The Early History of Forestry in Michigan.
By Prof. W. J. Beal, Michigan Agricultural College.
For at least twenty-five years after the
Michigan Agricultural College was established,
no one of the teaching force was permitted
to occupy what is termed a chair by
himself, but he taught many subjects, and in
the words of Oliver Wendall Holmes, occupied
a whole settee. For eleven years the
writer was known as Professor of Botany
and Horticulture, and at the end of this
period, some one suggested that he be entitled
Professor of Botany and Forestry, not
expecting that he would do much in forestry,
for nothing was then demanded by anybody.
The state board adopted the suggestion and
new combination continued for twenty-one
years.
Anticipating the future use of it. in 1875,
thirty-one years ago. 1 began a small plantation
of trees soon after twice enlarged, in all
about two acres, containing one hundred and
fifty-two species. Many of these thrived and
ittracted some attention. As there were no
patterns to follow at that time, mistakes were
made in the planting; still, the mistakes have
prosed 10 lie as instructive as the successes.
After a while some lectures were given to
students and later a few of them decided to
follow forestry as an occupation. During
is!"; to \^w, thirty lectures were given at
tiers' institutes in as many different connties,
and at each a resolution was usually
unanimously passed that it was high time that
Michigan enact some sensible laws regarding
the management of her cut-over tax lands, but
11 the legislature convened every one had
apparently forgotten his support of the resolution.
1 was not a candidate for the position
of Forester. In 1887, lion. X. A. Reedier got a
bill through the legislature establishing a
state fores! commission, and later Gov. Luce
appointed Hon. C. \V. Garlield and the writer
to carry out the provisions of the law. One
thousand dollars tor two years were at our
'osal. not for salary, but for clerk hire,
postage, etc. Owing to ill-health. Mr. Gartield
was able to do little, and owing to clulies
at the college, T was not able to do very
much in the way of investigating forest problems.
On Jan. ;.'<; and :i?, IS88, we held an enthusiastic
forest convention at Grand Rapids.
The first and only report was printed late in
1888. Four years after its enactment, the
Squawbuck legislature repealed the act as a
measure of economy.
As part of my work for the experiment station,
by request of the State Board of Agrivulture,
I selected Jack pine land at Baldwin,
AYalton, Harrison. Grayling ami AuSable.
where tests ot grasses., clovers and othei
plants were made. Incidentally, in May
Isss. about two acres at Grayling were set to
sixty-live kinds of trees, including a few
bs, and at AuSable a few trees were planted
on the poorest pine plains thai could be
I. S e of these trees have grown now
nineteen summers. As might have been
expected, most of these trees, including chestnut,
black walnut, hickory, catalpa. white ash.
red maple, coffee tree, honey locust, red elm
and American elm. soon perished or showed
no signs of thrift. So far as tested, those
most likely the best suited \,> such land are
Norway pine, white spruce and Jack-pine and
possibly white pine and red cedar.
The majority of people who are well informed
and of sound judgment have never
claimed that the genuine Jack-pine sands were
quite equal to the burr-oak land of Lcnawee
;nd Hillsdale or the prairies of Kalamazoo and
Merrieii. After the State Hoard of Agriculture
had voted to discontinue the experiments on
the jack-pine plains, at a fanners' institute held
: >t Tawas City, some genius of the neighborhood
read the following original production,
which contains some grains of truth. It went
as follows., without corrections:
"Pause by those mounds and shed a tear,
For the hopes of the plains lies hurried here.
Look on this graveyard as you pass
It's the burrial place of Egyptian grass.
The professors are gone, their mission is done,
They left like the settlers, one by one;
It's where our State in the days of yore,
Droped out of sight sonre thousands more.
The Professors are gone, their mission is done,
They left like the settlers, one by one.
As they crossed the AuSable to take the train
We heard them murmur this sad refrain:
\Yc are going h-mie. vain all our toil,
The scenery is grand, but dam the soil."
At the suggestion of C. D. Smith, Professor
of Agriculture, the Board placed the management
of the woodland of the College in
my charge. This included about 200 acres,
portions of which were well cut over. A careful
survey of the laud was made and a well defined
policy adopted. Undesirable timber was
gradually removed and in open places many
seeds and seedlings were planted. Ill the
luring of lS!)!i, ten years ago, a rough held of
;i\ and one-half acres was planted to white
pines. I* inches high, 8x10 feet apart, expectliat
in two years box elders would be inserted
to crowd (lie pine and induce them to
grow tall. For some reason the planting of
box elders was delayed for the most part. Now
we can watch the behavior of this plantation
as above described. It has become a most attractive
and unique grove of young timbers
a good object lesson for students and farmers
especially so since evergreen trees are very
seldom met with in Ingham count)". In the
spring of lS!)(i. a wind brake, a mile and a
quarter long, was also placed on tile west line
ol the college farm consisting of white pine,
uith some arbor vitae along the lowland. The
trees were set in two rows twelve feet apart,
the trees in each row twelve feel apart alternating
with those in the other row. A portion
of these were left in grass, most of them were
cultivated for four years.
During the past thirty-five j'ears, numerous
rather brief contributions were furnished the
State Horticultural Society and a number of
newspapers and magazines. During portions
of the last thirty-live years several other persons
have been more or less active in the interest
of forestry in Michigan, notably the
lion. C. W. Gargcld, Prof. V. M. Spanieling,
Dr. U. C. Kedzie and the Hon. T. T. Lyon, and
in later days, the names ol muuy others, most
of whom are active in the State Forestry Association.
Roth Is Gracious.
Professor Roth, of Ann Arbor, delivered a
lecture at Alma recently before the Farmers'
Institute of Gratiot county and the citizens of
Alma on what he characterized as "the greatest
branch of agriculture forestry." He took
for his subject "Forestry, the Right Way and
the Wrong Way." - The lecture was illustrated
by the use of the stereopticon, with views
from the forests of Germany and Switzerland,
also the great forests, of the western part of
the United States. He spoke also to the students
in the college chapel, in his usual felicitous
and forceful way, and awakened much interest
in his subject.
Professor Roth has been very gracious to
Alma, always coming when called upon, and
the people there are beginning to think that
they have a copyright on his services when
anything is wanted on the subject of forestry.
A Reporter's Slip.
Fditor State Review: May I correct the
wrong impression given you by the following
paragraph in your issue for December?
"The name of Dr. Hubbard was added to
the original list of directors by suggestion of
Mrs. King, who is conversant with the valuable
work that he is doing in support of the
forestry movement in the upper peninsula."
I merely suggested that Dr. Hubbard, who
was a member of the original board of directors,
should be asked to serve again.
Very truly yours.
LOUISA Y. KING.
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