MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



18 



WOULD DEVELOP 



MICHIGAN'S RESOURCES 



The matter of the development of oil, gas 

 and peat properties in Michigan was touched 

 on by State Geologist Lane in his address be- 

 fore the Grand-Saginavv Valley Deep Water- 

 way association _at Saginaw last week, and his 

 remarks thereon are of more than passing in- 

 terest to the people of the state. 



On the matter of oil and gas, he said, in 

 part : 



"Let the state exercise its right of eminent 

 domain as to petroleum, as It has according to 

 the fundamental law in gold and silver, and 

 arrange terms by which the development of 

 the same in suitable areas and under suitable 

 restrictions, and with such provisions for the 

 protection of the public as the people of the 

 state, through their legislature, might seem 

 wise should be given to those who choose to 

 run the risk so that they may reap the re- 

 wards, if any. 



"For instance, provision might be made that 

 any company having actual capital paid in and 

 available as an exploration fund enough under 

 ordinary circumstances to put. down say a 

 dozen wells to some horizon known to yield 

 some oil or gas should have exclusive right 

 to the oil or gas in a given country or district 

 for a term of years or so long as they con- 

 tinue exploration or production, subject (first) 

 to the usual royalties to be paid to the county 

 authorities, which, if they exceed the county 

 tax. should be divided pro rata among the land 

 owners; (second) to the usual provisions of 

 oil leases as to making good surface damages; 

 (third) specific tax, and in case two equally 

 responsible companies were bidding for the 

 same county that offering the largest specific 

 tax might 'be preferred, and (fourth) in case a 

 monopoly detrimental to the public welfare 

 were threatened, the state might step in and 

 buy out the company at a fair price. 



Michigan possesses various peat areas of 

 potential value, which Dr. Lane pointed out 

 may have usefulness in the future as fuel, for 

 paper stock, paving blocks and as a fertilizer 

 filler as an absorbent of stock yard and 

 slaughter house waste. This use. he said, bids 

 fair to have a wide application. As to the fer- 

 tilizing value of peat, he said: 



"Just how much this is worth to the farmer, 

 and in particular just how far this nitrogen, 

 which may run up to three per cent in a 

 dry-feeling peat holding 83 per cent water, is 

 in a form that is worth paying for is a point 

 upon which the agricultural college experi- 

 menters are at work. It is difficult to dis- 

 tinguish by analysis the nitrogen from cotton 

 seed meal, hoof meal, tankage, etc.. from that 

 of peat. Xo doubt they will also try if some 

 bacterial fermentation to make it more avail- 

 able cannot be devised. Freezing and thawing 

 is said to make the nitrogen more available 

 In time, no doubt, with the approaching ex- 

 haustion of our timber resources, the manu- 

 facture of peat coke and fuel gas will be 

 commercially realized here as nbroad. It 

 would seem also that concerns utilizing marl 

 for cement could well consider utilizing the 

 peat, which so often overlies it, in one of the 

 several ways mentioned." 



MARQUETTE MINERAL BELT 

 SHOULD BE MONOGRAPHED 



WILL LUMBER 7,000,000 FEET. 



Belcher & Sinclair, of Kalkaska, have taken 

 an unusually large lumbering contract for the 

 coming winter with Murphy & Diggins, of 

 Cadillac. The scene of operations will be four 

 miles east of Leetsville, Kalkaska county. 

 There are 7,000,000 feet to be gotten out and 

 work will be commenced on the camps at once. 

 This is the biggest lumbering job taken in Kal- 

 kaska county in a long time. 



The demand for hemlock and the price re- 

 ceived for it is somewhat better just now. 

 Hardwood is somewhat quiet, the market hav- 

 ing changed much of late. 



While the United States Geological Survey 

 has been giving its unstinted, attention to the 

 monographing of Nevada, with its rattle- 

 snakes, chuckawallas, centipedes, Gila mon- 

 sters, and mostly "pay streak in the east" 

 mines, it seems, so say Marquette people who 

 are interested in the matter, that it has en- 

 tirely overlooked a much more important piece 

 of ground in the upper peninsula territory, that 

 may be indicated in a general way with Mar- 

 quette on the east and Michigamme on the 

 west as a base, with lines running diagonally 

 to merge at L'Anse. The land included covers 

 an area, roughly speaking, of 900 square miles, 

 has every recognized indication of heavy min- 

 eralization and yet no monograph of the geol- 

 ogy of the district has been attempted by the 

 government. 



In 1S97 monographs of the Marquette iron 

 bearing district were published by the geologi- 

 cal survey, as compiled by Charles Richard 

 Van Hise and William Shirley Bayley, which 

 included a chapter on the Republic Trough, by 

 Henry Lloyd Smith, but the piece of country 

 north of the Michigamme-Marquette line was 

 given no attention, though the prospecting 

 work of individuals and syndicates is said to 

 show the positive presence not only of iron, 

 but of gold as well. 



