MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



13 



The Care of the Woodlot. 



(First Paper). 

 THINGS TO BE DONE. 



If your orchard had the trees closely 

 crowded together in seme places and in other 

 parts the trees had died, leaving open spaces; 

 if part of the trees were Baldwins and part 

 were "wild" trees bearing small, gnarled, sour 

 fruit; if the orchard had never been pruned; 

 if the ground were covered with a tangle of 

 useless bushes and vines if these things were 

 true, you would not consider that you had 

 as good an orchard as you could easily have 

 ten by a little more care. 



Go into your woodlot. Are there any 

 places where the trees are so closely crowded 

 that no one of them has a chance to grow 

 well? On the other hand, are there any 

 thrifty young trees growing so far from their 

 nearest neighbors that each tree will hold its 

 branches most of the way to the ground, and 

 thus make knotty lumber? Are there any 

 open places where there are no trees at all, 

 which therefore represent just so much idle 

 ground? Arc all of the trees of ash and 

 basswood and desirable kinds of oak, or of 

 other kinds "Ou like or are there some pop- 

 ples, ironwoods or beeches which you would 

 rather replace by better kinds? Are there 

 decaying, crooked, forked or very limby 

 trees whose room could be more profitably 

 occupied by better trees? Do you realize 

 that (if you care for the woodlot more as a 

 place to raise wood than to furnish pasture) 

 to have the ground overgrown with grass, 

 instead of being covered with a manuring of 

 decaying leaves, is as bad a sign in the wood- 

 lut as a tangle of worthless bushes and vines 

 wi-uld lie in the orchard? Did it ever occur 

 to you that if these conditions exist; you have 

 not as good a woodlot as you might easily 



N'o one doubts that more fruit and better 

 fruit can be raised by giving the orchard 

 proper care, because long experience has 

 shown that man can greatly improve on Na- 

 ture's way of raising fruit. No one ought to 

 doubt that more timber and better timber 

 can be raised by giving the woodlot some 

 care, because .centuries of successful practical 

 results in other countries have proved that 

 man can greatly improve on Nature's 'way of 

 raising timber. 



The care which the woodlot needs in order 

 to make it yield more timber and better 

 timber is in most cases inexpensive. Some 

 i if the work can be done at a time of year 

 when many farmers are not hard pushed with 

 work. Some of the work pays or more than 

 1>:iys for itself at once in wood taken out. 

 Tn cases where sonic outlay of money is 

 needed to give the woodlot proper care, the 

 expense should be far more than repaid by 

 the increased value of the woodlot. 



If the woodlot is to be at its best, we 

 should try to accomplish two things: 



1. Keep it well stocked with the best trees. 



2. Making these trees grow as fast as can 

 be done without causing them to be limby. 



In order, to accomplish these objects, four 

 main kinds of care are necessary: 



1. Keep fires, even light surface fires, out 

 of the woodlot. 



2. Stop pasturing the woodlot. 



ri. Cut the trees which ought to be cut, 

 and leave those which ought not to be cut. 



4. If Nature does not start desirable 

 yi ung trees for you in all open spots, start 

 young trees yourself wherever necessary. 



Each one of these four kinds of care helps 

 to accomplish each of the two objects in 

 view. 



Detailed suggestions as to what to do along 

 these lines, and reasons why such measures 

 help the wondlot, will be given in 1 succeed- 

 ing papers. Walter Mulford. University of 

 Michigan Forestry Department, Ann Arbor. 



Michigan Forestry Association 



HAS FOR ITS OBJECT 



The modification of our laws which will enable the holding and 

 reforesting of forest lands. 



The protection of forest property against fire and trespass. The 

 disposition and management of our state lands. 



Every citizen should be interested in this work and join the Asso- 

 ciation. Membership fee $1.00 per year, including yearly subscription 

 to Michigan Roads and Forests, the official organ of the Association. 



PROF. FILIBERT ROTH, Secretary, 



Ann Arbor, Michigan 



EMMET COUNTY ROAD PLANS. 



Henry Leismer, chairman of the Emmet 

 County Road Commission, reports that the 

 year 1909 was the first year any work was 

 done on the state reward plan in Emmet 

 county. The commission finished one mile of 

 gravel road, which passed state inspection, 

 and prepared two and one-quarter miles addi- 

 tional, which is ready for the last course of 

 gravel. 



