the commission's work, and publish it as a pamphlet for Michigan 

 citizens of business instinct to read that is, if the commission knows 

 where it can get the money to do it. 



Turn now from the cost of tree-planting and the value of trees 

 grown to a rapid view of the process of planting and taking care of 

 plantations. 



The state's plantations are on the cut-over pine lands. The pine was 

 the prevailing occupant of the territory. Much hardwood there was, 

 of course, taking the whole 650,000 acres of Public Domain Commission 

 territory into view. Conifers, the "evergreens," grew on the poorer 

 lands, however, and it is the poor lands that are being reclaimed by 

 the commission. 



This cuts down the number of species of trees dealt with, not only 

 to t'he cone-bearing trees but it cuts down the conifers to four species. 

 They are three natives and one foreigner. White Pine, Norway (red) 

 Pine and Jack Pine grew on these worst devastated lands, and the 

 White and Norway were the especial fruit of the devastating lumber- 

 man's ax. 



FIRES GET PINE. 



They grew on the uplands of sand or sand permeated with clay. 

 In the lowlands grew many other varieties, also lumbered off, but not 

 so cleanly in the early days as the big trees of the plains and hills. 



Aiming first to restock the worst denuded lands, the state forester 

 deals, then, with the native White Pine, Norway and Jack Pine. Fires 

 and later lumbermen have been getting the Jack Pine which the earlier 

 lumbermen scorned. 



These three and one other are being planted. The other is the 

 Scotch Pine. It nowhere grows native in this country it is unknown 

 to t'he lumber dealer. It is of the general nature of our native Jack 

 Pine, but grows somewhat bulkier. There doesn't seem to be much 

 choice between them, as to timber quality both are inferior to White 

 and Norway, prone to 'limbage," and consequently full of knots when 

 sliced by the saw. Both can, and now do, enter into the making of pulp 

 as a sort of adulterant of the essential Spruce, and both can be 

 reckoned on for lath, box boards and the like. 



PROTECT SWAMP TREES. 



The value of the Scotch, like the Jack Pine is that it will grow on 

 the poorest land. That makes it and the Jack Pine the foremost friend 

 of man of the men who have the job of reclaiming the worst of 

 Michigan land. 



White Pine is planted on the best lands, where White Pine origin- 

 ally grew; Norway with it, and also down on to the second best lands; 

 and Jack and Scotch Pine on the thinnest lands. That is the general 

 rule. 



No Spruce to speak of, for that must grow on better lands than the 

 White Pine requires. No hardwood, for essentially the same reason. 

 Lowland and swamp trees are merely being protected and helped 

 along by judicious thinning reclamation in these cases waits on re- 

 clamation of the more barren areas. 



It will be seen that the reclamation plan of the state's forestry 

 department is modest, while it is nevertheless gigantic. The amount 

 that needs to be done to put North Michigan back on a timber bearing 

 basis on anything approaching the old-time scale is staggering to con- 

 template,. 



