MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



13 



CUT-OVER LANDS 



WILL GROW PINE 



Thousands of dollars sounds big, millions 

 mean more, billions, sound very big, but who 

 speaks of trillions? And yet if the market 

 value of the timber cut in the state of Michi- 

 gan during the past forty years, coupled with 

 a tithe of that which has been destroyed by 

 tire were to. be notated, it would require the 

 use of thirteen figures at least," said a prom- 

 inent Detroit lumberman while in Marquette 

 recently. 



"Only those who are directly connected 

 with the lumber business," said the Detroiter, 

 "have a true appreciation of the enormous 

 increment that a complete reforestation of 

 the cut over and burned lands of this state 

 would bring to the commonwealth. When I 

 hear people speak of Rockefeller as .the rich- 

 e--t individual on earth, I have to smile, for I 

 know that Frederick Weyerhauser's personal 

 interest in the great timber holdings of his 

 company, which embraces German capital, is, 

 in prospective, at least, many times more val- 

 uable than all the assets of the great oil 

 man. 



"Why the people of Michigan. Wisconsin 

 and Minnesota do not wake up to the pass- 

 ing of time and opportunity, and take meas- 

 ures to replenish their great natural forest 

 wealth, which they have wantonly squander- 

 ed and destroyed, is more than I can under- 

 stand. When the matter of reforestation is 

 brought to the attention of the people, the 

 average person, will think, 'what's the use,' 

 for he conceives that the growth of trees re- 

 quires ages. This is not so, and from what 

 I have learned from the few patriotic men 

 who have made practical demonstrations of 

 what can be done, more than 50 per cent of 

 the original timbered lands can be rehabilitat- 

 ed. 



"I believe that with proper care in the mat- 

 ter of lire protection, the passing of fifty years 

 would place at least 20 per cent of the original 

 timber lands with a growth which would be of 

 commercial size, represent millions of dollars 

 in value to the >t;ite. a value which could be 

 perpetuated and added In annually, even if un- 

 der the disadvantage of a yearly slaughter, if 

 the killing were done diseriminately. 



"It is a fact that has been established be- 

 \ond question that pine of merchantable size 

 can be produced from the seed in a period of 

 thirty years' growth. 



"On the grounds of the Lothrop estate, near 

 Detroit, a forest of seedlings, set out twenty- 

 five years ago, now has thousands of young 

 white pine, norway and -hemlock trees that 

 display a diameter of from eight to ten inches, 

 at a height of twelve feet from the usual 

 trade stump, and this timber today is worth 

 more in the market than the best cork pine 

 that the state ever produced has brought, up 

 to recent years.- 



"Carl E. Schmidt, a wealthy Detroiter. who 

 ha> been experimenting with the growth of 

 young trees, has already planted 150.000 seed- 

 lings in" the neighborhood ol Au Sable, where 

 he has built himself a beautiful summer home, 

 that he may watch the development of his 

 forest farm, reports that the young pines, 

 when protected from the tires, will reach a 

 maximum of six feet in a period of live years. 

 Mr. Schmidt does not believe altogether in 

 artificial reforestation, but maintains that fire 

 protection, and the trimming and underbrush- 

 ing of the natural growth, will soon produce 

 reforestation, though artificial means might be 

 brought to the aid of the work, after tht 

 natural growth has formed a shade protection 

 for seedlings. 



"It has been stated as a fact, that the re- 

 turns from the sale of pine barrens for agri- 

 cultural purposes by the state amount to less 

 than $50,000 annually, while the amount ex- 

 pended for clerk hire in accomplishing these 

 Bales, coupled with the advertising of some in 



the country newspapers, totals more than 

 $150.000 each year. 



"Surely it is time for the people to sit up 

 and take notice in the matter of turning their 

 barrens into wealth. They could leave no 

 better legacy to their children than the start- 

 ing of a forest growth that will ultimately 

 means the accruing of millions of dollars to 

 the state. Why should not the monies paid 

 for useless clerk hire be put into tire protec- 

 tion? Keep out the tire, and the timber will 

 reproduce itself." 



LUMBER SITUATION 



IS IMPROVING 



A general betterment in the lumber situation 

 is reported by the Worcester Lumber Company 

 of Chassell, and although conditions may. yet be 

 greatly improved, an optimistic view is taken 

 of the future. 



The Worcester company will not begin its fall 

 cut until the latter part of September. The ex- 

 tent of the cut will depend entirely upon de- 

 velopments in the lumber market. The .lumber 

 market' as a general proposition is picking up 

 steadily, but how long 'this improvement will 

 exist is more or less problematical. The situa- 

 tion, however, is slowly brightening, and there 

 is very prospect of higher prices soon. 



