64 
THIRTEENTH REPORT. 
RELATION OF THE RURAL HIGHWAYS TO THE CONSERVA- 
TION OF MICHIGAN’S RESOURCES. 
FRANK F. ROGERS. 
It lias been said: “That nation can longest survive in the struggle 
for existanee and supremacy which ( can most nearly supply all the 
needs of its people without going into foreign markets to purchase 
them.” That is. the nation that from its soil, its mines and its work- 
shops can produce all that is really necessary for the sustenance of 
its people can most successfully resist attacks from without, whether 
in the form of military or commercial warfare. It has also been said 
that the United States more fully than any other nation possesses these 
potential resources. 
Now, if we will look over our own state, I am sure that we shall all 
agree, that of all the states in the Union, Michigan is, or could be, 
the most nearly self-supporting. Its wide range of agricultural pro- 
ducts covers most of the fruits, grains and vegetables, including the 
sugar beet, which practically supplies the sugar consumed by us, or 
its equivalent in weight. The forest products of Michigan once seemed 
inexhaustable, but unfortunatelv thev were not conserved. Even now, 
we have enough cut-over land and young growth, if the forest fires 
could be kept away from it, to supply our timber needs indefinitely. 
We have the most important minerals, such as coal, iron, copper, salt, 
gypsum, marl, limestone, etc. These products have not only made 
manufacturing possible, but very profitable. Finally, since a few large 
corporations have discovered that we have thousands of horse-power 
running to waste in many of our rivers, we are just beginning to wake 
up and plan wl\at we can do to conserve the remnant of this heritage 
that is left us. 
With one exception, cotton and its products, it looks as if Michigan, 
if compelled to. could live within itself and produce all that is really 
necessary for the well being and comfort of its people. While the writer 
is not advocating any such foolish policy, it is good for us at times to 
look about us and admire, not only the beauties suggested by the in- 
scription on our seal, but the material worth of the many gifts that 
nature has bestowed upon us. 
Michigan is credited with a land area of 57,480 squares miles, (Ninth 
Annual Report of Michigan Academy of Science), which is equivalent 
to 36,787.200 acres. In 1900 it had 203,261 farms aggregating 17,561,698 
acres, which is nearly 48% of the area of the State. Of this farm land 
11,799,250 acres, or 07.2%, were reported as cleared and more or less 
under cultivation. These farms, equipped with machinery and stock, 
represented a total value of $690,355,734, which sum is nearly 40% of 
the present assessed valuation of the State. 
From reports of the Secretary of State, I learn that these farms pro- 
duced in 1910 15 million bushels of wheat, 54% million bushels of corn, 
