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being rendered unfit for agriculture and offers a chance for reforestation ; 

 and that minor changes may be necessary in methods of valuation of tim- 

 berlands and in fire protection. 



The question remains, then, as to what steps the State should take, in 

 the interests of her citizens, not only to assume her share of responsibility 

 in the national program for increasing the available timber supply of the 

 country but to safeguard those remnants of the original forest which not 

 only contributed largely to the development of the State and her industries, 

 but by whose destruction the balance of Nature's forces have been seriously 

 disturbed. 



Just as we will owe this conference a debt of gratitude for presenting 

 these facts to the public in a new light, so we look to it for valuable 

 assistance in working out a solution of this vital economic question. 

 (Applause) 



MR. WOOLLEN: I now introduce the forester of Indiana, Mr. Charles 

 C. Deam. (Applause) 



MR. CHARLES C. DEAM: Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, the 

 subject of my paper is "Forest Conditions in Indiana." 



The area of Indiana is 22,403,502 acres. Practically the whole of the 

 State was formerly covered with one of the best hardwood forests of the 

 world. The wooded area has steadily decreased since active settlement 

 began about one hundred years ago. In 1880 the forest area has dwindled 

 down to 4,355,191 acres of first-class timberland. In 1917 the timberland 

 area of Indiana is given as 1,664,047 acres, or about seven per cent, of the 

 whole area. Virgin forests have become so scarce that only a few isolated 

 tracts remain. Turkey Run State Park, the largest of these, containing 

 less than three hundred acres, was recently purchased by some patriotic 

 citizens, and turned over to the State as a relic of the grandeur and 

 wealth of Indiana's primeval forests. 



In 1910 statistics rank Indiana third in the amount and value of its 

 improved land, exceeded only by Iowa and Illinois. These statistics show 

 that Indiana is essentially an agricultural State, and that it will always 

 remain so, is implied by its geographical location. The geographical situa- 

 tion of Indiana favors agriculture, including both grazing and horticulture. 

 It is traversed by trunk line railroads in all directions with nearby term- 

 inals such as Chicago, with an estimated population of over three millions ; 

 Milwaukee with 504,707; Detroit and Cleveland with 936,000 each and 

 Cincinnati with 472,668. Indiana is the nearest source of supply to the 

 cities enumerated, for certain agricultural and horticultural products. 

 It also serves many smaller cities such as Louisville and others that 

 could be named. 



The surface of the greater part of Indiana is level and is contained 

 in the glaciated region. This area has great 'agricultural possibilities, 

 about ninety-five per cent, of it being already w T ell improved. It is 

 predicted that the forests of this area will gradually disappear and that 

 the only forest tree growth will be in the form of windbreaks. There are, 

 however, about twenty-three counties in the southern part of the State 

 that have a rough topography. This area is a series of hills and fertile 

 valleys of varying width and length. The hills vary in height from one 