This year the commission will build one 

 mile of stone road from Pellston, running 

 south on the trunk line road. This trunk 

 line road runs south from Mackinaw City to 

 Petoskey, and from Petoskey west to the 

 line which separates Emmett and Charlevoix 

 counties. The commission will also build two 

 miles of stone road on the trunk road starting 

 at Petoskey and running west. These three 

 miles of stone roads will be completed this 

 year. The commission has also planned to 

 grade one and one-quarter miles of the Cross 

 village turnpike road. 



The commission is a unit in favor of stone 

 roads. Next year it proposes to have a stone 

 crusher and prepare its own stone. With the 

 stone crusher in operation the commission be- 

 lieves the road work will go ahead much 

 faster. 



and are looking forward to the time when they 

 can resume their positions in society better men 

 than would have been the case had they been 

 confined in dark and gloomy prisons." 



He has taken a great interest in road work and 

 has collected a mass of information on the sub- 

 ject. He has arrived at his conclusions only after 

 careful and painstaking sifting of all available 

 records and information, coupled with the self- 

 evident results where the system is in operation. 



Michigan Road Notes. 



Chippewa county has postponed action on the 

 purchase of a 10-ton road roller. 



The prospects seem excellent for the adoption 

 of the county road system by Clare county at the 

 'election to be held on April 4. Much missionary 

 work has been done the past winter. 



It is expected that Lincoln township, Rerren 

 county, will vote on April 4 in favor of bonding 

 for $:>0,OCO for good roads. The adjoining town- 

 shins of St. Joseph and Royalton have been 

 building good roads for several years. Wi*h 

 Lincoln township falling into line. Berrien county 

 will soon be noted for its tine highways. 



FAVORS USE OF CONVICTS ON ROADS. 



Judge C. J. Gavin, of Denver, who recently 

 visited in Kalamazoo, is an advocate of the use 

 of convict labor on roads. He says: 



"The convict labor system in Colorado has been 

 an unqualified success, and viewed from the hu- 

 manitarian standpoint the system is of more than 

 ordinary value because it makes men out of what 

 in other circumstances would remain ordinary 

 criminals. 



"I have personally inspected the camps when 

 there was an entire absence of guards and super- 

 vision, yet all the convicts were contented and 

 happy and looking forward to the time when they 

 would resume their position in society which they 

 had lost. 



"If at any time any person doubts the state- 

 ments that prisoners can be put on honor they 

 have only to interview Warden Tynan or go and 

 inspect for himself. This will at the same time 

 show him what good can be acomplished for con- 

 victs while they are put to work constructing 

 roads. The ultimate good to the community at 

 large, not only in the improvement of the h'igh- 

 ways, but in the moral betterment of the pris- 

 oners, is a strong point in favor of the system." 



With regard to the possibility of convicts es- 

 caping on road work judge Gavin declared: 



"I have personally inspected the convict road 

 camps when there was plenty of opportunity for 

 escape and no supervision of the convicts, yet 75 

 out of every 100 men are contented and happy, 



George W. Bouscher, of Manistique. is a can- 

 didate for county road commissioner in School- 

 craft county. 



Whether or no Clare county votes to adopt the 

 county road system on April 4, Sheridan township 

 proposes to have good roads. There is little 

 doubt that the proposition to bond for $0,000 for 

 the building of state reward roads will carry in 

 the township on April 4. 



The taxpayers of Chippewa county will vote on 

 April 4 on a proposition to bond for $20,000 for 

 the purpose of establishing a county agricultural 

 school. 



A fund is being raised to build a state reward 

 gravel road between Ann Arbor and Whitmore 

 Lake. If the road is built it will be the pioneer 

 state reward road in Washtenaw county. 



Finding the Petoskey Crushed Stone Company 

 and the Lake Shore Company, bidders on the 

 stone for county roads for the coming year, so 

 close together that there was a difference of less 

 than $200 between their bids, the board of coun- 

 ty road commissioners of Muskegon county split 

 the contract between the two companies, giving 

 each half. The total amount of the Lake Shore 

 Company's bid is $11,111. The Petoskey company 

 bid $11,205 total. Tn splitting up, the road com- 

 missioners awarded to each company the part 

 of the contract on which its bid was low. 