The Worcester company has probably fifty per 

 cent more lumber on hand . at present than at 

 this season last year. The per cent of increase 

 in some mills is probably larger. This more 

 than anything else, is an indication of the tone 

 of Hie market. 



The demand for ties, which was lax through- 

 out the summer, is picking up, but there is prac- 

 tically no demand for poles. The pole and tie 

 market depends almost entirely upon new con- 

 struction work and there has been practically 

 none of this work during the past six months. 



With the exception of a month's shut down 

 this fall for repairs, the Worcester mill will 

 run the entire year round as usual, with the ex- 

 ception that oiily one shift is being. worked in- 

 stead of two. The company has made no re- 

 duction in the wages paid for lumber jacks, and 

 it expechs to have all the men it needs when the 

 logging season opens. The cutting will be done 

 in a number of different camps, the number de- 

 pending entirely upon developments. 



"Now is the time to buy lumber," says a 

 representative of the company. "Lumber will 

 never go lower; it can be purchased now at less 

 that actual cost of production. This is true 

 not only of lumber but of all other building ma- 

 terials, and, while labor is no cheaper the builder 

 gets more out of his labor for his mney. Labor 

 is not dictating just at present. 



"The lumber business is dominated nearly al- 

 together by the yellow pine production. The 

 Northern mills cannot compete at a profit with 

 this yellow pine. The yellow pine situation has 

 begun to improve, and the market ' for other 

 timber will improve with it. 



"Like all other mills in this section we are 

 cutting mixed lumber hardwood, hemlock and 

 pine. We are drifting to hard wood more and 

 more each year, as the pine in the tipper penin- 

 sula is practically exhausted. ' There is plenty 

 of good timber yet, but we must in many cases 

 go a good distance for it. and this makes the 

 cost of production higher." 



The lumber outlook still remains the same, 

 says a Sault Ste. Marie correspondent. While 

 at times there is a little change it is considered 

 but a temnorary fluctuation and business main- 

 tains itself at about the same low average. Oc- 

 casionally a good sale is recorded. A few 

 days ago the Lake Superior corporation made 

 a sale of about 6,000,000 feet of pine to a Sagi- 

 naw concern. It is understood that the trans- 

 action involved about $150,000. 



Local lumbermen are practically unanimous 

 in their opinions as to when an appreciable 

 increase in business may be expected. They 

 do not figure on any this year. Because of 

 precedent none is expected before election and 

 after that the cold weather sets in and the 



season of navigation is at an end, thus cutting 

 off the chief mode of transportation. 



As 'soon as cold weather sets in a lot of 

 the smaller jobbers will put out camps. At 

 present the mills shut down are the Central 

 Pulp and Paper Company's mill at Nogi, the 

 one at Shelldrakc, the Merchants' Lumber 

 Company at Strong's and several others. 

 Moore, Parke & Sharpe have two camps in 

 operation which were started recently. One 

 is logging but the other is occupied chiefly in 

 making roads. The mill at Emerson and 

 Wool worth's at the Neebish are still running. 



Frank Perry will soon start operations at 

 Batchewanna bay. It is expected that a crew 

 will be sent up next week and two camps 

 started. 



Employment agencies report men quite 

 plentiful. They state that they expect an in- 

 crease in the demand for men about Oct. 1. 



WILL LUMBER IN WEST. , 



James Cooper, for a quarter of a century or 

 more actively engaged in the lumbering busi- 

 ness in the Saginaw valley, a member of the 

 Briggs & Cooper Lumber Co., and also of the 

 Saginaw Valley Lumber Dealers' Association, 

 has left Saginaw to take up his residence in 

 British Columbia, where he will continue in 

 the lumbering business. 



Associated with him is D. W. Briggs, of 

 Saginaw, long a. business associate of Mr. 

 Cooper. These gentlemen have purchased 

 8,000 acres of heavily timbered pine and fir 

 land. They will organize a company to oper- 

 ate in timber on this tract. There is an abun- 

 dance of valuable timber adjacent to this tract 

 also. The land is only three and one-half miles 

 from the Idaho state line, and Nelson is the 

 town located near the timber. It is not yet 

 decided if they will erect a sawmill as the tim- 

 ber is so situated that it can be cut and floated 

 to Spokane if deemed advisable. 



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YOUNG MAN, good habits and scholar, position 

 to keep cost and material in sheet metal works. 

 W. J. Burton Co., 164 Lamed st. west, Detroit. 



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