance of our 

 foresfVy teachers there is hope for improve- 

 ment in the future. 



But you have asked me to say something on 

 the difficulties in lumbering. To say anything 

 new on this subject is somewhat of a difficulty 

 in itself. The first real "difficulty" the lumber- 

 man who operates this season is called upon to 

 meet is his banker. Is it possible that the for- 

 esters in their enthusiasm to save the trees 

 have been shrewd enough to form a combina- 

 tion with the bankers to strike at the tree- 

 fellers where they are weakest? If that is so, 

 you have made a "ten strike." No lumberman 

 can operate without money, and plenty of it. 

 Tons of beef and pork, potatoes and flour, hay 

 and oats disappear at his camps with marvel- 

 ous regularity and rapidity. All this means 

 cash, and more cash. If you have really enter- 

 ed in this "Combine" I beg of you, let up, and 

 the lumberman will at least promise to be bet- 

 ter, if not entirely good. 



Labor Question Vital. 



Assuming, however, that the money difficulty 

 has been surmounted, I think the next, and by 

 far the greatest difficulty, confronting the lum- 

 berman is the question of labor efficient, com- 

 petent woodsmen. There are many natural, 

 physical difficulties to be met with. In many 

 so-thern localities they appear in the form of 

 low swampy ground. In the north, heavy 

 snows impede and often completely block the 

 logger's work. In the west, extremely rough 

 ground and frequent heavy rain. But in his 

 battle with the elements, with rains and snows, 



swamps and hills, floods and droughts, he 

 usually comes out the victor, even though it 

 often costs him more than the logs are worth. 

 But in every section of the country, he en- 

 counters the difficulty of securing the neces- 

 sary, efficient woodsmen. Up to a compara- 

 tively few years ago, in the northern states, 

 when the principal output was white pine and 

 there was plenty of driving on the streams, the 

 picturesque, competent sturdy woodsman was 

 on hand in full force. He received gooc} pay 

 and earned it, and by the same token he spent 

 it right royally. When celebrating, he surely 

 thought there was no bottom to his barrel. 

 Wherever he threw his "Turkey" down, he was 

 at home and its contents usually represented 

 his year's work. But the point is, that in spite 

 of all his failings and short-comings, he was 

 efficient in his work. 



Now while it is true, that there are many fine 

 woodsmen yet available, handy, faithful and 

 efficient, the complaint is general among opera- 

 tors that they cannot secure nearly so large a 

 percentage of competent men as formerly. 

 The men accustomed to the pine woods dislike 

 the work necessary in the heavier timbers. 

 They are much harder to handle in every way. 

 Perhaps these men have gone west and the new 

 recruits have either joined them or sought 

 other forms of employment. What has been 

 the result to the northern lumberman, those 

 who are cutting the mixed timbers, the maple, 

 hemlock and birch? They really require men 

 of .better judgment than the old-time pine log- 

 gers. The hard woods are more defective and 

 rougher than pine and require good, quick 

 judgment to get the best results in cutting the 

 logs to the greatest advantage. 



Tramp Woodsmen. 



The demand for lumber in the past few years 

 has been strong, so the employers resorted to 

 the city labor agencies. These bureaus supply 

 men who come from various parts of Europe. 

 In their anxiety to secure crews, men entirely 

 unskilled in logging work were hired at thirty, 

 thirty-five and even forty dollars per month, 

 their raiload fares paid to destination and many 

 of them "jumped" in a short time, if not en- 

 route. In northern Michigan and Wisconsin, 

 there is a constant stream of tramp, make-be- 

 lieve loggers, going from one camp to another 

 extorting free meals and lodging, and doing 

 no work. This condition is annoying and ex- 

 pensive to the employer and more or less de- 

 moralizing to the employee. It is a real evil 

 and possibly could be in some measure abated 

 by concerted action, I believe. 



The Tax Question. 



On the important subject of taxation what I 

 shall say will be necessarily crude. But I wish 

 to cite a few things that I have observed in re- 

 gard to the assessment and taxation of forest 

 land. At the very outset it may be well to say 

 that the lumberman should be, and is willing 

 to pay his share of the cost of improvements 

 and proper expenses. It is to be regretted 

 that in many localities the attitude of the town- 

 ship officers towards lumbermen is one of hos- 

 tility; they have heard much of the great 

 wealth of lumbermen, and, broadly considered, 

 really know little of the actual facts. Taking 

 for a basis, the comparatively few instances of 

 far-sighted men who acquired tracts of land 

 at low prices, and held them, these officers as- 

 sume that all lumbermen are wealthy and by a 

 sort of false logic conclude that they should 

 be heavily taxed, the heavier, the better. The 

 popular notion is that the words "lumberman" 

 and "millionaire" are synonymous. Now ex- 

 perienced people know very well that the men 

 who build saw-mills and logging railroads and 

 manufacture and market the output must, in 

 order to show a profit, commensurate with the 

 risks they run and the large investment re- 

 quired, have their affairs thoroughly organized 

 and well-managed. The percentage of men en- 

 gaged in the manufacturing of lumber who 

 have been successful I will venture to assert 

 is no greater than in a half hundred other pur- 

 suits. The constant rise in the value of stump- 



