BULLETIN OF THE 



No. 91 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief 

 May 16, 191'4. 



COST AND METHODS OF CLEARING LAND IN THE LAKE 



STATES. 



By Harry Thompson, Agriculturist, and Earl D. Strait, Scientific Assistant 

 Office of Farm Management. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Practically the entire northeastern part of Minnesota and all of 

 Michigan and Wisconsin were originally forest land. Nearly all the 

 southern parts of Michigan and Wisconsin are now cleared except for 

 scattering farm wood lots. At the present time large areas of 

 undeveloped land are found in northeastern Minnesota and the 

 northern half of Michigan and Wisconsin. In Table I the figures 

 showing the area of improved and unimproved lands were taken from 

 the census of 1910; the statistics regarding the area of merchantable 

 timber land and of logged-off land and the land values were compiled 

 from data obtained from State, county, and township officials, 

 lumber companies, and other companies or individuals well informed 

 on these matters. The figures obtained furnish a fairly close ap- 

 proximation to the actual acreage of merchantable timber and 

 logged-off land in the three States mentioned. 



A part of the logged-off land in the three States specified probably 

 would give better returns if put into permanent forest, but there is 

 much good agricultural land in nearly every county in which these 

 investigations have been conducted which at the present time is not 

 growing desirable timber and is an idle waste (fig. 1), giving no re- 

 turns whatever. Because of the danger from fire, these waste areas 

 form a menace to the communities. 



At the present rate of cutting, most of the remaining merchantable 

 timber will be cut within the next 25 years. This means that in many 

 counties there will be a change from lumbering to farming. 



Note. — This bulletin gives details of cost and methods of clearing land in the Lake States and is of spe- 

 cial interest to settlers in the logged-off sections of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. 



36156°— Bull. 91—14 1 



