MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



PLAN FOR REFORESTATION. 



Have you ever noticed how many good busi- 

 ness men will talk about what ought to be 

 done, then wait to let the other fellow do it? 

 That is what is wrong with our grand schemes 

 for reforestation. Of course, almost every- 

 thing starts with discussion. It is only after 

 an interchange of ideas that some concrete 

 action is taken. But it always requires some 

 hustler to start that one idea working and to 

 keep it moving. Thus, the Panama canal had 

 been talked about for many decades before a 

 Ruusevelt came along and made the dirt fly 

 and kept it moving. What the boomers of re- 

 forestation need is just such another com- 

 petent leader. 



Scores of plans have been suggested for the 

 reclamation of our watersheds. One has only 

 to look at a picture of the bleak hillsides and 

 mountain ranges covered with snow to tell 

 what happens when a sudden thaw comes. The 

 snow, being without shade, will melt away in 

 a day or two and the whole volume of water 

 let loose will flood and inundate the valleys 

 because it must find an outlet within a short 

 time. If these hundreds of thousands of acres 

 of hillsides were covered with trees this force 

 of water and the melting of the snows would 

 be retarded in its flow weeks at a time instead 

 of flowing within 24 hours. 



Plans have been suggested to build great 

 storage reservoirs at the watersheds to con- 

 tain this surplus water to be released as needed 

 to maintain a stationary stage of water in the 

 lower rivers. This project is good, but ex- 

 pensive. Other plans for government control 

 of vast areas of land to be maintained in trees 

 at the various watersheds may also prove ef- 

 fective. But why leave all these things to the 

 National or State government? We are con- 

 tinually crying out against paternalism, and 

 yet we are placing our responsibilities on the 

 government and creating a socialistic condi- 

 tion which we are continually fighting when 

 mentioned. 



The one suggestion which has not been 

 offered, and which bids fair, if followed out, to 

 bring about the desired condition of safety, 

 would be to let individuals do the necessary 

 work and reap the profits therefrom. Thew^is 

 no industry or railroad along the valleys that 

 is not injured by annual floods. Millions of 

 dollars of money is lost in time and wreckage 

 through floods. Let each sufferer take some 

 of his surplus money, or a portion of what he 

 loses, buy land at the watersheds and plant 

 trees, care for them, and while doing the state 

 a benefit, he will also reap a profit therefrom 

 in time. Let us analyze the situation: 



Take a company like the United States Steel 

 corporation. Its largest and best plants lie 

 along the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio 

 valleys. These valleys annually surfer an in- 

 undation. The United States Steel corporation 

 could spend a million dollars annually in buy- 

 ing land and planting trees along the banks of 

 the streams mentioned, or where it will do the 

 most good, and in fifteen, twenty or thirty 

 years the profits would be hundred fold. In 

 the meantime it would only be a few years 

 until the damaging floors would subside. If 

 every concern that is injured would expend a 

 modicum for insurance against floods it would 

 not be necessary to importune Congress and 

 other legislative bodies to undertake the work 

 of saving our valleys from destruction. 



If companies and individuals do not care to 

 undertake the work of reforestation as indi- 

 viduals, let them organize chartered companies, 

 buy stock and collectively go into the work of 

 timber raising. This could be done cheaper 

 and with better results. It is almost positive 

 that any promoter who would formulate a plan 

 of the kind would readily find buyers of stock 

 among the large corporations, railroads, indi- 

 viduals, and even financial institutions who 

 would gladly turn this work over to some en- 

 terprising enthusiast who understands the sub- 

 ject of reforestation. This private or cor- 

 porate movement need not interfere with the 

 work of the state or the general government. 



But it is well known fact that the government 

 dues nut work as rapidly nor as effectively as 

 do individuals directly interested. Industrial 

 World. 



FORESTRY COMMISSION GIVES 

 WARNING. 



The State Forestry Commission has placard- 

 ed the forestry reserves in Michigan warning 

 people against the danger of fires in the re- 

 serves and also calling attention to the legal 

 penalties imposed in regard to fires. There 

 have been a good many fires this year but the 

 total damage has not been Teat owing to the 

 fires having been promptly suppressed by the 

 men in the reserves. Burning over of marsh 

 land, for example, with the fire getting beyond 

 control, is one cause it is stated for fires in the 

 reserves and it is desired to warn the people 

 in those regions against the danger of fires to 

 the forestry reserves and induce them to exer- 

 cise care in this particular. 



President Chas. W. Garfield, of the com- 

 mission, has outlined a plan for the biennial 

 report of the forestry commission in Septem- 

 ber and according to this plan the report will, 

 among other matters, contain the biennial re- 

 port of the forest warden, a resume of forestry 

 progress in Michigan for two years 'by Presi- 

 dent Garfield, an article by Mr. Mershon on 

 "Promoting Individual Forestry," brief of the 

 proceedings of the interstate conference at 

 Saginaw, brief of the work of the Michigan 

 Forestry Association, the Commission of In- 

 quiry and its work. 



HORSE TOWS RAFTS. 



People who for years have seen log booming 

 operations carried on at Alpena and at other 

 points where steam tugs or powerful gasoline 

 launches are employed as the propelling power, 

 will hardly be prepared to believe that boom 

 operations are carried on a point not far dis- 

 tant from Alpena, where a horse is employed 

 as the propelling force, but it is true. 



