76 RURAL MICHIGAN 



The original stand of sugar niajjle in Michigan must 

 have been enormous, aiul wliile it has disappeared in 

 much of the virgin forest area of the State, it sur- 

 vives in the wood-lot of many a Michigan farm from 

 Lake Superior to the southern boundary, frequently 

 as the highly prized sugar-bush, while it is still an 

 important element in the large timber holdings of 

 the northern peninsula. 



As a present timber resource, white and Norway 

 pine — once the glory of the Michigan forest — have 

 dwindled in importance. The output of white pine 

 in Michigan in 1918, as reported by 124 mills, was 

 46,664,000 feet, this being 2.4 per cent of the white 

 pine cut in the entire country. Near Lake Su- 

 perior and at a few points in the Lower Peninsula, 

 a very few restricted stands of virgin white pine 

 remain. The Interlaken State Park in Grand 

 Traverse County has some very fine specimens, and 

 there is another good stand not far from Grayling. 

 As far back as 1910, the manufacture of boxes and 

 crates in Michigan consumed 27,394,360 feet of 

 white pine grown within the State, while more than 

 that quantity was imported for this purpose. In 

 the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, twice 

 as much white pine was brought from "without 

 Michigan as was then used from the domestic sup- 

 ply. In a miscellaneous group of wood-using in- 

 dustries, 54,000,000 feet of extra-state white pine 

 was consumed as against 2,605,000 feet of home- 

 grown material.^ One commonly hears that good 



^ ^^'ood-^lsing Industries of Michigan. 



