10 MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



<sPFPIAI I Fr.ISI ATION of oak to sell in our town has to give This conception is general and is fixed and 



OrH^lAL. L.C.VJlOL/^llV/1^ them a or even hjre man to take them lts use is extended more and more throughout 



NEEDED FOR FOKLMb away or cut them into firewood; the man who Europe. Interesting is the fact that it was 

 has 200 oak logs to sell can readily find a this conception of the protective value of the 



In legislation or state action the peculiari- buyer at $15 per 1.000 feet. The experience forest which decided the Congress of the L 



ties of a business are necessarily of special of Eurcpe and our own country as well, to the first really important measure in favor 



consideration. Our attempts at railway legis- clearly shows that as soon as a forest is cut of forestry in the New World, namely, the 



lation illustrate this perfectly. The Forest, into small tracts it is apt to be cleared, the establishment of the U. S. Forest Reserves, 



and with it the care of the Forest cr Forestry forest removed or devastated. , 10 - The . for st ls , generally most extensive 



have their peculiarities and some of these are where agriculture least succeeds, and where, 



so verv conspicuous and important that Dr. 5. The long period between sowing and therefrre, there is the sparsest rural popula- 



B E Fernow in his excellent book, "Econo- reaping, necessitates in forestry that there tion. But the forest can not be locked up, it 



mies of Forestry," emphatically speaks of the should be continuity of action and purpose, can net be inspected in all its parts at a 



Forest as a property "suigeneris" or peculiar For this reason the forests belonging to glance; rn the contrary the forest offers seclu- 



enou"h to go into a class by itself. This same States, Cities 'and Towns, or all large woods sion and a hiding place for the evil doer, and 



idea undoubtedly, has served as basis in the lln der direct State control have fared well, it is therefore one of the forms of property 



matter of regulation and legislation in Eu- while most private forests, especially the which, needs specially rigid legislation- and 



rope for centuries past. smaller holdings fare poorly. This feature, enforcement of law, for its protection 



The following are probably the most im- centuries ago, led to more or less State inter- fact was recognized quite early in the develop, 



)ortant and most selfevident of these pecu- ference and control of private forests, a con- merit and settlement of Central Europe. As 



trol which even at the present day is rather early as the year 1200 the local laws govern- 

 on the increase than decrease among Euro- ing the conduct of people in the use of the 



1. The time element in forestry; it takes pea n people. The case generally resolves fcrest considered this fact, and trespass in 

 many years to produce a finished crop. Tim- i nto the form so often met in this ccuntry. timber, changing of boundaries, and setting 

 ber in Germany today is cut at an average The father takes care cf the woodlot, saves fir e m the forest, etc., etc., were all treated 

 age of about 90 years. the large oak, ash and other valuable trees, as special offences. And universally it was 



uses the inferior material, and in this way believed necessary to provide regular guards 



2. The growth of each successive year, on stQres va]ues ful i y as gooc i as bank depos- to protect the forest, a fact entirely overlooked 

 anyone acre, i. e. the part which corresponds ks The SQn who has ear , y learned " be tter" and neglected in our States. 



to the farmer s crop cf the same year is held (?) , iving hag a pcor crop he needs money and (To be continued.) 



for years and thus remains on the land as cufs the sma]] fores{ Then for a whj , e jt 



visible and taxable property. To illustrate: does not brin g in any income, he tires of hold- FOREST FIRE DAMAGE. 



Suppose a farmer plants 20 acres with corn jng and waiting and dears it i rresp ective of Forest fires did considerable damage in the 



and 20 acres with pine in 1 08. In Oct. 1S08 thg future ya , ue of the farm Thjs case is upper peninsula of Michigan and in Wis- 



the corn crop is ripe is harvested sold, fed thoroughly hllmani it win always be so, and consm and Minnesota this month. Alger, 



or eaten, probably before April 1909. This Qnl thg str hand Qf [aw can compe , the Luce, Baraga,, Houghton and Keweenaw ccun- 



crop is not taxed at a 1. The field is assessed gcn tQ regard {he wQod lot ag property of a ties suffered most in the upper peninsula, 



as land and 1 as land only. In (Jctober, 1! : p ecu ij ar ]<j nd from which he may never use Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties in the 



little forest trees too, have ripened a crop, more {he gr ' owth or real crop and w hi c h, lower peninsula were also touched. 



a crop of wood. It is a small crop, but it is owing to its re l a tion to the rest of the people, Many villages were threatened with destruc- 



a crop, and it stays on the land. he may not clear or devastate without special tton, and it was only by the most heroic ef- 



By the year 1940, the cornfield has been perrn it. forts that they were saved. Following is a 



planted 32 times and has furnished 32 crops type of the dispatches which appeared in the 



and the crop has never been assessed or taxed. 6 The land used in forestry is usually cheap daily papers: 



