where cutting is now going on and where the slash is being 

 disposed of as directed by our Forest Rangers. You will find 

 that the cost of disposing of the slash is not prohibitive; and 

 a great many of the companies are now coming to the con- 

 clusion that where they dispose of the slash as cutting pro- 

 ceeds they actually lessen the cost of logging. This, of 

 course, is due to the fact that without the slash encumbering 

 the ground skidding is cheapened. Moreover, practically all 

 of the lumbermen have come to recognize the importance of 

 disposing of slashings in such a way as to reduce the fire 

 risk to their own property and adjoining lands. 



In the case of pine, the usual practice is to require that the 

 slash be piled and burned as cutting proceeds, except in 

 localities where the land is exceedingly rocky, in which case 

 a fire line is cleared out around the cutting area, and the 

 slash left elsewhere, so that it may be a protection to the 

 scanty soil and encourage the seedlings to come up. The 

 slash from spruce is usually required to be lopped, not burned, 

 and this applies also to cedar, a strip being cleaned out 

 along the logging roads and around the cutting area, to pre- 

 vent fires getting into the slash. In the case of hardwood 

 cuttings, usually only a fire line around the entire cutting 

 area is necessary. But I think you will realize that these 

 general plans must be varied to some extent to suit the actual 

 conditions on the ground. Our aim is to reduce the fire risk 

 to a reasonable extent and at a reasonable cost to the oper- 

 ator. I am sure that you will have no difficulty in complying 

 with the instructions of our rangers, should you decide to pur- 

 chase timber in Northern Minnesota, no matter what class 

 of timber you desire. 



Very truly yours, 



State Forester. 



December 30, 1911. 

 To the Honorable Attorney General, 



St. Paul, Minn. 

 Dear Sir: 



I am up here in Minnesota with intentions of buying tim- 

 ber and operating a manufacturing plant of some kind. I 



15 



