258 



THE FORESTER. 



November, 



sold under a contract which provides that 

 everything shall be cleared from the land 

 within the next six years. The tract is re- 

 markable for its fine growth of young 

 wood, and the soil is a rich clay loam, so 

 that this has great promise in it. There is 

 no doubt but if the timber should be taken 

 off gradually and with care, the tract would 

 pay ten per cent, interest on a large valu- 

 ation, still growing more valuable as an 

 investment for a long period of time. The 

 adjacent residents are very much agitated 

 over this method of disposing of this tract, 

 but of course are helpless in the matter! 

 The influence of the woods upon the agri- 

 culture and horticulture of the vicinity can 

 scarcely be estimated, especially as fruit 

 growing is a leading industry in this re- 

 gion. I presume their owner, who lives 

 somewhere out in New York, has never 

 heard of the offer of the Department of 

 Agriculture to assist in the management 

 of tracts of timber upon modern forestry 

 methods that shall insure a continuous and 

 valuable investment. The chances are 

 that when this tract of land shall be turned 

 into money, it will be dissipated or in- 

 vested so as to add very little to the gene- 

 ral value in the vicinity where it is invested. 

 One thing is certain, that Michigan will 

 be a great loser; the owner of the land 

 will not be a gainer, and as a piece of mis- 

 management the case is an object lesson 

 that should have influence to awaken 

 among people a higher sense of obligation 

 \vith reference to timber holdings. It is 

 not a great satisfaction to the State of 

 Michigan to have some wealthy lumber- 

 man who has become enriched through 

 our forest heritage, invest his means in 

 some benevolent enterprise in a distant 

 c it\ or State. A man's conscience may be 

 <l somewhat, but such an act does not 

 meet our view of the obligation. No man 

 who has attained great wealth from Michi- 

 gan's timber has yet seen fit to endow a 



piece of forest land. This would seem 

 to be the most logical method of showing 

 an appreciation of the conditions which 

 have assisted to the accumulation of 

 wealth. 



Our Forestry Commission will try to 

 obtain some statistical information that, at 

 any rate, will be valuable in connection 

 with the rapid removal of the trees from 

 this fine tract. Our plans are not matured 

 but we shall try, either through the Michi- 

 gan University or the State Experiment 

 Station, to arrange for a continuous line of 

 observation with reference to temperature, 

 air moisture, winds, crops, streams and 

 springs, that shall extend for at least six 

 years beyond the time when the timber 

 shall have been entirely removed. In this 

 way we shall hope to have some accurate 

 information that will be of value in the 

 prosecution of our work and in the awaken- 

 ing of public opinion to the important ef- 

 fects of timber areas on the industries of 

 the region in which they are situated. 



In gathering information the Commis- 

 sion finds it difficult to get an unprejudiced 

 opinion or observation from woodsmen, 

 because they have always been on the 

 wrong side of the question from our stand- 

 point; and, on the other hand, if we im- 

 port somebody to make the observations 

 for us, be he ever so expert, he is handi- 

 capped by his lack of knowledge of the 

 country and its conditions, and progress in 

 securing information by this means must 

 necessarily be very slow. We are trying 

 to work both ways, and hope, in whatever 

 progress we make, to take advantage of 

 the experience in other States and other 

 countries, and shall be glad to utilize the 

 valuable assistance of the Department of 

 Agriculture and of the American Forestry 

 Association, and of the counsel of public- 

 spirited citizens who have special knowl- 

 edge that can be useful in the solution of 

 our problem. 



