714 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



the main, the same course of development as experienced 

 by the Southern Wisconsin counties, which will make 

 them in the near future a region primarily agricultural, 

 but with a diversity of industrial and recreational activi- 

 ties as well, for the opportunities furnished by the 

 myriad of small lakes all through this region, the 

 waterpower, facilities for shipping, etc., will be taken 

 advantage of in an increasing way as the years go by. 



Pine That Ran Many Mills 



However, all the soil in the state is not of the high- 

 est agricultural value. There are areas of sandy land 

 of considerable extent that are not enjoying the posi- 

 tive progress that is so noticeable on the heavier 

 lands. In fact, many evidences are at hand that on 

 sandy jack pine plains an actual retrogression has 

 taken place. Yet these same areas had once a stand 

 of pine that ran many mills for many years, and their 

 output of forest products now, dwindling as it is, still 

 assists in turning the wheels of Wisconsin industries 

 and provides bread and butter and some luxuries for 

 Wisconsin citizens. And again, as we pass through 

 our northern counties, we note areas that are rough 

 and broken or stony, or lowlands along rivers. These 

 areas, aggregating hundreds of thousands of acres, 

 should also be devoted to producing timber for the 

 state. 



There is an especial need for forestry in the devel- 

 opment of Wisconsin. One can visualize the future 

 development of the state as he thinks of the soils, the 

 lakes, the rivers, the topography, the rocks and min- 

 erals, transportation, and all other factors that go to 

 form an economic whole. He sees Wisconsin primar- 

 ily a land of fertile farms, with woodlands of varying 

 sizes, producing the hardwoods for the state as a part 

 of these farms; he sees the large areas of poorer soils 

 managed as forest lands, and producing the softwoods 

 needed by all farms and industries, and also serving 

 as great areas for the protection of all forms of wild 

 life and for recreational purposes ; he sees towns and 

 cities surrounding ^giills and factories; he sees the 

 mineral resources, the water powers, the recreational 

 advantages developed ; he sees the whole industrial, 

 commercial and agricultural plan connected up with 

 good road, railroad and water transportation, and at 

 the door the great markets of the Middle West, and 

 all the world for that matter, with the inevitable ad- 

 vent of the deep waterways project. 



One of the first steps necessary to the permanent 



progress of forestry in Wisconsin, is to amend the 



, State Constitution so that forestry as carried on by 



the state may have legal recognition. This action is 



.now pending. A new constitutional amendment has 



..been considered favorably by the last Legislature. It 



must l)e again submitted to the next Legislature, and 



, then to a popular referendum. The sentiment on the 



part of Wisconsin citizens should carry this amendment 



through to a successful conclusion. 



The trail ahead also shows us the vital need for 



fire protection, particularly on those soils of low fer- 

 tility upon which the bulk of our softwood supplies 

 will eventually be grown. This part of the program 

 is also under way and, thanks to the Weeks Law, we 

 have been able to make considerable progress. On 

 the heavier lands, where active settlement progresses, 

 the need for intensive fire protection is not so pronounced. 

 The northern counties have a diminishing forest fire 

 risk, as that region becomes broken up by cleared 

 fields, roads and general settlement, but on the sandy 

 plains where, comparatively, no settlement is occurring, 

 the risk from fires is still pronounced. On these sandy 

 jack and Norway pine plains, with early drying out in 

 hot weather, a heavy ground cover of sweet fern and 

 small plants, fires spring up most rapidly and burn 

 most fiercely, and consequently added protection for 

 them is most urgently needed. 



We also see the need on the trail ahead of bringing 

 the present state lands, which were purchased specific- 

 ally for forest reserve purposes, out from under "the 

 cast of school lands," in order that they may be man- 

 aged entirely as state forests, game refuges, and rec- 

 reational property. 



Where the Farmer Needs Help 



On the trail ahead we may also discern the farmer 

 as the chief owner of forest producing land in the 

 state. His holdings are in small lots. Each farm has 

 some wood land. He is saying that the state furnishes 

 experts for bees, tobacco, cranberries, and every other 

 farm crop, to insbuct as to correct and up-to-the-minute 

 cultural and marketing practices, but as for his tim- 

 berland, which {"n the aggregate composes a greater 

 acreage than any cultivated crop, but littfe is done. 

 We see that there is a distinct need for more activity 

 in informing the farmer, as the greatest owner of 

 forest producing land, present and future, that the 

 state possesses, as to the fundamentals of woodlot 

 management and the measuring and marketing of 

 woodlot products. 



On the trail ahead are growing many millions of 

 young trees, indicating that the state especially can 

 well afford to become interested in stimulating the 

 culture of desirable native forest trees on private es- 

 tates, along the highways, and on the land owned by 

 the state itself. This work is also under way and bids 

 fair to fit in very effectively with efforts to simulate 

 the farmer to plant and protect forest trees for his 

 own personal gain, and incidentally for the good of 

 the community. 



Persistent educational efforts, legal recognition of 

 forestry as a legitimate state activity, the disentangle- 

 ment of the state land problem, carrying a knowledge 

 of timberland management to the farmer, and the 

 stimulation of tree culture on the part of land owning 

 citizens, so that barren highways, estates, lake and 

 river shores, etc., may be planted up, will gradually 

 hut inevitably put forestry and forest replacement on 

 a sound and adequate basis in Wisconsin. 



