i 



really producing anything. Yet with a little fire pro- 

 tection, some thought and a minimum of labor, that 

 land could be made to produce a very valuable crop in 

 the thirty years that it is now lying idle; and that crop 

 is timber. 



AVhat would we think of a man who owned a two- 

 si ory building in the city and refused to rent the second 

 story because he could not get as much rent for it as he 

 could for the first floor? The rent for the second floor 

 is clear gain no matter how small it may be. 



The same thing is true of the uncultivated land. 

 "Why let it lie idle simply because it may not produce 

 as much as the tilled land? Anything that it produces 

 is a net gain, even if it pays only its own taxes. But 

 this land, if allowed to grow up to timber for those 

 thirty years while it is awaiting development, would 

 do much more than pay its own taxes. It would pay 

 for its complete preparation for cultivation, including 

 axes, clearing, stumping and plowing and would, in 

 most cases, leave a considerable balance in the bank. 

 It would act as a savings account slowly rolling up a 

 good sized reserve fund instead of being a drag on the 

 productive acres. 



There are some things, such as the best method of 

 land clearing, the proper selection of crops, and the 

 best methods of handling stock, that may not be known 

 for several years ; but we do know now that the growth 

 of timber on otherwise worthless land pays and every 

 settler in the state should take advantage of it. 



All roads of "service" lead to France. 



15 



