Forest of the Oxford House District, V.M' 7'. 3;i 



w.iy lliKtu^'li liic-killrd liii'licr. Fin-s < 'n il;.- ^l , . Mmiiiliik lak<'. 



ari- (liivtii with siicli t'uiy in tliis wImmt ii has hi-i-n iiHtiirally protfi-t- 



couiitiy thill even th.' livn-s nn- in- t-d t'roni tiif. is alumt two hun<tr«M| 



siitVu-icnt to sto|) t hftn. A lire whii-h am-s u\ th.- I..-.1 iltnli.r m tl..- 



occurred three or loui" years a'^o country. 



hurned liuth sides of the i|uite wid • One small >;rov«' oi tindMT ncur 



Viw liver. Uepeated tires destroy Kat lak<' contained spruce trges 



all seed-ti-ees. all seed and much or thirty ciuht inches in diain. f.r and 



all <d' the rich upper layers of soil ei^'lity foet hi^h. Thcr- lier»» 



and lender it impos.'-ilile for another :i2(> trees per acre <»ver seven > 



valiiahle forest to sta»t raturall.\, in fliameter. and S44 trees over ...... 



except after a lone; period of time. inches in diameter. On a ja«'k pine 



.Mr. HIacdvford ohserved that this rid«re there w«Me 77.') trcfs per aer 



had licen the case over lar^'e areas over five inches in <liniiieter. Tlies.* 



in the Oxfoid House district, that sniall patches are typical of what 



the whole country had I n iir.- the whole country woid«l he if it 



swept many times, chietly within r- had i:ot liceii luirned. 

 cent years, that tlu' soil had hecn im- On the shore of .MinniliiU lak.- 



poverished. that whe!-e there had there is a strip of timher tive nii!.-^ 



l)een valuable stands of spruce and lontr and three .piarters of a mil'- 



tamarack then- was now nothin<rhiit wide, containint: trees from ei»^ht !<• 



willow, po|.lar. Iiircli aid scattered twenty inches in diameter. 



small spn Where tires had ItccM ahout seventy five feet hi};li. 



exceptionally tii-rce or fre«pient. \\\r For twenty mih's northeast fr«>n. 



country was hurned to i)rairie. Tani- Oxford llnii^e there is a Ktrip of tin, 



ara(d< seems not to he c(Miiinj; in her. nmstly spruce with some ja.i, 



after tires, hut where fires have not pin.- and very little taiiuya.-k ai; I 



been fretpicnt there is jreod t'atuial balsam lir. averajrinu from eijfht '" 



reproduction of spruce a!!d .ia<d< pine, ten inches in dijimeti'r, Alonj; tl:.- 



the jack pine usually oeciirrinir "ii Deer rivi-r th.re has licen j:ood tun 



the ridj;«'s, b.-r, Imt it is all burned. Annind 



On several extensive lri|.s .Mr I )eer lake there is a belt of scrubby 



Blackford never saw the limit of th. M'n.ce twenty hve miles ^yldc 

 burned area. Fires have evidently •' »"'*' •"''•" represented by «..,... 



,„.,.„ ,„„,.,, „„„,,. ,•,,.,,,„.„, i„ ,1,.. lers folh.w.ny Fox river Tb»f the 



countrv tributarv to the routes f..l river flowed throu>rh t.mb. Ir 



low-.Thv tlir V/uU boats than cK MlackfonI fo.ind only a 



^^1,,.,,,. frinu'c nf tret's abmir th' 



Theinii.ke-s ca-rv lir- ami l;;r. '""•' '''•"^:;."'«; ••;"'""-.^- ' 



nearlv all been burne.l over. burned. The Ind 



DiiVint: the summer Mr. I'.l - K say that as far as i r. > !.. 



f.u-d found no commercial timb. r ..' '" ''".^ '<"•;■' ""•;•" 



anv oiiantitv. but he states that, c^ burned. 1 11 <»> 



..,.pt for lire, the whole coiintrv »«i«l Norway Ibnise the '■ 



would be coveiv.l with timber tun larger ll,..n ..ON 



• u- three feet in diameter. V'! '•"""•■. ' ' , 



An.iind Knee lake, alonw' I.'..' «»f •» »'«^ »"•«•" ' 



river. avou.Ml Nest lake. Mossy In! .• "'Ueh poplar nhmK I . 



and (ind's lake, there is timi ^Ir. I'' 



to six inches in dianii-ter — sioui ■ eil meet.;...- . 



tamara<d<, poplar and balsam dr. On lake ami Oxford I 



the islands in these lakes timber i» ed that the (fo 



two to three feet in dia'neter. out men to pt 



Around Oxford lake the tim» - fire, and that 



all cf verv r nt t-rowth. of the Ind • prevent and ex- 