Some ten years ago Professor Seamans, of 

 the school of mines, at Houghton, made a 

 study of portions of the district, but for some 

 reason his data has never been incorporated in 

 the survey monographs, or atlas maps, issued 

 by the department. 



Why this district, which is understood to 

 contain bodies of specular hematite, with a 

 basis of soapstone or paint rock, occurring in 

 the form of pitching troughs, with a basement 

 rock of greenstone with a dike, or sedimentary 

 slate, should be left unsuryeyed, is the query 

 of Longyear & Hodge, mining engineers; E. 

 W. MacPherrarl, land commissioner of the 

 South Shore Railway, and many others direct- 

 ly or in a general way interested in the devel- 

 opment of the upper peninsula mineral lands. 



It is said that the territory in question was 

 predominantly a great shale formation, subse- 

 quently modified to a greater or less degree. 

 The lowest horizon of the series indicated by 

 prospect is, however, a conglomerate and 

 quartzite, which marks the transgression of 

 the sea. Replacing this in part in the west end 

 of the area is a grunerite-magnetic-schisr hori- 

 zon. Following beyond this is the great slate 

 formation, and in it is 'a horizon which origin- 

 ally bore a large quantity of iron carbonate, 

 from which various ferruginous rocks have 

 developed, which surround the ore bodies 

 which are now known to exist. 



Immediately beyond the Marquette-Michi- 

 gamme line of the government survey, located 

 in the unsurveyed district, are the Imperial, 

 Beaufort and Ohio mines, already recognized 

 and established shippers. 



Northwest of Ishpeming, a distance of a few 

 miles, are the Ropes and Michigan gold mines, 

 and copper indications are prevalent farther 

 west. The country north and west of Michi- 

 gamme is said by mining experts to be espec- 

 ially interesting, and deserving of the immedi- 

 ate attention of the geological survey. 



"The monographing of this unsurveyed dis- 

 trict is of great importance to the people of 

 Marquette." says J. H. Hodge, mining engi- 

 neer, "and an effort should be made to secure 

 the attention of the geological survey to the 

 need of such work. There is no reason why 

 this district should not become rapidly devel- 

 oped and add to the wealth of the upper 

 peninsula, and a mineral monograph is the 

 first essential step, as it would invite and aid 

 prospecting, and attract canital this way." 



CADILLAC LUMBER NOTES. 



The Cadillac Lumber Exchange has elected 

 the following officers: President, M. E. 



Thomas; Vice President, Bruce Odell; Secre- 

 tary, A. W. Newark; Treasurer, Joseph Mur- 

 phy. The members of the exchange have 

 decided that even with Bryan in the White 

 House the lumber interests will suffer nothing 

 as it is very evident that with a Republican 

 senate Bryan cannot hurt tariff matters very 

 much. 



The Cummer-Diggins Company and the 

 Murphy & Diggins Company are now operat- 

 ing their camps and mills in full force. Owing 

 to a lack of piling room the latter company 

 does not know how soon it will have to shut 

 down until receipts of orders reduces the sup- 

 ply and gives room for piling more lumber. 

 An extended shut-down is not anticipated. 



Local operators of lumber camps have not 

 yet been harassed by the men quitting work 

 to go into the potato fields as they were last 

 fall. 



WINTER LOG HAULING. 



Winter log hauling by rail to the several 

 mills on the Menominee river has started, and 

 the several mills are each receiving carloads at 

 the present time. The Sawyer-Goodman Com- 

 pany is receiving from five to seven carloads 

 and this number will be steadily increased. 

 The Republic Lumber Company has received 

 several carloads and its woods crew will soon 

 begin to rush in timber in large quantities, to 

 be sawed at the old Scofield mill. The N. 

 Ludington Company has not received much 

 timber as yet, but the carloads of logs will 

 begin to come in a few weeks. Cedar in large 

 quantities is billed for the Beidler cedar yards 

 and several carloads of poles are unloaded each 

 day. 



Both the St. Paul and the Wisconsin & 

 Michigan roads will run special log trains this 

 winter and will carry logs for the mills of the 

 twin cities. The timber damaged by fire, 

 owned by the various companies, will all be 

 cut first and after this has been disposed of the 

 regular woods operations in the unburned sec- 

 tions will be carried on. 



CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING. 

 Advertising in the classified col- 

 umns of the "State Review" 

 will be inserted at the rate of 7 

 cents per agate line. 



Help Wanted. 



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 right man. Business Men's Credit Exchange, 

 325 Hammond Bldg., Detroit. 



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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