MICHIGAN RCADS AND FORESTS 



AN ABJECT FAILURE. 



Charles \V. Garlield .president of the Michi- 

 gan Forestry Association, says: 



"Permit me to state most emphatically that 

 our attempt to combine the fish, game and 

 lire business in one department of activity has 

 proved an abject failure in Michigan. 1' know 

 that in talking about the ideal it would seem 

 as if it would not he necessary to duplicate 

 officials in phases of work that seem to be 

 naturally akin to each other. Practically it 

 does not work. But of all things it seems to 

 me we should avoid having the same man who 

 is charged with the duty of catching a poacher 

 also .-elected to prevent forest tires." 



Kilibert Roth, state forest warden and pro- 

 fessor of forestry in the University of Michi- 

 gan, say-: 



"The immediate result of the combination 

 of lire warden and game warden, both here 

 in Michigan and in Xew York, is certainly 

 a failure. Here in Michigan, as in Xew York, 

 the game warden and his department have 

 for years enjoyed a most unenviable name 

 and repute. Their departments have been 

 largely political affairs, poorly manned and 

 entirely ineffective in game protection, their 

 primary object. Using the game warden 

 tern for fire patrol failed so utterly in I'.io* 

 that we were practically without state assist- 

 ance in the matter of lire protection. 



"Where such separation (of forc-t. game 

 ami lish) is not possible it must remain doubt- 

 ful if a state can ever hope to protect its for- 

 est.- or to enforce law except in the most in- 

 nt, spasmodic manner." 



WANT TO BE A FORESTER? 



The forest policy of the United States has 

 opened a field to a new profession in which 

 there is room for thousands of young men 

 with minds and muscle. "Mollycoddles" need 

 not apply. The life of a forester is not an easy 

 one. It requires strength of body, vigor of 

 mind, tact, temperate habits, courage, a cheer- 

 ful disposition and a love of nature. 



About :>o() foresters will he required during 

 the coming summer, and they will be appoint- 

 ed from among those who pass the civil ser- 

 vice examinations, which will be held in sev- 

 enteen states and territories on April 14 next. 

 Young men who are ambitious to enter the 

 service can obtain detailed information and in- 

 structions by addressing the United States 

 Civil Service Commission. Washington, D. C. 

 Those who wish to take the examination 

 should ask for "Application Form l(l!i:i." "The 

 Use Book," and for a copy of a circular en- 

 titled "Information Regarding Employment 

 in the National Forests." These papers will 

 explain what is necessary to know and to dn 

 to obtain entrance to the examination, and 

 the manner in which the examination is passed 

 will determine whether the candidate is quali- 

 fied for the service. In making application it 

 would be well for the candidate to state bis 

 preference as to the region of the country in 

 which he may be employed. 



WANTON DESTRUCTION IS INEX- 

 CUSABLE. 



The original fore-t of Michigan was among 

 the finest in the world. It suggested the 

 motto on our shield. The cutting away of 

 what was necessary, in the interest of 

 settlement, must be approved. But much of 

 the destruction was inexcusable waste, for 

 scarcely one-half of the state was settled, 

 and one-third of the land is improved. About 

 one-third of the state lies today cut and 

 burned over an unprofitable waste area. 

 Kvery acre of this might and should bear a 

 forest cover, growing a dollar's worth of tim- 

 ber every year. Alore than six million acres 

 of the area is state tax title lands. 



Wood is a prime necessity. Our popula- 

 tion is rapidly increasing, while our wood 

 supply is more rapidly diminishing. We arc 

 consuming wood three or four times as fast 

 as we are producing it. But in the wood 

 question is involved the question of water. 

 Denuded hillsides mean recurrences of de- 



structive floods and di oughts. That great : 

 financier, James J. Hill, has said: "1'rrigation 

 and forestry are the two subjects which are 

 to have a greater effect on the future pros- 

 perity of the United States than any other 

 question, either within or without congress." 

 Irrigation is largely dependent upon the pres- 

 ervation of the forests. 



There is no citizen whose property is not 

 related vitally to the question of forest pres- 

 ervation and reforestation. Bui the trouble 

 :.- we are often asleep and awake only in 

 the shock that aco .mpanies rain. To the dis- 

 cuss'on of this leading question \ V e ought to 

 give time and attention. Rev. Martin I,. Fox, 

 Mnskegon, Mich. 



THE TRUE DICTIONARY. 



G. & C. Merriam, publisher.-. Springfield] 

 Mass.. have issued a new and enlarged edition 

 of We]>-ter's International Dictionary, which 

 contains :.!:>, ooo newwords, with new plates 

 throughout, and cd'tcd by \V. T. Harris, 

 Ph. D., LL. D., United States Commissioner 

 of Kducation. 



The Webster International Dictionary pub- 

 lished by this firm is the only genuine edition 

 of the work on the market. The reprints of 

 Webster's unabridged dictionary which are 

 palmed off on the unsuspecting public as the 

 real thing, are reproductions of a dictionary 

 nearly half a century old and are not worth 

 even the price at which they are sold. 



THE CONSERVATION OF WATER 

 RESOURCES. 



