3 I2 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



the timber sold. The law directed also 

 that timber on the islands of Gass Lake 

 and Leech Lake, and on Sugar Point 

 and Pine Point that extend into Leech 

 Lake, and on a unit equivalent to 10 

 sections of pine timber be reserved 

 from sale. 



The law was amended in 1908 to 

 create the Minnesota National Forest 

 within definite boundaries, including 

 the forestry lands and all other lands 

 except individual Indian allotments 

 (which had already been made) and 

 swampland which was claimed by the 

 State of Minnesota under the acts of 

 1850 and 1860. The amendment raised 

 the seed-tree reservation on the pine 

 areas remaining to be sold to 10 per- 

 cent of the stand. 



Not all the land within the exterior 

 boundaries of the Minnesota National 

 Forest supported merchantable white 

 pine and red pine. Areas of heavy soil 

 carried mixed hardwoods the sugar 

 maple, basswood, yellow birch, oak, 

 and others. There were also areas of 

 aspen, with other species in mixture, 

 and second-growth stands of jack pine 

 and red pine. Those areas of second 

 growth are probably explained in the 

 accounts of aged Indians of the "fire of 

 two summers," which burned in north- 

 ern Minnesota and which, according to 

 ring counts, occurred in the early 

 1860's. The second-growth pine was 

 too small to be merchantable under the 

 terms of the Interior Department sales ; 

 other species were small and valueless, 

 besides. 



Thus a new national forest was born. 

 It was comprised of about 190,000 

 acres, which included some 10 sections 

 of virgin white pine and red pine, about 

 3 townships of second growth (which 

 followed the early fire), a township of 

 hardwoods and other valueless species, 

 and the cut-over land that had stand- 

 ing seed trees among the stumps. 



EARLY RECORDS indicate that the 

 seed trees were relatively wind-firm 

 and stood up well despite some heavy 

 winds. Post-logging decadence, in- 

 duced by the sudden opening of the 



stand and consequent drying of the 

 soil, was prominent and cumulative. 



In 1930, seed trees, particularly of 

 white pine, had all but disappeared 

 from many parts of the cut-over area. 

 Red pine seed trees were more promi- 

 nent, especially in the part of the 

 forest that was cut over in the later 

 years of the harvest, but decadence was 

 evident among them, too. Nevertheless, 

 the red pine trees showed good diame- 

 ter growth. 



Many foresters have studied regen- 

 eration of the pine stand following 

 cutting. All seem to agree that about 

 two-thirds of the reproduction was pres- 

 ent as small seedlings when cutting 

 was done. Good seed yields occurred in 

 1904, 1910, 1914, 1917, and in 1920 

 within the cutting period, and since 

 then in 1924, 1927, 1930, 1937, and 

 1943. There has been considerable 

 seed fall, but apparently the conditions 

 were not right for the successful estab- 

 lishment of pine. 



FOR THE SUCCESSFUL ESTABLISH- 

 MENT of a new forest of red pine or 

 white pine, a good seed fall, exposed 

 mineral soil obtained by summer log- 

 ging, and favorable weather conditions 

 for a year or two following germination 

 of the seed seem to be required. If the 

 seed finds a favorable seedbed, a hot, 

 dry sun may kill the tender seedlings. 

 The establishment of grass, weeds, 

 bracken, brush, or low-value hard- 

 woods is another deterrent. 



Despite the adverse situations, pos- 

 sibly one-third of the established red 

 pine second growth has come in as a 

 result of the preservation of seed trees. 

 On good white pine sites, white pine 

 reproduction often is conspicuously 

 absent. That does not mean that seed- 

 lings of white pine were not present at 

 the time of logging or did not come in 

 later, but, rather, that such seedlings 

 generally could not survive. White pine 

 sites are generally more moist and more 

 fertile than those of red pine and hence 

 are quickly reclothed by nature with 

 dense competing vegetation. The white 

 pine is relatively tolerant of shade, but 



