MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



144,747,500 feet, divided as follows: Pine, 

 22,667,090 feet; hemlock, 59,489,040 feet; hard- 

 wood, 62,591,370 feet. In 1907 the total out- 

 put amounted to 167,348,498 feet. In 11)06, the 

 product totaled 1 '.17,532,904 feet, and in l'J05 

 the output was 184,532,000 feet. 



There was produced on the Lake Huron 

 shore in 11)08, 59,046,000 shingles and 21,006,550 

 pieces of lath. The production of lath and 

 shingles has not shown the fluctuations in 

 this district that has characterized the lumber 

 industry. In 1877 there was produced in the 

 district" a total of 58,000,000 shingles, and in 

 lss7 the output was 64,500,000. In 1907 there 

 was produced 84,170,150 shingles, compared 

 with 85,832,000 in 1906, and 103,581,000 in 1905. 

 In 1907 the output of lath was 32,683,410 pieces 

 i gainst 47,572,000 pieces in 1906 and 61,- 

 633,000 in 1905. 



SOUNDS NOTE OF WARNING. 



'["his is not intended as censure. We regard 

 it rather as most pertinent suggestion in the 

 interests of the people of the state of Michi- 

 gan. What will lie done for the prevention <>f 

 foiest fires this summer? \Ve call attention 

 to the fact that scarcely does the dry weather 

 begin to make an appearance, and even with 

 snow in sight in many spots, when flames 

 bruin to ravage the forests, comments the 

 Calumet News. Are the experiences of last 

 >ear in both upper and lower Michigan to be 

 repeated? Good promise of it unless those 

 win i have charge of such matters get busy 

 and in the right manner at once. 



Alter the tire season had been passed last 

 year and the great damage bad been done, 

 never to be repaired, the government sent 

 men through the country to ascertain what 

 bad happened and report, all of which process 

 doubtless was necessary in order to properly 

 handle the problem of the future. Now, ac- 

 knowledging that investigation and data of 

 certain character are necessary in preparing 

 against future contingencies, we desire to state- 

 that the people do not care nearly so much 

 about the accuracy of these reports of what 

 has happened in the past as they do about 

 having that property saved in the first in- 

 stance. What they want is to see those 

 people busy before the property is destroyed 

 rather than after the same is lost beyond 

 redemption. They do not need an official 

 report of any kind for them to know that 

 altogether too much property was lost last 

 year. 



If the present "system" is not efficient in 

 taking care of the forc.-ts. let us get busy at 

 once and get a "new system" before the 'tim- 

 ber is all gone, one that is capable of saving 

 the property as well as of making reports 

 after it is destroyed. 



MANY MILES OF GOOD ROADS IN 

 MONTCALM. 



During the past three months many miles 

 of road between Greenville and Carson City 

 have been almost impassible, and the same i:. 

 true of many miles betwen Greenville and 

 Lakeview, and yet those two roads run 

 through the best farming country in Michigan. 

 Thickly scattered along these roads arc beau- 

 tiful farm residences, barns and other build- 

 ings. These beautiful farm homes are worth 

 from $.")0 to $125 per acre and the time 

 is not far distant when they will be even more 

 valuable. These people are doing a business 

 that runs into the thousands of dollars in 

 some instances. Everything produced on the 

 farm goes to the market and Greenville fur- 

 nishes the best market but these roads at the 

 best are not fit for big loads. Montealm 

 county should have a si one road from Green- 

 ville to Carson City, am! Lakcvicw. Under 

 the state law Greenville and these townships 

 can unite and build these roads. The state 

 will pay one-half the expense. Under the 

 State good roads law, two miles in each town- 

 ship can be built each year and in three years 

 these roads could be built. But we will sup- 

 pose that six years are taken to build the road 

 from Greenville to Carson City, and from 

 here to Lakeview. The law allows the expen- 

 diture of an annual two mill tax, and that 

 would just pay the bill. It would cost Green- 

 ville about $2,500 a year or $15,000. It would 

 cost the state townships and this city $80,000 

 or $2,000 per mile, and would build a fine stom; 

 n -id to Carson City and from here to Lake- 

 view. The road would be a valuable asset 

 to this city, worth many times $15,000. 

 Greenville Correspondence. 



$220,000 SPENT ON GOOD ROADS. 



In the fifteen years during which a county 

 commission has had charge of the work, Me- 

 nominee county has spent a total of $220,- 

 4(11.16 in building and improving its highways. 

 It was on May 1, 1894, that the county adopt- 

 ed the commission plan of building roads. A 

 bond issue of $25,000 was made to carry out 

 the first portion of the work, and in addition 

 to this the board appropriated $9,822.74. In 

 is 95 another $25,000 was obtained by a bond 

 issue and $10,023.20 was appropriated. The 

 main county road running from Menominee 

 city to Escanaba was laid out during these 

 two years, and the commission then took over 

 the old State road, the Bay Shore road and 

 many of the laterals. Now a total of more 

 than $220,000 has been expended. The sum 

 of $21,385.94 is being spent by the commis- 

 sioners this year and the appropriations will 

 run high during the years to come. 



been removed and the cement culverts have 

 been completed on the two-mile stretch. 



Road improvment is sorely needed in sev- 

 eral parts of Mecosta county. But, year after 

 year, the work will be prosecuted in this man- 

 ner until ultimately the county will be cov- 

 ered with good roads. 



