FOREST POSSIBILITIES OF NORTHERN MINNESOTA 



745 



Statistics in themselves are dry but are necessary and 

 useful tools in shaping ideas and proving facts. In using 

 them we can often forget that they are mere figures. 



A Matter Of Mere Figures 



St. Louis county is the largest in the state, in fact, it 

 has a larger area than some of our states ; about 4,250,000 

 acres of which 3,800,000 acres are land, the remainder 

 being lakes and rivers. A rough classification divides 

 this net land area equally into land unfit for farming 

 under present methods and conditions and land fit for 

 farming, or 1,900,000 acres to each class. It would 

 simplify matters considerably if these areas were in com- 

 pact bodies, but they are scattered here and there with 

 no rhyme or reason. The extent of forest land in this 

 county alone cannot help but impress one with the fact 

 that its very quantity makes it important enough to war- 

 rant considerable thought. 



We have 1,900,000 acres of farm land in the county. 

 Some of it is as good and rich land as can be found any- 

 where, some of it is not so good. The census of 1920 

 shows a total of 93,000 acres of land improved since the 

 time they started improving land in 1855. The rate of 

 improvement will increase, that is granted, but much of 

 the area will raise one, two, or three crops of trees before 

 it is needed for the plow and leave the soil in better condi- 

 tion. This adds considerably to the 1,900,000 acres which 

 we consider as forest land. Remember now we are deal- 

 ing with one county of this great state and there are at 

 least twelve that fall in this class. ;Tust consider the 

 economic importance of the area. 



The method used in this study need not be described 

 here. Altogether 103 sections were examined intensively. 

 These were located in the various surface and soil con- 

 ditions found in the county. Certain types of land were 

 avoided because as soon as any cutting was done here the 

 land was cleared for the plow. These areas were the old 

 lake beds. 



Something More Than Brush Land 



The intensive examination showed the cut-over areas 

 to be in a producing state and not just an area of brush 

 land as a casual glance would indicate. Even in the rock 

 regions where popular opinion has the hills as a rock 

 waste, these hills were found to be in a producing state 

 and not barren. A complete analysis of the data showed 

 only 4 per cent of the cut-over lands to be barren and 

 without second growth. Only 4 per cent of this vast and 

 apparently hopelessly barren areas in urgent need of 

 planting. An area small enough to lie entirely in the 

 realm of financial and physical possibility. What then 

 do we find on these cut-over areas? 



On half of the cut-over land we find a stand of hard- 

 woods. Hardwoods in this section mean birch and pop- 

 ple stands with probably a sprinkling of less than 10 per 

 cent of pine, spruce, or balsam. On a quarter of the 

 area we find mixed stands. Mixed stands are those 

 stands of birch and popple which contain more than 10 

 per cent and less than 60 per cent of pine, spruce, or 



balsam in mixture. On a tenth of the area, conifers are 

 coming in. It is rather disappointing to find such a small 

 percentage of the area coming back to the original species, 

 but even that has its bright side. The remaining 13 per 

 cent is swamp and muskeg which was not considered in- 

 this study because of its uncertain status and the little 

 that is known about tree growth and the perpetuation of 

 the forest on this type of land. 



Repeated Fires Make Pigmy Forests 



It is unfortunate but true that the younger age classes 

 predominate in the stands of second growth. It is 

 rare that it takes more than a year or two after cutting 

 for a stand of young growth to start. In spite of this, 

 the areas cut thirty j'ears ago are rarely ever occupied 

 by stands about thirty years old. The proportion of 

 seedling stage stands in the second growth was large, 78 



SOME SECTIONS OF VIRGIN FOREST HAVE BEEN PRE- 

 SERVED THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS MAY KNOW WHAT 

 A WONDER-RESOURCE MINNESOTA ONCE POSSESSED. 

 IN THIS STAND OF NORWAY PINE THE STATE HAS 

 BUILT COMFORTABLE CABINS FOR SUMMER TOURISTS. 



per cent being in this stage. Trees in this stage averaged 

 about 8 feet in height and seven years in age. Twelve 

 percent of the stands were in the sapling stage. The 

 trees in this stage averaged 15 feet in height and 12 

 years of age. Ten per cent of the stands were in the 

 pole stage, and averaged about 25 feet in height and 25 

 years in age. 



This predominance of younger age classes is due to 

 two factors. The first being that much of the area has 

 been cut over more than once and brush disposal incident 

 to logging has destroyed the young growth. The second 

 factor is the repeated burning to which the areas have 

 been subjected. The progress of fire protection has 

 greatly lessened the danger of repeated burning. We are 

 still far from a complete solution of the fire question. 



(Continued on Page 757) 



