STATE NEWS 



233 



the shifting of the grain producing industry 

 westward, in the latter half of the last century, 

 caused these mills to fall into innocuous desue- 

 tude. Some towns had as many as fifteen 

 up-and-down sawmills, interesting remnants 

 of which may be found today by the hunter 

 who roams along the streams through the 

 woods. 



"Along with the State's development there 

 is now springing up a new interest in corn, 

 timber, electric transmission, and water- 

 power Earth's cleanest, cheapest, and best 

 motive power, the possibilities of which in this 

 State have never yet been even dreamed. 



"Many a limpid trout brook which now 

 unobstructed tumbles down 'to join the 

 brimming river' will soon be harnessed to 

 turn water wheels which in recent years have 

 been greatly improved." 



Michigan 



Approximately one-half million trees were 

 planted by the Public Domain Commission on 

 the Michigan State Forests in 1913. Prac- 

 tically all of these are the native Norway pine 

 raised in the Higgins Lake Forest Nursery, 

 where about 1,500,000 more choice seeedlings 

 and transplants of Norway and White Pine 

 are available for future reforestation projects. 

 About 500,000 trees will be planted on the 

 Higgins, Houghton, and Fife Lake State For- 

 ests during the coming spring. 



The method of planting, as now practiced 

 in all planting operations on the State Forests, 

 is to prepare the ground by plowing shallow 

 furrows into which the plants are set. Obser- 

 vations seem to indicate that such prepara- 

 tion of the ground decreases the death rate in 

 the first year to a very small figure. The 

 average death rate in the 1913 plantations was 

 three and one-half per cent, the heaviest being 

 but a little over four per cent. Fall planting 

 resulted in a slightly heavier death rate than 

 the spring planting. The average number of 

 plants set per acre was 2,080, and the total 

 average cost per acre, including plowing and 

 cost of plants delivered to the site, was $5.33. 



Plans for the coming summer for the better 

 protection of the State Forests against fires 

 include the erection of a number of steel look- 

 out towers. The Houghton Lake, Fife Lake 

 and Lake Superior Forests are all to be equipped 

 with such towers. Telephone lines will con- 

 nect the towers with each other and with 

 headquarters. Additional ranger stations are 

 to be established on the Houghton Lake and 

 Lake Superior Forests. Further protection 

 will be afforded by the extension of the system 

 of fire lines on each of the State Forests. The 

 systems on the Higgins, Houghton, and Fife 

 Lake Forests, on each of which there is now a 

 considerable mileage of fire lines, will be 

 brought to completion. 



Pennsylvania 



The Senior Class of the Forestry Depart- 

 ment of the Pennsylvania State College, with 

 Professor R. R. Chaffee in charge, left State 



College on February 2, 1914, on their annual 

 Lumbering Trip. 



On their way to Galeton, Pa., the head- 

 quarters for the first week, the party visited 

 the Asaph State Nurseries at Asaph, Pa. At 

 Galeton they made many side trips among 

 which were the visits to the basket factory 

 of Guile and Windnagle at Gaines, the Gaffney 

 Chemical Company at Walton, the National 

 Chemical Company at Lyman Run, the 

 Telescope Cot and Novelty Company at Tele- 

 scope. The boys derived much benefit from 

 the Galeton Stave and Heading Company's 

 works, and the Pennsylvania Wood Company. 

 A study was made of the sawmill of the Central 

 Pennsylvania Lumber Company and the Em- 

 porium Lumber Company. At the several 

 camps to which the boys had access on the 

 holdings of the C. P. L. Company, they had 

 a good chance to see both earth and timber 

 slides; also portable slides invented by F. P. 

 Sykes, Woods Superintendent of the Em- 

 porium Lumber Company. While in Galeton 

 the Seniors were fortunate in having the oppor- 

 tunity to hear an address by H. P. Welsh, 

 General Superintendent of the C. P. L. Lum- 

 ber Company, on "the History of Hemlock 

 Logging in Northern Pennsylvania." Mr. W. 

 W. Lowell, Local Superintendent of the 

 Pennsylvania Lumber Company also ad- 

 dressed the boys. 



On February 7 the party left Galeton in a 

 special car, "Callao," for Penn Yan, New York, 

 where they visited the basket factories of 

 Guile and Windnagle and of the Yates Lumber 

 Company. 



From this point the boys continued to Lake 

 Clear, New York, where they were met by 

 Edward Patnode who is in charge of the 

 nurseries at Lake Clear and the plantations in 

 that vicinity. 



Here the morning was spent in a most 

 interesting and instructive visit to these differ- 

 ent plantations both at Lake Clear and Sar- 

 anac. This chance to see the New York State 

 Nurseries gave the boys a large field of oppor- 

 tunity to see just what is accomplished in that 

 special phase of Forestry work. The courtesy 

 extended to them was fully appreciated by all. 



In the evening the party returned to Tupper 

 Lake, where they were the guests of the Santa 

 Clara Lumber Company for the following week. 

 Many interesting side trips were taken, and 

 three days of the stay were spent in the camps 

 of the company on Cold River. 



During the week spent at Tupper Lake 

 several instructive talks were given to the boys, 

 among which were addresses by James L. 

 Jacobs, General Superintendent of the Santa 

 Clara Lumber Company, John L. Graham, 

 operator, and Charles H. Cooper, representing 

 the Henry Disston Co., and George McA. 

 Gilbert, Vice President of Ryther and Pringle 

 Company, manufacturers of the Barienger 

 Brake which has been successfully used by the 

 Santa Clara Lumber Company. 



On February 14 the party returned to State 

 College after a thoroughly successful trip in 

 every way. 



