68 STATE OF MICHIGAN. 



in the Union, it certainly is of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and some 

 of the provinces of Canada. 



About a half century ago, little or no importance was attached to 

 lumber as an article of commerce. The early settlers were only con- 

 cerned with the timber to build the log houses, stables, and sheds, or 

 rail fences, and to get a supply of firewood, and the rest, when cut 

 down to make room for the cultivation of the soil, went to the log-heai> 

 and was burned. 



As the pine (including the red pine or Norway) is the most valuable 

 of the forest products of Michigan, and as its surpassing value has at- 

 tracted more attention than the forest products of any other kind, what 

 I have to say will be mainly with reference to pine forests. 



The virgin pine forests covered the lower peninsula of Michigan, inter- 

 spersed with belts of hardwood (including in that term all of the broad- 

 leaved trees), in the district north of a line drawn from Lake St. Clair 

 through the center of Macomb and Oakland counties, across the south- 

 western corner of Genesee, then through Shiawassee, Clinton, Ionia, 

 Kent, to about the east line of Ottawa, thence running to the south, it 

 passed through the eastern part of Allegan, the north part of Van 

 Buren, to Lake Michigan, at about the north line of Berrien county. In 

 the Upper Peninsula it was the predominating forest growth, alternat- 

 ing with belts of hardwood forest, except some swampy places where, 

 probably, there has never been a stand of timber, and a few rough and 

 rocky places south and west of Marquette. 



One other noticeable feature of the forest was the bottom lands of 

 many rivers and smaller streams where there was a dense growth of 

 cedar, and a few swampy places or lake margins abounding in tama- 

 rack. 



The first authentic account of the use of pine as prepared lumber for 

 the market, in Michigan, was about the year 1810, when a small mill 

 was erected and operated in St. Clair county. 



It was not until 1830 that a. saw mill was built in the Saginaw valley, 

 which, with one or two mills just before that time built in St. Clair 

 county, was the beginning of the operations in p.'ne lumbering in this 

 State." 



The product of the early mills was entirely for home consumption, 

 as there were then no railroads and no steamboats available for trans- 

 portation. The early settlers of Michigan were aware of the fact that 

 extensive pine forests existed in the Lower Peninsula, that having been 

 known from the days of the Jesuit Missions and the first French fur 

 traders; it was, however, not until after the civil war that there seemed 

 to be any appreciation of the commercial value of such forests; and it 

 was not until about 1808 to 1870 that very extensive operations in lum- 

 bering were undertaken. 



In order to enforce the main point of my statement, which is the 

 vast extent and value of the original p!ne fores's, and the enormous 

 contribution of wealth which their destruction has made available to 

 the Michigan of today, I ask your attention to the best estimate I can 

 get of the production of lumber in the various centers of activity in that 

 industry about the State. 



The product of the land tributary to th - St. Clair river, from 1887 

 down to 189i5, is placed at 3,000,000,000 feet. 



