MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



any educational work of this kind or were 

 themselves properly informed in regard to the 

 provisions of the law." 



Extent of the Damage Reaches Appalling Sum. 



This combination of unfortunate laws, in- 

 efficient administration and a very dry season 

 brought about the havoc, which may be re- 

 peated at any time, according to the report, 

 it the conditions are not remedied. The extent 

 of the damage will grow upon the people of 

 Michigan as time goes by. 



Messrs. Kradficld and Wynne made a de- 

 tailed examination to get a close idea of the 

 damage done. Their figures of the loss, 

 502. <i!>7. 50, is made up from definite and 

 detailed information, much of which came 

 from sources directly connected with the lum- 

 bering indu-try in Michigan. This figure does 

 not include unknown quantities. 



The total area burned over was 7,000,01)0 

 acres, or .'i'.i per cent of that portion of the 

 state lying north of the south lines of Mani- 

 stee. VVexford, Missaukec, Roscommon, Oge- 

 maw and losco counties, and including the 

 upper peninsula. In this northern section of 

 the state 34 per cent of .the timberland areas, 

 constituting a total of 2,001, Olio acres, was 

 burned. (>!' the cutover land 4.s<i!i.oot> acres. 

 or I.", per cent, were swept by the ll,->mes. 



One Year's Cut Is Gone. 



The effect of this fire havoc will be most 

 felt because it will hasten the end of lumber- 

 ing and the allied industries in .Michigan. Be- 

 fore the tires of 19os. according to the report, 

 the estimated amount of standing timber in 

 the lower peninsula was eleven billion feet. 

 The mills now at work are cutting into the 

 supply at the rate of about one billion feet 

 per year. And the estimate given in the re- 

 port is that the fires of lltos have depleted 

 the forest area of approximately an entire 

 annual cut for all of its mills. 



"In the upper peninsula," says Messrs. Brad- 

 lield and Wynne-, "x per cent of the standing 

 timber was killed by lire and nearly ."> per cent, 

 or more than one and one-half billion feet, will 

 be a total loss. In the lower peninsula more 

 than 20 per cent of the standing timber wa- 

 killed. or more than two billion feet, and more 

 than s per cent will become a total loss. Three 

 per cent of the stand was rendered worthless. 

 At an average stumpage value of $6 per thou- 

 sand the amount of this loss is $11.150,000. 

 Thirty-live per cent of the timber burned was 

 lowered in grade to such an extent as to re- 

 sult in a loss of $10,250,000. The total loss in 

 -landing timber then will be $ir>.. 100,000. 



The Actual Loss. 



"\ppro.\iniatcly 2<1 per cent of total of cut- 

 over land contained small tree- which were of 

 merchantable size for pulpwood, props, posts 

 anil ties. The loss from its destruction, esti- 

 mated at $2 per acre for the entire area is 

 $6,382,000. 



"The loss in logs, manufactured lumber and 



other wood products, estimates of which were 



obtained from about one-half of the lumber 



.panics located in twenty-live counties, is 



,471. The loss in mills, farm buildings, 



fences ami other personal property, obtained 



from itemized accounts in seventeen counties, 



i- $500,191. The loss in hemlock bark will 



probably amount to $500,000. 



"As a result of the forest fires extra expense 

 must be incurred by the lumber companies in 

 their operations during the coming year. This 

 additional expense has been given at from $1 

 to- $4 per thousand feet. With an estimated 

 cut of two billion feet for the coming year and 

 at an average of $2 per thousand feet this in- 

 crease cost will amount to $4,000,000 for one 

 year alone. 



Loss That Cannot Be Figured. 



"I( i- very difficult to obtain accurately the 

 amount -pent by the various lumber and'min- 

 ing companies in lighting fires. In many cases 



all other operations were .suspended for this 

 purpose. Reports which were obtained from 

 forty-live lumber companies and large timber 

 owners total $IS!),T21. Information was also 

 obtained from a large number of township fire 

 wardens as to the amounts spent by their va- 

 rious townships in lighting fires. Many lire 

 wardens submitted no bills for payment. The 

 total amount of the bills obtained from eighty 

 township lire wardens is $12,:! 1 4. .10. No esti- 

 mate is given of the cost to all the township- 

 and the state in lighting fire." 



Only the factors given above are included in 

 the $28,502,697.50 loss. Hut other items of de- 

 cided economic significance are mentioned. An 

 additional ultimate loss will be sustained by 

 the lumber companies and wood-working in- 

 dustries of the state in being forced to cut over 

 within the next two years the timber which 

 they were holding as a reserve supply. 



Still more important is the loss of young 

 trees which had not reached commercial size. 

 The forest experts estimate that these small 

 trees covered at least 3.000,000 acres. To re- 

 place them artificially with seedlings would 

 cost at least $5 per acre, and indicates a loss 

 of at least $15,000.000 for this item alone. As 

 a matter of fact many of the trees were ap- 

 proaching commercial value'. 



Xor is any estimate given for the humus, or 

 vegetable matter, destroyed by the fire. This 

 material constitutes the richness and productive 

 power of the soil, and yet it was almost com- 

 pletely burned from millions of acres. This 

 loss more than offsets an alleged advantage 

 due to the effect which the lire has in clearing 

 the land. 



FOREST SERVICE SHOWS NO 

 FAVORITISM. 