The work this summer will be done as fol- 

 lows: One mile in Fork township and one 

 in Sheridan township, making two continuous 

 miles north and south of the town line; one 

 mile in Deerfield township east of Morley; 

 one in Millbrook township between Milbrook 

 and West Milbrook. There are also four 

 miles of road in Colfax township that will be 

 made state reward road as soon as the water 

 can be successfully drained from about a mile 

 of the stretch. This four miles is on the main 

 road east from Colburn avenue, and part of it 

 crosses a swamp. It is the intention of the 

 commissioner to complete all but that in Col- 

 fax township during the coming summer. 



AU SABLE FORESTRY PRESERVES. 



Tree planting on the An Sable forestry pre- 

 serves is in progress. (lii the Forest farm, 

 near Lovells, where Charles W. Ward is in 

 charge of the work. 60, (MX) young trees are 

 on the ground, and are being planted, with 

 more to follow. This experimental station is 

 backed by Saginaw, Xew York and Cleveland 

 men. Other preserves in the An Sable valley 

 arc being "locked with young pines. 



CHEBOYGAN'S ROADS A JOY. 



F. D. Merchant, of Petoskey, recently rc- 

 , turned from Cheboygan and vicinity by auto 

 land brings some interesting good roads news 

 n that region. Mr. Merchant tells of one 

 ich of road seven miles in length on the 

 Emmet-Cheboygan line that, he says, should 

 be the pride of any community. It is as level 

 as a floor, and the method of building makes 

 it impervious to wet. and a delight to ride 

 over. Another stretch of road lies south of 

 Chebiiygan. and is nine miles in length and 

 is as near perfect as roads can be made, lie 

 that lhe-c roads are being built at a cost 

 jof about $:!,()()() per mile, and are worth it. 



PLANNING GOOD HIGHWAYS. 



The Portage township, Houghton county, 

 board has begun a campaign for good roads 

 in the township. At a special meeting of the 

 board the policy was outlined to build good 

 roads in the township wherever possible. The 

 first step in this direction will be the con- 

 struction of a road from the Isle Royale Mill 

 east about three miles to the township line. 

 The board appreciates the improvement which 

 the Sheldcn-Douglass interests are making in 

 the township by the construction of the tar- 

 via road along the lake shore to the Isle 

 Royale mill and will continue the road east. 

 This will give the people of Houghton a mag- 

 nificent drive some four miles in length, in- 

 cluding College avenue. 



GOOD ROAD BUILDING REQUIRES EX- 

 PERIENCE. 



Good roads building, like everything else, 

 requires experience and study. O. B. Scher- 

 merhorn, highway commissioner of Montealm 

 township, Montealm county, has been a stu- 

 dent of road building for many years, and that 

 is why he is making such progress in practical 

 road-making. Already this spring he has 

 built ten miles of road. He makes it a rule, 

 as far as possible, not to plow up the road 

 track. These tracks, after years of service, 

 unless too sandy, have become hard, and, if 

 plowed up, would require years of road traffic 

 to get them back to their original compact- 

 ness. 



Mr. Schermerhorn throws up the sides of 

 the road with the grader, leaving trenches on 

 either side of the track to carry off the water, 

 and keep the traveled portion of the road dry 

 so there will be no standing water in the cen- 

 ter of the road. What little dirt there is 

 thrown up in the track is dragged down, fill- 

 ing up the gutters or ruts and uneven places, 

 so that the track may finish smooth. 



Mr. Schermerhorn is reducing the knolls 

 and small hills as fast as possible by means 

 of the wheel scraper that is, by wheeling the 

 dirt from these elevations to the low places 

 on either side. There are many causeways in 

 Montcolm township that will require consid- 

 erable moving of earth by the use of the 

 scraper and dump wagons, and as good drain- 

 age as possible. This up-to-date method of 

 road improvement will result shortly in mak- 

 ing good dirt roads throughout the township, 

 and at a cost less than that expended before. 



There should be a good gravel or stone road 

 built between Greenville and Lakeview, and 

 it looks now as if that event will soon be con- 

 summated, especially if state aid is accepted. 



Some good work is being done in other 

 townships, but some of their road repairing 

 is not up-to-date, that is, some of the highway 

 commissioners are not doing the road work in 

 a modern manner, but are following the old 

 methods that the people have suffered from 

 too long already. 



MECOSTA'S ROAD PROGRESS. 

 County Road Commissioner W. D. Lyons, 



of Mecosta county, has had a force of men 

 working for some time on two miles of state 

 re\ ard road, one mile of which is in Morton 

 township and the other in Wheatland town- 

 ship. When these two miles are completed a 

 continuous line of slate reward road embrac- 

 ing about six miles will connect the villages. 

 <>f Remus and Mecosta. The stumps have all 



ASK FOR NEW ROADS. 



A plan has been worked out for connecting 

 Buckley with the rest of the world by im- 

 proved wagon roads. A bridge is being 

 thrown across the Manistee river in Section 

 22, Hanover township, Wexford county. This 

 will give a direct wagon road to Cadillac, the 

 county seat of Wexford county, and petitions 

 are being circulated asking that the most 

 direct highway from Buckley to Traverse City, 

 the county seat of Grand Traverse county, be 

 taken as a county road and improved. With 

 good wagon roads to Cadillac and Traverse 

 City the people of Buckley will have ample 

 opportunity to touch elbows with the city 

 neighbors and to take on city ways. 



