256 THE FORESTER. November, 



lators who endeavor to sell them to agri- able to employ the greater part of their 



cultural settlers. That they are meeting capital in cutting Southern Pine during the 



with considerable success in this direction long interval when their Northern second 



is undoubted. Although much of this growth is maturing. 



sort of land is unquestionably unfit for But such a condition will not be brought 



agriculture it is extremely difficult to say about unless the laws regarding fire and 



just which is and which is not, as no de- taxes are changed so as to treat the lumber 



tailed survey of the region has ever been concerns fairly and give them protection, 



made. Some sort of agriculture can un- Such laws, furthermore, cannot be hoped 



doubted ly be carried on over a considerable for unless the people of the locality can see 



portion of these tracts. By that I mean their own direct advantage in maintaining 



that settlers may manage to make a living forests. It follows that any future public 



upon them. I do not believe that any of management of forests in the Great Lakes 



them will ever become as well-to-do as region must, for some time to come, de- 



the settlers on the adjacent hardwood lands vote itself principally to the production of 



have good reasons to expect. short- rotation material. This observation 



Next to the interests of the settlers them- is intended to apply especially to those 



selves, the people to be considered are the tracts stocked with soft woods. As to 



business men in the towns. In fact, these hardwood material, the original supply is 



form really the most important element, still so far from being used up that ques- 



and whatever they approve of is likely to tions of future restocking need not yet be 



be advocated by the representatives of discussed. 



these districts in legislative bodies. Now It is important to keep these principles 

 this class of men cannot expect to derive in mind so as to be able to overcome reason- 

 much prosperity from the farmers estab- able objections to laws looking toward 

 fished on the former Pine lands, because permanent maintenance of forests of large 

 their ability to buy will always be small. extent in the Great Lakes region. In- 

 On the other hand, if the denuded tracts cidentally they illustrate the point that the 

 were devoted to the regrowth of construe- wisest forest policy is not always identical 

 tion timber, they would derive practically with the most rational management by the 

 no revenue from these lands for a period propietor who looks only to the financial 

 of seventy or eighty years. But if these return. 



tracts were used for raising timber with Ernest Bruncken. 



short rotation, it would be possible to make 

 them the basis of a permanent industry in 

 manufacturing various kinds of wooden- 



Relation of Forestry to Commerce. 



ware, packages, boxes and the like. These The necessity for the preservation of the 



factories would employ large numbers of trees of the forests, to insure the protection 



men, larger numbers proportionately than of the rivers and streams of the state, and the 



the present lumber industry, with good maintenance of waterways for commerce, 



ability to purchase, and therefore be the was emphasized strongly in a recent speech 



very best basis for the prosperity of the in Utica, N. Y., by Hon. David McClure. 



business people of the towns. The speaker, wdio was a member of the 



Of course, it does not follow that the Constitutional Convention of 1894, related 



short rotation management would be the the enactments of that convention for the 



most profitable for the. owners of these protection of the forests, which was the 



lands. It is altogether likely that within most important question before that con- 



the next decade, with improved fire and vention, he believed, since the life of the 



tax laws, some of the lumber companies canals depended upon the protection of the 



owning such lands will find it profitable streams which fed them, 



to raise thereon Pine with long rotations Mr. McClure advised that the creation 



for construction lumber. This is particu- of a single-headed commission for the care 



larly true of those large concerns who are of the forests should be urged. 