In his annual report the director of the 

 Geological Survey says that if the United 

 Slates were to provide for the investigation 

 of our water resources on a scale of thor- 

 oughness equal to that of Switzerland it 

 would appropriate $11,000,000 annually, a sum 

 lid times greater than the present annual 

 appropriation for similar work in this coun- 

 try. An extension of government investiga- 

 tions of water resources has long been advo- 

 cated by engineers, who realize that our work 

 in this direction is not commensurate with 

 that done in many countries. 



The average annual damage by floods in 

 the United States has never been accurately 

 determined, but such investigations as have 

 been made indicate that the loss must be at 

 least $100, 0(10, (100 a year. In many parts of 

 the United States the proper expenditure of 

 an amount equal to one year's local loss by 

 floods would prevent future floods; in other 

 localities the cost would probably equal the 

 loss of two or three years. Many of the 

 rivers being interstate, federal action would 

 be required in most cases. 



Several hundred million dollars have been 

 expended by the government for river im- 

 provement, and it is probable that as much 

 if not more must be expended during the 

 next decade. Whatever may be the system 

 under which the United States shall make its 

 improvements, all engineers agree that thor- 

 ough inspection of rivers is absolutely neces- 

 sary to the final solution of tlje problem. 



The United States is spending $40,000,000 

 in the construction of irrigation systems, the 

 success or failure of which depends on the 

 water supply. Measurements over a short 

 peril id of years will not determine this point 

 The continued investigation of the water re- 

 sources of the country is necessary to safe- 

 guard this great expenditure. 



More than so, ()()(), 1)00 acres of the best agri- 

 cultural lands in the United States are un- 

 productive for want of drainage. These lands 

 extend over so wide an area that their drain- 

 age is a national issue. 



The federal government is a large owner 

 of water power privileges, the investigation 

 of which is a matter of public duty. In the 

 absence of -pecific information the govern- 

 ment ha- granted some water power rights 

 for a traction of their real value, and these 

 rights are held for speculative purposes, which 

 involves keeping them for long periods in an 

 unproductive state. Enormous water powers 



outside of the public domain are being pro- 

 cured at extremely low valuations, and, al- 

 though the development of these powers will 

 undoubtedly he of ultimate benefit to the 

 people at large, their etxent and value should 

 be matters of public record. 



REFORESTATION IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



Great interest is being taken in the report 

 of a royal commission, appointed to inquire 

 into the question of reforestation in the United 

 Kingdom, which is declared by the commis- 

 sion to be . both practicable and desirable. 

 There is also declared to be no valid reason 

 why British soil should, not produce most of 

 the timber that is now imported. Competent 

 witnesses do not doubt that' the same profit- 

 able results can be obtained in England which 

 are obtained from the forests of Germany. 



The commissioners report that Great Brit- 

 ain imported in 1907 no less .than $l(i(), 000,000 

 worth of timber, of which $100,000, 00(1 worth 

 came from countries of similar character. 

 They declare that there are in the United 

 Kingdom 13,000,000 acres of rough mountain 

 land, of which 'J.OOO.OOO acres are suitable for 

 reforcstation purposes. What they propose is 

 that ISO, (100 acres should be reforested every 

 year. This would give temporary employment 

 to about 18,000 men, and permanent employ- 

 ment, when the trees are planted, to 1,500, 

 one man being required for every 100 acres. 

 Thus, when the forests were fully established. 

 90,000 men would be permanently employed. 



For the first forty years the project would 

 involve only expenditure; after that revenue 

 would begin to flow .in. In' sixty years the 

 forests would become self-supporting, and in 

 eighty years the state would enjoy, after al- 

 lowing 3 per cent compound interest on all 

 the money invested, a revenue of $84,730,000. 

 and the value of the property would be 

 $2,735,338,000, or $520,681,000 in excess of the 

 sum involved in its development. It is pro- 

 posed to meet the capital expenditure by 

 loans from the treasury to the forest commis- 

 sioners, the annual deficit on administration 

 rising from $438,000 in the first year to $1.V 

 :.'::. VJOO in the fortieth. Apart from the mag- 

 nitude of the sums to be defrayed by taxation, 

 the chief drawback to the scheme is the length 

 of time which must elapse before a forest be- 

 gins to pay its way. 



In the following table are given the per- 

 centages of land occupied by forests in Euro- 

 pean countries: 



Per 

 Countries. cent. 



England -,.:<, 



Scotland 4.fi 



Wales 3.9 



Ireland 1.3 



Denmark 7.2 



Netherlands 7.9 



France 17.0 



Belgium 17.3 



Germany ' 25.9 



Hungary t>7.."> 



Austria 33.0 



Expert witnesses examined by the commis- 

 sioners with reference to the future scarcity 

 of timber stated that in less than thirty years 

 there would be no timber available unless the 

 different countries of the world should set 

 about replanting immediately, and that if every 

 country should take it up now the regenera- 

 tion would not be half fast enough to keep 

 pace with the consumption. 



SOUND BUSINESS PROPOSAL. 



Discussing the report of the Commission of 

 Ir.vtiiry on Forestry in Michigan, the Saginaw 

 N T P.WS says: 



''On the whole the commission's report is 

 a sound business proposal for the best inter- 

 ests of the state. We have no hesitation in 

 saying Michigan would profit immensely by 

 the legislature's carrying out in toto its rec- 

 ommendations. Whether they are enacted 

 into law or not will depend upon how mr.ch 

 ln:-incss capacity and how little political tri ;k- 



Dl[J III SI 0.131(1 AjJ 