"The forest service exists "not only to pro- 

 tect the national forests. It exists just as 

 much to develop the national forests ar.d the 

 states in which they lie, and it has no stronger 

 desire than to promote and foster the develop- 

 ment of every state. No more complete mis- 

 take about the national forests has ever been 

 spread abroad than that they are shut against 

 development and use. During the last fiscal 

 year, 2,504 mining claims and 3,73!) agricul- 

 tural and miscellaneous claims were investi- 

 gated; 92,789 M. B. F. or timber was cut; 386,- 

 384 M. B. F. of timber was sold; 24,127 graz- 

 ing permits. :i,141 special use permits, and 

 30,377 free use per.mits were issued. The total 

 number of permits issued to June 30. 1!)OS, was 

 163,068." Gifford Pinchot, U. S. Forester. 



TAFT SOLID ON FORESTRY. 



Gifford Pinchot, United States government 

 forester, says that he is authorized by the new 

 administration to say that the general policy 

 of creating and maintaining national forests 

 may be regarded as definitely and finally fixed 

 and that the general lines of policy for which 

 the forest service stands are indorsed and will 

 be supported by President Taft. 



GARFIELD'S HOBBY. 



''Yes, I suppose that every man has a hobby 

 but I have the biggest one on earth." 



That was the remark made by Charles W. 

 Garlield. who has been a member of the state 

 forestry commission since its institution in 

 1899 and who now is the president of the 

 board. 



Did you ever sec a mother wreathed in 

 smiles at the sight of the cheerfulness of her 

 young? Of course you have. 



Did you ever see the scowl of an animal 

 when her young was being molested? Of 

 course you have. 



Smiles and scowls. Such you will see por- 

 trayed in the countenance of Charles W. Gar- 

 lield. whose "hobby" is the protection of the 

 irees. And he says himself that it is his hobby 

 and that be is proud of it. 



Let him look at a well preserved tree and 

 his countenance will assume a beam that means 

 that he wished he could adout it. 



Let him look at a mutilated tree and his ex- 



pression assumes as much sympathy as that 

 of the most kindly surgeon called to the bed- 

 side of the wounded. 



One tree out of every ten in the city of 

 Grand Rapids is being ruined by an utter lack 

 of intelligence in pruning, according to Mr. 

 Garfield. And there is no man in the city who 

 is more competent to give a rough estimate of 

 the almost criminal assassination of the tim- 

 ber than he. Grand Rapids Press. 



BIG TREES ARE SAVED. 



By signing the bill for the creation of the 

 Calaveras national forest. California. President 

 Roosevelt completed the legislative act which 

 saves for all time the most famous grove of 

 trees in the world. The people of California, 

 particularly the 500 women of the California 

 club, had been working to interest the gov- 

 ernment in this wonderful grove of big trees 

 for more than nine years. Robert D. White- 

 side of Duluth, Minn., a prominent lumberman 

 operating in the lake states and on the Pacific 

 coast, was the owner of the Calaveras big 

 trees. 



The land acquired under the bill includes 

 about nine hundred and sixty acres in what is 

 known as the North Calaveras grove in Cala- 

 veras county and 3,040 acres in the southern 

 grove in Tuolumne county. The north grove 

 contains ninety-three big trees and in the south 

 grove there are 1,380 of these giant sequoias. 

 Any tree under eighteen feet in circumference, 

 or six feet through, is not considered in the 

 count of large trees. Besides the giant se- 

 quoias there are hundreds of sugar pines and 

 yellow pines of astonishing proportions, rang- 

 ing to the height of 275 feet and often attain- 

 ing a diameter of eight to ten feet. There are 

 also many white firs and incense cedars in the 

 two tracts. 



The north grove contains ten trees each 

 having a diameter of twenty-five feet or over, 

 and more than seventy having a diameter of 

 fifteen to twenty-five feet. Most of the trees 

 have been named, some for famous generals of 

 the United States and others for statesmen 

 and various states of the Union. "The Father 

 of the Forests," now down, is estimated to 

 have had a height of four hundred and fifty 

 feet and a diameter at the ground of more 

 than forty feet when it was standing. 



"Massachusetts" contains 118,000 board feet 

 of lumber; "Grover Stoneman" contains 10S.- 

 OtiO board feet, and the "Mother of the Forest." 

 burned in the terrible forest fire which licked 

 its way into a part of the grove last summer, 

 contains 105,000 board feet. Each of these 

 trees named grows as much lumber as is 

 grown ordinarily on fifteen or twenty acres of 

 timberland. The bark runs from six inches to 

 two feet in thickness. 



Among the other large named trees in the 

 two groves are "Waterloo," "Pennsylvania." 

 "James King," "Old Bachelor," "Pride of the 

 Forest," "Daniel Webster," "Sir John Frank- 

 lin." "Empire State," "U. S. Grant," "W. T. 

 Sherman," "J. P. McPherson," "Abraham Lin- 

 coln." "Connecticut," "Ohio," "Grover Cleve- 

 land." "Dr. Nelson." "General Hancock." 

 "Knight of the Forest," "Two Sentinels," and 

 "Old Dowd." 



FEDERAL RESERVE IN MICHIGAN. 



State Land Commissioner Huntley Russell 

 has received notice from Washington that, 

 according to an act of President Roosevelt, 

 13I.UM) acres of land in the northern part of 

 Michigan, in Ogemaw. Oscoda, Losco and Al- 

 cona counties, . have been set aside as a na- 

 tional forest reserve. 



Similar action recently was taken in several 

 other states and will assure Michigan of some 

 standing timber, at least. Most of the land 

 is in the vicinity of the Au Sable river, and 

 includes some very valuable tracts of timber. 



Japan's knitting industry around Osaka has 

 received a great impetus owing to the opening 

 up of new markets in India and Northern 



Africa. 



