in depth with a clay subsoil. And when we also consider 

 that there are nearly six thousand vacant homesteads in Bel- 

 trami and over eight hundred thousand acres of state land 

 for sale in Koochiching county, practically all of which is val- 

 uable agricultural land, some idea of the wonderful possibili- 

 ties is revealed. The early settlers who had temporarily left 

 their homesteads are returning with the advent of roads. 



I have frequently heard it mentioned that one of the effects 

 of these ditches will be to kill all timber such as cedar, tama- 

 rack or black spruce. This in my opinion is entirely erroneous, 

 as although these species require a wet location, too much 

 water is as harmful if not more so than the scarcity of it. 

 You find only stunted tamarack in the wet places, and if the 

 moisture is excessive tree growth is conspicuously absent. 



I am. heartily in sympathy with any legitimate action that 

 will tend to secure more and better roads, but let us not in 

 our zeal to obtain these roads advertise our truly wonderful 

 country as being confronted with an almost hopeless task of 

 ever securing passable roads. While not favoring misrepre- 

 sentation, I am optimistic enough to encourage settlers to 

 locate in Northern Minnesota, as it is only a short time until 

 a country possessing such wonderful soil will have all the 

 roads and ditches required for its healthy development. 



An organization of scientists who are engaged in the study 

 of forest insects has recently been formed in Washington. 



Pencil manufacturers arc buying uh old red cedar fence rails, 

 in Tennessee and southward, to be made into lead pencils. 



Washington stands first in lumber production, with Louisiana 

 second. 



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