42 annual report of 



Minnesota Should Take the Lesson Home. 



As the forest conditions of Minnesota are similar to 

 those of Wisconsin, except that there are in our state 

 probably 25 billion feet of pine still standing, Mr. Roth's 

 testimony ought to have great value for the people of 

 Minnesota. It is a striking fact that the area originally 

 covered with pine in Minnesota — with, of course, inter- 

 vening stretches of mixed timber, swamps and bare tracts 

 — was just about the same as that of Wisconsin, eighteen 

 million acres. 



The fact that we have in this state 15,000,000 acres of 

 good agricultural land that is not yet under cultivation 

 and that cheap lumber will promote its development; 

 that our population increases 18 per cent each decade; 

 that the demand for lumber will increase; that its value 

 has risen 25 per cent in the last twenty years; that our 

 home supply of original pine timber will, in a few years, 

 be exhausted; that much lumber is already being brought 

 into this state from the Pacific coast at the rate of 130 car 

 loads per day, and the cost of transportation for which aver- 

 ages #13.50 per 1000 feet, board measure; that centuries 

 of experience of European states instruct and warn us-it is 

 clear beyond any doubt that the sooner we begin in a sys- 

 tematic way to reforest our waste lands the better it will 

 be for the welfare of the state. 



It requires 80 years for pine to grow to merchantable 

 size on poor, sandy land. Individuals cannot wait so 

 long for a crop. The state must undertake the work. 



The United States still holds 3,000,000 acres of vacant 

 land in Minnesota, of which probably 1,000,000 acres are 

 refuse land only fit for bearing forest; and as soon as our 

 state shows by actual example its willingness and ability 

 to carry on the work of reforesting such land, very likely 

 our delegation in Congress would be able to procure a 

 grant to our state of all such refuse land, for forestry pur- 

 poses. 



