Morning journal and courier., 1882-09-25
THE WHITE 4INE SUPPLY.

THE WHITE 4INE SUPPLY.
 It is commonly supposed that the great
 pine forests of this coantry rapidly dis appearing, and this supp position has received
 support from statements in the forestry bull
 letins recently issued by the government, which statements have served as texts for
 many impressive discourses. But now
 coms ss the -Nortlaoestea7a Lalaq6e1maan, which ought to know something about the matter,
 and declares that tho governments bulletins are not to be relied on, and that there is more pine left than the makers of those bulletins would have believe.
 The government bulletin says there are six billion feet of pine in the upper peninsula of Michigan. The Luna6erns0n says that the mills at Marinette and Menominee have not cut billion feet since the operators at that point openly stated that they owned twelve billion feet of standing pine in the Menomi- nee district, and the leading manufacturers there do not hesitate to say that with safety the government figures may be multi piled by two. In Wisconsin one tract of land I recently changed hands hat had upon it feet never entered into the calculation of the | ! tract that was estimated at less than seventy ] five million feet have already been sold nearly four hundred million feet, and another one ! hundred million feet-a part of the same
 tract-may be purchased by any man who ! desires to invest in pine lands, and who has | money enough to buy it.
 The government bulletin says there are six l billion feet of pine in Minnesota. The Luna- 6eTnaa7a says When in northern Minnesota there are thousands of acres of pine lands ! that have never even been surveyed, it would
 be satisfaction to know how the govern l ment agents know so much more than some ! other people about the timber it has, It ! would be well also for these ''experts' to ex- plain why on the Minnesota forestry bulletin 1 all that territory lying north of Itaska coun- \ ty, stretching to the right of Fort Francis ! and to the left to the Lake of the Woods, is l left white, indicating that it has no pine, ! when every timber-looker who has tramped ! through that country knows that it has pine. | During the past ten years the mills upon the \ Upper Mississippi have cut in round numbers l two billion, ninety-two million feet of lumber, | the amount ranging from one hundred and \ eoV0Aby III lSfA tO Lnroo QunOr0Q ana 1 fifty five million in 1881, and now the gov ! ernment steps to the fore and sagely assures ! us that there are but two billion nine hun- l dred million feet of timber remaining upon ! tho Mississippi river and its tributaries A State land examiner remarked on seeing the forestry bulletin that the census agents evi. I dently knew as much about the standing pine of Minnesota as a bsotblack, and no more ! not complimentary testimony to come from a | man who for years has been familiar with a considerable portion of the forests of his ! State. The figures given for the other dis. ! tricts of Minnesota are open to the severest ! criticism. The Luna6erm0n will stake it's ! reputation that before the pine forests of Minnesota shall have been exhausted, a record ! of the output of lumber of that State will | cause the government agent to seriously re- ! gret that he did not treble his figures.
 It is cheering to be told that there is ! much more pine in the country than the gov
 ernment agent has found, but it is not pleas ! aat to learn that the information furnished ! 1l the forestry bulletins is so unreliable. The l Lunadernaan hints that tho gentleman who | had in charge the making of the bulletins for Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota is inte- ! rested in "bulling" the pine lumber and the | pine land market If so he is obviously @ very improper person to make forestry bull \ Iatius