By the year 1940 the pine trees have also ] and , ; and j t j s t h e tree growth which makes CALUMET, Mich., May 11. Forest fires at 

 made 32 crops and all 32 crops are still in up tne larger part cf the property. Thus the Allston continue unabated and the town seems 

 this plantation of pine trees. But now the State forests of Wiirttemberg have, for years, doomed despite the fact that 300 men as- 

 as-sessor, according to our law, must assess brought a net revenue of over $4.50 per ace sisted by fire trains from Marquette, Hough- 

 this plantation at cash value, or as much as a per ye ar. Capitalizing at 3 per cent, they are ton, Calumet and Maas City are assisting sec- 

 box maker or wood dealer could and would W orth $150.00 per acre; but the land itself tion crews and farmers in lighting the flames. 

 give for the pine. In 1950 the pines are still wou ld be dear at $30 per acre and would not The town is almost surrounded by fire. L'Anse, 

 there and each year's growth cr crop is added be worth $10 for agricultural purposes. Pro- a village of 1,000 inhabitants, is threatened, 

 and the assessment raised accordingly. If bably half of all the forest land cf Central Bad fires are raging near Pilgrim river and 

 the two fields are alike in quality the corn E urO pe could not be farmed permanently, but i" the vicinity of the Goodwill farm and home 

 field continues to be assessed at say $50 per wou ld become waste land in time, if allowed for orphans. 



acre, but the pine field is assessed $50 for to b e c i eare d. Fire has also broken out at Allouez and 



land and $50 or even $100 for the pine. This Ahmeek and a large amount of timber has 



continues up to the time when the pine is cut 7. The capital used in forestry is large and been consumed. 



or harvested, say at 80 years. When that crop large holdings are desirable. The amount of Forest fires have become a menace to the 



of pine is 75 years old the farmer is really labor in forestry is small. Thus two dollars county poor farm and fifty men worked all 



assessed on the land and also on 75 succes- per acre a year is a good allowance for ex- last night, being relieved today by others. 1 The 



sive crops, i. e. the growth of 75 successive penses even in Germany, while in farming inmates of the poorhouse were removed to 



years, on all of which he has paid taxes be- even with us $10 per acre is but fair. private homes in the vicinity. 



.fore and on a large part has been taxed re- A dangerous fire is raging at Alstonia, 



peatedly. But this method of taxation is pres- 8. The net returns in forestry are quite large thirty miles south of Houghton, the entire 



cribed by law in practically all states of the and are safe; and, considering the quality of population having turned out to protect life ' 



Union. the land for other purposes, these returns are and property. Several buildings are burning 



often astonishing. In our ccuntry this is on the edge of the town. 



3 A large part of the timber crop may ac- ev i de nced by the large crops or stands of 



tually be used (cut and sold) long before the t i m b e r in some of our mountain countries Of course we shall again hear of all this 

 forester declares the crop ripe i. e. long be- and on the large expanses of sand both north being "hot air," exaggeration; of the fires do- 

 fore it .s good business to cut it. and south ing Q harnlj and; . fact> doing an immense 



As pointed out above, the pine could be In the O ld World much more exact data amount of good. In any case we must not 

 20, for pulp at 30, for box are available. Thus the State forests of Ba- "hurt business," whatever the case may be, 

 material at 40, and yet it is really best for the den> Wiirttemberg and Saxony aggregate over and our official reports will see to it that these 

 owner and indirectly for the people and the a mi ii ion acres and have for ears exceeded news are properly refuted To any right- 

 it remain and grow into saw timber $ 4 per acre a year of net j ncome When, it is minded person it would seem that any state 



remembered that good farm lands over a 'large is barbarian in its first duties, which permits 



part of the U. S. are unable to produce this wholesale devastation of its property. 



The size of the woods has much to do s cash renta , h showl sure P , is t 



with the value of a forest property and Euro- ordinary . TIMES HAVE CHANGED, 



pean people have found long ago that it is bad Commenting ,,n the circular of the Forest 



policy to allow timber lands to be cut into 9. The forest unlike any other crop, im- Park Reservation Commission of Xew Jer 



. small areas or parcels. 1 he reasons for proves the soil, and prevents its wasting. The announcing a civil service examination for the 



ter 

 small 



-ru j u > -^ UH, aim prevems us wasting, me announcing a civil service examination tor tne 



Ihe woods, the trees do bet- forest can use poor lands and frosty districts position of assistant forester at a salary of 



10-acre lot than a or situations which are otherwise valueless. $1.000 Prof Filibert Roth secretary of the 



0-acre lot where wind and sun This with its power to regulate streamflow Michigan Forestry Association fays- This 



In case of fire or and water distribution generally, has forced announcement is of interest, as it marks prcg- 



storm the man who owns only 10 acres of the States of Europe into recognition of the ress in forestry in our country A few years 



woods may lose everything, the man who conception of the "protection forest," the for- ago any political favorite could have had such 



owns five tracts of 000 acres each is not likely est which is valuable chiefly because it pro- a position as this. Today there is a respon- 



to lose more than a small part of what he tects the land and prevents waste and desert sible commission, and this asks for trailing 



owns. Ihe man who has only 1 01 2 logs and general injury to the people or State, and experience. 