Martin, Embury & Co. is the name of the 

 firm, and the scene of operations where a 

 horse is employed to do the work that is gen- 

 erally done by a steam tug. is the Presque Isle 

 range light. The towing is done in the bay, 

 and at almost any hour the horse can be seen 

 in the water towing a raft of logs or a string 

 of boom sticks. 



The reason for this is that the water is so 

 shallow at so many points that a tug cannot 

 be employed, so a horse was trained to do 

 the work, and does it very satisfactorily. There 

 is considerable of a bay at the place where the 

 towing is done, and there is both shallow and 

 deep water, but this doesn't worry the horse. 

 He plods through the water with as little con- 

 cern as a plow horse follows a furrow until he 

 reaches a depth that he cannot secure a foot- 

 ing, and then he swims, towing the raft behind. 

 The horse prefers shallow water to deep water, 

 and generally keeps close to the shore while 

 towing anything from one side of the bay to 

 the other, but will take to deep water willingly 

 if a little time can be gained. This was demon- 

 strated recently when the horse was towing a 

 raft from one side of the bay to the other. It 

 had as usual kept close enough to the bay so 

 that it could walk on the bottom, but when it 

 had the raft to within a few rods of where it 

 was to be taken, the bell at the camp rang for 

 supper. The old horse knows the bell, and 

 knows that when it means supper for the men 

 it means a feed for himself, so he struck out 

 across the bay, towing the raft after him. 

 When he got to where he could not walk on 

 the bottom, he swam until he could touch bot- 

 tom again. 



The tow-horse has a preference for quench- 

 ing its thirst out in deep water. On the occa- 

 sion of cutting across the bay because it was 

 feeding time, the horse stopped swimming in 

 the deep water, and drank until it had a suffi- 

 ciency. 



The horse has been employed at this work 

 for a long time, and the price of a steam tug 

 is placed upon its value. 



CUSINO A CEDAR CENTER. 



A visit to Cusino, probably the largest 

 "cedar location" in the state, is worth while. 

 The C. H. Worcester Company is responsible 

 for the existence of Cusino, which is located 

 in Schoolcraft county, just over the Alger 

 county line. The township of Cusino was 

 organized about two years ago. Its officers 

 are employes of the Worcester company, L. 

 F. Chapman, superintendent, being its super- 

 visor. The location has a comfortable school 

 building, with excellent furniture and other 

 equipment. The general store, operated by 

 the company, does a big business. The 

 houses are comfortable. Besides the single 

 men there are about sixty families at the 

 location. A doctor looks carefully after the 

 health of the residents. The men are furnish-' 

 ed excellent board at the company camp. They 

 have excellent sleeping quarters and instead 

 of the old-time camp bunks they have springs 

 and mattresses on iron beds. The water sup- 

 ply is derived from wells driven 180 feet into 

 solid rock. The supply is . apparently inex- 

 haustible and the water of the very highest 

 quality. The shingle and the tie mill is man- 

 aged -by W. J. Crego. The company's opera- 

 tions at Cusino and in that vicinity are under 

 the general supervision of L. F. Chapman, 

 superintendent, who is ably assisted by M. A. 

 Nadeau. Peter Myren has charge of the 

 wood operations. Cedar constitutes the 



greater part of the timber cut by the Worces- 

 ter company in the vicinity of Cusino, though 

 the company removes the pine and hemlock. 

 The cedar swamps are almost impassable for 

 the greater part of the year, but the compar 

 has laid tracks through them arid by means 

 of small locomotives and steam loaders 

 handles its timber quickly and profitably. One 

 of the steam loaders has 800-foot cables and 

 develops at least 100 horsepower. This en- 

 ables the company to lift bodily and load on 

 the cars huge trees with apparently less effort 

 than is required to load small cedar posts In 

 the old way. 



LOTS OF HARDWOOD. 



Burdis Anderson of Munising, secretary- 

 treasurer and manager of the Great Lakes 

 Veneer Company of that city, and president 

 of the National Veneer and Panel Manufac- 

 turers' Association, says: 



"There is no question as to the upper pen- 

 insula possessing the greatest tract of valu- 

 able hardwood timber in the United States 

 now, and it will last well, it will last as long 

 as I shall want to do any manufacturing at 

 least. It will last for many years yet. Gen- 

 erally speaking, the timber is also of a very 

 good quality. Particularly is that true of the 

 birch which I believe to be unequaled. The 

 maple is not so good on the average as the 

 birch, there being more defective trees, but 

 it is very good and there are large quantities. 

 The same is true of beech, ash and other hard 

 woods." 



THE NESTER LUMBER OPERATIONS. 



John F. Nester, of Baraga, reports that the 

 Nester estate is operating three sawmills, one 

 at Baraga, and one each at Thessalcn and Nes- 

 terville, Canada, east of Sault Ste. Marie. "We 

 shall manufacture about 20,000,000 feet of lum- 

 ber at the Baraga plant and about 40,000,000 

 feet at the two mills in Canada," said Mr. Nes- 

 ter. "We have sold some of our stock to be 

 cut this season, and the outlook for demand is 

 improving with every week. The excellent 

 crop prospects, which every day are ripening 

 into greater certainty, are having a very whole- 

 some effect on business. Good crops in the 

 northwest will do more to encourage a gen- 

 eral revival of trade than anything I know of 

 that is among the possibilities." 



The Cadillac Lumber Company, which has 

 been in operation at Mancelona for a couple 

 of years, has removed its stock to Cadillac. 



