removed. This endangers river traffic very much. 

 In the South there are many thousands of acres 

 that have been stripped from soil and turned into 

 bad lands on account of the heavy rains. This is be- 

 cause there is nothing to prevent the erosion of the 

 soil. These bad lands are useless forever. It will be 

 the same way in the hilly parts of Minnesota unless 

 forests are planted to prevent it. 



Many forests burn down every year in Minnesota. 

 Some of this land on which the forests stood can be 

 used for nothing else but trees. Some can be used 

 for agriculture but the sandy and hilly parts are 

 better for trees. If no forests are planted these 

 places are worthless. There are many hilly and sandy 

 places now denuded of timber, which would best 

 serve the uses of mankind if permanently reforested. 



If there would come a time when Minnesota would 

 have a few or no forests at all what would some of 

 our birds and animals do? They would go to some 

 other place to live. Minnesota would be a lifeless 

 place without the birds and animals. 



Our lumber industry is a valuable one and it gives 

 employment to many men who are poor and on ac- 

 count of the lack of education can find no other work 

 in the winter time in order to keep their families alive. 



Finally, forests are as necessary to civilization as 

 grain fields; and considering the amount of land that 

 can be used for forests, they can be made as profit- 

 able. Lumber has always been cheap, and a timber 

 famine, such as now impends must lay a crushing tax 

 on our industries and commerce. 



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