Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-09-22

Navigation has been abandoned on
the Wisconsin, logging and rafting
have become more difficult on all
rivers, and, what is even far better
measure Of these important changes.
the Fox river is failing to furnish
the power which it formerly supplied
III abundance. On all smaller streams
similar observations have been made.
The June freshet," which in former
years could be relied upon in driving
operations, has ceased on most
streams and is uncertain on the rest
On them Of the hundreds Of miles
Of corduroy road a goOdly per cent.
has fallen into disuse, the ground on
the sides has becme dry enough for
teams, many swamps Of former years
are dry, and hundreds of others have
been converted into hay meadows
and fields without a foot of ditching.
Tamarack stood on parts of the pres
ent site Of Superior, and both cedar
and tamarack were mixed through the
forests in many places where the
mere clearing has suf1ced to dry the
land for the plow. Many of the
smaller swamps are changed before
actual clearing takes place. Where
the fires following the logging opera
tions have cleaned out the swamp
tbicket, aspen followed the fire eX-
actly as in the upland, and though in
some cases many years have elapsed,
the places have not reverted to swamp
timber. The ground is too dry, the
hardwood thickets have come to stay.
These things are we'll known, espec-
tally to the WOodsmen Of the region;
they are in all cases referred to the
removal Of timber, and there is prob
ably no locality in the world where
this subject could better be studied
than in North Wisconsin. A drive
with some old resident through the
settled parts Of Shawano, Marathon,
Taylor, and other counties and the re-
hearsal of his memories present mat
ters of the utmost interest in this
connection, and will hardly fail to
convince even the most skeptical of
the decided changes in drainage and
soil moisture which have occurred
Fere ard are still in progress.
1t is impossible to foretell, says the
report how long the pine is likely to
last. AS stumpage increases in price
and the opportunity to buy it decreas-
es, one mill after another drops out.
Half the mills of 20 years ago are no
longer in existence, not because they
failed to pay but because their pine
supplies gave out, and this same pro-
cess will continue. The output, al
ready on the decline, will grow
smaller, and the exploitation of the II
billion feet of standing timber is
likely to be drawn out over period
far greater than would seem possible
with the present rate of cutting.
Nevertheless, the experience of parts
OF Michigan and also of Wood, Port
age, and other counties in Wisconsin
indicate that cutting will go on with
out regard to the end, and it's rate
depends merely on considerations of
market conditions and facilities for
handling timber, so that the end of
the greater part Of pine numbering is
likely to be quite sudden, and it's
effect correspondingly severe.
Briefly stated the present condi-
tons are as follows:
Wisconsin, with a population of
about two million, taxable property
of about $500, 100000, has a home con-
sumption of over 900 million feet b.
III, Of lumber. besides enormous guam
titles OF other wood material, which,
if imported would cost the state over
100000 Of it's northern half,
land surface Of over 100000 acres,
only r per cent. is cultivated, the rest
forming one continuous body of forest
and wasteland. From this area
there have been cut during the last
60 years more than $4,000, 000,000 feet
b. m. of pine lumber alone, and the
annual cut during the past ten years
exceeded 5000, 100000 feet on the aver
age per year.
The industries exploiting this re-
source represented in 1890 one-siXth
of the total taxable property in the
state, paid to over 55 900 men the sum
Of over $15,O00,000 in wages, and the
ralue of their products was equal to
more than One-third the entire out
put of agriculture. Of an original
stand of about 100000, 100000 feet of
pine, about 1900, 100000 feet are left,
besides about 12,000,0O0,00O feet of
Femlock and 16,OOO,O0O,OOO feet Of
liardw0ods. The annual growth,
which at present amounts to about
%00,000,000 feet and Of which only
25O,OOO,OO0 is marketable pine and
ever 500,000,000 feet hardwoods, is
largely balanced by natural decay of
the old, over-ripe timber. In almost
every town of this region logging has
Leen carried on and over 100000 OF
the II 100000 acres are ''cut-over"
lands, largely burned over and waste.
The wooded area proper is steadily
being reduced by logging and to a
smaller extent by clearing.
At present nothing is done either to
protect or restOck the denuded cut
over lands Of which fully 80 per cent.
are now unprOductiye wasteland and
probably will remain so for a long
time. This policy causes a continu-
Gus and ever growing loss to the
commonwealth, which at present
amounts to about 80O,000,O00 feet per
year of useful and much needed Ne
terial, besides gradually but surely
driving from the state the industl'i IS
which have been most conspicuous IN
! its development, depriving a cold
! t,1I- of 70 in
! climatic conditions and affecting